I have flip flopped on what degree I would pursue since I started school. I stopped over thinking and I have been working towards my finance degree. I have 39 credits, which is mostly core classes with some business core too. With this semester almost over and having to pick classes for the next, I am becoming so stressed that I will finish my finance degree and hate my job and my life. Most of everything I read about people in the finance, say they hate it; working 60-80 hours a week, doing spreadsheets and modeling.
I thought about doing a two year program in biomedical engineering technology at my community college. This is a hospital setting, working on medical equipment, and 40 hour weeks. Only thing is, you pretty much hit your salary ceiling right away. I live in Connecticut (high living costs) and the median is $65,000 a year. The only way to increase your salary is to get a bachelors in engineering to become a manager. Problem is, no university will accept all the credits for the A.S. BET. They only take about 27 credits. So, I will lose 26 of my already earned credits plus another 40 credits if I wanted to get my bachelors in engineering.
Do I stick with my finance degree and hope for the best?
You already know you are going to hate it – what you have heard is not wrong. If i were you, I’d talk to the career office at your school. There are lots of other choices besides the two you are looking at (for example, quite a few other business major field besides finance that are often less stressful and maybe more interesting).
A business/finance degree will allow you to enter many different career paths - it’s a great foundation (I speak from experience). However, if you don’t love finance and don’t want to work in that area, then now is the time to either change your major or add another major/minor in a different field that makes you more ‘sell-able’.
Trust me, most people end up working in fields only somewhat or not at all related to their majors; however, if you really don’t like what you are learning, now is definitely the time to do something about it!
I haven’t taken any specific finance classes yet. I have taken Organizational behavior, economics, and I am currently taking business law. All three I have really enjoyed, especially business law. Is that any indication that I will like finance?
You do not seem to be happy as a finance concentrator. Go find another major. There are many, many happy finance concentrators, but you are not one of them. It is ok. Having a happy life is what you need.
Those are not indicators. Only finance classes will tell you.
I switched majors junior year. I’ve been working in my degree discipline now for 20+ years.
If u REALLY HATE your present major, then switch while u still can.
A word of caution about biomedical engineering. To pursue a well-paid career in that discipline typically requires a graduate level degree.
To say that “everyone” who works in finance hates it is ridiculous. My D works in finance and seems to love her job. She finds it challenging and interesting. Being paid well doesn’t hurt either. It fits her personality for now at least. At this point she is a VP. We’ll see where her career goes.
My father also worked in finance in a very different job. He didn’t hate it. Would not say he loved it. But he tried various jobs in his career. He probably would have rather been a professional musician or work for a newspaper. Haha But he was a married man with a wife and 4 kids to support. ( I am a boomer., so those were the times.) He did music as an extracurricular activity, i.e. hobby.
But you need to take a finance course to see if it interests you. There are many different jobs in finance.
If law interests you, maybe law school is in order. But be sure you research job opportunities. There are a lot of law school grads who can’t get jobs.
I work in finance. I have a job where I work 7am to 4pm (to avoid traffic), and rarely work after hours. I love what I do, and the pay is excellent.
Finance is as varied as engineering or medicine.