Im on my first year in college and basically trying to decide what i want to do =/. I need a high paying job to support my hobbies and to do stupid and fun stuff on a larger scale =P.
I have really narrowed it down to either Economics, Civil/Mechanical Engineering, or Computer Science(programming), due to the high pay and partial interest(well, more than anything else should i say). I'll do anything(except doctor) if the pay is right since i can have fun anywhere and anyplace.
I have gone to advisers, looked up videos, forums, and all the information i have on the internet but cant really find which one really suits my lifestyle best. All i get is people in suits, ties, and grey beards talking to me about how choosing profession "A" will get me into these fancy dinners and be a highly thought member of society in the area and know all the other rich people =/. Obviously, that is not me, not even close, not even in the same galaxy. Lets put it this way, their roll models are Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin, mine are and will always be people like the Superretards and Pimpstars =).
So i am deciding to take a new approach, instead of asking people for advice who i am polar opposites to, i decided to come on here and see if you guys had anything to say, recommend, or enlighten me on. Most of us have the same idea life, fun, and passions, i thought it couldnt hurt =).
Keep your options open as to what you want to do. For instance, I went to school for construction management. Throughout school, I always figured that I would do something dealing with commercial/industrial construction. I ended up finding an internship with a company that does railroad bridge maintenance... never figured I would do anything with railroads. It turned into a full time job for me and I couldn't be happier.
You have to figure out what general field you want to work in, and then later down the road you can figure out what specialty you want to be in. And remember one thing.... after you graduate, you most likely will be underpaid, and over worked. tough $hit, you just have to deal with it. Eventually you will work your way up to a comfortable salary.
Good luck
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out of what you listed i would go with civil/ mechanical engineering.... mainly because the other two jobs will keep you locked up in a office building all day every day... I graduated with my electrical degree (with emphasis on computer programming lol) about a year ago and yes the pay is nice (im even getting paid less then the average starting salary and still have lots of finances for toys). but I'm in front of a computer just 90% of the time. Civil or mechanical would allow you to actually get out of the office and do some hands on stuff.
out of what you listed i would go with civil/ mechanical engineering.... mainly because the other two jobs will keep you locked up in a office building all day every day... I graduated with my electrical degree (with emphasis on computer programming lol) about a year ago and yes the pay is nice (im even getting paid less then the average starting salary and still have lots of finances for toys). but I'm in front of a computer just 90% of the time. Civil or mechanical would allow you to actually get out of the office and do some hands on stuff.
Currently an electrical engineering student working in the field. I would avoid civil. I am making more money now without a degree than my friends who graduated as civil engineers. That field is to competitive. I say mechanical all the way. Or look into electrical.
plus if your mechanical there is always the possibility to get hired on to help design some of our big boy toys! or at the very least you can design your own toys/ parts!
Mechanical Engineering will allow you to have tons of option when you graduate. I graduated with an ME degree May 2011 and when I started going to job fairs and such the possibilities are endless. All kinds of companies love to hire engineers purely for their way of thinking even if the job has nothing to do with actual engineering. The money and weekends don't suck either.
Do chemical engineering, it'll be a bitch, but well worth it. The crap we go through while taking ChemE curriculum pretty much prepares you for anything you want to do post graduation. Although I would say any engineering degree would be fine, as along as you get good grades, you should be set in your career. Starting salary for ChemE graduates in 2011 averaged 65k, 77k and 92.8k per year for BS, MS and PhD degrees respectively.
Its good to be thinking about your career and what it can do for you. I'm pursuing my electrical engineering degree and business. I hope this helps me work with my counterparts at work and ****, engineers just kick ass in general :fact
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IMO you're going about it wrong. These jobs you list tend to make good money but if you're not happy doing it...the job will becoming boring and you will get less motivated to excel and further(train) yourself down the road. Rarely, does someone come out of college making the "BIG" bucks. (yes there are exceptions) Starting salaries for most technical jobs are relatively close. Where you start making the big bucks is by proving yourself in the field/office and becoming an asset to the company.
A college degree just shows employers that you have the commitment to stand behind your work for 4+ years. You're GPA will show how much effort you put into it.
If you want to make yourself marketable...start EARLY on the internships/co-ops programs your college offers or companies in the field you're interested in offer.
That being said... I got my BS in Computer Science, I did 3 internships while in college with big name companies, I'm 4 years into my career, professionally certified (last year), and make very good money for my age/degree. I contribute my early success to: the love of my career(it will not always be a walk in the park) and motivation to always improve.
In terms of the Computer Science field....Security(all aspects: networking, web, databases..etc), HealthCare programming are hot jobs.
