Majors that will actually get me a decent paying job after college?

[dangeroushooks]

Sup ya'll. i'm a hs senior and i'm gonna go to college next year. at first i was gonna major in journalism b/c its what i wanna do but then i found out they don't make too much bread. i found my microeconomics class real interesting so im thinking about majoring in the econ field and hopefully have a better chance of getting a decent job that pays well. ya'll recommend any other majors where the job market for someone with a degree in that field is lookin good?

 

[tomdiginson]

If you choose your career path just because of the money, you may have a miserable life.:x. This may sound cliche, but Money cant buy you happiness.

 

[waitwut]

If you choose your career path just because of the money, you may have a miserable life.:x. This may sound cliche, but Money cant buy you happiness.

its time 2 stop posting bruh

 

[papageorgeo510]

Just start networking with people.

 

[iYen]

If you choose your career path just because of the money, you may have a miserable life.

. This may sound cliche, but Money cant buy you happiness.

Money can't buy happiness, but it will decrease your stress levels which will make you live longer.

 

[mkc1983]

engineer is perhaps the best undergrad choice to get a good job with just that degree, of course you need to get designation after graduating. you won't do much with just an undergrad economics degree. You'll have to get a masters or Ph.D to achieve a well paying job. journalism? that seems like a difficult field to get into, and I don't think all journalists need a journalism degree to enter that field.
alternatively, do what interests you in undergrad, while taking the required classes for a professional grad program, such as med school, law school, etc. you have to get good grades though.

edit: forgot to say finance and accounting are pretty decent undergrad choices as well.

 

[00david00]

If you choose your career path just because of the money, you may have a miserable life.:x. This may sound cliche, but Money cant buy you happiness.

while i agree money can't buy happiness...

at the end of the day, you get a job to make money. might as well get a decent pay check while you're at it and enjoy the perks

 

[ill steelo]

Engineering, finance, or accounting (especially big 4) are all great if you just want to do 4 years. Although if you wish to do audit in accounting you'll want to get your CPA which requires additional credit hours.

 

[elcatfisho]

do economics if you really enjoy the subject, or become an engineer . A computer science degree is also very useful nowadays.

Since the oil industry is rapidly expanding here in the US, geologists and petroleum engineers alike are in high demand for employment. You can be seeing $80k+ after graduating with a B.S. in those fields. I've heard from other students that seeing 6 figures is easily attainable after a few years on the job. That is a major that seems to be worth taking right around now. But do study whatever interests you most.

Also, check this site out. It has a lot of information on different careers:
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

Good luck on your decision.

 

[al audi]

Money can't buy happiness, but it will decrease your stress levels which will make you live longer.

The gym can do that my dude.

 

[DROMONTANA]

Computer Science.. gotta know them numbers though

 

[greatlife]

Computer Science, Most Nursing, But you cant go wrong with IT!!!

 

[fdub]

This is a good question.. What about majoring in Criminal Justice? Hopefully will be done in May 2013...

 

[eyanks]

engineering, accounting, teaching (depending on specialization/location), healthcare.

 

[jamesrustler]

Learn an actual technical skill:

Accounting

Engineering

Agricultural Sciences

Health Sciences (pre-med/med/dental, vet. nursing, genetics, biology)

Hard Sciences (chem. physics, geology)

Computer sciences

**** a liberal arts education. These days, higher ed is a zero-sum game. You use school or the schools (and lenders) use you. 

 

[jjs]

You will get the money no matter what you do if you're the best at what you're doing

 

[datznasty]

Go ATC in the Army, do your 5 yr or whatever the shortest commitment is they have, ETS out, collect 6 figures right off top. My last room mate did it. He was getting offers from airports all over the world too, not just in the US. He started at O'Hare but is at Key West now

 

[aeropower]

I think you should go into operations. Every company needs them, similarly to accounting/finance.

 

[munnnjee]

Anything relating to health or technology, the job outlook looks promising

If you want the quick money go with business but good luck finding a job

 

[munnnjee]

Oh yeah if anything stay away from family science and teaching, you hardly make any money.

