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[Quan Chi2]

For the last 7 or 8 months of my life, I've been thinking about my future(don't ask why because I don't even know why). I keep thinking about my children and my wife and my job. I can't seem to figure out what I want to earn my degree in when I enter college. My teachers say that Its normal, but for some reason I don't think it is. I feel very insecure about my future. I love to work with computers. I'm also interested in making electronics like robots and machines for factories, or even toys and media hardware(like ipods and mp3 players). The thing is, I don't want to be poor. Thats pretty much the bottom line. I don't want to pay bills with my entire paycheck or live kind of like I'm living now(nothing wrong. Not struggling. Middle/working class.) where-as my father pays most of the bills and we don't really do much because of those bills(hes too stressed and I don't want to be stressed over money problems too much or too long). I actually can't say that I know how hard it is to have to support a family and support myself at the same time when I have bills and big responsibilities, so I want to be financially stable ASAP when I get out of college. Of course, I'll have to pay back student loans and I'll have to support myself, but I figure, thats where my education/skill comes in. I want to do something with a lot of money involved(I'm sure I'm not the only one), but I want to enjoy my job at the same time. I'm not looking to slack and get money, but if the situation calls for that, then I might as well take it if its legal and will get me through life without having to struggle with my family. If its a bumpy start at first when I enter the "real world," then I expect that, but I don't want to be on a bumpy road for more than 10 years.

So I think I should start kind of early on making a decision on what I'm going to do. What will be my game plan? Should I get into marketing? Some type of business oriented field? I want to know more than one trade on my belt. That way, if one skill doesn't work, then I can use the other skill and perhaps I could put both skills together.

Any ideas?

**I hope that you understood what I meant. I didn't want to seem stupid. I'm serious about this. I'm about to start making really important decisions and I need ideas. My father really sparked these thoughts actually. He told me that building robots won't get me any money(I don't believe him). So I don't want to let me relatives down because of what I become and what I study to become. I also don't want to be in a bad position in the long run.

[Chambahs]

Nobody cares, and nobody can tell you what to do with your life instead of yourself, so go ask your friends, if you have any, which i doubt, and building robots sucks

[Quan Chi2]

Don't be an asshole, Chambahs. Atleast I'm trying to plan for my furture. I'm just looking for some advice from different people with different point of views. Quite frankly, no one really has to give a damn, but it would be nice to get some significant input on the subject.

[Mine GO BOOM]

Wife and kids at your age already? Nice...

Onto something that can help you: find people in the field(s) you enjoy. Go send emails out to companies that produce robots, find someone to actually respond to your inquiries. Get someone who is actually doing what you want to do, and ask them about how to get into that field. What classes would they recommend that were helpful? What would be a normal starting job to get experience?

Ask people doing things that you want to do, not us. I've built a robot, had fun doing it, but have no idea how to enter the field.

[Smong]

If you're still at school they may have one of those people that comes in once a year to talk about jobs. Or if you're at college/uni maybe even a whole careers office.

Edit: Short Circuit 1/2 are good films about a robot.

[Quan Chi2]

MGB: Okay. That sounds good. I'll take your advice and send emails to companies that produce robots/electronics to respond to my inquiries.

Smong:Yeah, they we have career day. I'll check my calendar for when that is, but I think its at the end of the year.

So you gave me some advice on what to do to decide what I'd like to do pertaining to robots/electronics, but what about money? I think its a very important part of life. Maybe I'm wrong? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Purge]

If you're really thinking about your future and want a good money-making job, go for medicine.

What I'm going to do in my university is major in a Biology course and minor in a business administration course. With this, you'll have a strong background in science and are set for medical school. If your college/uni has Pre-Med, take it... it's good practice for the MCATs.

Hopefully, once you start to practice medicine you'll hopefully specialize in a field (like Internal medicine or surgery). If you're lucky enough, your business background may even land you a spot as a medical administrator at a hospital, so you can be a practicing doctor and a white collar worker simultaneously.

Speaking to your guidance counselor is an even better approach than speaking to any of us, anyway.

[Quan Chi2]

Well medicine is interesting sometimes, but I like computer technology better.

I understand that docs can own their own clinics and make s a lot of money, but I want to do something like that in a more technological field. I'll look into what I can do.

[Agurus]

A.) Get your dick out of growing vaginas.
B.) Your not married nor have children.
> If you do then your fucked. This should have been though of before
C.) Your asking a damn forum to decide on your life, you should go to hell if you ask me.

