Transfering to a 4 year school. Trying to decide on a major and career...

[nickshepDEM]

Im finishing up my AA and looking to transfer to a 4 year school in the spring. Ive settled on University of Baltimore, but Im undecided on a major and career field. My strong points are math, science, and technology (computers, electronics, etc...) I was wondering if you guy's/gal's could help with me with a few questions.

1. What job field/industry do you see being key in the 21st century? By 'key' I mean, good pay, good benefits, solid job stability, 'in demand' etc...

2. At first I was leaning towards Computer Information Systems or Mangement of Information Systems, but Ive been hearing that the pay and job stability in this field is not what it used to be. A lot of outsourcing and lost jobs since the 90's. Any truth to this?

3. What do you think about a career in finance/financial planning? I hear the money is very good. Ive also heard that America's financial companies are tops in the world and are not susceptible outsourcing.

4. Any other advice is appreciated.

If you have any questions or need more info in order to give advice please ask.

[MalachiConstant]

1. it is true about the

com sci industry. com sci opportunites are very much in flux witht the economy.

1. this is soooo hard to predict, i'd almost say that you couldn't predict it. by the time you finished up your degree the job market may shift entirely. my stepfather is a corporate recruiter, he hires mostly engineers and engineering managers. one year there might be a strong demand for electrical engineers, the next it would be mechanical. in the 90's com sci kids were in demand then it seemed like everybody in the world went and got their com sci degrees and there was just a massive surplus. so who knows what the market will dicatate.

2. i can't help you much here, i'm not too familiar with the com sci field. all i know is the news that i hear

3. ditto


if you really enjoy math and science you may want to look into engineering. starting pay as generally higher for engineers than it is in the business/financial field. and you mmight just find it more to your liking, with your computer andn electronics background. be forewarned though, engineering majors are much, much more difficult than any of the majors in the business/finance field.

[Nikia]

3. If I had to do it again, I'd major in chemical engineering

Really, there is a variety of interesting work that you can do at good companies, like product development.

[fortyfeetunder]

8. A Chem E degree is highly flexible

Get chemistry, mechanical engineering, comp sci in one degree (depending how one crafts the electives).

[Redstone]

2. "Hospitality." Being a hotel manager is a good gig.

People will always need to stay in hotels.

And if you want to consider your options about where to live, what better field is there to be in? After all, an awful lot of hotels are in places where lots of people want to go for vacation....Hawaii, Vail, NYC, San Francisco, and so on.

Redstone

[FloridaPat]

4. Computer field currently sucks. Everything you've heard about it

is true. I've been a programmer for 25 years and have been unemployed for most of the last 2 years. I have friend that had to go into other fields, which I've been trying to do myself.

Medical fields will always be hot and pretty much are not exportable, although I've heard that health insurance companies are sending people overseas for operations because it's cheaper.

I've heard financial researcher jobs are being exported. I think most financial planners work for banks, which have been merging like crazy the last 20 years. Not much stability there. You would need more research into that one. Don't forget that a lot of the money for the next 30 years will be held by the baby boomers who will not be doing much investing.

[Angry Girl]

9. Stay away from computers

I was a consultant for a long time but I've been unemployed for some years now (and so have some other tech friends of mine). One thing that will always remain hot is computer security (but then you've got to deal with clearances and a lots of suits).

Health industries in this country will always grow: The U.S. population is getting older and sicker, so no surprises there. But who wants to touch sick people for a living? I guess maybe radiology can be pretty cush. Research is not anything to get into if you like money, btw (unless you're crooked).

Banks, well, anything financial is probably a growth area. Or anything that the superwealthy need, like financial adviser, tax consultant, estate/tax lawyer, etc. (because down the road there will be no middle class, only lots of poor and a few wealthy folk). But unless you're a consultant or a partner, you'll end up working for some corporation, which will dump you in the end.

[lukasahero]

5. Computer industry isn't as bad as many say it is

"the pay and job stability in this field is not what it used to be." What it "used to be" was ridiculous and unsustainable. Folks who rode the bubble up expected it to stay there and are pissed that it's leveled out. Up here in Massachusetts (which is lagging behind in the dotcom recovery), I'm getting calls every day looking for software engineers and the pay, since I was in HR in the 90's, sounds pretty darn good to me. Those who were making $150/hour in the 90's will see it differently though.

That said, whoever posted earlier that the hot commodity today will likely be completely different by the time you graduate had a good point. And given that, my advice is: try everything. Then find what you love and go for it. Money isn't everything and what was once the hot new thing may be obsolete before you blink so find what you love and make it work for you. I've found it's easier to work harder at something you love than something you loathe. Good luck!

[nickinSTL]

10. it may have been unsustainable, but...

it is still bad now.

I've known a number of IT people who've had LONG stretches of unemployment in the last 5 years (my fiancee among them - she's been out of work for almost 5 years now). And it isn't because they aren't willing to take pay cuts, either. My fiancee would work for half what she made before losing her last job - but can't find anything.

[Capn Sunshine]

6. Finance

The sky's the limit, and there's so many different applications, from traditional CFO to investment banking to venture capital.

Trust me on this, qualified financial guys are paid a huge premium.
Or you can BS your way into a partnership at Goldman; I think their bonuses were like 20 mill this year.

[nickshepDEM]

7. Do you work in finance?

If so, what do you do?

2 of my friends are grauduating this year with degrees in Financial Planning and they've told me that they have received numerous job offers. They said the starting pay is decent, but after 3-5 years most people are in the six figures. But they also said the the hours are horrific the first couple years. My buddy Dave got a job offer from American Express, but the hours were Mon-Fri 9am-9pm and Sat 9am-1pm.