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How not to get ripped off going to college...

MJ DeMarco

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Uh... study something in demand? A specialized skill?!

Drop the liberal arts BS and go study something that has a marketplace demand!

Fastlane economics are the same as job market economics.

Once again, study something that gives you a specialized skill with a NEED! Demand! Value!


7 of the top 10 jobs are related to computing and technology.

1576002332141.png

If you insist on going to college, make it valuable so you become valuable!
 
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Ernman

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Spot on MJ. On a related issue, I've been reading about the idea of changing student debt to more of an equity stake model. While I'm sure the lawyers will complicate the hell out of it, in it's simplest form it is we'll loan you money for a percentage of your future derived income. Something like this "should" lead to favoring student loans to those pursuing educations that will add future value such as engineering and technology. I believe this would be a much better system of risk based student lending.
I'm also sure the artists, musicians and history students of the world will blast me with the argument that these add value to our culture as well. No arguments there, I love good music and art. But - is there a business case to be made for investing in people to pursue these? OR should people be free to pursue these if they chose to at their own risk?
 

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What? You mean I shouldn't sign up for an 8 year communications degree? That gives me 8 years to party and figure out how I'm going to pay all of that money back! That's not a good plan? After that I could sign up for an arts history degree for another 4 years if needed :pizza:
 
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Ernman

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What? You mean I shouldn't sign up for an 8 year communications degree? That gives me 8 years to party and figure out how I'm going to pay all of that money back! That's not a good plan? After that I could sign up for an arts history degree for another 4 years if needed :pizza:
Reminds me of a line from Animal House.
 

100ToOne

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As always amazing thread.

I studied Occupational health and safety couple of years ago.

Till now I can't find a job in that sector. In fact the country I moved to recently doesn't even recognise it as a real occupation.

This advice would of really helped me if I was doing it all over again. I hope people who are starting college/uni to really take this thread very very seriously.
 

Tourmaline

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AI will create soooo many billionaires...
 
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Saiful

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The future of tech industry relies heavily on tech industry. Software engineer are on risk.
gartner report.
 

advantagecp

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Common sense.

Back in 2006 I went with one of my daughters for a tour of the Duke University campus. The tour was given by a recent graduate, who had gotten an Elementary Education degree. Jeebus, don't go to Duke for a degree like that. She will be teaching beside a new East Carolina University grad and they will be making the exact same money. And somebody paid about $150,000 extra.
 

Silverfox148

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A word of caution on coders/software developers , the field is getting crowded is my perception as of late, if you are planning on going the corporate route and even more so the contractor route make sure it's something you enjoy and are actually component at. There are a lot of people coming into the industry who have the degree but really shouldn't be there, but are there because it's a good paying job or what not, make sure you like building things and understanding systems/relationships/architecture , etc, this is a very small percentage of the human population.

If you are a good developer who enjoys it and can therefore spend a ton on hours on it and not consider it work, then the prospects are excellent for you and the sky is the limit.
 
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Clueless Newbie

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A word of caution on coders/software developers , the field is getting crowded is my perception as of late,

It feels like the opposite to me. I work for a big tech company (Amazon) and we can't hire enough developers. My team fell short of our hiring goals for this year.

Also i get at least a couple emails a week in LinkedIn if I click on the setting that says I'm looking for a new job. It has never been easier to find a tech job in the US.
 

Silverfox148

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It feels like the opposite to me. I work for a big tech company (Amazon) and we can't hire enough developers. My team fell short of our hiring goals for this year.

Also i get at least a couple emails a week in LinkedIn if I click on the setting that says I'm looking for a new job. It has never been easier to find a tech job in the US.

I agree with all of the above, there is most likely record hiring.However, none of that changes the fact there is a huge technology bubble at the moment, a majority of these people aren't actually building anything that creates value true value for the customer , there is a ton of fat in Information Technology at the moment, Project Managers , Scrum Masters, QA, Dev Ops, and on and on. I see it everyday with people in it "because it's a good job", "parents told me to get this degree", etc. They are getting hired and getting paid but they are actually contributing token work. I've seen college people who started 4 years ago who still haven't done anything substantial that provides value.
 

Everyman

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I agree with all of the above, there is most likely record hiring.However, none of that changes the fact there is a huge technology bubble at the moment, a majority of these people aren't actually building anything that creates value true value for the customer , there is a ton of fat in Information Technology at the moment, Project Managers , Scrum Masters, QA, Dev Ops, and on and on. I see it everyday with people in it "because it's a good job", "parents told me to get this degree", etc. They are getting hired and getting paid but they are actually contributing token work. I've seen college people who started 4 years ago who still haven't done anything substantial that provides value.

This is actually gold - because there is this biggest bubble of all time on everything, and 'IT' so hype. I am happy there is someone who also sees it. Yep, people go there, earn huge salaries and build apps for 'dog grooming' or similar..... really high value added. Almost like sending a ship to Mars...

