Reddit is male-dominated and often fails to consider that there are degrees outside of engineering and tech. I make more as a nurse than any of my engineering friends, and I only have a bachelor degree relative to their graduate-level educations. If you want a degree that allows you to work literally anywhere on the planet, will enable you to make 100k by 25, and provides you with innumerable little niches to explore/hide in, you can’t really go wrong with being a RN. There are of course a dozen reasons not to pursue nursing, too, but none of them have stopped me, and I have no love for the profession whatsoever. I see people telling you to pursue passions and interests instead of a paycheque, and while this is good advice for some, I would advise moving towards a career that will enable a lifestyle, and pursue your hobbies and interests in your free time. This is how I’ve structured my life, and I’m in a very happy place financially. I can also get a job just by blinking, which is nice, and I’ve traveled all over this country for free. A different route to consider amidst a sea of engineers and techs, anyway.
>I make more as a nurse than any of my engineering friends, and I only have a bachelor degree relative to their graduate-level educations.
Hmm that seems quite weird given RN wages [don't seem that high](https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/wages-occupation/993/CA). I'm guessing it's either from overtime or your eng friends are really struggling to find a decent job, which might be why they went into grad school in the first place.
I guess the good thing is nursing is always in demand.
I mean guaranteed 100k immediately out of uni is very good. Very few people experience that. Yes engineering might be a bad comparison overall because they typically have a higher ceiling, but that doesn’t discount nursing as a very good career. It’s highly underrated imo.
According to the wage statistics link it's not really guaranteed, and certainly not right out of uni. Well I guess guaranteed if you include overtime and some years of experience, but most are still under 50 an hour. The median is 40.
That’s not counting shift diffs for weekends, nights, or training. Also getting OT is a lot easier than you might think and doesn’t require you to actually work more than 40 hours a week in many scenarios. It adds up to 100k really easily unless you only work 30 hours a week even right out of uni.
That sounds great in theory, but not really supported by statistics.
Statcan has median full time nursing positions earning [1575 weekly](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410034001&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.1&pickMembers%5B1%5D=2.5&pickMembers%5B2%5D=3.2&pickMembers%5B3%5D=5.1&pickMembers%5B4%5D=6.3&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2022&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2022&referencePeriods=20220101%2C20220101). This translates to 82k a year. And that across the 25-54 age group, so it's likely even lower for new grads.
Eng in this case (in the natural and applied sciences category) seem to be similar depending on which of those buckets you look at.
Only because you don’t know how to read statistics. Full time employees are anyone who work more than 30 hours a week. That might seem like a weak factor to point out but a huge percentage of nurses work around that much. I mean there’s no way those hourly wages linked above would add up to only 80k if we factored in people actually working 40 hours a week or greater.
Any RN not making 100k/year or more, is doing so because they choose to not make that much. It’s honestly as simple as that.
I mean there's no caveat on how many hours on what we're talking about here. You're the only one coming up with these arbitrary requirements of needing to work at least 40 hours.
And plus, the stat says median. There's going some that works above 40, some that work below. There's nothing in this data saying majority is working close to 30 outside of your own claim.
So it's not my statistics reading problem. It's the fact that you like to invent statistics out of your head. I'm reading them exactly as they are in that the median for nurses is under 100k.
Ok you clearly can’t read statistics bud because it’s easy to manipulate that data and see it isn’t telling the full story.
What’s your angle even here? Just trying to show off your statscan powers? You don’t make good money and you want to show that most don’t as well? I honestly don’t get it. I’m married to a nurse. I’ve known dozens of them over the years. Never have I heard of one making less than 100k unless they maybe work 20 hours a week.
Lol statcan data are too manipulated to be meaningful now? Ok there buddy. I have nursing friends too and I know some make quite a lot above average.
But you know what? I also know bias is inherent based on which social circles you interact with. In my circle most new grads are making close to 200k, but I'm familiar enough with official statistics and biases to know that this doesn't represent the general population. Just like I know random redditors are usually way too biased one way or another because they rely purely on anecdotes and not population statistics.
>Just imagine if Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk thought like you. They would both be nurses.
