Career advice sought for young student about to start college.

[pb4uski]

Is there any particular major (aside from medicine / pre-med) you'd suggest for a student who seems to have no preferences at all (aside from *not* wanting to study medicine)?

If student indicated she wanted to major in accounting and pursue a minor in computer science, does it sound doable / reasonable to you? What would her options be if she did pursue this track? Hoping to get some advice from the people here as her (lower income) parents are clueless but want to support her 100% as much they can.

TIA.

When I was graduating high school, I know that I was interested in business but was totally unsure what aspect of business, but I did have an interest in accounting from a high school bookeeping class and keeping the books for one of my dad's businesses. I figured that every business uses accounting so having an accounting degree could be useful no matter where I ended up.

Little did I think that I would make accounting a career and over my career work for 2 of the largest 4 firms on the planet.

Accountants are in high demand and some of the partners that I worked for earned as much as $1 million a year or more. Starting salaries for Big 4 staff accountants just out of school are $56-$65k.

But at the end of the day, you need to do something that is interesting to you. That said, I hve many colleagues from my early days in audit that decided to do something else and we able to use their training in different ways.

 

[pb4uski]

Want your daughter to have the golden ticket? Study accounting and focus on audit. Minor in computers and become an IT internal auditor. Have your first company pay for your night courses to get your MBA. Get your CPA as soon as you get enough credit hours. The MBA will let you move from the technical to the management career path later in your career. Working for a large company is better life than working at one of the big accounting firms I'm told.
Audit means you don't face tax reporting or monthly/quarterly reporting deadlines. You're just checking the work of others mostly. You'll end up making more money than the engineers eventually. I'm an engineer myself and enjoy what I do, but my wife ended up in audit, and given your daughters situation, I'd recommend it over engineering.

Agree with most of what you wrote except "... Working for a large company is better life than working at one of the big accounting firms...". I did both... did 3 years in audit with a large local firm that merged with KPMG, then worked for what is now Verizon and a mid-sized life insurer, then with PwC in mergers and acquisitions.

It all depends on your role. At Verizon I was a small cog in a large wheel and my specific role didn't have the time or deadline pressures of the quarterly close but at the life insurer I was the chief accountant so we had deadlines (sometimes unreasonable deadlines) for monthly and quarterly closings, as well as year end (which was a quarterly close on steroids). OTOH, both Big 4 audit and consulting have various deadlines and the pressures that come along with it. IME it is very situational.

 

[pb4uski]

IMO, it's a balance between picking a discipline you like and one that's in demand (and high paying). If you are lucky you'll find one that you like, is in demand and high paying. I did but I still couldn't wait to retire. I guess that's why they call it work!

If you don't like it, you'll be miserable and probably not do well in the job. If it's not in demand, who is going to hire you? And if it doesn't pay well you'll be struggling all your life to keep up.

Excellent advice. I remember as a high school senior I wanted to be a fish and game warden since I did a lot of fishing and hunting. Then I found out the pay and decided that I didn't want to struggle financially so I changed course. It's a balance between finding something that you like and is interesting to you but has decent financial potential. But in any event, no matter what you do if you hone your skills to be one of the best on the planet at what you do then the financial rewards will follow.

 

[sengsational]

I'd argue aptitude probably trumped the degree. Many graduates under-utilize their degrees. That to me is a big risk of just pushing kids into 4 year degrees without their own sense of direction.

Yes, That's the idea I was going for (aptitude ). If the student is not in a rush to get through their youth (like maybe not having financial resources, or does have resources, but is making the mistake of treating life like a business case), then the 4 years of college away from home is about growing up, not "learning a trade". Nothing forced...just follow your nose. Nothing wrong with learning a trade, but fresh out of high school, that might be a forced decision. A trade can be very fulfilling and lucrative, though. But if, after 4 years of college there was no job, and no money, for my kids, that didn't mean waiting tables, it meant deciding what graduate degree would get a job and not cause misery (asking for happiness is way too far, LOL). But as it turns out, the graduate degrees came while working, in my kids' case.

