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Looking to go back to school... what is the best paying job option?

InnerSpaceInnerSpace 443 Posts
edited November 2010 in Strut Central
any thoughts? I love media oriented projects. just looking for something that is fulfilling but also pays well.
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  • meistromocomeistromoco 954 Posts
    Here's a thought: Don't go back to school unless you know what you want to do.
  • PATXPATX 2,820 Posts
    This is not the sort if attitude that will make us USA #1 for the rest of history!

    How about you get job mopping the floor of your dad's multi-million dollar business and use the 'pay' that Dad gives you to 'put yourself through college'. Then when you get a promotion, do nothing but blub blub blub about it on camera, at the same time as doing a mean Tommy Lee Jones impression.

    YES! You too can be Speaker of the House elect!
  • covecove 1,567 Posts
    GET THAT MONEY
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    InnerSpace said:
    just looking for something that is fulfilling but also pays well.

    You know a lot of people spend their whole lives trying to answer this question, right?

    I am not sure if SoulStrut can provide the answer....that is in your own heart.

    PS. There are a lot of ways to feel fulfilled if one's job is not doing it. Volunteering at what you love to do while you get paid at something you can stand is not a bad deal at all.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Flipper of raers aka record dealer.
  • cookbookcookbook 783 Posts
    bassie said:
    InnerSpace said:
    just looking for something that is fulfilling but also pays well.

    You know a lot of people spend their whole lives trying to answer this question, right?

    I am not sure if SoulStrut can provide the answer....that is in your own heart.

    PS. There are a lot of ways to feel fulfilled if one's job is not doing it. Volunteering at what you love to do while you get paid at something you can stand is not a bad deal at all.

  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    InnerSpace said:
    something that is fulfilling but also pays well.

    Depending on your sensibilities, some jobs are more suitable than others. But at the end of the day, if you're doing something 40 hours a week for pay, it's work and sooner or later it feels like it.
  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    Firefighter
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    HarveyCanal said:
    Flipper of raers aka record dealer.

    Berkeley High to Wall Street
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    Last thing I'd do is go to school unless you're looking to be employed in a position that would need to be state-certified ie. Architect/lawyer/doctor. Get an internship and bust your ass. Being payed $7/hr beats being in debt all your life
  • DJFerrariDJFerrari 2,411 Posts
    meistromoco said:
    Here's a thought: Don't go back to school

    Teach yourself and become an expert... you can do it in a lot less time than any school and for a hell of a lot less money. You can't be passive about it, though... you really have to stick with it and treat it as if it were school. If you like media oriented projects, build up a portfolio of sorts... way more valuable to a hiring manager than a degree. Good luck!
  • DeegreezDeegreez 804 Posts
    meistromoco said:
    Here's a thought: Don't go back to school unless you know what you want to do.
  • markus71markus71 937 Posts
    I quit my former job about 6 years ago, went back to school and now work in the mental health field. It pays less but I feel like I have the best job in the world. Money isn't everything.
  • jleejlee 1,539 Posts
    Possum Tom said:
    Last thing I'd do is go to school unless you're looking to be employed in a position that would need to be state-certified ie. Architect/lawyer/doctor. Get an internship and bust your ass. Being payed $7/hr beats being in debt all your life

    Saying....based on this article I read today, law school may not even be the way to go.

    http://www.economist.com/node/17461573?story_id=17461573

    Between 1996 and 2008 private law schools??? median tuition fees almost doubled, to just under $34,000 a year. At public law schools fees grew even faster, albeit from a lower base: for those going to schools in their home state they almost trebled, taking the median to around $16,000. Starting salaries at the biggest firms???those with more than 500 lawyers???roughly doubled, to $160,000. But such plum jobs are hard to get, especially for graduates of the less prestigious public schools. At smaller firms starting pay has for years failed to keep up with soaring tuition fees, and of late has fallen (see chart).