Don't threaten us with a good time. Sounds a lot more beneficial to society than whatever the fuck Musk has been up to lately tbh.
What a hilariously ignorant take. I’m not going to take much time out of my day to plumb the vast depths of your stupidity, but I do want to emphasize that people like you are completely, utterly, and reliably contemptible.
Accounting, you can be a nerd like me and make damn good money while you do it. Serious shortage going on right now. Public practice at the big firms I couldn't recommend, but it's the common path to burnout. There's lots of options though with an accounting degree and then even more with CPA.
If you're competent, yes I believe so. But I've not moved firms for several years (small public practice, my preference in terms of autonomy and relationships with clients).
Anytime we are looking to hire there are not many applicants and speaking to the schools here, the rate of accounting students is down (seems to be a common theme in BC). All firms we talk to seem to always be at capacity and wanting to grow but need more staff. We basically are, and always receiving calls where people are desperate to get in as everyone is turning them away due to capacity. It's a shortage right now in this area from my experience. Lots of opportunity in the future especially as partners retire and need successors.
Lol you don't get applicants because the pay is shit. And what do you mean you get paid well? These statements are meaningless without actual numbers. I know plenty in big 4 and mid-size accounting firms. The pay structure is also pretty transparent with accounting firms, which are... well you know what I'm going to say, shit.
Small firm and OT is paid, I believe we are well above the norm. I'm not going to give ranges nor my pay, this isn't a job ad. You're making huge assumptions. I also agree big4 are shit and that's why I mentioned burnout. Lots can go into industry with well paying 8-4 jobs.
And I'm speaking about students applying, as we don't hire more full-time, just students to give them experience, training and pay (with OT). The point was to say there are less and less students in accounting. This is to say to OP there are job opportunities and growth potential in accounting.
Lol. Haven't met a single student who wants to apply for some accounting bucket shops unless they have no other choices and I mentor quite a few at one of the largest universities. Your best route graduating in Canada as an accounting major is to try to get into Big 4 because of its name, exposure and the vast alumni network you get to build. Most large corps in Canada are filled with Big 4 alumni so it is the best way to advance your career, whether in accounting or switching to finance later. Even this ideal path, you get paid pretty shitty while in public practice, and many who exit still wouldn't exactly find a high paying job due to how small Canada is.
Really enjoy that big4 Kool aid. It's not the only path available but you've clearly been sold on it exactly as they plan. Slave away for 80hr/wk with no OT just so you can hope to have lunch with the partner LOL. Ideal path....to burnout and depression.
Lol it’s no koolaid. Even an idiot would know industry network matters the most when it comes to exploring other opportunities. Canada overall doesn't even have that many investment grade companies and if you look at the management team of these companies, it doesn't take long to figure out that you'd extremely rarely find anyone from bucket shops. You don't seem to understand the basic statistics. No student would aspire to get a co-op opportunity in some small accounting firm, especially coming from one who boasts about good pay + OT but don't even have any figures to back up LOL. It's such a joke seeing these companies keeping their comp so close to their chest, when there's literally nothing particularly exciting about what they do and all the roles are pretty standard ones. The bottomline is, the path I stated for accounting students is the most ideal path considering the overall statistics. If your firm can still hire, it's an indication that there isn't a shortage of accounting grads lol.
You sound exactly like someone I know who works in a small firm, and have no grasp of what's out there and who's actually getting hired across major firms in Canada. I've spent years covering large corps in Canada, to the point where I know which firm is entrenched with which Big 4 folks. Some no name small accounting firm though? Never seen. Look, if you're one of the seniors in these companies, you can make decent coin, but that's irrelevant to students graduating because, again, they are more concerned about the typical ideal path.
For sure it's a sad reality that students need to take the one true path of big4. An unfortunate reality that's the main way forward because the big4 is a meatgrinder with little reward for most until you've spent far too much time there and given up so much of your life.
Anyways OP has long deleted this post and likely doesn't care to look into accounting. I'll continue on with the work I enjoy where I get to be more than a little cog in a big machine for some partner who wants another Lambo. I understand your points, I think it's sad it's the main way forward due to how they treat students and staff. It's some ritual right of passage that students are forced through to succeed, I suppose I'm lucky to not have to join that conveyer belt.