D.) The best job would be to be a party boy (jackass)
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[Bak]

Software Engineer ftw

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/
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[Muskrat]

Sounds like you might enjoy electrical engineering or something, and those jobs pay pretty well out of the box. Just make sure you like math, though.

I get emails all the time about CS/Engineering internships for ppl graduating. College will defenitely hook you up as far as finding jobs.

[The Apache]

[Doc Flabby]

live and die by the roll of the dice.
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[Quan Chi2]

Bak: That helped a lot. Thanks.
Muskrat:Electrical engineering seems pretty interesting. It doesn't seem too hard to learn. I'll research that along with SE. I see that both fields are in high demand for math. I like math, but I'm not really good at it. I'm trying to improve my math grades. I hope that I'll be better at math when and if I ever decide to study both fields.

[Smong]

My current impression of software engineering is it's mostly essay writing, designing/planning type stuff, although I may be wrong.

[Quan Chi2]

Isn't that you major right now, Smong?

[wEaViL]

I can give you some advice based on my recent experiance. Growing up, I was raised working on cars. I love to fix anything and everything on a car. It was the best thing in the world. I went to school for 2 years to get my ASE (Automotive Service Exellentce) degree and a associates degree in automotive technology. While taking the classes I was doing co-op work at a dealership. At first it was fun but once I was put onto commision style pay (pay for the jobs you do) I found out I needed to find a new field. I knew mechanics didn't make a whole lot but they did make enough to live off of. Well after the first month of that I quit because for 2 weeks in a row I went to work for 60 hours a week but only made pay for 20 to 25 hours a week. I still love working on cars but as for a living, I found it was not as much fun. In other words, make sure you fully research the field you decide on and if at all possible find a local company that will let you tag along with a employee for a little bit one day so you can see how it is, how the job goes, and have a chance to talk to them and see what information they can give you about the job. Chances are, if they are in the field then it was something they probly loved to do before they started it and they can give you an idea of if its still as much fun as they thought it would be.

[Quan Chi2]

[CypherJF]

There is a need for people to have experience with Business Intelligence tools. This is something typically not taught by schools but companies (large companies) use all the time. I didn't even think about it until I got placed into the position as my entry-level job. Whatever you do go get a 4-year degree, get a high gpa (3.0 >), have projects to show your skills to potential employeers (grades are now seen as inflated and less of a factor for consideration), and be active in groups/projects.
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[Quan Chi2]

Excellent info there Cypher. I actually thought about working on a series of coding projects so that I may have something to present to interviewers and college reps. Do you think that if I compile a portfolio of my work and present it to college representatives while they are interviewing me, then do you think it would increase my chances of getting into a decent school(im just wondering)?

[CypherJF]

Into a school? I'm not sure. The tips I provided you are things I learned from interviewing with Fortune 500 companies.

[Muskrat]

Quan, I'd suggest that you put off career goals for now and concentrate on going to a college you will like. Start out with an undecided major, take a variety of core-credit classes(and CS/engineering to try that out) and decide after your first year. I've seen so many people who decide on a career in high school, then decide to change after more than a year in college--regretting the wasted time.

Cypher is right about joining groups. Holding a chair in some organization shows a differen't kind of responsibility than pure academics. This summer I worked at a freshmen camp and orientation. A big part of it was advising students. When starting out it is important not to lock yourself into anything in the first year or two, but then again, don't hesitate past that mark. A good liberal education is arguably a more important part of an education than specialization. Try to expose yourself to as many new things and ideas as possible.

[K']

[SamHughes]

Go into some science or engineering and get a good general science education along the way. Avoid fake courses taught in fake subjects (humanities and pseudosciences) and at some point in time, you might figure out what you want to do.

Quan, you're a better than average person, so you already have an advantage over most people. And don't worry a lot about your career; you don't want an anxious highschooler making a decision that will affect the rest of your life, do you?

If you are interested in some kind of science or engineering, which it seems like you will be, then go to college for what you are interested in, and you'll end up with abilities and knowledge that is useful to employers. That's the luxury that people interested in that sort of subject end up enjoying.

Oh, and be good at writing.

[Quan Chi2]

I never thought so hard about that: a decision that will affect the rest of my life. When you put it that way it seems to permanent. As funny as it may sound, its pretty frightening. So I should worry about my career like at the end of college?

Oh, and I can drop classes such as humanities?

If college is a place where I can choose my own courses, then I CAN'T WAIT.