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I work as an electrcial engineer, and yes the pay is really good. My starting salary straight out of school is more than people who has had 10+ years of experience in other fields. But if you don't like math, stay away from any engineering fields. Engineering is very rigourous, and plan to lose your enitre social life if go into it.
Stay away from economics, you would not have a job after graduation.
It depends on what you want to do. As someone that's several years out of college I can tell you that work is a huge part of your life and will be for a while, you really need to choose something that you like doing for a major part of your time.
I have a Civil Engineering degree and got my PE a few years ago. I like what I do but I'm certainly not rich. I like that the degree has some variety of things on what you can do with it (although don't kid yourself, with an engineering degree you are somewhat pigeonholed), I like the work, and I like that I have enough field work/site visits to make it not a total desk job.
Seriously though, the older I get the more I realize that as long as you're comfortable there really is more to life than money. Good luck.
I didnt read though everyones stuff, But I am an economics Major. I would steer away from this major unless you are unsure about what you want to do in life.
If you want a degree but havent figured what field you want to work in Economics is a great major. I had not clue what I wanted to do so it worked well for me. It applys to everything and is a pretty difficult major so it looks good. But on the downside it applys to everything so you dont really have a big paying niche market of job.
let me know if you go the economics route, I can help you out.
Civil and Mechanical engineering are slowly on their way out. The new hotness is electrical or oil & gas engineering. Not saying you can't get a job with the first two, but you're not setting yourself up to get a job as easily as the other two. I personally have an ME degree but went to law school instead of doing the engineering thing.
Another growing field is statistics - we can track stats on just about anything these days, but will always need people to interpret them (or set up the systems for interpreting them).
Mechanical engineer here working in composites. Great job with plenty of hands on work and design work. I feel my pay is low now that i have experience but I love what I do and the company I'm at. Just make sure you are genuinely interested in whatever field you study, otherwise you just spend that college money being miserable.
I've switched majors a few times before finding a major that I liked (accounting/finance). The best advise I can give to a freshman is make a list of majors your considering and take a class in it to see what you like. It'll take maybe one or two semesters, but those class can probably count towards electives and doesn't waste too much of your time in college. Benefit is you will be able to make a better choice in narrowing down what you want to do from your list of majors.
I would def say do some form of engineering. Im in my forth year of college for mechanical engineering. I also have an internship with shure microphones in Chicago. All i can say is no matter what option you take, always stay open minded to other fields. I would have NEVER guessed I would be working with electronics with a mechanical degree but I absolutely love it. Engineering is a well respected field and is usually pretty laid back.
Electrical Engineer here, been working in the field for almost 2 years now since I graduated. Like other people are saying, engineering is a smart career decision, but you really have to enjoy it to get through university. While studying, be prepared to give up your social life, with the exception of about one weekend a month when all the engineers party till they drop.
I don't know how it is where you are, but up here in Canada engineering students have developed a slogan: ERTW. It stands for Engineers Rule The World...... or is it Engineers Rarely Touch Women? I can't remember.
I'm currently a Mechanical engineering student in my junior year. Like others have said, there are tons of options and opportunities with an engineering degree. That being said, if you do not have an interest in it, it will be 4/5 years of hell. There's a reason engineers are well paid compared to other majors. Engineering requires a lot of time and effort to be successful.
Engineering is a great choice. You are going to bust your butt in school but it will be worth it. Or you could just try to be awesome like me... went to school for construction management, my business card now says engineer and I am part of my company's engineering group :)
Sent while traveling the world
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if you want to make money and lots of it computers is where it is going to be. computers are now in everything and evolving at an unimaginable rate. many issues are coming to light with computers the main being security. I went to a big research university and the IT guy that talked during my cyber security class said "people try to hack them at least 1,000 times a second on a daily basis"
If you want to make big bucks go into computer science, with that you can do anything you want with computers. from programming to security
Got my BSEE while working in electronics manufacturing and now I'm a Sr. Process Engineer for Motorola with 10 years experience. I'm happy with my pay and work schedule but you should stay as far away from manufacturing as you can!! LOL. Too volatile of an industry and everyone likes to move their factories over to Asia.
I would agree with others here, computers have great potential and job security. If I did my degree over again I would specialize in power engineering or energy especially now that "green" energy is such a big thing. Good luck!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aogokrazy
if you want to make money and lots of it computers is where it is going to be. computers are now in everything and evolving at an unimaginable rate. many issues are coming to light with computers the main being security. I went to a big research university and the IT guy that talked during my cyber security class said "people try to hack them at least 1,000 times a second on a daily basis"
If you want to make big bucks go into computer science, with that you can do anything you want with computers. from programming to security
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