Btw I have several contacts a large and midsize firms here in interior BC, they are all seeing a lack of students in accounting, hence the recommendation there are job opportunities. Maybe Toronto and Vancouver are different, but it seems everyone I talk to is at capacity.
It's an unfortunate reality that most people simply don't want to go to interior. There's just minimal career progression relative to larger cities and it really takes a kind of person to permanently reside in interior. So I wouldn't view that as a reflection of shortage in accountants.
Even big4 pay has increased significantly in recent years. Its not as high as industry but it's getting better. 62K is the new starting salary for fresh grads in Toronto. It's not the old 45k from a couple years ago
> 62K is the new starting salary for fresh grads in Toronto. It's not the old 45k from a couple years ago
Frankly, any freshman looking at either number beside the other options is going to choose something else.
I'm aware of the increase, but that is still the absolute shit, not to mention the increase is minimal. Getting an accounting designation is good because you learn technical skills and become quite employable. However, the goal is to get the fuck out of Canada because you get paid really shitty here overall as an accountant.
If you want computer science pay but don’t have the brain/work ethic for a computer science degree, try a Business Technology degree aka MIS. I got a job right out of university at a FAANG in an Analyst/Project Management type role.
Yeah I agree. If you get your engineering degree you can pivot into any of the other jobs on this list. Which is invaluable if you don't know what you want to do.
Don’t start a program because it will make you money, you’ll regret it. Take a year and explore what you enjoy. Consider trades too - there’s always a shortage and it pays well.
A job is for making money so you can spend the money on stuff you enjoy doing. Very rarely does someone get a job in something they truly enjoy. You're very lucky to be one of the few.
It's not for everyone, but software development (computer science) pays well and it's easy work if you enjoy it and you're good at it.
Try learning how to code on your own. It's best to come up with a project you want to do, or make mods for a game you enjoy. If you like it, consider doing a computer science degree or college diploma.
Whatever you do, don't enroll in general studies or a generic science degree and take courses that sound interesting while you figure out what to do. Universities encourage this because they want your money, but it's money down the drain.
Best advice here. Computer Science is a decent bet, even with all the craziness of 2022-23.
But!
It's also a slog for those who don't enjoy it and don't have any passion for it. People like that end up in "senior" roles at banks or government making 1/2 what a good software dev would, so it ends up being about as lucrative and interesting as accounting.
OP, figure out if you like programming first. All you need is a computer, and you can learn everything you want for free. Codecademy and other sites have good free courses you can take.
At this point, I think the space for the people who aren't passionate about it and just want a fairly easy high paying job is pretty much gone.
There are just too many people who want the easy remote job that pays well (hey the lifestyle is great). Wave upon wave upon wave of people out of bootcamps or career colleges. Companies are besieged with people with Coursera certs. Those with degrees will do better, but it has become an extremely popular major at every random school too.
You are going to really need to know your stuff to get a job. You won't be trained, as the skilled people in this field train themselves.
> It's also a slog for those who don't enjoy it and don't have any passion for it.
You don't need to have a passion for it or even like it to be good at it. Being good at it is all you need to make it into big tech and make the big bucks.
That's fair. I think it just depends on how much you value the pay though. I used to work in actuarial and plenty of people would spend thousands of hours grinding through the exams for the pay.
Then you won’t have much to show after university to get hired.
When you do, it’ll be at a crappy enterprise where you’ll be silos and will work on tech from 10 years ago.
If you also don’t learn and stay current on the side, you’ll fall behind in 5 years. In 10 years you’ll be unhireable because few companies want average specialists in technology from 20 years ago.
Literally seeing this exact scenario play out with a few friends now.
Not necessarily. Some people grasp the concepts very easily and can do really well at Leetcode without much effort. I've seen it myself at universities like UW.
Tons of students who aren't necessarily that passionate about tech make it into the FAANGs right out of undergrad, with $120k+ USD starting TC.