 

[Phroig]

If your student has an interest in accounting, a data science minor is very much the in-thing.

 

[Texas Proud]

Man, I did not read it all but see a lot of opinions that mean nothing IMO... it really is up to the student to decide what they want in a career... I am a bit surprised she has no interest in anything... my kids knew where they wanted to go..

BTW, why does it have to be college? I have seen a lot of shows talking about the trades and how much they can make doing it... some blue collar workers are making $180K... some are being paid to learn their trade... it might not be something that is great at a group meeting saying you are a plumber, but the money it there.. (BTW, lot of different trades... not limited)...

I was an accountant with computer science... I did well during part of my career but was also way underpaid early on and late in it... YMMV...

 

[Gumby]

Since the OP specifically asked for opinions about college majors for a young woman who is already attending college but doesn't appear to know where she wants to go, I'm not surprised that the posts in response contain ... opinions ... about college majors.

 

[Masquernom]

Just one additional piece of advice..... Do not advise your daughter to "do what you love and the money will follow". That's been interview advice from several billionaires. If I was a billionaire, I'm pretty sure I'd love what I was doing too. I know it was popular opinion among high school kids when my stepdaughter graduated high school that they "wouldn't do something that wasn't fun" after graduation. If everybody is getting up early and putting in 40 hours a week, you might as well be one that's getting better pay for it.

 

[skipro33]

A business degree in order to understand how to be successful in doing your passion for your future career, what ever that may be.

 

[JDARNELL]

If you're gonna go to college I would do my basic core classes for two years without declaring a major making sure 1 Econ, 1 speech, Math, and science. If at the end of the 2 yrs I didn't know what I wanted to do in retrospect I would spend a year backpacking around the world. That would give me 2 or 3 yrs to mature and figure out the path ahead without putting me behind my peers.

 

[disneysteve]

Is there any particular major (aside from medicine / pre-med) you'd suggest for a student who seems to have no preferences at all (aside from *not* wanting to study medicine)?

A study by the New York Fed about 10 years ago found that only 27% of college graduates work in a field directly related to their degree. While there are certainly exceptions, for most, the college major isn't nearly as important as people tend to think it is.

Our daughter graduated in 2018 with a major in English and minors in American Studies and Philosophy. What does she do now? She is the Funding Manager for a large solar and roofing company which has nothing at all to do with any of her college fields of study. But she's a fantastic employee, her bosses love her and have promoted her twice since hiring her less than 2 years ago. She is thorough and detail-oriented and a fast learner and a great problem solver. She is responsible and dependable and a great communicator (okay, so maybe the English degree comes in handy there).

My point is that way too much pressure gets put on students, especially early on in their education, focusing on their major selection. If she doesn't really know what she wants to do, which is true of most 17 -18 year olds, don't push her into a particular field of study. Get her into a great liberal arts school where she will be required to take classes in English and history and science and philosophy/religion and math/business and art/music and more. Let her learn how to write and how to think critically and how to be open minded. Let her learn how to learn. Let her grow up a bit and find her way and find her interests and passions. K-12 does little to none of that. Once she has a better idea of what she would like to do, then she can choose her major and hone in more on that field. Many colleges don't require students to select a major until Junior year. Don't rush it.

 

[pjigar]

I work as an electrical engineer in Semiconductor industry so I am biased! But I know truck loads of people from all backgrounds and intelligence levels who simply makes a great living with Computer Science major. I am not sure how CS will evolve in future. I would suggest her what I did not knowing the future a few decades back: Major in Computer Engineering. You can dabble both is Computer Science jobs as well as Electrical Engineering jobs both of which has paid extremely well for over 3 decades.

 

[pjigar]

Our daughter graduated in 2018 with a major in English and minors in American Studies and Philosophy. What does she do now? She is the Funding Manager for a large solar and roofing company which has nothing at all to do with any of her college fields of study. But she's a fantastic employee, her bosses love her and have promoted her twice since hiring her less than 2 years ago. She is thorough and detail-oriented and a fast learner and a great problem solver. She is responsible and dependable and a great communicator (okay, so maybe the English degree comes in handy there).