    Graduates??? chances in the job market have worsened since the ???great purge??? of 2009, when firms laid off young lawyers and withdrew job offers. The National Law Journal says that the 250 biggest firms cut their numbers of attorneys by 4% in 2009 and were projected to cut by another 1.1% in 2010, making for the worst two-year period in the 33 years of the journal???s surveys.

    Those that did not lay off any lawyers have frozen hiring and squeezed more work out of their staff. So morale is dismal at many firms. But it is worse among those recent graduates stuck in temporary or part-time posts or working in non-legal jobs. The grim market has given rise to a situations-vacant website, shitlawjobs.com, whose home-page banner reads: ???You???re a lawyer, the economy sucks and you need a job.??? Among its latest vacancies on November 10th was one for a Spanish-speaking lawyer, on just $10 an hour.
  • The_NonThe_Non 5,691 Posts
    jlee said:
    Possum Tom said:
    Last thing I'd do is go to school unless you're looking to be employed in a position that would need to be state-certified ie. Architect/lawyer/doctor. Get an internship and bust your ass. Being payed $7/hr beats being in debt all your life

    Saying....based on this article I read today, law school may not even be the way to go.

    http://www.economist.com/node/17461573?story_id=17461573

    Between 1996 and 2008 private law schools??? median tuition fees almost doubled, to just under $34,000 a year. At public law schools fees grew even faster, albeit from a lower base: for those going to schools in their home state they almost trebled, taking the median to around $16,000. Starting salaries at the biggest firms???those with more than 500 lawyers???roughly doubled, to $160,000. But such plum jobs are hard to get, especially for graduates of the less prestigious public schools. At smaller firms starting pay has for years failed to keep up with soaring tuition fees, and of late has fallen (see chart).

    Graduates??? chances in the job market have worsened since the ???great purge??? of 2009, when firms laid off young lawyers and withdrew job offers. The National Law Journal says that the 250 biggest firms cut their numbers of attorneys by 4% in 2009 and were projected to cut by another 1.1% in 2010, making for the worst two-year period in the 33 years of the journal???s surveys.

    Those that did not lay off any lawyers have frozen hiring and squeezed more work out of their staff. So morale is dismal at many firms. But it is worse among those recent graduates stuck in temporary or part-time posts or working in non-legal jobs. The grim market has given rise to a situations-vacant website, shitlawjobs.com, whose home-page banner reads: ???You???re a lawyer, the economy sucks and you need a job.??? Among its latest vacancies on November 10th was one for a Spanish-speaking lawyer, on just $10 an hour.

    There are law grads who are suing the schools they graduate from based on not being able to find a job. I shit you not.
  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    Go to Youtube and teach yourself.

  • edulusedulus 421 Posts
    how many years of eligibility you got left? get good at basketball or football.

    pharm school is good. optometry school. but if you are talking undergrad, if you already have a degree, don't even bother. if you dont, go work in food service or something.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    jlee said:
    Possum Tom said:
    Last thing I'd do is go to school unless you're looking to be employed in a position that would need to be state-certified ie. Architect/lawyer/doctor. Get an internship and bust your ass. Being payed $7/hr beats being in debt all your life

    Saying....based on this article I read today, law school may not even be the way to go.

    http://www.economist.com/node/17461573?story_id=17461573

    Well, if you actually want to be a lawyer it remains virtually unavoidable (there may still be a handful of jurisdictions that will allow people without a degree to sit for the bar; but finding a job that way is unlikely).

    But it's not currently a good option for people who don't know what they want to do, and are enrolling simply because there are no real prerequisites.

    And attending a poor or mediocre private institution at full price was probably never a great plan.
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    I think being a one man band is a much easier thing to accomplish these days. Get in to a business you really respect at ground level and show them you can wear a lot of hats. In most cases, you could pretty much just tell them you have a degree, I'll it's not likely they'll even check.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    Possum Tom said:
    In most cases, you could pretty much just tell them you have a degree, I'll it's not likely they'll even check.

