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[–]Asoka11111 6 points6 points6 points 11 years ago [recovered] | Copy Link
Take this from someone at an Ivy League school: go to the best college possible
[–][deleted] 11 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link
[permanently deleted]
[–]Asoka111111 points 11 years ago [recovered] (1 child) | Copy Link
I'm confused by what you mean with that statement
[–]naworc 10 points11 points12 points 11 years ago (4 children) | Copy Link
If you have no connections or training in any particular trade by this point in your life, going to college is probably your best bet.
Community college can save you thousands, but it does come at a price. Going away to college at a 4 year UNI can be VERY fun and most people develop their core group of friends during their freshman year. If you're transferring in as a junior and commuting/living off campus you will find it much harder to generate a solid network of friends. Also getting a leadership position in an extra curricular organization at the UNI will be more difficult because you will be competing against more well connected members that have been there when you were not.
DO NOT commit to a major unless you know there is a decent job market out there demanding it. DO NOT listen to any person employed by the UNI when choosing a major. They will lie to your face and tell you that every major they offer has a healthy job market attached to it.
Lastly, Don't think that just simply getting a degree ensures you a decent job in your field. I have seen many of my peers fall victim to this type of thinking, and now they are left either with nothing but debt or a bottom tier job in their field. You need to separate yourself from the average students ASAP. Keep a high GPA, develop connections with professionals/professors, join clubs, volunteer, get a leadership position, get an internship/ co-op. I know doing some of those things can be a drag and seem like a waste of time but you will thank yourself 4 years later when you're accepting a lucrative job offer from a top tier company.
[–]alpha_n3rd 1 point2 points3 points 11 years ago* (2 children) | Copy Link
This. Higher education is an investment. Make it a good investment. Maximize your ROI. Don't blow 100k on an English degree. Likewise watch out for degree mills. Find an inexpensive school with a good reputation. Think about where the world will be in 4 years and study something that will be in demand.
Regardless of what you major in, be certain to study the following topics,
[–]1favours_of_the_moon 1 point2 points3 points 11 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
Go to Germany or Norway and learn for free, while getting the experience of being overseas. Looks AWESOME on a resume.
You can probably get a student visa, that's how people got into Canada back in the day, for work.
[–]alpha_n3rd 1 point2 points3 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
I think that's a great idea. You can easily blow 100k on an shitty education over here. That's a house, dude.
[–]DoctorWelch1 point 11 years ago [recovered] | Copy Link
Reddit is very STEM centric but the statistics show that Liberal Arts majors actually have a higher 5 year and especially 10 year earning rate than many STEM degrees.
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Depends on too many factors. If you don't have scholarships, don't go to a school in the NYU price range, it's just not worth it. Don't get a liberal arts degree unless you are one of those fags that just loves school. Because the only place to go with a degree such as sociology would be academia, and you need to get top grades for that. And even if you could do that, that would suck. You don't really get to pick where you live when you become a prof. You just have to pick whatever Uni will hire you. Have a plan. If you don't have a plan and you can kill some credits by taking general classes at community college, do that. No one wants to pay thousands for an english credit in college when you can take it for $500 at a community college. Do you like math and science? If so, just jump right into your 4 year degree and do engineering or CSE or something. Careful with loans. You better be getting a worthwhile degree if you're using loans.
[–]TRP VanguardtrpSenator 2 points3 points4 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Go hardcore! Seriously. This is one thing my family told me that I thought was garbage, but turned out extremely true.
When you are at this point in life, you don't realize it now, but it's HIGHLY competetive. You may think you're equal with everyone now, thus have no incentive to bust your ass, but you are just part of the young kid class who is separating the winners from losers.
Take internships every summer. Pass all your classes. Start a small business. Do whatever it takes to place you above the rest. If you choose college, get a REAL degree in a relevant field. Learn as much as you can, and network closely with your superiors.
[–]Alex_is_not_on_fire 1 point2 points3 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
If you're in the US, then this is for you.
Since you have the grades, go to a top 50 university, top 25 preferably, and make sure to maintain a 3.7+ in econ, stats, finance, computer science, or math. Try to do 2 of them (e.g. double major or major + minor). Then you can get a front office role in finance or consulting (which are almost entirely closed off to people from lower ranked, and still extremely difficult to get if you go to a top 50 school, but doable) or in software development at a major tech firm. Make sure to do 3 internships, junior summer one is the most important. If you do this, the incremental tuition you spend at going to a better school will more than pay itself off by leading to a much better paying job.
Also, something I wish I did: join a frat. At better schools, they can actually help your career if you don't use it as an excuse to become a bum.
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
Do you have to jump through some hoops (i.e., establish residency in the country) or is every uni there free to anyone who wants to attend?
[–]ibuprofiend 1 point2 points3 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
You have to jump through a lot of hoops and have large amounts of cash on hand. Finland has a similar system, and when you look into it, it's not really much cheaper than just commuting to your local state uni branch.
[–]ibuprofiend 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (6 children) | Copy Link
Apply to colleges and see what financial aid you get. If you don't get big scholarships anywhere, do 2 years at a community college and then transfer.
