What would you advised a teen who is looking for a college major with good earning potential?

[Anonymous]

I think there is a range of good advice in this thread and that he can still follow his interests and see what of these good choices align most with his interests.

For what it's worth, I have a bachelor's in history, a JD, and I'm now a lawyer. I'm personally happy with those educational choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major in whatever he wants in college but go to dental school and become an orthodontist. I've been trying to sell my kids on this, but I don't think they are buying what I'm selling. Orthodontists RAKE in the money.

They do now, but people are 3D printing their own aligner systems now so I'm not sure this is a good long-term plan.

Yes this is the perfect example of how certain fields get disrupted by technology. I went to an ortho for an estimate for invisalign and braces - they quoted me 10K. I went to a company that only uses the orthodontist to create the aligner plan and reviews the teeth xrays. Aligners are sent to me every month - cost $1,5000. I'm telling my kids to do some research about the field they choose and find out if it is on the verge of being disrupted because it could change the trajectory of WHO is actually making the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would advise him that college is not about maximizing your earning potential. To work on his writing skills and make the most of the experience.

+100

If he is chasing money and only money, be a plumber. He will never get out-sourced, And he can own his own business after awhile.

Otherwise, he needs to learn and grow and figure out what he wants from life. Chasing money if he is from modest means will only make him unhappy given that social mobility is down in the US. Maybe he should consider moving/going to college in a country with better social mobility now that I think of it.

Writing skills are highly over rated.

The kids wants a stable job... accounting, Information Technology, Engineering will get him a stable job.

Finance is a who you know not what you know path.

People skills help much more than writing skills.

Not they are not.

Yes. They are. There are many, many, many jobs that don't require writing skills. Most need very little to no writing skills. Actually I can't really think of many jobs that require writing.

Here are some fields with which I am intimately acquainted and they all require high degrees of literacy. Not that this kid can't get it from reading tons of books, but I've seen people discredited in their field because their communication and writing is so sub par.

- economic
- engineering
- architecture
- design
- marketing
- public health
- project management in any field
- teaching (any subject, including math)
- and of course the obvious lawyer, journalist, professor, etc.

I am also intimately acquainted with all but economics.

None above need writing except marketing, lawyers, journalists and professors.

I would not suggest any of those as valuable jobs to recommend. Also Marketing is more web design than writing now so ... writing is less needed in that area.

engeineers write design documents, technical writers do all other documentation.

public health, only need writing if you are writing policy and you might as well stick forks in your eyes.

I don't think you are that well acquainted. I work in public health and have worked as a project manager. The only way to get projects to work on is to write proposals. Same for public health - how do they get their money to operate? They write a billion proposals (basically a sales document) to foundations, government, CDC, their state, USAID and others to get funding. Then they have to write a billion reports to show how they used the money. they have to sell themselves in order to operate. So yeah a lot of writing is required that has nothing to do with policy. And you are 100% wrong about marketing.

OP be sure to tell your son that whatever field he goes into he needs to understand where the money comes from to fund his salary. Is it sales? Is it proposals? It always floors me that young people have no idea of how companies actually make their money.

[Anonymous]

Tell the kid the security won't come from his major choice, but his diligence. Get skills, experience, confidence,etc... learn to write, think analytically. In America your major is only like half your classes, and then not that many hours. But it can be used to send signals, like most people here are treating it.

Also if he's worried about money have him think hard about how much debt he's getting too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell the kid the security won't come from his major choice, but his diligence. Get skills, experience, confidence,etc... learn to write, think analytically. In America your major is only like half your classes, and then not that many hours. But it can be used to send signals, like most people here are treating it.

Also if he's worried about money have him think hard about how much debt he's getting too.

Along those lines, I would add that you should always be looking out for opportunities for be promoted and to advance, whether at your company or by moving to another company. I know way too many over-qualified college-educated young women in their late 20's still working in admin roles that they settled for. They could have just done the admin role for a few years after college (or not at all is what I would advise), but are now stuck on admin track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major in whatever he wants in college but go to dental school and become an orthodontist. I've been trying to sell my kids on this, but I don't think they are buying what I'm selling. Orthodontists RAKE in the money.

They do now, but people are 3D printing their own aligner systems now so I'm not sure this is a good long-term plan.

Yes this is the perfect example of how certain fields get disrupted by technology. I went to an ortho for an estimate for invisalign and braces - they quoted me 10K. I went to a company that only uses the orthodontist to create the aligner plan and reviews the teeth xrays. Aligners are sent to me every month - cost $1,5000. I'm telling my kids to do some research about the field they choose and find out if it is on the verge of being disrupted because it could change the trajectory of WHO is actually making the money.

eh my experience with invisalign wasn't that great. It's good for correcting cosmetic flaws (like a slightly crooked tooth) and you will still have to wear a retainer for the rest of your life. but not that great for correcting jaw alignment issues. You still need regular braces for that.

[Anonymous]

I think renewable energy is the up and coming field to get into. Like, solar power and wind power. Not sure what specific type of engineering field those types of jobs would entail.

Also, the baby boomers are getting old enough that they will be at the doctors constantly. So medicine is a good field.

He could always join the military and serve for 30 years. Then he would have a nice pension for the rest of his life, while he would still be young enough for a second career.

