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...why is only engineering being pushed on you? There are way more in demand careers than engineering. For example healthcare, medical research, statistics (like actuarial science or epidemiology) are stable and have great job outlook.
In my case, at least, engineering is one of the few professions where a Bachelors degree is sufficient in finding a job.
A good chunk of the humanities, for example, usually require grad school (i.e., a Masters degree, a Ph.D...) in order to get a decent paying job.
Last edited by DemureDoll; 08-19-2013 at 05:34 PM..
If you can do something creative and make a decent living, that's all well and good. The reality is that you'll have a mortgage, car payments, braces for kids, and all kinds of other uncreative things to deal with. Sometimes you have to be realistic and compromise. Have a career that pays and hobbies that are creative. Just be aware that a masters degree in medieval Italian poetry might not be the financial bonanza you expected it to be.
I remember reading an article on this subject written by a guy with a masters in middle English literature. Finding no employment opportunities related to that degree, he finally applied for a job with Shell oil. During the interview, the interviewer told him "The oil business doesn't give a s*** about Beowulf".
And that id exactly why i would never work there and i look down on the industry as a whole. Thay kind of attitude is just a turnoff and unprofessional for hr to say to a potential employee.
And that id exactly why i would never work there and i look down on the industry as a whole. Thay kind of attitude is just a turnoff and unprofessional for hr to say to a potential employee.
Ditto. I'm sure that "article" was probably a chain email though.
In my case, at least, engineering is one of the few professions where a Bachelors degree is sufficient in finding a job.
A good chunk of the humanities, for example, usually require grad school (i.e., a Masters degree, a Ph.D...) in order to get a decent paying job.
You might actually make less over the long haul if you get a Masters or pHd in humanities.
The reason being if you get a Masters in English, you'll be pulled towards the jobs that actually involve writing as the primary function. Meanwhile, if you just had a bachelors, you might be able to go into something that's high paying if you can climb the ladder, like advertising or marketing, yada, yada.
I mean, really, it's ALL a gamble. Certain degrees just give you a better chance of making $ and keeping jobs. For a few, the odds are close to 100%. For others, it's really low. Getting a degree in engineering improves your chances to pound out a stable, middle class living IMHO. But it doesn't guarantee jack cheese.
All well fine and good, but is this friend happy? Is this friend content with his life and what they do? That's the issue. If I say did engineering, MAYBE I would find work but would I be satisfied with what I do? I am not sure. If your friend is satisfied with their life and their work then fine. The issue is if they are not happy, they will flame out. Maybe in school or maybe down the road when they are in the field. It happens in so many different industries.
I will venture that throughout history there have been a majority of people who were not 'happy' in their jobs. The unusual thing is that so many people today seem to think that things should be otherwise.
There are some people who are born with talents that happen to be a fit with certain jobs, but as mentioned before even they have distasteful things that they hate about their work. How many teachers who love teaching have just been burned out because of all the politics and imposed restrictions, and artists have to do a great schmoozing job in self promotion. Often, in IT, once you get promoted over a certain level, you no longer do the work you love; but are managing people, which is a totally different ball park and could be anathema to some technical minds.
On top of this, there are a huge number of people who do not stay in the same profession all of their lives. It might be wise to start off knowing that you can put a roof over your head and bread on the table before you consider branching off into something else.
I will venture that throughout history there have been a majority of people who were not 'happy' in their jobs. The unusual thing is that so many people today seem to think that things should be otherwise.
There are some people who are born with talents that happen to be a fit with certain jobs, but as mentioned before even they have distasteful things that they hate about their work. How many teachers who love teaching have just been burned out because of all the politics and imposed restrictions, and artists have to do a great schmoozing job in self promotion. Often, in IT, once you get promoted over a certain level, you no longer do the work you love; but are managing people, which is a totally different ball park and could be anathema to some technical minds.
On top of this, there are a huge number of people who do not stay in the same profession all of their lives. It might be wise to start off knowing that you can put a roof over your head and bread on the table before you consider branching off into something else.
Don't get me wrong, that's true. It's not like you will always do the same role (unless you hit the Peter Principle early on.) As for working what you love, perhaps what you love shifts within the organization as time goes on. The issue I am getting at is no matter if we work or not, it goes back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and if we make money it may satisfy basic needs but the type of work may not satisfy our need of doing something that makes a difference.
In my case, at least, engineering is one of the few professions where a Bachelors degree is sufficient in finding a job.
A good chunk of the humanities, for example, usually require grad school (i.e., a Masters degree, a Ph.D...) in order to get a decent paying job.
Masters and other post-graduate degrees are becoming necessary for all kinds of degrees. Engineering is one of the few where it isn't needed.
I used to get frustrated during my graduate eduction because while I spent years studying my friends were working. When I look back on it now, it was worth it. Even though my friends were working, most of the jobs they had for the first several years after undergrad were either lousy and/or low pay. Now I'm glad I spent all those years in school because it lead to my great job today. What I'm trying to say is, spending extra years in school for graduate education isn't bad as long as you have a great job/opportunity after.
As for majoring in art, it seems like it's more beneficial to go to a special art college. The art schools tend to have good connections for art internships, which many can lead to a job. This is at least what I've seen from the people I know that went to an art college as opposed to a general liberal arts college for art.
I just want to thank everyone for their responses. I initially thought I would reach a decision by reading enough posts. But that was probably way too optimistic of me to expect.
I recently went to my orientation for the engineering program. Long story short, I placed a request for an appointment with the school guidance/ career counselor. Hopefully he or she will give me some perspective on what kind of career I want. Or at the very least be blunt in discussing the economic value of an art/ English/ music/ etc. degree.
But hey, I'm all ears, er, eyes. If someone else has advice to give or an anecdote to tell, go right ahead.
Don't get me wrong, that's true. It's not like you will always do the same role (unless you hit the Peter Principle early on.) As for working what you love, perhaps what you love shifts within the organization as time goes on. The issue I am getting at is no matter if we work or not, it goes back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and if we make money it may satisfy basic needs but the type of work may not satisfy our need of doing something that makes a difference.
If I remember correctly, in Maslow's scheme you had to evolve through the lower needs before reaching the top.
Just an afterthought - being you can become disenchanted or burned out in any endeavor, if you picked a field of work that paid well AND invested wisely you would have a cushion for early retirement OR you would be able to afford to retrain yourself.
Look at how computers revolutionized our society. There is bound to be something else down the road that does the same. Get money. Keep your options open.
Last edited by goldengrain; 08-22-2013 at 06:54 PM..
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