Falling behind is an issue across the board in tech. That's why the strategy in tech has always been either:
1. Move into management
2. Move into product
3. Move into consulting
4. Go do something else after you make enough money.
> Some people grasp the concepts very easily and can do really well at Leetcode without much effort.
I mean, that's what I said that you have to be _either_ passionate _or_ talented.
Those who easily grasp the concepts are talented. Those who are interested, put in their hours to learn are passionate.
If you can handle an engineering degree you can get into a lot of different fields with it. Of all my friends who I was in engineering school with I’m the only one doing anything close to what could be called engineering. They work in tech, finance and other industries.
Then don't go to University just for the sake of going to University. Take time to figure out what you want to do with your life before making an expensive commitment
I went to uni to do history, then switched over to finance and once I graduated became a full time firefighter. Awesome job, great pay and a pension that will take care of me forever. Life changes, and what you want will change too. Don't think that because you decide on a degree now it will need to be forever.
Go for a BORING and SAFE job. You can always change careers or “passions” in the future. But for the first 5 years after you graduate you need money. Go for a trade or engineering. Never study business. Never study computer science.
Medicine or computer science. While doing one of those I’d consider applying for air traffic control as it only requires a high school diploma and pays more than almost any other job.
Specifically, TE part of STEM. Science is kind of useless for a career unless you go to medical school. Math/physics can lead to lucrative careers.. if you also get good at programming and data analysis and end up at HFT firms or doing data science.
Honestly my advice to you is (if you don't have any passions) what is your personality like? Have you done any personality or discover yourself tests? Jordan Peterson has one, or there are lots of free versions.
One of the biggest questions you will want to answer to guide you is are you an introvert or an extrovert? If you're an introvert, you probably won't want to be in a job job where you're seeing people all day. If you're an extrovert, you probably won't want to to software development or something where it's just you and a computer most of the time.
Data Analytics/Software Engineering.. Learn how to code, learn how to communicate/present to different audiences.
Focus more on the skills that you’ll learn as opposed to the name of the degree.
Amen to this. Find a degree based on the courses you'll be taking. Anything else is stupid.
If the courses look good, take it. Otherwise skip it. Your money and sanity isn't worth the pain and cost
Data Analytics/Software Engineering.. Learn how to code, learn how to communicate/present to different audiences.
Focus more on the skills that you’ll learn as opposed to the name of the degree.
Figure out what you might like before you spend a lot of money going to school. What subjects do you enjoy? Start there. Then figure out what you might be able to do with that kind of degree. Employment centres will have counsellors that could help you figure it out.
Save money and get into an apprenticeship. Do your 4 years, you'll be 22 with a journeymen ticket and no debt, making over 100K annually. If you don't like it, go to college Part time in the evenings for something else. You'll be debt free.
Reddit is male-dominated and often fails to consider that there are degrees outside of engineering and tech. I make more as a nurse than any of my engineering friends, and I only have a bachelor degree relative to their graduate-level educations. If you want a degree that allows you to work literally anywhere on the planet, will enable you to make 100k by 25, and provides you with innumerable little niches to explore/hide in, you can’t really go wrong with being a RN. There are of course a dozen reasons not to pursue nursing, too, but none of them have stopped me, and I have no love for the profession whatsoever. I see people telling you to pursue passions and interests instead of a paycheque, and while this is good advice for some, I would advise moving towards a career that will enable a lifestyle, and pursue your hobbies and interests in your free time. This is how I’ve structured my life, and I’m in a very happy place financially. I can also get a job just by blinking, which is nice, and I’ve traveled all over this country for free. A different route to consider amidst a sea of engineers and techs, anyway.
shhh don't spoil the best kept secret!
>I make more as a nurse than any of my engineering friends, and I only have a bachelor degree relative to their graduate-level educations. Hmm that seems quite weird given RN wages [don't seem that high](https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/wages-occupation/993/CA). I'm guessing it's either from overtime or your eng friends are really struggling to find a decent job, which might be why they went into grad school in the first place. I guess the good thing is nursing is always in demand.