Your number 1 choice is probably your state university. It will be relatively cheap and probably good enough to get you where you want to be. With the economy how it is, no one is going to look down on you for being responsible and not blowing $200,000 at some fancy pants private college.
There are some exceptions of course... for example, if you want to work on Wall Street you have to go to an Ivy, Duke, Stanford, etc. However, in most cases, what you do and who you meet will be way more important than the name of your school.
STEM majors are obviously the best from a financial standpoint. Look into something like engineering or computer science, even if you're not sure you'll like it. Note though that regular science degrees like biology and chemistry are almost as useless as liberal arts degrees... if you're into science, make sure it's applied science.
Finally, beware college recruiters! It is their job to sell you a ridiculously overpriced product you don't need and probably can't afford. Think for yourself and don't listen to the bullshit people are telling you.
Do STEM, or possibly medicine or law.
[–]UGoBoom 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link
I'm a freshman at my state's technical college, and the college of engineering is fairly tough to get into. My grades from high school didn't get me in the first cut, and they threw me in to the Physics major. I get all the same classes as freshman engineers, and I can transfer into the major during sophmore year.
However:
I need a contingency plan. If I somehow don't make the second cut, is Physics a viable major? My advisor tells me they get very engineering-like jobs, but I don't trust her. Tips?
[–]ibuprofiend 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
Physics is better than other science majors because it gives you a strong math and programming background, and those quantitative abilities are what employers want (for example, I've read that many investment banks hire math and physics PhDs). So if you're doing physics, I'd definitely focus on building your math and programming skill. No one is going to care about your knowledge of general relativity, but if you're an expert at high performance computer simulation and advanced math, they might have work for you.
Remember though that you'll be competing against actual math majors, CS majors, and engineers for the same jobs, so you really need to focus on networking and playing up the "jack of all trades" aspect of the physics major.
Of course, I'm just a lowly liberal arts major, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Maybe some STEM people can expand upon my suggestions.
Most investment banks don't hire math and physics PhDs for investment banking roles. They might hire them for trading roles, but I think they're mostly hired for risk managements or structuring roles. More seem to be hired by quant hedge funds or prop shops. Also, the people they hire are PhDs at top programs too - a PhD in math from Central Michigan University won't cut it (but one from MIT will).
[–]40_SixandTwo 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
All the comments here are really good. I'd like to add in to go for something that's a tangible skill, and not some Liberal Arts degree where you're going to learn to analyze the symbolic meaning in literature. Even general business management or project management degrees will be very broad ones that could cover alot of different jobs.
[–]billthane 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
If you're interested in a trade or business, learn it and start your own business. I'm in grade 12 and am starting a business which will hopefully allow me to avoid university and the daily slog. However, if you're a little confused and need a few more skills before you know what you want to do, a degree in a field like chemical engineering could he worth it. Look for schools which offer coop over the summer.
[–]1favours_of_the_moon 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Get a STEM degree, but also double major or minor in something you enjoy.
If you really wanna experiment and get down with the poonanny, Minor/double major in Art with an emphasis in photography.
A lot of people in this thread have no idea what they are talking about. Getting a bachelors is the new high school. It literally does not matter where you get it or what you major in. Don't rely on me or anyone else, look up the stats for yourself. Many Liberal Arts majors make more 5 and 10 years out of their degree than STEM fields because what is being taught there is more conducive to understanding options awareness, critical thinking, and being successful at high end management positions. Again, don't listen to me, look up the stats.
Second, no one gives a shit where you got your bachelors, especially not employers. If you want the better jobs you will want to get a Masters anyway. What matters is connections, and in many cases going to a smaller school no one has heard of where you connect with professors and such is much more valuable than the name of the institution on the degree.
Graduate School is really where the name matters a lot. If you want to get a PhD then you have to worry about where you are getting your MA and all that stuff is very important. If you want to just get your BA and then maybe get a MA and stop, all you have to do is get good grades wherever you go no matter the degree. You can major in Communication or English and go get a MA in Physics, CS, or anything for that matter as long as you supplement your learning after your degree with a few courses and kill it on the GRE.
Work hard, don't slack off, and pick a school where you think you can do well and have fun whether it is public, private, large, or small.
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[–]Asoka11111 6 points6 points6 points [recovered] | Copy Link
[–][deleted] (2 children) | Copy Link
[–]Asoka111111 points [recovered] (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]naworc 10 points11 points12 points (4 children) | Copy Link
[–]alpha_n3rd 1 point2 points3 points (2 children) | Copy Link
[–]1favours_of_the_moon 1 point2 points3 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]alpha_n3rd 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]DoctorWelch1 point [recovered] | Copy Link
[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]TRP VanguardtrpSenator 2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]Alex_is_not_on_fire 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–][deleted] (2 children) | Copy Link
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]ibuprofiend 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]ibuprofiend 0 points1 point2 points (6 children) | Copy Link
[–][deleted] (2 children) | Copy Link
[–]1favours_of_the_moon 1 point2 points3 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]UGoBoom 0 points1 point2 points (2 children) | Copy Link
[–]ibuprofiend 0 points1 point2 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]Alex_is_not_on_fire 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]40_SixandTwo 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]billthane 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]1favours_of_the_moon 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]DoctorWelch1 point [recovered] | Copy Link