Your advice... Choosing a Profession

[Animorph]

My DS really wanted to drop out of college after two years and start his own tech company. I thought his plan was not viable in any sense. We told him he's be paying us rent if he planned to stay with us. And since he hadn't completed college and this was early 2012 he would probably have to be working at McDonalds if he was lucky enough to find a job. He could then use his spare time to work on his . He decided to switch majors and colleges and seems much happier. I think that was mainly disappointment in his old college and major, though who knows what will happen after graduation. But that will be his problem, mostly, and he'll have something to fall back on.

A neice had a choice between a math/science college path or a music major trumpet path. She liked both, but went with trumpet. Now she's graduated with a masters degree as of about six months ago, renting an apartment on her parent's dime, and looking for seemingly non-existent jobs. She'll have to come back home in a few months if nothing pops up. I think she's OK with it so far, though her Mom is not too excited with the progress so far.

And I have plenty of relatives who are fine with working just enough to get by. I'm not sure what their retirement plan is, but they seem happy for now.

It's nice to say do what you like, but it's got to be with some realistic vision of what lifestyle that's leading to.

 

[Bestwifeever]

nm

 

[imoldernu]

Resurrection...for one last shot.

Profession - Farmer

Based on a recent opinion as to the reason Warren Buffet bought in to Heinz.

That the collapse of the monetary system and subsequent failure of the world's economy would result in anarchy and survivalism, with food being the basis for trade... within five years.

Asia Times Online :: Global Economy

Farmland with good soil is selling in exess of $10K/acre.

 

[Tyro]

Resurrection...for one last shot.

Profession - Farmer

Based on a recent opinion as to the reason Warren Buffet bought in to Heinz.

Or did he just sit down & have a chat with Lori Silverbush & Kristi Jacobson?

A Place at the Table (Official Movie Site) - Starring Jeff Bridges - In theatres, available on iTunes, and on demand March 1st - Trailer, Pictures & More

 

[Tyro]

A fellow I know with a Masters in EE hasn't been able to find work in over a year. Maybe it's geographical.

Just heard from him. He found a job after ~18 month layoff. Perhaps the economy is improving -- if slowly and unevenly -- as Bernanke says.

 

[rodi]

Construction is another, if one likes building things. Design (architect) is one thing. Making it go from paper/computer to real is quite another.

My brother was an architect... my husband is an architect... I've got lots of architect friends.

It's not nearly as glamorous or lucrative as you'd think. Before encouraging anyone into going into architecture have them look at the following:
- Do they understand the licensing/registration issues for their state (or any states they might want to practice.) Most states require that you work for 7-10 years after you graduate before you can take the exams that will qualify you to be licensed. That 7-10 years is typically at VERY low wages. (My brother didn't realize this till after he graduated... his mistake).
- The salary threshold is much lower for you if you work for a firm. Most architects are paid well under the 6 figure salary you'd expect. Even with decades of experience, specialized/sought after skill sets, etc, it's hard to get $100k.
- If you go into business for yourself not only are you taking financial risks - you have costs of liability insurance. You must keep this insurance in place for at least a decade after you retire. This insurance is NOT cheap. If there's a construction defect, often the contractor has gone out of business... so they sue the architect (even if they're not at fault.)
- If you're a residential architect you have to deal with customers that change their minds late in the game, don't understand cost tradeoffs, schedule tradeoffs, etc.. The fee is lower and the PITA customer factor is higher for most residential projects.

I had all sorts of misconceptions about the industry till I was surrounded by practitioners. It's a field that I would discourage my kids from going into. As would my architect husband.