What career advice

[Pete]

Teach them how to save and invest early no matter what path they decide to take.
Early Retirement Extreme: — written by Jacob Lund Fisker, Freelancer

 

[bright eyed]

I chose a major that I LOVED and it has helped me in every job - in terms of critical thinking skills and analysis. I had no idea what job it would carry me into but I knew I'd figure it out. I also worked a LOT in school and that helped me sort out my interests as well.

After seeing how people fared after high school - I think the key is for the individual to go to a school they will feel comfortable and get the options they need, don't just choose one school over the other because of prestige - and for goodness sakes don't overpay for school, everyone is so convinced college is a ticket to their future folks are paying ridiculous rates for mediocre education.

Pretty much everyone from my high school ended up fine or even better - really successful - without ever having taken honors courses or what not. The one thing we all had in common was that leadership and excellence were huge at our high school and most kids played some role in sports, arts, student activities etc and that translated into success later in life.

As someone who plays a role in hiring - i don't look too fondly at apps where they just went to school and did nothing else- didn't participate or lead in any organizations, work or other activity that shows their abilities in action vs just class. So only advice is for them to get involved and use those opportunities in undergrad to get to know their own interests and personal strengths better. The more you know yourself - the better off you will be.

 

[brewer12345]

I'm going to add my 2 cents... I have strong opinions on colleges. I can't speak to the issue at hand. But I think it's important to treat college as a place to learn to think, to analyze, to solve problems, to write decently. If college is only about taking the courses that get you the degree that gets you the job, you don't learn these things.

Possible exceptions for highly technical degrees, but I still stand by what I said. You can always learn technical skills - learning how to think and analyze is important, and is usually a transferable skill.

I will pound the table for this one. I deal with a lot of people with grad degrees, letters after their names etc. Who have no intellectual flexibility or obvious ability to deal with new problems.

You should use school to forge your brain into a tool that you can use to pull problems apart and find solutions.

 

[Onward]

But what I really want to tell her is, "Go into any field that you like. The most important thing is that you be completely financially indpendent by the time you're 40. That way you can unplug from the whole corrosive system and do what almost no one else does--enjoy your middle age as well as your old age."

Is that appropriate advice for a teenager? I feel uncomfortable giving it, even though that's the advice I most wish someone had given me as a teenager, especially if they had showed me how to do it.

 

[Nords]

But what I really want to tell her is, "Go into any field that you like. The most important thing is that you be completely financially indpendent by the time you're 40. That way you can unplug from the whole corrosive system and do what almost no one else does--enjoy your middle age as well as your old age."

Is that appropriate advice for a teenager? I feel uncomfortable giving it, even though that's the advice I most wish someone had given me as a teenager, especially if they had showed me how to do it.

That's what we do with our. "Hopefully you'll really enjoy your job, but make sure you're financially independent. It's good to have choices."

Of course our little ER wannabe just admitted the other day that she's stopped tracking her spending because she's been so busy at college the last four months. She balances her checkbook and pays off her credit card ever month, but she's having a hard time understanding why she ain't got no money...

All you can do is teach & coach. The student has to get ready on their own. If she's truly happy in her avocation then ER advice is irrelevant. If her job sucks then she'll develop enough motivation to make ERE's Jacob look like a spendthrift.

 

[Onward]

This has been a helpful thread. You've helped me decide that the advice I'm going to give her is, "Study toward the career that most interests you, but make financial independence a top priority, just in case you want to change direction down the road."

 

[W2R]

You do realize that the idea of even getting into college, much less graduating and having a successful career, is quite a big and ambitious goal for a teenager just starting out. Adding financial independence might make that goal a bit too big to digest all at once. Goals that are set too high can be really discouraging or might not be taken seriously.

If anyone had said

Study toward the career that most interests you, but make financial independence a top priority, just in case you want to change direction down the road.

to me as a teenager, I would have responded, "Oh yes, I'll reach financial independence right after I finish flying to the moon and converting all of my metal possessions to gold."

 

[Onward]

Adding financial independence might make that goal a bit too big to digest

Good point. It's a risk. But she's mature for her age, and she's noticed the look on her dad's face when he slogs off to work every day. I think she already suspects that $$ is freedom. She already has a brokerage acct and told me last week that she's very interested in finance and economics. I want her to go into this whole life/work thing with her eyes open, not sheltered and dopey the way I was.

 

[Nords]

She already has a brokerage acct and told me last week that she's very interested in finance and economics.

Well, heck, introduce her to a Ben Graham book before it's too late...

 

[haha]

I thought of some advice that I think is good and not over-extending. Tell her to study whatever she wants, but to avoid borrowing to fund anything except a career that is very likely to have a job waiting for her when she graduates.

My son's violin teadcher has a PhD in music composition, not exactly a hot field. But he never borrowed a dime, so he is OK financially, and is also a very happy man.

Ha