  • El PrezEl Prez NE Ohio 1,141 Posts
    study via wikipedia
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    InnerSpace said:
    any thoughts? I love media oriented projects. just looking for something that is fulfilling but also pays well.

    The fact that you're asking us for advice does not bode well for your employment future.

    Saying.
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    faux_rillz said:
    Possum Tom said:
    In most cases, you could pretty much just tell them you have a degree, I'll it's not likely they'll even check.


    Sorry, this was true ten years ago or more, but not now.

    Any sizable employer just signs up for an online service and can check if you have a degree in seconds, and I can guarantee that many companies that insure businesses require them to do it.

    Moreover, if it comes to light down the line that you falsely claimed to have a degree, your employer can sue you to recover the wages they paid you, with a very good chance of winning.

    It's foolish in this day and age to lie about this.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    Pretend to possess a degree that you did not actually earn. Then sue the institution that you did not attend because you can't find a job.
  • street_muzikstreet_muzik 3,919 Posts
    Processing foreclosures, maybe?
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    Horseleech said:
    faux_rillz said:
    Possum Tom said:
    In most cases, you could pretty much just tell them you have a degree, I'll it's not likely they'll even check.


    Sorry, this was true ten years ago or more, but not now.

    Any sizable employer just signs up for an online service and can check if you have a degree in seconds, and I can guarantee that many companies that insure businesses require them to do it.

    Moreover, if it comes to light down the line that you falsely claimed to have a degree, your employer can sue you to recover the wages they paid you, with a very good chance of winning.

    It's foolish in this day and age to lie about this.

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    Horseleech said:
    faux_rillz said:
    Possum Tom said:
    In most cases, you could pretty much just tell them you have a degree, I'll it's not likely they'll even check.


    Sorry, this was true ten years ago or more, but not now.

    Any sizable employer just signs up for an online service and can check if you have a degree in seconds, and I can guarantee that many companies that insure businesses require them to do it.

    Moreover, if it comes to light down the line that you falsely claimed to have a degree, your employer can sue you to recover the wages they paid you, with a very good chance of winning.

    It's foolish in this day and age to lie about this.

    I was clowning, not cosigning--I agree that this is a really bad idea. Even if you get away with it initially, it could easily come back to haunt you decades later, when you are professionally established and therefore have considerably more to lose--as we've seen with a number of political candidates and academics in recent years.
  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts
    mannybolone said:
    InnerSpace said:
    any thoughts? I love media oriented projects. just looking for something that is fulfilling but also pays well.

    The fact that you're asking us for advice does not bode well for your employment future.

    Saying.

    I am vaguely reminded of the older lady who accosted me yesterday at Bloomingdales in order to ask "What is the type of tie that is the most expensive?"
  • AlmondAlmond 1,427 Posts
    The Occupational Information Network http://online.onetcenter.org/ has a lot of valuable, well-researched information about careers in the United States as well as job projections and average earnings.

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics has also updated its Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/oco/

    What state do you live in, Inner Space? You might want to look up your state's agency for employment development or labor market research and information to see if they have occupational guides. These resources are a good first step in research .

    My advice to you is to look through a local community college's course handbook or listing of majors and programs and cross out everything you DON'T want to do. You'll be left with a few options. Sign up for 3 or so random classes next semester (or just sit in the back for free), look through course requirements, talk to a department advisor and decide if something suits you. There are a lot of great 2-year programs out there to jumpstart a career in media.

    Unless you're a medical professional, established lawyer, engineer, tenured professor, etc., chances are, you won't make more than $100k a year even with a degree unless you're really good at what you do.
  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    What m???ke says is true... My point is that if you show and prove it's 1000x more attractive to employers. I do not advocate including a fraudulent degree with your resume

    You can't drop the slightest sarcastic remark around here without having someone try to pick it up and stab you with it.
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