<p>I rented a bulldozer once to build a rock fence. I wanted to do it right and put in drainage and foundation, etc. The bulldozer was great fun! I kept trying to think of more holes to dig before I returned it.</p>
<p>In real life, I’ve found good satisfaction in having a CPA firm. I wouldn’t recommend public accounting to anyone who wasn’t highly inquisitive. It is our job to ferret out the correct information when people do the accounting incorrectly, or sometimes hide and omit It is stressful keeping both clients and the gov’t happy, the workload is extremely compressed and the hours are long during tax season. You get used to it and the pay is good. Unemployment has been ~3% in recent years.</p>
<p>I am constantly amazed when I reconnect with people and they have made a life’s work from something about which they were passionate at a very early age. Most of my HS class are doing something one could’ve pegged in jr. high.</p>
<p>As the mother of a sociable, creative accountant, I want to thank JHS and sryrstress for their defense of accounting. I am not an accountant myself but can appreciate the qualities necessary for success in that field - determination, persistence, attention to detail, and curiosity. I do not know why accountants have that reputation for being boring soulless drones… honestly, I thought that was the definition of “scientist.”</p>
<p>Kidding! Just kidding! I used to be a chemist myself…</p>
<p>Electrical Engineers clearly have the highest job satisfaction. We are constantly developing new technology and witnessing amazing creativity all around us. It never gets old. </p>
<p>Furthermore, we are all brilliant, charming, good looking, reasonably well-off, and have perfect kids.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent, but I just felt like adding to the conversation. That’s an interesting point about firefighters being happy because they’re doing what they wanted as a kid. If so, I’m on the right track. Scientist/computer programmer have been my dream jobs since I was 6, and I’m planning to major in either of those fields, except now it’s Biochemistry, not the ridiculously broad “Scientist” I was a weird kid, every other girl was saying singer/artist and all the boys were saying astronaut/firefighter. </p>
<p>I believe that there are two requisites for job satisfaction: 1. Enough pay to live and 2. Passion.
But I also believe it depends on the case. My cousin, for example, never dreamed of being an accountant, but he’s very happy because he can support his family.</p>
<p>@scout59: I too, thought “boring” was for scientists :P</p>
<p>Realistically, students majoring in biology, chemistry, or biochemistry need to consider the possibility of needing to seek work that is not major-specific, as well as work that is (much the way many humanities and social studies majors look for jobs), since the biology and chemistry job markets are flooded with new graduates every year.</p>
That’s too general of a question and the remuneration isn’t tied to the college one attended. What’s more relevant is (often) the degree attained, the field one will enter (which may or may not be directly related to the major), additional relevant experiences such as internships, the personality of the individual, and the opportunities available to choose from. To some extent the particular college attended can be a factor as well but the other factors are more important IMO.</p>
<p>A couple of examples -
A grad with a computer science major from a college with a highly ranked program who has a couple of relevant internships prior to graduation, who’s open to living in hotbed areas for this field, like the SF bay area, who gets hired by a company known for decent wages, and is able to look someone in the eyes when they speak rather than looking at their own shoes.
A grad with a social science, history, ‘something or other studies’, music, etc. degree who seeks a job in a small town not near a major city with a small company, in an area not directly related to the degree (or sometimes even directly related), who’s so shy and reserved they don’t look an interviewer in the eyes and tend to give monosyllabic responses.</p>
<p>Of course there are many examples between these two and on either side of these two and exceptions. </p>
<p>So the best answer is - evaluate the opportunities available for new grads in your chosen major at your college or elsewhere if you’re willing to relocate to another part of the country. Checking the on-campus recruitment can give you an idea of companies who regularly hire grads from there and the job placement office may be able to help you get a better idea of the job and salary situation for new grads in your major from your college.</p>
<p>Oh, I have considered that. I’m in Mexico, so I’ll have trouble finding a job whatever I major in. But in any case, at the moment I’m leaning more towards Computer Science (which in fact, I think is less in demand than Biochemistry here).</p>
<p>^^ It’s surprising to me that CS would be in less demand than biochem almost anywhere including Mexico because the need for CS people is so ubiquitous. Are you sure of this?</p>
<p>No disagreement - just like there are many boring software development jobs. However, the average comp sci graduate - in my view and experience - has a bit better chance of doing something exciting and interesting than the average accountant or actuary. It’s a numbers game. </p>
<p>It also has to do with how one sees ‘work’. We super-creative types really don’t care if our work will be used by millions and will be successful. We are more into it for the fame and recognition of our peers (the obscure type). I’ve been showing stuff at CES since 2001, and never been there myself to share the excitement (I have to stay at the lab to fix code :)). So, for us, the idea is more important than the execution. If my idea is 90% right, I’m golden. A 90% pilot, accountant, or ER doctor would be a tragedy. It’s not simply a matter of attention to detail. It’s whether the idea is more important than the customer. For what I do, it is. Across the hallway where they do production work, it’s not. </p>
