Career Plan? Need advice from the experienced.

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I'm currently a senior at an engineering high school. Most of my courses for the past 4 years have been in engineering, math, and sciences (besides the graduation requirements like english, history, etc). I've enjoyed the engineering courses very much, and I've done very well in them (they are college level PLTW classes, dual enrollment with RIT, so they're not just "baby engineering" classes, we actually design circuits, build things, do CAD modeling, etc). </p>

<p>I've also just been accepted to the engineering school at Rice University. I enjoyed my Digital Electronics class very much so I'm thinking of going into the Electrical/Computer engineering path. </p>

<p>The problem is, I don't see myself being an engineer for the rest of my life. I've been reading a lot of posts in this forum and a lot of people (but not everyone) seem to think that in their own experience there is not much room for advancement in engineering. Though I understand that it's very important to have a job that you love, I also want to be very well off financially. I don't care about the respect or prestige (there was a whole thread about that); but I do want enough financial stability to be able to live comfortably, visit family in other countries, put kids through college without having to take out loans, etc. I do understand that nothing is guaranteed, and your career is what you make of it.</p>

<p>By doing a little research I've found that getting an undergraduate degree in engineering then going into management/finance/consulting is a popular path. I like business and I think I could see myself working in that field. So, here is my "ignorant high school kid career plan":</p>

<p>-Get undergrad engineering degree
-If I find that I like finance/business, try to get a job in that area
-Get an MBA after a few years of working
-Live happily ever after</p>

<p>I want to see what some of the experienced engineers, parents, or adults in general think. I know that it's way too early for me to have things figured out that far ahead, and I realize that my interests may very well change in college. I might end up dropping engineering for underwater basket weaving, who knows. But it doesn't hurt to start thinking about it, right?</p>

<p>So adults - what do you think? Am I setting myself up for failure or am I on the right track somehow?</p>

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<p>bump ?</p>

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<p>I think that going into business is a very valid plan, but that you should not let a bunch of people on a message board with axes to grind scare you off of being an engineer when you're not in college yet.</p>

<p>Business is a risky field too. Most engineers do not become rich, but neither do most MBAs.</p>

<p>Even with a mid-level salary, you can have serious money, though not without effort and risk and a little luck (all of which you would need to make serious money anyway). Investing can be very fruitful, and saving when you're young and don't have a family to support can pay off later.</p>

<p>Rice is a fine school and will put you in a position for pretty solid jobs whether you are in engineering or business.</p>

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<p>Thanks, jessie.</p>

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<p>Another thing to note. I am not saying that engineering does not have its problems. It does. And I don't mean to invalidate the complaints of the people on this board.</p>

<p>But pretty much every profession seems to suffer from the "grass is always greener in somebody else's yard" syndrome. Here, I see engineers angst about the lack of opportunity in engineering. I've seen scientists angsting about what a horrible career science is and how people shouldn't go into it. I've seen plenty of lawyers angsting about how unless you're a top student, the job market is terrible and there's no future in the profession. People in i-banking might have enough money to, say, raise a family, but they angst about not having enough time to spend with that family, and the cutthroat nature of the profession. Entrepreneurs angst about their lack of stability/job security.</p>

<p>Everyone has their problems.</p>