Ask HN: Pick My Career
I understand that this isn't news, but I really need some advice. I'm 26 and am returning to college. I initially planned on studying Psychology, but it doesn't interest me as much as it used to. Lately I've been spending my free time teaching myself Algebra (I was a wreck in High School) and SQL, and I'm enjoying it. I would like to do something related to math and/or computers, but with the cost of schooling as high as it is right now, I want to ensure that I am making a wise investment. I'm also looking for something rather recession-proof. I have about $1,000 in credit card debt and $6,000 in student loans. Any ideas?
21 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 44.5 ms ] thread2. WHY are you going back to school? What benefit does it and the debt that'll come with it give?
3. How many more classes do you need to graduate?
4. Have you tried out programming? Gone and seen how hackers work every day? Are you sure you want to follow that path? It's a specific type of person who LOVES this work. Many others find themselves disillusioned quickly.
2. To learn and to make more money. I realize the two don't always go hand-in-hand.
3. Too many. This is my 3rd semester back in school.
4. Nope. I'd love to find out more about it, though. Any suggestions?
Thanks for the reply!
This is one assertion I see an awful lot here that rather bothers me. You cannot become a medical doctor without the proper degrees. You cannot become a teacher (where I live, at least) without the proper degree (it's not technically required, but no employer will come within a hundred yards of you if you don't have it). You can't become a whole pile of potentially-interesting, reasonably-well-paying things without the correct degree. You can program without a degree, but the notion that there is therefore no connection between getting a degree and success in your chosen career path is ridiculous.
One thing you might consider is that relevant work experience goes just as far for getting on a trajectory as the education. Trying to be hired as a teacher might be just as hard with an education degree if all you've done is worked on oil rigs as it would be if you had worked in a childrens museum for five years but had no formal degree.
As a 26-year old starting college anew, it probably does. As an 22yo graduate, you're probably right but if you are a 30yo graduate, you likely want to graduate in something you'll enjoy for the next 30 years.
The most valuable part of college was the experience, the people I met, and the T1 connection in the dorms. Studying English taught me how to quote Shakespeare and write sentences like the last one with parallel structure. Occasionally I wax poetic about the similarities between sonnet form and object-oriented PHP.
Don't ask a bunch of strangers what you should be doing. In most cases, it doesn't really matter anyway - what is more important is that you do SOMETHING, then if you don't like it, try SOMETHING ELSE. You can figure these things out for yourself - and from the sounds of it, you probably already know what your interests are and what your budget is.
Pick your own career / college major / text editor / programming language / what to eat for lunch / what music to listen to when coding / what city to live in / what video games to play / what drugs to use / where to meet members of the opposite sex / etc.
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It seems from comments in this thread that you are already back in school, studying, uh, nothing in particular, I guess. If you're sure you're interested in math/computers, then majoring your studies in computer science (possibly with a second major in mathematics) may be a good route.
But no degree recession-proofs your life. You have to do that yourself. Programming work is easily outsourced to whoever does it cheapest (and ostensibly, adequately). Be an engineer; create things, build things, develop things that people actually need or want. Solve problems people have. Focus your career on how you can make others' lives better. That kind of work isn't easily outsourced.
Read this: http://philip.greenspun.com/ancient-history/professionalism-...
And this: http://www.amazon.com/Thou-Shall-Prosper-Commandments-Making...
But like bhousel said... we're a bunch of random people on the internet. You know you dreams, ambitions, interests, abilities, etc., way better than we do. Probably, the more specific your questions, the more useful our answers can be.
Just think of all the things we aren't tracking right now. There aren't a lot of people who are well equipped to analyze that sort of volume of data.