I hear you but the pay difference is significant. e.g. Computer science or computer engineering major can start around 100K/year and can reach $200K/year in less than 10 years of working. These numbers are simply not attainable with any other job that "just" needs a collage degree and no experience.

 

[Markola]

As if a starting college student is going to take advice from anyone, lol. But by all means, carry on! ?

 

[BearD]

My advice would be to pick serveral possibilities and compared there class requirements. The first year of college classes can be used towards just about any major and the percentage decreases to maybe around 50% the second year. It is not until the third year that you really start taking the majority of classes in your major. I graduated in chemical engineering so I took chemisty my first year. I could have switched to any other engineering major in my second year. That would not have been so if I had taken biology for my science requirements. My son is Biological engineering but hopes to go to medical school. The requirements only different by a few classes. Also, if you may go into a STEM major, take the hard math classes. They will count toward majors that don't require higher level math if you change your mind but it doesn't work the other way around.

 

[jollystomper]

Even if one picks a major that is in "hot demand", one point I want to emphasize: be sure to network. More and better jobs are obtained through networking. Do not assume that having an "in demand" major removes the need to network.

As a college student, the best way to start networking is through your professors. For every class you take (not just the ones related to your major/minor), be sure to visit the professor 1-2 times a month during their office hours to discuss the class. Professors remember students who act interested in their class and want to talk about it outside of the classroom. When opportunities come to them for students, those are the ones they will tend to remember. And you may end up becoming friends enough with a few professors who will run through walls wanting to help you.

Even though I was a math and computer science major, one of the best recommendations (actually multiple) I received was from my freshman year English professor. My writing was not my strength so I spent a lot of time discussing writing and the books she assigned to read during our office hours. I got a B my first term and was shocked when she gave me an A for the second term. When I was a senior, she was teaching at another college, but I still contacted her for work recommendations/references. She remembered me, was happy to hear from me, and committed to write them to anyplace I wanted her to. She wrote several, and copied me on them. Interestingly, my ability to write and communicate things - particularly technical things in a way non-technical people could understand - was a significant factor in the advancement of my I/T career, from both a position and bonus perspective.

 

[38Chevy454]

I'm an engineer (Metallurgical Engineering) so obviously biased. My advice is STEM or business degree. STEM will make more initially out of school, but business has a steeper pay increase slope. In the end both fields have great potential and can't go wrong either one. Engineering worked out well for me.

A female in STEM has many advantages. Higher prospects for financial aid and favorable hiring. Coming from lower income this may be a significant factor.

 

[disneysteve]

I hear you but the pay difference is significant. e.g. Computer science or computer engineering major can start around 100K/year and can reach $200K/year in less than 10 years of working. These numbers are simply not attainable with any other job that "just" needs a collage degree and no experience.

And that’s great for someone interested in computer science. This kid doesn’t have that interest, or at least not yet. It’s way too soon to push her one way or the other.

 

[disneysteve]

Even if one picks a major that is in "hot demand"

Keep in mind that many of the top jobs today weren’t the top jobs 5 years ago. Some didn’t even exist 10 years ago. A student entering college this fall can’t choose their major on a job they want to have 4+ years from now based on what’s hot today. That’s especially true in technology but in other fields too. I recall years ago there was a big nursing shortage so they were pushing people to go into nursing. 5 years later the market was flooded and all of those recent grads were struggling to find work.

 

[Lorenzo]

Is there any particular major (aside from medicine / pre-med) you'd suggest for a student who seems to have no preferences at all (aside from *not* wanting to study medicine)?

If student indicated she wanted to major in accounting and pursue a minor in computer science, does it sound doable / reasonable to you? What would her options be if she did pursue this track? Hoping to get some advice from the people here as her (lower income) parents are clueless but want to support her 100% as much they can.

TIA.

A student can't have "no preferences at all." I mean, we all had at least some inkling of whether were more interested in science/engineering/math or business/humanities--it's the giant fork in the road of higher education. If science/engineering, then the student should consider taking a variety of freshman courses in the sciences to see if anything sparks an interest. It's even not uncommon to start out in one major and then switch. But the student has to at least start in the right universe for them: science/engineering/math or business/humanities.

