<p>Something also to consider is that many jobs/careers that are viable today didn't even exist 20 years ago. Beware overspecialization. 1905 was a bad year to apprentice to a buggy whip maker.</p>
<p>Economics, Finance or Accounting are great undergrad degrees to have for people that want to eventually go work in the corporate world. You would probably need to eventually get an advanced degree (MBA or JD). Some career paths in medium to large business corporations include the Finance functions and Corporate Law departments.</p>
<p>Areas that usually fall within the Finance Department:
Treasury function - handling the cash flow and investing functions.
Budgeting - preparing future year projections and annual budgets.
Controller - oversees the accounting records and preparation of financial statements.
Corporate Tax - Planning: Plans and projects the tax costs involved in ongoing operations as well as major transactions. Tax legal research is a big componant of this function. Compliance: Preparation of the multitude of various tax filings required (Federal, State and Local Income, Franchise, Sales, Property etc.). Audits - Works with Federal and State auditors to provide the information they request, explain transactions and provide legal support for such transactions.</p>
<p>In a Corporate Law Department you may find attorneys specializing in any of the following: Trademark, Patent, Real Estate, Employement Law, Benefits, Mergers and Acquisitions, Contract Law, Advertising Claims etc. </p>
<p>Some other corporate areas that can be interesting: Public Relations, Government Relations, Benefits Management, Human Resources, Quality Control and Assurance, Internal Auditor, Facilities Management, Purchasing Control, Customs and Duties Specialist, Inventory Control etc. Many corporate websites have an employment section that lists various open positions and gives decriptions. Thats a great place to learn about the type of jobs the exist.</p>
<p>My experience in de-beaking of game birds involved a hot iron type tool used to melt back part of the beak so it was blunt. I'd bet they still do it this way today. You just had to be careful not to go too far into the beak and burn the tongue.</p>
<p>As to real jobs, the world of commercial real estate is generally pretty open and most people make a very good living without the weekends ands nights involved in residential. Brokerage, finance, consulting, and development are all good areas depending on personality and skills. The average commercial broker at a large firm makes around $500K</p>
<p>There are actual majors in Construction Management these days.</p>
<p>Recreation Management field is a 'fun' area - lots of opportunities all over the world - not the greatest $$ - but not every one is destined to be rich.</p>
<p>
[quote]
1905 was a bad year to apprentice to a buggy whip maker.
[/quote]
But you can make a life if you change with the technology. My grandpa was a harness maker, leather worker in the "old country." After he came to America, he joined someone else to buy into an autobody shop in ca. 1920 or so. He used his skills to make canvas tops for cars, do the interior seat covers, and the like -- and his sons learned how to work a mean sewing machine. The auto body shop (which still exists in Waterbury, CT, but is no longer in the family) was also a "design" shop, where they would outfit racing cars -- building the bodies on top of the frames and engines, etc., for cars that raced all over New England. A lot of repeat business as crashed cars had to come in for a new body as well as repair on the operating parts. </p>
<p>The boys (my dad and his brothers) had great fun driving to pick up cars from NY, CT, MA, RI to bring back in for refitting. One of my uncles could still really sew things many years later. My dad took the next step and became an engineer, and all the sibs got good technical educations.</p>
<p>So training in buggy-whips might be regarded as a decent start if you're flexible and go with the flow later on and also make sure your kids don't get stuck in a rut.</p>
<p>Mackinaw, true, but that's exactly the illustration: you're picking up skills, not an iron-clad career.</p>
<p>Agreed! At least that buggy whip maker had some real underlying skills, including those of a businessman.</p>
<p>My nephew (husband's side) is a Patent Lawyer, and his sister is a Physician's Assistant. They both make a pretty decent salary, and love what they're doing. These are both "service" jobs, and it seems that the only growth careers left in America are those that provide a service that cannot be performed over the telephone from India.</p>
<p>I worry about job opportunities for my D. She's a physics major who has dreams of a career research. I somehow doubt that there are many opportunities of that sort. She's not the corporate type at all, and is somewhat shy, so any job requiring a gregarious personality are not on her radar. What the heck does one do with physics (she understands that she will need at least a master's degree in this discipline)?</p>
<p>Poetsheart, I can tell you that a lot of undergrad physics majors parlay their math skills in other fields. Some apply them in engineering. Some in business and finance. Some in communications or computers. My brother parlayed his physics major into a career as a, um, physicist! He could have done a lot worse! (He did go on to earn a PhD in physics on top of his BS.)</p>
<p>sid19, my cousin is a piano tuner. Low pay, travel (since pianos won't come to you), fairly physical, perfect pitch a plus; demand seems high and she enjoys it. Flexible hours.</p>
<p>A friend of mine in med school had been a bee hive inspector in rural PA. She's glad she now has that skill to fall back on to make ends meet!</p>
<p>There is actually a guy who tests Lazy Boys and gets paid for it. Chicken debeaker sounds like a horribly bloody job. I am one of those people who if I had to personally kill the meat, would probably be a vegetarian.</p>
<p>I often thought it would be interesting to do what Lucy Jones does as a seismologist for the USGS.
<a href="http://www.scec.org/instanet/00news/feature001109jones.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.scec.org/instanet/00news/feature001109jones.html</a></p>
<p>I agree with geologist (I too am one...)...</p>
<p>The #1 disgusting job I've heard of is...</p>
<p>Artificial inseminator (i.e. for poultry or cattle)</p>
<p>Where I grew up there was actually a place that artificialy inseminated chickens...that must be a nasty job!</p>
<p>For other nasty jobs...check out Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel...I watched it a few times and was enlightened (not to mention sickened :p)</p>
<p>There is always organ tuner. According to my piano tuner (who went to a special school to learn this -- he also restores old pianos which can be lucrative), there aren't too many of them at all. He knows of one in the entire Baltimore/Washington area, so he can basically charge whatever!</p>
<p>The worst job I ever heard of was something one of my husband's co-workers did one summer. He was a chicken stuffer -- grabbing the chickens and putting them into cages before transport. They would squawk, thrash about, try to peck him, and, uh, do what birds do when they are scared. And he had to do this for hours ...</p>
<p>Seriously now, if I were to give advice it would be to first figure out what you enjoy doing. What sort of atmosphere do you like -- an office, outdoors, traveling around; working by yourself or with others; etc. What type of work interests you and what sort of subject do you enjoy studying? Then research how you can make a living at doing what you like.</p>
<p>Don't go into something JUST because you think you will earn a good living. You may hate the training for such a job and the job itself. Due to supply and demand (people flocking into fields where they think the demand will be), something well-paying with lots of job opportunities today may not be that way in the future.</p>
<p>Do you have any majors that appeal to you? I believe there are books and web sites out there where you can see what people can do with particular majors.</p>
<p>I always liked "sensory analyst".....checking out the qualities of various foods....lets just call it nasal appraisal that pays.</p>
<p>This job, <a href="http://mccormick.kenexa.com/mccormickv4/newhr/jobdesc.asp?ID=1120%5B/url%5D">http://mccormick.kenexa.com/mccormickv4/newhr/jobdesc.asp?ID=1120</a>, with McCormick spices, requires a grad degree and some serious math skills.</p>