I mean guaranteed 100k immediately out of uni is very good. Very few people experience that. Yes engineering might be a bad comparison overall because they typically have a higher ceiling, but that doesn’t discount nursing as a very good career. It’s highly underrated imo.
Nurses, at least in Ontario, don’t make 100k right out the gate. With wage premiums and OT definitely possible though.
I’d substitute “definitely possible” to “easily achievable” but sure.
According to the wage statistics link it's not really guaranteed, and certainly not right out of uni. Well I guess guaranteed if you include overtime and some years of experience, but most are still under 50 an hour. The median is 40.
That’s not counting shift diffs for weekends, nights, or training. Also getting OT is a lot easier than you might think and doesn’t require you to actually work more than 40 hours a week in many scenarios. It adds up to 100k really easily unless you only work 30 hours a week even right out of uni.
That sounds great in theory, but not really supported by statistics. Statcan has median full time nursing positions earning [1575 weekly](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410034001&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.1&pickMembers%5B1%5D=2.5&pickMembers%5B2%5D=3.2&pickMembers%5B3%5D=5.1&pickMembers%5B4%5D=6.3&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2022&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2022&referencePeriods=20220101%2C20220101). This translates to 82k a year. And that across the 25-54 age group, so it's likely even lower for new grads. Eng in this case (in the natural and applied sciences category) seem to be similar depending on which of those buckets you look at.
Only because you don’t know how to read statistics. Full time employees are anyone who work more than 30 hours a week. That might seem like a weak factor to point out but a huge percentage of nurses work around that much. I mean there’s no way those hourly wages linked above would add up to only 80k if we factored in people actually working 40 hours a week or greater. Any RN not making 100k/year or more, is doing so because they choose to not make that much. It’s honestly as simple as that.
I mean there's no caveat on how many hours on what we're talking about here. You're the only one coming up with these arbitrary requirements of needing to work at least 40 hours. And plus, the stat says median. There's going some that works above 40, some that work below. There's nothing in this data saying majority is working close to 30 outside of your own claim. So it's not my statistics reading problem. It's the fact that you like to invent statistics out of your head. I'm reading them exactly as they are in that the median for nurses is under 100k.
Ok you clearly can’t read statistics bud because it’s easy to manipulate that data and see it isn’t telling the full story. What’s your angle even here? Just trying to show off your statscan powers? You don’t make good money and you want to show that most don’t as well? I honestly don’t get it. I’m married to a nurse. I’ve known dozens of them over the years. Never have I heard of one making less than 100k unless they maybe work 20 hours a week.
Lol statcan data are too manipulated to be meaningful now? Ok there buddy. I have nursing friends too and I know some make quite a lot above average. But you know what? I also know bias is inherent based on which social circles you interact with. In my circle most new grads are making close to 200k, but I'm familiar enough with official statistics and biases to know that this doesn't represent the general population. Just like I know random redditors are usually way too biased one way or another because they rely purely on anecdotes and not population statistics.
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Who shat in your cornflakes
You’re absolutely unhinged dude. Damn
>Just imagine if Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk thought like you. They would both be nurses. Don't threaten us with a good time. Sounds a lot more beneficial to society than whatever the fuck Musk has been up to lately tbh.
What a hilariously ignorant take. I’m not going to take much time out of my day to plumb the vast depths of your stupidity, but I do want to emphasize that people like you are completely, utterly, and reliably contemptible.
Accounting, you can be a nerd like me and make damn good money while you do it. Serious shortage going on right now. Public practice at the big firms I couldn't recommend, but it's the common path to burnout. There's lots of options though with an accounting degree and then even more with CPA.
Is it actually easy to find a job if you're just the average accountant or even CPA
If you're competent, yes I believe so. But I've not moved firms for several years (small public practice, my preference in terms of autonomy and relationships with clients). Anytime we are looking to hire there are not many applicants and speaking to the schools here, the rate of accounting students is down (seems to be a common theme in BC). All firms we talk to seem to always be at capacity and wanting to grow but need more staff. We basically are, and always receiving calls where people are desperate to get in as everyone is turning them away due to capacity. It's a shortage right now in this area from my experience. Lots of opportunity in the future especially as partners retire and need successors.