I would not put any weight on a minor in assisting with career development. The student may think it makes them look extra capable, but if one majors in accounting with a computer science minor, one's job prospects will be in accounting, and if one majors in computer science with an accounting minor, one's job prospects will be in computer science. I majored in computer science and took some accounting and economics courses (without declaring a minor) because I had a vague notion I might pursue an MBA someday and move onto a management track, but in hindsight that was foolish thinking--trying to plan things I had little control over. For whatever reasons, as the years passed it turned out the business side of technology was not for me, and I was not for the business side of technology. If my career had taken that turn, it would likely have involved a promotion first, and then an MBA along the way. So, maybe my thoughts of management and an MBA was a case of putting the cart before the horse. In my opinion, if a student wants to minor in something, they should minor in something they find fun or interesting, not because they believe it will help their career prospects. My college roommate majored in computer science and got a minor in classics--yeah, like Latin and Greek--because he thought it was fun and it sounded crazy, and then when it apparently turned out to be even more fun than he had realized, he got an Ivy League masters in the latter, postponing the computer science stuff (maybe less fun?) for a while.

Maybe the old adage that one should study what interests them and the money will follow really does hold true

 

[jollystomper]

Keep in mind that many of the top jobs today weren’t the top jobs 5 years ago. Some didn’t even exist 10 years ago. A student entering college this fall can’t choose their major on a job they want to have 4+ years from now based on what’s hot today. That’s especially true in technology but in other fields too. I recall years ago there was a big nursing shortage so they were pushing people to go into nursing. 5 years later the market was flooded and all of those recent grads were struggling to find work.

That is why I pointed out that one must network while inc college. The need to network is because, among other things, you do not know what the future may hold, as you pointed out. But networking increases the odds of finding a job even when that particular job market is flooded.

 

[Teacher Terry]

The colleges have career counselors that can administer interest inventories as a starting point. Then she can investigate careers of interest.

Most states have a computer program that is called the “Career Information System “ that shows you the pay, job outlook, etc for your state. If the college doesn’t have the program your local unemployment office will and it should be loaded on their computers for clients to use. Locally we have made it accessible for everyone to access from home but don’t know if that’s true everywhere.

The average college student changes their major 3 times. It’s equally important to like your job and make enough money to live decently. When I was evaluating clients to help them in their career search we would not pay for a degree that wouldn’t lead to self sufficiency. So for example no art degrees would be paid for.

 

[Aerides]

A female in STEM has many advantages. Higher prospects for financial aid and favorable hiring.

As a female in IT, I always loathed the idea that I might have ever been hired or promoted because of my gender. Most of us would rather not, and would prefer to be hired based on our accomplishments, skills, etc..... just like, um, men?

ETA: There were also many times when I was the only woman in the room. Surrounded by engineers who were not comfortable with my presence (not hostile, just, like...literally was once asked, jokingly, "what is a woman doing in here?") and this was only 10 years ago.

Back to the OP, I can tell you that if your student isn't sure what they want to do, then having them pick a career purely based on income is a good recipe for failure. If they are totally at a loss, take a gap year. Or start with a business basic degree and be sure to figure it out by the start of year two.

 

[Texas Proud]

Since the OP specifically asked for opinions about college majors for a young woman who is already attending college but doesn't appear to know where she wants to go, I'm not surprised that the posts in response contain ... opinions ... about college majors.

I went back and read and I do not see that she was already going to college...

Might have missed it though...

Also, college is not for everyone... might as well make a change early before getting a big debt...

 

[Gumby]

It was in Post #3 of the thread.

She graduated high school early and is now in community college to get GE out of the way. She is actually clueless about the major when I talked to her except for being certain she is not interested in pursuing a career in medicine.

Guess my question should be what a "lucrative" major would be for a student from a low income family who has the intelligence to succeed but just lacks proper guidance as none of us (extended family and friends) have much knowledge or college experience? Thank you!