<p>I mean, to pay close to 200 grand for four years, get a degree on say economics or whatever it is you need/are interested in, and once out in the job market what happens?</p>
<p>Don’t you need several other stuff to get the job you want? By saying jobs I mean jobs that pay highly, like consulting, investment, banks, or what have you. I bet nobody probably wants to work in a dead-end job having paid so much in college, right? Plus I’m an international student not having applied financial aid and comparatively our incomes barely fit in the American middle class (definitely under 180000/year).</p>
<p>I’ve been at Brown for three years, but I’m not sure what I should be doing with the degree.</p>
<p>I’ve seen Brown grads go to, say, McKinsey or Harvard Med School, but I’ve equally heard of Ivy League grads who serve colas at downtown diners.</p>
<p>Looking at the US news rankings, thinking about my mediocre grades, looking at my upcoming bursar tuition statements, and the upcoming graduation, I’m so anxious that I just can’t get any sleep. </p>
<p>*tip for those of you who don’t have any future plans after graduation: MAKE SOME.</p>
<p>dontknowjack: I am sensing a schizophrenic poster. dontknowjack, dontknowsoldierprivate, oh you don’t know about soldierprivate, or do you know? It is a government coverup. He actually goes to both UChicago AND Brown majoring and concentrating in Econ and econ. He is going to take over the world. </p>
<p>I feel like if you concentrate in something you love, meet a lot of people in the process, launch events, groups, and etc., you will easily find a job. Sure, you might be busting tables for a year or so, but I can guarantee you if you keep looking and trying to network with Brown alums/peers you will land a career.</p>
<p>For anyone, especially lurkers taking soldierprivate for what he says he is (schizophrenically, but taking him), I’ll offer a different perspective: I’m going to be a first year student. Yes, I got some financial aid, but I’ll be going tens of thousands in debt (or rather, my parents will, with the understanding that I’m to pay them back after I graduate). I had the option of going to Brown or a mediocre state school. On paper, if I worked my butt off and did well in state, I could land a nice job with a physics degree, maybe go to a decent graduate school for physics or engineering. But I was a high school senior, who in the last year had changed his plans from majoring in international studies, to industrial engineering, to physics. How was I going to know what I actually wanted to major in? And at my state school, once you choose a path, your classes work towards that one path. And I was turned off when my counselor told me to drop Chinese, because it wasn’t needed for my major (physics).</p>
<p>So, I had a choice: go to a state school where I’d probably be top-of-the class, breeze through classes just like high school, know waaay too many people there, but come out with no debt. OR I could choose Brown: meet a network of people in great careers, study what I wanted the first few years to figure out what path I actually wanted to take, so that I’d end up in a career that fit me. Even if it means going into debt, typically Brown grads earn ~10-20k more than my state school’s, so I just have to live within my means for a few (maybe 5) years and pay off my debt. But I’ll be paying it off most likely doing work I love, because I majored in something I love doing, rather than the path I decided in high school. I’m pretty sure I’d rather work an extra 5 years in something I love than work fewer years in something I’m just okay with. PLUS I get the Brown social/intellectual experience, which in itself is something worth paying for</p>
<p>Despite the inauspicious opening to this thread I do agree with this statement by the original poster:
</p>
<p>To turn this thread subject constructive:</p>
<p>There are studies like the PayScale study that show how those with a Brown degree do in terms of salary against its peers and other universities. Note however that the PayScale study accounts for salaries of those with only an undergraduate degree and omit the rather high percentage that go on to obtain professional and graduate degrees. It also factors in the graduates who choose full-time low pay social work like Teach for America and Peace Corps. Many Brown graduates go on to obtain higher degrees and a number of graduates begin their post-college life doing full-time social work for some time. The same can be said of other Ivy graduates and top tier universities (i.e. it’s all kind of a wash).</p>
<p>Certainly we are facing difficult economic times and most experts forecast that a recovery in manufacturing, earnings, and GDP will not result in an immediate burst of jobs. The high unemployment figures may linger for quite a while before the now more fiscally conservative businesses begin to slowly hire again. Preservation and cash positioning currently trumps growth in the minds of CEOs and business owners. Unfortunately the demographic to feel the brunt of the downsizing and cost cutting has been recent college graduates vying for entry-level positions. Easier to keep and squeeze more out of an experience and proven worker than risk hiring someone who will require training and is a wildcard.</p>
<p>Takeaway point is business hiring decisions have so much more to contend with than where your college stands on the USN&WR list (oh no, Brown is the lowest Ivy so we won’t hire any of them, sheesh). This was true during better times and even more so now. They want to see what you bring to the table and if you’ve crafted your undergraduate experience to match their needs. This can be said of professional school admissions, graduate school admissions, and jobs in any sector. You have to structure your time judiciously and Brown is an institution that hands you the reins to your future. Ample guidance is offered, you just need to make use of it. Attend the pre-professional society meetings if you think you might be at all interested, go listen to career talks and attend career fairs even if you aren’t a senior, visit the career office early and often, talk to professors and advisers openly about your career interests.</p>
<p>As others have said, one nice feature of Brown’s Open Curriculum is that you can change your major to something you truly love and are passionate about if your tastes change without too much, if any, penalty to your eventual career opportunities. Brown students are known for their independence, moxie, and ability to think outside the box. Many land jobs with a clear advancement ladder, others carve out their own path by becoming entrepreneurs. The revamped and highly improved Brown Career Office job board lists jobs for a select consortium of university graduates and also Brown-only posted jobs. On-campus recruitment and interviewing still continues. While many businesses have shrunk or failed, unfavorable economic trends expose business models that are outdated or inefficient and were viable only because of booming times. This means there is opportunity for those intrepid enough to spot them. Think about utilizing the many features of Brown to craft and mold yourself into someone that possess a unique skill set that would make you stand out and bring a new perspective on things. Keep your chin up, you had the facilities to make it into Brown, you certainly have the facilities to be successful the rest of your life.</p>