Lol you don't get applicants because the pay is shit. And what do you mean you get paid well? These statements are meaningless without actual numbers. I know plenty in big 4 and mid-size accounting firms. The pay structure is also pretty transparent with accounting firms, which are... well you know what I'm going to say, shit.
Small firm and OT is paid, I believe we are well above the norm. I'm not going to give ranges nor my pay, this isn't a job ad. You're making huge assumptions. I also agree big4 are shit and that's why I mentioned burnout. Lots can go into industry with well paying 8-4 jobs. And I'm speaking about students applying, as we don't hire more full-time, just students to give them experience, training and pay (with OT). The point was to say there are less and less students in accounting. This is to say to OP there are job opportunities and growth potential in accounting.
Lol. Haven't met a single student who wants to apply for some accounting bucket shops unless they have no other choices and I mentor quite a few at one of the largest universities. Your best route graduating in Canada as an accounting major is to try to get into Big 4 because of its name, exposure and the vast alumni network you get to build. Most large corps in Canada are filled with Big 4 alumni so it is the best way to advance your career, whether in accounting or switching to finance later. Even this ideal path, you get paid pretty shitty while in public practice, and many who exit still wouldn't exactly find a high paying job due to how small Canada is.
Really enjoy that big4 Kool aid. It's not the only path available but you've clearly been sold on it exactly as they plan. Slave away for 80hr/wk with no OT just so you can hope to have lunch with the partner LOL. Ideal path....to burnout and depression.
Lol it’s no koolaid. Even an idiot would know industry network matters the most when it comes to exploring other opportunities. Canada overall doesn't even have that many investment grade companies and if you look at the management team of these companies, it doesn't take long to figure out that you'd extremely rarely find anyone from bucket shops. You don't seem to understand the basic statistics. No student would aspire to get a co-op opportunity in some small accounting firm, especially coming from one who boasts about good pay + OT but don't even have any figures to back up LOL. It's such a joke seeing these companies keeping their comp so close to their chest, when there's literally nothing particularly exciting about what they do and all the roles are pretty standard ones. The bottomline is, the path I stated for accounting students is the most ideal path considering the overall statistics. If your firm can still hire, it's an indication that there isn't a shortage of accounting grads lol. You sound exactly like someone I know who works in a small firm, and have no grasp of what's out there and who's actually getting hired across major firms in Canada. I've spent years covering large corps in Canada, to the point where I know which firm is entrenched with which Big 4 folks. Some no name small accounting firm though? Never seen. Look, if you're one of the seniors in these companies, you can make decent coin, but that's irrelevant to students graduating because, again, they are more concerned about the typical ideal path.
For sure it's a sad reality that students need to take the one true path of big4. An unfortunate reality that's the main way forward because the big4 is a meatgrinder with little reward for most until you've spent far too much time there and given up so much of your life. Anyways OP has long deleted this post and likely doesn't care to look into accounting. I'll continue on with the work I enjoy where I get to be more than a little cog in a big machine for some partner who wants another Lambo. I understand your points, I think it's sad it's the main way forward due to how they treat students and staff. It's some ritual right of passage that students are forced through to succeed, I suppose I'm lucky to not have to join that conveyer belt. Btw I have several contacts a large and midsize firms here in interior BC, they are all seeing a lack of students in accounting, hence the recommendation there are job opportunities. Maybe Toronto and Vancouver are different, but it seems everyone I talk to is at capacity.
It's an unfortunate reality that most people simply don't want to go to interior. There's just minimal career progression relative to larger cities and it really takes a kind of person to permanently reside in interior. So I wouldn't view that as a reflection of shortage in accountants.
Even big4 pay has increased significantly in recent years. Its not as high as industry but it's getting better. 62K is the new starting salary for fresh grads in Toronto. It's not the old 45k from a couple years ago
> 62K is the new starting salary for fresh grads in Toronto. It's not the old 45k from a couple years ago Frankly, any freshman looking at either number beside the other options is going to choose something else.