<p>A lot of careers have a calling. Medicine is one. I spent a few months writing software for medical research in Elbonia and could not do this for a living. Cardiology era 1980 there was pretty sad - everyone coming was pretty much a walking goner. Now things are different, but I simply could not see myself doing it. The empathy thing and all that…</p>
<p>No, I’m not. The studies I’ve read are from newspapers, but I’m not sure how reliable they are. Most agree that biochemistry/nanotechnology/genomics are in demand or soon will be because they’re all relatively new fields here (around 10 years). Computer Science is usually called Information Systems or something similar, and it’s actually one of the most popular majors after Administration, Architecture, Law (it’s kind of a joke here), and other social sciences. </p>
<p>But most people who start college end up dropping out. This might be because you can’t enroll undecided here, so a lot of students end up not liking their major or find it too difficult. Many of my brother’s friends tried to major in Computer Science because they like videogames! They had no idea how much work programming is, and as a result, they dropped out. I think the one who lasted the most was a year. </p>
<p>And anyway, education here can be pretty bad unless you go to the big cities with large and important universities. I think this results in a bunch of graduates who can’t get a job because they’re awful in their fields, and this in turn results in messed-up statistics.
I once had a Computer Science teacher who went to the local public university and clearly had no idea what she was doing. It was quite hilarious, actually. I believe I was in 7th grade at the time. Whenever someone’s computer wasn’t working, she’d just say “Format it.”</p>
<p>The difference with Biochemistry and other new-ish fields is that they’re usually offered only at selective universities (like UNAM), so only top students get in, and those students ARE in demand. And of course Computer Science majors from those universities or those who do know what they’re doing are in demand as well. But the ones who are not are either unemployed or working as elementary school teachers (which creates yet another flaw in our education: awful elementary education).</p>
<p>Guitar500, I think you need to forget reading studies in the newspaper. Look at the job placement rate at your university for the specific majors you’re considering. Talk to seniors who are in the job hunt now, ask them what they’re looking at. My cs minor kid got a high paying job 7 months before graduation, and most everyone he knows in cs has multiple good offers. Note I said cs MINOR. This field is in high demand, look at reality, not at people who don’t have the ability nor interest to pursue it.</p>
<p>But I said it was in demand, just that I think the new fields are more in demand because they’ve got very few students. Also, I think you missed the part where I said I’m in Mexico, since you mentioned minors, which we don’t even have here. Really, the situation’s quite different. I do know Computer Science majors have offers, since that’s my brother’s major. He’s been studying on his own since he was around 12, and when he was 16-17, he was offered a good paying part-time job from a Canadian guy who thought he was a college student at first. So yes, I know they do get offers.</p>
<p>But reality, too, shows me that there are many Computer Science majors HERE that are unemployed or working as teachers because they’ve got no idea what they’re doing. I think you missed the part of my post saying the competent students are in demand. I know many of those kind, and they’re all very satisfied with their jobs.</p>
<p>In the US, information systems or a similar name would refer to a business-oriented major which has a lesser level of technical content and is primarily focused on managing computers, rather than designing computers and software for them.</p>
<p>At UNAM, it appears that Ciencias de la Computaci</p>
<p>The only person I knew who majored in biochemistry got a so-so job at an insurance company that she quit to go to grad school (after not getting admitted to med school). I got the impression that for many, it is TOUGH getting a job with a biology, biochem or similar degree. Some of my D’s other friends who are science majors also had a tough time getting a job after graduating from college. This is just the US, don’t know the situation in Mexico at all.</p>
<p>DD2 is being railroaded into a medical career by her Tiger mom (not sure if she’ll end up anywhere near the same zip code as med school) so in order to avoid the ‘what do I do with a biology degree if I can’t get into med school or if I faint after we cut open the first cadaver’ syndrome we’re looking into related areas. Biomedical Engineering and Computational Biology seem to be quite interesting. </p>
<p>Biology, strictly from the point of view of a parent who knows as much about biology as I do about bagpipes, seems to be unnecessarily hard tho… For the same amount of effort one can get a physics or math degree and with much better prospects of job placement. Are that many kids really chasing a medical degree (in which case biology seems like the easy weeder-out)???</p>
It is stressful keeping both clients and the gov’t happy, the workload is extremely compressed and the hours are long during tax season. You get used to it and the pay is good. Unemployment has been ~3% in recent years.</p>
I was a weird kid, every other girl was saying singer/artist and all the boys were saying astronaut/firefighter. </p>