Degree Advantage

Choosing Careers

You will get a lot of bad career advice in the long road of life. Some of you will come out a winner, and many others will become “losers”. There are many theories on why this happens. What I can tell you is that many of the theories are just plain wrong. In this article, I will expose some of these idiotic theories and point you to what really matters.

Do What You Love

This is a crock of bull. I love to sit around and watch television, sleep till noon, and then go out with my friends. If we all did what we loved, we wouldn’t make a living. That’s why it’s called work. Sure it is ideal to feel a love towards one’s work, but the question sends you down the wrong path. Instead, ask yourself this, “Of the available and marketable skills that the world needs, what would I like the best?” This question focuses on what needs done and second on what you love.

There are thousands, if not millions of graduates every year who do nothing with their degrees. They often graduate in something with no real value to society. Thus, they get no reward from society. Sure, there is intrinsic benefit, but is that really why you got the degree?

I am the best

The scriptures say pride goeth before the fall. There are lots of degrees that are highly competitive upon graduation. Many people are very mistaken about their ability. They reason that because they did well in high school or whatever that they can really compete in anything. This cocky attitude is setting you up for big disappointment.

Why? In the first place, there are a lot more losers than winners in a competitive field. By the numbers alone, you are most likely going to be the loser.

You need to know the supply of labor and the demand on labor to figure out your chances of success. Many people just don’t realize the battle they are taking on is next to impossible.

For example, attorneys that go to state schools must graduate in the top 10% of their class to get a decent job after graduation. In the field of economics, there are about 7000 applicants for every decent position. So, who gets the jobs? In most cases, it’s the top 10% from an elite university and most have advanced degrees.

There are a lot of cocky students that think they are going to for sure make 100k a year shortly after graduation. Many are even in fields with little to no prospects. These students reason that statistics don’t apply to them because they are the best. Again, it’s a cockiness problem.

The School Doesn’t Matter

As long as I get a degree, the school is irrelevant. Again, this is a load of crap. Employers are people. They are impressed by people that went to Ivy League schools. They especially like students that went to the same school as themselves. If you really want to work for a particular company, research where management got their degrees.

The school matters a lot. It’s buying a brand name. Would you rather drive a Toyota or a Hyundai? The name of the school automatically tells an employer your reliability, intellectual base, and background. If you had a poor background, they overlook this because you must be a genius or something to get in without parental help. The bottom line is to get into the best school you can.

The Degree Matters Most

Job experience is preferred greatly over degrees. If you work a lousy job in hopes that the degree will change your life, think again. You need to be working in the industry. Ideally, you will have performed volunteer activities and done things to help the industry and have work experience. If you graduate without real life work experience, you are definitely doing the wrong thing. If you can’t find somewhere to get experience, you might as well drop out because nobody is going to hire you when you graduate.

There Are a Lot of Careers to Choose From

There are certainly a lot of careers out there. While true, there is actually a very short list of good careers to choose from. And, if you want something marketable that society needs, the list is even smaller. Any career that has a strong math base always rates near the top for both money and a happy work environment. Some of the best career choices are in engineering, accounting, sales, and the medical field.

Final Tip

Get your foot in the door somewhere even if you have to work for free. Then, go to school while working. Try and do something to advance your field to show your motivation and productivity. And, whatever you do, don’t pick a major because it looks fun when nobody is hiring for that kind of job.