History and common sense tells me - study anything that the demand for its products has been throughout the centuries:
- chemistry (pharma and agriculture)
- engineering (civil, architecture, machinery, electronics, electricity... basically every aspect of engineering is a field of potential billion dollar product)
- oil / gas exploration
- weapons or defense systems
- what else...
- don't study but go and learn how to become a plumber / car mechanic / etc etc... they are always in demand and earn reallyyyyyyyyy huge money for many reasons (they get cash in hand so can avoid 80% taxation that accompanies salaried people)...
- learn about a guy who completed all uni courses for free finding them online (in 12 months)

and combine it with soft skills such as selling / marketing / and some knowledge of economics (not socialism, real economics).
 
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Last edited:

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
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Bump.
 
G

Guest-5ty5s4

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In my opinion, every engineering-type degree is a good one. You're getting a solid foundation in natural sciences, math, and how to apply them in the real world. Computers and digital applications are one realm but there are several different broad practices you can focus on (like chemical, mechanical, or electrical) and none of those are going anywhere...

The only place you could go wrong with STEM would be if you majored in a super-niche science degree or something so broad it's basically liberal arts with a STEM flavor.

Regardless, it's about the skills not about the stamp

You can always mix up courses too, take them a la carte and go outside of the prescribed degree path.
 

Two Dog

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It feels like the opposite to me. I work for a big tech company (Amazon) and we can't hire enough developers. My team fell short of our hiring goals for this year.
There's no shortage of devs available to hire.

There's a TREMENDOUS shortage of devs that Amazon, Google, Facebook and a host of tech startups are interested in hiring because they demand exceptional talent far beyond earning a typical computer science degree and can afford to pay for it. Very few developers are brilliant enough to qualify for those positions. There's no studying your way into it.

Joel Spolsky has written eloquently and at length on this topic. I'm a huge believer in building business that rely on systems that can use average workers. It's a reliably successful formula in almost every niche. Regrettably, developing technology products (and all tech relies on software dev at this point) isn't one of them. Design brilliance is the secret sauce that gets cloned an infinite number of times and generates all those piles of cash. Design brilliance is also exceedingly rare.

As Joel puts it:
"Five Antonio Salieris won’t produce Mozart’s Requiem. Ever. Not if they work for 100 years."
Hitting the High Notes

And he's right. Not to worry though. There's endless high paying job ops for anyone interested in coding, AI or any of the others on MJ's list. You just won't be earning $700K with a pile of stock options at age 23. C'est la vie.
 
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Funky Monkey

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This is actually gold - because there is this biggest bubble of all time on everything, and 'IT' so hype. I am happy there is someone who also sees it. Yep, people go there, earn huge salaries and build apps for 'dog grooming' or similar..... really high value added. Almost like sending a ship to Mars...

History and common sense tells me - study anything that the demand for its products has been throughout the centuries:
- chemistry (pharma and agriculture)
- engineering (civil, architecture, machinery, electronics, electricity... basically every aspect of engineering is a field of potential billion dollar product)
- oil / gas exploration
- weapons or defense systems
- what else...
- don't study but go and learn how to become a plumber / car mechanic / etc etc... they are always in demand and earn reallyyyyyyyyy huge money for many reasons (they get cash in hand so can avoid 80% taxation that accompanies salaried people)...
- learn about a guy who completed all uni courses for free finding them online (in 12 months)

and combine it with soft skills such as selling / marketing / and some knowledge of economics (not socialism, real economics).
Yup MIT has full lectures that you can listen to for free.
https://www.youtube.com/@mitocw (and other ivy leagues as well)
Slightly disagree with oil and gas as it's outdated tech. We just need more adoption (and probably some lobbying) of nuclear tech amoung the masses and oil and gas is basically gone.
 

Ayan115

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Uh... study something in demand? A specialized skill?!

Drop the liberal arts BS and go study something that has a marketplace demand!

Fastlane economics are the same as job market economics.

Once again, study something that gives you a specialized skill with a NEED! Demand! Value!


7 of the top 10 jobs are related to computing and technology.

View attachment 29125

If you insist on going to college, make it valuable so you become valuable!
I would recommend going into such jobs only if you have capability , intellect and caliber and most importantly to do such jobs .Or else if you are an average joe with average intelligence . Artificial intelligence is not for you and if you don't have interest then you would get burnout and do pretty bad in your job. You better choose a liberal arts degree if you are interested but you need to make a plan on what you need to do with that degree
 
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Ayan115

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I would recommend going into such jobs only if you have capability , intellect and caliber and most importantly to do such jobs .Or else if you are an average joe with average intelligence . Artificial intelligence is not for you and if you don't have interest then you would get burnout and do pretty bad in your job. You better choose a liberal arts degree if you are interested but you need to make a plan on what you need to do with that degree
most importantly passion *
 

advantagecp

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most importantly passion *
I disagree with this advice. If you have not worked in a field you most likely have no concept of the reality of working in that field.

I have observed personal or close family member (self/child/sibling/in-law) experience in the following fields where a person thought they had passion for the field but in real life experience hated the work: military aviation (x2), investment banking (bulge bracket M&A), architecture, Disney Imagineer, physician (pediatrician), and consultant (medical practice).

Work is for money. Save your passion for family and hobbies.
 
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