When I was in school, I was always told “If you get a college degree you’ll on average make 500k more over the life time of your career regardless of what you get your degree in!”
Then as I finishing school, it was all about “If you get into tech you’ll make big bucks and always have jobs!”
Both of those have turned out not great for a lot of people.
Then whenever women say they’re struggling with money online, they get pointed to OF… which pays nothing to 99% of creators. Also very presumptive to suggest that, but we don’t even need to get into that.
So is there a field/career strategy that you feel like is currently being over pushed?
(My examples are USA, Nevada/Utah is where I grew up, if maybe it’s different in other parts of USA even.)
“Go to trade school” is my guess. I’ve even suggested it. I’m not sure it’s really being over pushed, but maybe it is. Easy answers to complex questions are a trope.
Networking (AKA meeting people) is a good way to get jobs.
While skill and experience matter, networking is often the catalyst that connects you with the right opportunities. In a way, it’s like investing in your social capital—often as valuable as any degree or certification.
College actually helps with both skill and networking at the same time.
If it weren’t for networking I would have never gone from being a line cook that barely graduated highschool to a CAD tech for a land surveying company. Had literally zero experience and was definitely not what I thought I’d be doing in five years when I was working the closing shift at restaurants every night until 2:00 AM.
I literally got my current job by meeting an old co-worker at a book store and letting him know I was looking after our previous company got shut down. I did happen to have the right skills, but my local area was flooded with software developers in an area that really didnt need that many. But I got the job.
Any career advice coming from the prior generation is useless because it doesn’t apply to your generation.
Even starting a major because everyone’s currently hiring in that field is useless. By the time you’re finished, so will all the other students who started at the same time to get a good job down the line.
I gave up my initial plan of becoming an ecologist and went into IT for job security. And now I’m about to be laid off cause the company I work for is close to going under, for the third time.
Meanwhile friends of mine who started their careers as social workers, physical therapists, nurses and in the trades are buying houses while I live in a moldy apartment.
My advice is to just do what interests you, you probably won’t starve. Also, disregard this advice if you’re just starting out your career. I’m 40, so my experience won’t be helpful to you 20 years younger people.
I gave up my initial plan of becoming an ecologist and went into IT for job security. And now I’m about to be laid off cause the company I work for is close to going under, for the third time.
Sorry to hear
Well, I really hope that it remains “go to college”. As someone with a good career in my area, with good positions and salaries, even without a college education, I still think that the lack of college education still makes me have several gaps and difficulties.
I was fooled for some time by the idea that college education isn’t needed and I hope this generation doesn’t do the same.
But some careers I think it will be good for the long future:
- AI industry
- Data security
- Green energy
- Finance (always, but it costs your mental health)
And, the thing that I wish someone told me in a trustable way when I was a teenager: go with your happiness, the sucess is there, because success is WAY MORE than make money
The world has been changing fast and I think the safest advice in terms of always having work is to learn something to do with bedrock infrastructure, like plumbing or welding.
Maybe something about learning how to use apostophes or whatever.
Have tried being a hunter/gatherer?