[Anonymous]

Most "professional" engineers i know are doing very well across the job market. Some are running Fortune 500 companies...some like Rex Tillerson (civil engineer) have done well in business and now entering politics. I think most do well because they are "trained" to assess and solve problems. The skill serves them well in life. It is an excellent ndergraduate degree to earn, even if you elect not to stay in the field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most "professional" engineers i know are doing very well across the job market. Some are running Fortune 500 companies...some like Rex Tillerson (civil engineer) have done well in business and now entering politics. I think most do well because they are "trained" to assess and solve problems. The skill serves them well in life. It is an excellent ndergraduate degree to earn, even if you elect not to stay in the field.

Actually, very few engineers run the companies. Most are doing well, but not CEO well. A typical engineer will start out at about 65K with a BS or 80K+ with an MS. Same for some sciences. My experience is the good performers will see salary increase by 50% adjusted for inflation every 10 years, assuming the. intellectual growth continues. So, 65K at 23 would be 97.5 at 33, and 146 at 43 and 220 at 53....

In my case, I started with a PhD in physics at 31 earning 50K, with is 80K in 2017 dollars. Now, 20 years later, I earn 180K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kid just wants a comfortable life with a stable income, STEM is the way to go. But if he wants to be Richie Rich rich, school is not the answer.

I don't understand the obsession with STEM. Yes - they do start off doing well at age 22; a 22 yr old making 80k is a solid start. But am I the only one who knows engineer after engineer whose job was outsourced once they got into their 40-50s? It happens in every engineering field from mech to electrical to IT; there are countries where there are a lot of grads with very solid math skills -- companies like GE and many small players move entire projects to those companies bc they pay engineers there 30k/yr, instead of 100k to a 50 yr old here. Sure when an entire project requiring 50 engineers is outsource, only about 35-45 jobs will go and 5-15 will be retained here to "manage" the project -- but you're still playing a numbers game.

Thank God for Trump he's going to end that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most "professional" engineers i know are doing very well across the job market. Some are running Fortune 500 companies...some like Rex Tillerson (civil engineer) have done well in business and now entering politics. I think most do well because they are "trained" to assess and solve problems. The skill serves them well in life. It is an excellent ndergraduate degree to earn, even if you elect not to stay in the field.

Actually, very few engineers run the companies. Most are doing well, but not CEO well. A typical engineer will start out at about 65K with a BS or 80K+ with an MS. Same for some sciences. My experience is the good performers will see salary increase by 50% adjusted for inflation every 10 years, assuming the. intellectual growth continues. So, 65K at 23 would be 97.5 at 33, and 146 at 43 and 220 at 53....

In my case, I started with a PhD in physics at 31 earning 50K, with is 80K in 2017 dollars. Now, 20 years later, I earn 180K.

Wow. With a PhD in Physics, you must be incredibly smart and could have succeeded in any field. (I genuinely found high-school-level Physics to be nearly impossible.) Do you ever just wish you'd become a surgeon to make the big bucks? (I'm definitely not smart enough to have a PhD in Physics, but am a lawyer, and like you, I also make $180,000, or closer to $225,000 with profit-sharing and bonus.) Either way, I greatly respect anyone with a PhD in Physics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major in whatever he wants in college but go to dental school and become an orthodontist. I've been trying to sell my kids on this, but I don't think they are buying what I'm selling. Orthodontists RAKE in the money.

They do now, but people are 3D printing their own aligner systems now so I'm not sure this is a good long-term plan.

Yes this is the perfect example of how certain fields get disrupted by technology. I went to an ortho for an estimate for invisalign and braces - they quoted me 10K. I went to a company that only uses the orthodontist to create the aligner plan and reviews the teeth xrays. Aligners are sent to me every month - cost $1,5000. I'm telling my kids to do some research about the field they choose and find out if it is on the verge of being disrupted because it could change the trajectory of WHO is actually making the money.

Care to share which company you went with? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most "professional" engineers i know are doing very well across the job market. Some are running Fortune 500 companies...some like Rex Tillerson (civil engineer) have done well in business and now entering politics. I think most do well because they are "trained" to assess and solve problems. The skill serves them well in life. It is an excellent ndergraduate degree to earn, even if you elect not to stay in the field.

Actually, very few engineers run the companies. Most are doing well, but not CEO well. A typical engineer will start out at about 65K with a BS or 80K+ with an MS. Same for some sciences. My experience is the good performers will see salary increase by 50% adjusted for inflation every 10 years, assuming the. intellectual growth continues. So, 65K at 23 would be 97.5 at 33, and 146 at 43 and 220 at 53....

In my case, I started with a PhD in physics at 31 earning 50K, with is 80K in 2017 dollars. Now, 20 years later, I earn 180K.

From my experience, you quickly hit a ceiling unless you go management track.

But it's not bad money.

I made $50K working for the government in 2003. I left gov work to make more money and was making $95K in 2009. In 2011, I was making $110K. And now I'm at $140K and managing a small team (5) on a project. Unless I become a functional manager, I pretty much will only see cost of living raises unless I leave my company. Even then, my raise won't be significant.

[Anonymous]

it seemed like a lot of extra work at the time, but i should have done a double major. philosophy and engineering, anyone?

[Anonymous]

If he's math-oriented, finance, econ or accounting are all pretty useful. (I have an econ undergrad degree and an MBA in finance.) I still had a good time in college and I've done reasonably well career-wise. I do wish I'd discovered logistics/supply chain analysis earlier in my career, though, or pursued actuarial sciences - those both would have been a good fit for me.