What degree should I get

[kgtest]

Wow. If this type of workplace becomes the standard I'd look for homicide rates to skyrocket!

Yes, agile is definitely the new norm, and only as good as your team practicing it.

At my place we have only one pit. If you're in it you'd better believe the executives are watching it.

 

[FreeBear]

Yeah, we now book the broom closets for this purpose.

In all seriousness, I really don't know what the hell happened here in the computer/IT world. Some guys got this idea that it worked well for their team, and management grabbed it and ran. They love the fact that the density is about 2x cubes, for starters. In scrum, they love standups for the constant "feedback."

But for introverts and thinkers, it is murder. It doesn't work for everyone, but this is not understood. It doesn't matter.

LOL. Well, there are always the bathroom stalls, or so I thought. Now there are folks in the stalls 'yaking on their cell phones. Last time I'm borrowing someone's phone...

The "group-grope" style that seems to have infested the programming world is invading other areas as well. Two decades ago, I started into electrical and mechanical development with programming thrown in for good measure. I picked engineering because I knew I was an introvert who could do math and physics.

About a couple of years before I FIRE'd, project managers really took over all the real decision making away from lead engineers and their technical teams. Most emphasis was placed by the project manager on managing upwards, that is, CYA and dog-and-pony shows for the division president. What a waste of time...

This kind of crap was one of the main reasons I left engineering to FIRE. Well, the jobs in my area were moved overseas too. I know because I helped move them... I knew this was a limited duration gig!

Was just talking to a bright young gal who is just applying to undergrad engineering schools. She's much brighter, on paper at least, than I ever was. I asked whether she was an introvert or extrovert. When she replied "extrovert", I told her that she would fit in just fine.

So other than FIRE, what's out there for introvert geeks that pays well??

 

[FreeBear]

I guess in welding it would be: "I'm going to put a tack 1/8" away from the low side." Your pair would watch and say: "Nah, run a bead over here."

Lots of fun. Right.

"But wait, maybe we should do a pre-meeting with the Project Manager so he can schedule a meeting with the C-suite so that they can make the decision for us..."

Nuts, my weld is getting cold...

 

[sengsational]

I'm going to go a bit counter to a few of the posts about programming. There are still plenty of work from home programming jobs out there. Yes, you'll have conference calls, but you need naps to keep coding well, lol! And yes, you will need to talk with the person who wrote the spec, but that's not the big deal for an introvert, or at least not for this introvert; I don't mind having a few people for a small amount of time per day, the problem is too many people that I can never keep track of that's unsettling.

And even as an introvert, I liked the small bit of pair programming I did. One time I was less experienced and I learned more in two days than a month of looking up stuff and reading. The other time, I knew more and the other person was like a sponge and by the end of the time, was so appreciative, it made going into the office fun.

 

[ATC Guy]

Become an air traffic controller. Most of us make close to or over $100,000. Federal pension and TSP and many other benefits. No degree required. 8 hour days (10 max), and you never take your work home with you.

Just a thought.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm going to go a bit counter to a few of the posts about programming. There are still plenty of work from home programming jobs out there. Yes, you'll have conference calls, but you need naps to keep coding well, lol! And yes, you will need to talk with the person who wrote the spec, but that's not the big deal for an introvert, or at least not for this introvert; I don't mind having a few people for a small amount of time per day, the problem is too many people that I can never keep track of that's unsettling.

And even as an introvert, I liked the small bit of pair programming I did. One time I was less experienced and I learned more in two days than a month of looking up stuff and reading. The other time, I knew more and the other person was like a sponge and by the end of the time, was so appreciative, it made going into the office fun.

seng: you have some good points to counter my sourness. It is not all bad. Anyone going into the field simply has to be aware of trends. Agree that there are some jobs out there as you describe. They are dwindling, however.

And be aware that the job could get converted to scrum. This happened to some of my "work from home" co-w*rkers, who suddenly found their worlds turned upside down. Google "Marissa Mayer Work From Home" to learn a lot more about that scenario. (I don't work at Yahoo, it is just similar.)

Finally, pair programming in small doses is good. Small doses.

 

[ivinsfan]

You mention low grades in high school because you didn't care. This might cause you some problems. Start at a local CC, but be warned they will have entry level testing you would take in at least English and Math. If you don't hit the college entry benchmark in all tests, you basically have to retake high school math and English until you hit the benchmarks, you will pay for these classes but get no college credit.

My advice is to start this procedure and just start to fill the basics that's a good way to start finding out what interest you and go from there.

 

[Milton]

Real life Dilberts

About a couple of years before I FIRE'd, project managers really took over all the real decision making away from lead engineers and their technical teams. Most emphasis was placed by the project manager on managing upwards, that is, CYA and dog-and-pony shows for the division president. What a waste of time.

Scott Adams has built an entire career on [-]parodying[/-] documenting this nonsense.

 

[Milton]

Re: "no one ever got rich working for someone else"

You must not look at all the people that have worked for Google or Facebook or even way back when with IBM....

I was an intern for IBM in the 70s.... and they had some janitors who were millionaires because of stock options they had.... they had worked for the company for many many years, but still became rich...

I have a niece who has a BF who is rich... works for Facebook... has always worked for Facebook....

I knew many people at my mega who made over $1 million a year.... yep, they are rich....

+1 There are many paths to wealth, and self-employment is only one.

Many people are not temperamentally suited to becoming entrepreneurs. That doesn't mean they can't become financially independent.

If "rich" means billionaire, then it's certainly true that no salaried employees have or will become rich. But surely most people would be content to be multi-millionaires; and there are plenty of the latter who made their money working for other people.

Finally, even assuming that "rich" equals billionaire, and that the OP actually aspires to that level, the fact remains that the vast majority of small business owners will never get there notwithstanding their self-employed status.

 

[Winemaker]

For a non degree career, I would enter aviation mechanics. United Continental just settled their contract at $47+/hour, 70% of mechanics are in the top tier seniority rank. DF was one for 46 years.

 

[Milton]

Hi everyone, Im wanting to go to college to get a degree but I really have no clue which degree to get.... Im looking for a degree that will lead to a career that pays good, is good for a really shy person, and that is at least somewhat interesting to me. Also I want something that will be easy to find a job in. I would hate to pay all that money and give up all that family time and not even be able to find a better job.

Hello OP!

You may want to revise your approach. Rather than trying to choose a major and then worry about whether a good career path will result, you would do better to research specific occupations and only then start zeroing in on specifically what education is required for those jobs.

A few further comments:

1) although there is a lot of societal pressure to graduate from college, the fact remains that many (most?) jobs do not require a degree. E.g., you certainly don't require any degree to advance from welder to welding inspector.

2) post-secondary education has become a huge industry, and colleges are (over)selling a product. Many of them misrepresent statistics about their graduates' employment ("92% are employed within three months of graduation": sure, but are they doing anything related to their degrees? Are their post-graduation incomes significantly higher than their pre-graduation incomes?), and exaggerate the job opportunities in specific fields.

3) I don't think being a teacher would be a great fit for you. If you didn't try hard in high school, it was probably because you were bored ... being at the front of the classroom will not be significantly more interesting. And to some extent teachers are required to entertain, which would be difficult for an extreme introvert.

4) People with degrees in "business administration", "commerce", "management", "finance", etc. are a dime a dozen these days. It is not a specific qualification and certainly does not guarantee high paying, or indeed any, employment.