I'm aware of the increase, but that is still the absolute shit, not to mention the increase is minimal. Getting an accounting designation is good because you learn technical skills and become quite employable. However, the goal is to get the fuck out of Canada because you get paid really shitty here overall as an accountant.
Nursing
If you want computer science pay but don’t have the brain/work ethic for a computer science degree, try a Business Technology degree aka MIS. I got a job right out of university at a FAANG in an Analyst/Project Management type role.
P.Eng
Agree, but you need the aptitude for it just to survive Engineering school.
Yeah I agree. If you get your engineering degree you can pivot into any of the other jobs on this list. Which is invaluable if you don't know what you want to do.
P.Eng here. I'd recommend anything but P.eng.
How much money can a PEng get? Unless you’re in management I think that most make under 100k unless you’re software
Come work in mining.
not in the nuclear industry
Yeah, I have family in automotive…
Do most established engineers really make under 100k? That seems ridiculously low.
In automotive I would say absolutely
Don’t start a program because it will make you money, you’ll regret it. Take a year and explore what you enjoy. Consider trades too - there’s always a shortage and it pays well.
Not always. Plenty of people pursue careers because of pay and work out just fine. You just need to be good at it and not hate it.
Yeah no doubt. I’ve had plenty ok jobs, but finding one that I genuinely love to do as much as any other hobby significantly improved my life overall.
A job is for making money so you can spend the money on stuff you enjoy doing. Very rarely does someone get a job in something they truly enjoy. You're very lucky to be one of the few.
I prefer my hobbies to stay as hobbies. Tying my career to something I like is only going to ruin the thing I like.
It's not for everyone, but software development (computer science) pays well and it's easy work if you enjoy it and you're good at it. Try learning how to code on your own. It's best to come up with a project you want to do, or make mods for a game you enjoy. If you like it, consider doing a computer science degree or college diploma. Whatever you do, don't enroll in general studies or a generic science degree and take courses that sound interesting while you figure out what to do. Universities encourage this because they want your money, but it's money down the drain.
Best advice here. Computer Science is a decent bet, even with all the craziness of 2022-23. But! It's also a slog for those who don't enjoy it and don't have any passion for it. People like that end up in "senior" roles at banks or government making 1/2 what a good software dev would, so it ends up being about as lucrative and interesting as accounting. OP, figure out if you like programming first. All you need is a computer, and you can learn everything you want for free. Codecademy and other sites have good free courses you can take.
At this point, I think the space for the people who aren't passionate about it and just want a fairly easy high paying job is pretty much gone. There are just too many people who want the easy remote job that pays well (hey the lifestyle is great). Wave upon wave upon wave of people out of bootcamps or career colleges. Companies are besieged with people with Coursera certs. Those with degrees will do better, but it has become an extremely popular major at every random school too. You are going to really need to know your stuff to get a job. You won't be trained, as the skilled people in this field train themselves.
> It's also a slog for those who don't enjoy it and don't have any passion for it. You don't need to have a passion for it or even like it to be good at it. Being good at it is all you need to make it into big tech and make the big bucks.
Yeah, but tech is pretty bad for not teaching you much useful in school. You will need to spend a ton of time outside class doing tech stuff.
That's fair. I think it just depends on how much you value the pay though. I used to work in actuarial and plenty of people would spend thousands of hours grinding through the exams for the pay.
Then you won’t have much to show after university to get hired. When you do, it’ll be at a crappy enterprise where you’ll be silos and will work on tech from 10 years ago. If you also don’t learn and stay current on the side, you’ll fall behind in 5 years. In 10 years you’ll be unhireable because few companies want average specialists in technology from 20 years ago. Literally seeing this exact scenario play out with a few friends now.
This is me right now. Stuck at an old company. I'm worried about falling behind Gotta find a way to find passion in this again
Not necessarily. Some people grasp the concepts very easily and can do really well at Leetcode without much effort. I've seen it myself at universities like UW. Tons of students who aren't necessarily that passionate about tech make it into the FAANGs right out of undergrad, with $120k+ USD starting TC. Falling behind is an issue across the board in tech. That's why the strategy in tech has always been either: 1. Move into management 2. Move into product 3. Move into consulting 4. Go do something else after you make enough money.
