<p>So, if you graduate with your eminently respectable major in engineering, and you don’t get a job for whatever reason, what happens then?</p>
<p>join wall street protest?</p>
<p>don’t worry, there are plenty of those around. the school tells us the baby boomer generation engrs are retiring and we’re next in line to fill the void. but either that adviser is smoking crack, or he’s just trying to fill us up with false optimism. the truth is everybody is getting screwed in some way right now</p>
<p>"…why don’t people just go to a community college for two years, get an Associate’s, and end up with a job in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Dental Hygeine, or Nuclear Medicine Technology? All are two-year degrees that pay on average more than $60,000 a year."</p>
<p>I can tell you that most people graduating with 2 year Nuc Med degrees are not finding work. Most employers are only hiring the B.S. in Nuclear Med. My daughter has a B.A. in Gen Science & Hospital Admin. & B.S. in Nuclear Med (from the #1 Nuc Med University in the US) and still had a heck of a time finding a job. She was told by employers that they threw out the 2 year apps in favor of the Bachelors. She did get a job, but not without much anxiety! </p>
<p>It’s a tough job market out there.</p>
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<p>Because the Great Higher Education Bubble hasn’t popped and given prospective college students a reality check…yet…</p>
<p>I do a little. I am glad my university is not too expensive but I just don’t know what I want to do career-wise at all. I go back and forth but I do worry about it. I wish I was more into math/science things but I would probably be just as confused about career options.</p>
<p>I’m planning on getting a degree in Russian and/or International Studies and I expect a 6-figure salary. It’s called medical school.
You truly can study whatever you want in undergraduate school and still receive a high-paying job if you go to graduate/professional school. And no, I don’t think my major/s is a waste of time. I am studying what I enjoy in undergraduate school and I will graduate without any debt.</p>
<p>@dogbreath</p>
<p>You can also expect 6 figure debt</p>
<p>6 figure medical school debt, yes. Every graduate has to deal with that.</p>
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<p>You clearly don’t meet that many then.</p>
<p>Also, it’s easy to dismiss financial concerns if you don’t have a family to support, and a lot of people on this forum, I suspect, do not. Neither do I (yet), but a lot of us will someday.</p>
<p>Tom is right. I see so many people on the FA forum say “oh, that will be no big deal!” (with regards to high loan payments). What they fail to realize is that those payments are for at least 10 very long years. That means you’ll be in your early 30s when they end, wanting to start a family (likely) or already having a young family, with very little savings. Your 20s are also a time to save up to buy cars, houses, etc- all very difficult to do with high payments on student loans.</p>
<p>If you live within your means and not have offspring until you can afford to provide for them then you shouldn’t have that problem now should you? Reproducing is a voluntary act and I’m sick of entitled under-achievers thinking that I should pay for their negligent mistakes!</p>
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<p>I agree 100%</p>
<p>Saying life is not about money is extremely naive. There is so much in life you are missing out because you are not able to afford it. Sure you can say with a purest attitude that money doesn’t limit happiness, but it surely helps. Having enough money to not worry about it is basically what then transforms you to not having life to be about money. Of course don’t pick a major you don’t like but look at the major that you do like and consider whether you, when trying to have a family, kids, a wife, and all the other modern day luxuries, are you going to be able to sustain and build that? A lot of the time the answer is going to be no. Don’t kid yourselves. Living without adequate monetary support is hard. And college, answering your first question, isn’t that much about education that much. Connections and the brand name do count. Does Harvard give you more of an education than GWU? No of course not. But 99/100 people would rather go to Harvard. </p>
<p>Double major in practical and somewhat enjoyable+your passion. Unless you fully realize the consequences. Then go for it.</p>
<p>At some point it doesn’t matter if you’re making $140K a year or $140M a year, you’re gonna be living comfortably either way.</p>
<p>“At some point it doesn’t matter if you’re making $140K a year or $140M a year, you’re gonna be living comfortably either way.”</p>
<p>In some areas of the country, $140K isn’t even enough to live comfortably. Also, it really depends on the individual to define “comfortable.” Kids who were raised in households with low incomes will probably be comfortable with $100K. Those who were raised with 6-figure incomes and higher will expect greater. It’s a part of human nature.</p>
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<p>That’s an opinion. Really, I grew up lower-middle class and then poverty (after my dad’s accident) from middle school up until very recently. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything really. If you grew up expecting certain things then I could see how an income drop would give you that perspective. But that’s all it is- one perspective. An opinion. Except for maybe traveling (which I’ve been able to do given life decisions), there’s nothing in my life that I splurge on to miss out on. The best things in life, in my opinion, are usually free or cheap. Swimming is cheap. My dog is fairly cheap. My boyfriend is free. Playing cards with my friends is free. Best things in life right there :). </p>
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<p>Lol. I said nothing about anyone paying for anyone. I don’t think anyone did. But nice try ■■■■■. No noms for you this time :).</p>
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<p>Romani speaks wisdom.</p>
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<p>I honestly don’t. My school’s engineering program is a joke.</p>
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Yes, but those are very specific areas, usually about a mile wide. For example, the richest parts of Long Island or Manhattan. But there are plenty of great places in NYC you could live in comfortably with less than that. Or Beverly Hills, but there are plenty of other places in LA you could live comfortably in.</p>