 

[soundwav3]

Im in your position and I decided on nursing. 3-4 Working days a week. 65-75k starting salary (Not to sure about this, just from basic google search and word of mouth). Hopefully it works out. Interested in the above post about Air Traffic Control. Would love to work in O'Hare and get some free/discounted flights and see the world. Plus airports fascinate me.

 

[datznasty]

Im in your position and I decided on nursing. 3-4 Working days a week. 65-75k starting salary (Not to sure about this, just from basic google search and word of mouth). Hopefully it works out. Interested in the above post about Air Traffic Control. Would love to work in O'Hare and get some free/discounted flights and see the world. Plus airports fascinate me.

It's typically considered one of the most stressful professions though.

Here's some links though. I only know as much about it as what we talked about really. Median starting wage is listed at $120k or $59/hr. Here's some links to look at though. You can always talk to a recruiter too

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/air-traffic-controller-salary-SRCH_KO0,22.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/air-traffic-control.htm

http://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-j...nd-aviation/air-traffic-control-operator.html

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/15q.htm

 

[3am scholar]

STEM Majors.

 

[ill steelo]

Im in your position and I decided on nursing. 3-4 Working days a week. 65-75k starting salary (Not to sure about this, just from basic google search and word of mouth). Hopefully it works out. Interested in the above post about Air Traffic Control. Would love to work in O'Hare and get some free/discounted flights and see the world. Plus airports fascinate me.

It's typically considered one of the most stressful professions though.

Here's some links though. I only know as much about it as what we talked about really. Median starting wage is listed at $120k or $59/hr. Here's some links to look at though. You can always talk to a recruiter too

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/air-traffic-controller-salary-SRCH_KO0,22.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/air-traffic-control.htm

http://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-j...nd-aviation/air-traffic-control-operator.html

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjobs/a/15q.htm

How difficult is this?

 

[tml09]

Engineering, but not every discipline. People throw out Engineering as an umbrella term, when the market for some is better than others. I was doing Aerospace engineering before switching into Comp sci. My uncle has a few friends that are Aerospace engineers, and he said they were having a really tough time finding jobs. This was about two years ago, so I don't know how the market has changed. As was said above, petroleum engineers are in demand, as well as electrical and mechanical. The job climate, and a few other reasons led me to switch majors.

I switched into Computer Science. Contrary to popular belief, comp sci is not just programming . You have to learn actual computer science (like theory of computation and algorithm analysis), and software engineering. It's not just one dude sitting at a computer for hours at a time clicking some keys. It's working with a team to get things done. You need people skills, you have to be comfortable with math (discrete and linear algebra mostly, but you will need standard maths, such as calc 1-3), and you need to be able to think logically. I've collected a stack of books taller than I am about the subject, because there's so much there is assumed of you when you try to get a job. If you are wary of math, don't be. The reason a lot of people don't like math is because they just didn't learn it right, or were taught it in a way that made it seem like magic. If you want to take the time to learn math the correct way, I've found no better teacher than Sal at the Khan academy: http://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy?feature=results_main

Start from the basics, and keep going. I can't count the number of "Ohhhhhh"s or "aha" moments I had compared to the "swiss cheese" math knowledge I had. When you get to calculus, Michael Spivak's book is probably the most enlightening, and really easy to follow:

Amazon product ASIN 0914098918
Whenever your teacher assigns you a book, research the hell out of it. 9 times out of 10, your teacher has chosen the worst book on the subject. Research the available books and find one that doesn't suck. I'm a huge fan of self-studying, so a good book is worth its weight in gold to me.

If you think you might be interested, pick up a book on programming. Here's a pretty good one for free. It's about making games in Python. Python is really easy to learn, but it will teach you some fundamentals about programming, and a little about software engineering:

http://inventwithpython.com/


Final note: if you are comfortable with getting a minor in programming, that will really help you out. I know a few liberal arts majors, and some mathematics/statistics majors who are minoring in Computer Programming. It won't be as stressful as getting a double major, but you'll have an added skill that would make you more marketable. For those who are stuck in their major, or just can't justify switching majors, it can be a good idea.