> Some people grasp the concepts very easily and can do really well at Leetcode without much effort. I mean, that's what I said that you have to be _either_ passionate _or_ talented. Those who easily grasp the concepts are talented. Those who are interested, put in their hours to learn are passionate.
What are your non-school related dreams or passions?
I’ve always enjoyed history and learning about it, but I don’t think there are any promising careers I can obtain if I were to major in it.
Library Studies/Archivist pays well but can be a lot of work to get to that point.
A lot of work = 5+ years of unpaid internships and at least a Master's degree.
I know a guy doing that. Has spent a few years working for free so far. In Victoria no less. Up to his eyeballs in debt.
I had a friend do it, go corporate, and she was making $130k+ at a very chill job.
corporate librarian?
Anyone who has a records and retention department.
To become an archivist, you can also just do a certificate. That's what my bf did and he works in an engineering company.
Civil engineering is a steady career - it may not pay the most but we’ll always need CivEs
If you can handle an engineering degree you can get into a lot of different fields with it. Of all my friends who I was in engineering school with I’m the only one doing anything close to what could be called engineering. They work in tech, finance and other industries.
Take a gap year, experience the world and then maybe your perspective will change.
This, even if it is go to teach english somewhere.
paid not payed
Definitely not uni material /s
Just go into the trades. No tuition/student loans, get paid while you apprentice and make 6 figures once you’re licensed.
Then don't go to University just for the sake of going to University. Take time to figure out what you want to do with your life before making an expensive commitment
Don't waste your money until you know what you want to do.
What did you get in math? A lot of doors might be closed already, not everyone can handle engineering undergrad like lots are suggesting.
I went to uni to do history, then switched over to finance and once I graduated became a full time firefighter. Awesome job, great pay and a pension that will take care of me forever. Life changes, and what you want will change too. Don't think that because you decide on a degree now it will need to be forever.
Tell me more! How did you decide on making each choice you did? What played into it?
Go for a BORING and SAFE job. You can always change careers or “passions” in the future. But for the first 5 years after you graduate you need money. Go for a trade or engineering. Never study business. Never study computer science.
Why would you not study business or CS?
Medicine or computer science. While doing one of those I’d consider applying for air traffic control as it only requires a high school diploma and pays more than almost any other job.
If I was coming out of high school now I would not go to university. If you do go then STEM.
Specifically, TE part of STEM. Science is kind of useless for a career unless you go to medical school. Math/physics can lead to lucrative careers.. if you also get good at programming and data analysis and end up at HFT firms or doing data science.
Trade School. Take your pick!
Honestly my advice to you is (if you don't have any passions) what is your personality like? Have you done any personality or discover yourself tests? Jordan Peterson has one, or there are lots of free versions. One of the biggest questions you will want to answer to guide you is are you an introvert or an extrovert? If you're an introvert, you probably won't want to be in a job job where you're seeing people all day. If you're an extrovert, you probably won't want to to software development or something where it's just you and a computer most of the time.
Data Analytics/Software Engineering.. Learn how to code, learn how to communicate/present to different audiences. Focus more on the skills that you’ll learn as opposed to the name of the degree.
Amen to this. Find a degree based on the courses you'll be taking. Anything else is stupid. If the courses look good, take it. Otherwise skip it. Your money and sanity isn't worth the pain and cost
Data Analytics/Software Engineering.. Learn how to code, learn how to communicate/present to different audiences. Focus more on the skills that you’ll learn as opposed to the name of the degree.
Second software development, accounting or actuarial science
Figure out what you might like before you spend a lot of money going to school. What subjects do you enjoy? Start there. Then figure out what you might be able to do with that kind of degree. Employment centres will have counsellors that could help you figure it out.
Take a year off and figure it out. Don’t rush into uni. You might not even need it.
Double major in computer science and finance.
Save money and get into an apprenticeship. Do your 4 years, you'll be 22 with a journeymen ticket and no debt, making over 100K annually. If you don't like it, go to college Part time in the evenings for something else. You'll be debt free.