My daughter will be graduating next year from high school.she will probably do a year or two at a junior college .what im trying to figure out which university is the best.im thinking MIT.
i dont want opinion pieces from mags and polls.if you know somebody making a killing with their degree.let me know.she isnt real sure of what career.she is doing great in advanced algebra.chemisty and physics.personally im kinda astounded.so anyway.whats yalls opinions.
Also where do yall see the economy going and where industry is going.
Well, as you know it'll come down to her ACT and SAT test scores for which colleges she'll be allowed to apply with. Then there's the price point your wallet can cover for tuition beyond whatever grants and student aid she may get, as well as student loans. Expensive big name colleges do not always equate to a better education. You get out of it what you put into it. You can get that from a good state college. And in-state college (the state she resides in) will be 50-70% cheaper than out of state college. I just wouldn't buy into the myth of "best". It'll be what's best for her. And don't waste time and money on college is she doesn't have a very specific plan of post college. Otherwise she'll have a nice piece of paper, 50k in loan debt, and a $15/hr job that won't even pay her monthly loan payment.
The hard sciences do pay well. My two best college friends went into engineering. One mechanical, the other electrical.
The electrical engineer works contract jobs for big oil around the world and pulls in 220-240k/year depending on the job and company. (Frequently Halliburton) The offshore oil rigs have jet engines powering compressors that power generators. He works on the electrical controls of these monsters. 220k sounds like a lot but the taxes and personal expences as a contractor are insane. His take home is more like 150k. He went to a in-state college.
The mechanical engineer is the chief engineer of power sytems at a state university. He makes around 110k/year, but full state Benes which is pretty lush. He went to an instate college.
A good high school friend got into Yale. Got his masters, then a Phd in geo-political dipomacy. He went into education and became a Principal at a public high school, then went on to form his own education consulting compay. (Consisting of himself.) I don't know his income but he lives fairly modest. He has a good life but the Yale Phd degree has not equated to big bucks.
I went the flip side with several liberal arts degrees (lulz! >< ) and somehow found myself into financial and medical underwriting for insurance and financial institutions. I honestly don't care that much for my job (I call it "administrivia", knowledge of rarely used laws, regulations, and paperwork) but it's golden handcuffs. I make around $60-80/hour contracting, depending on the nature of the work and the company. But it's hit and miss, benes come and go. I've learned to keep a sizable slush fund for weeks/months of low or no work. But when it rains, it pours.
In my underwriting I've been impressed with geologists who contract with oil companies. Geology one of my recommendations to young people if they're OK working for oil corporations of field service companies. Travel the world on the company dime, survey in the great outdoors, and income easily in the 80-150k range.
But she really needs to get an idea of what she has intrest in, what she likes to do. Following money doesn't always lead to a good path. Look at me. If I could do it over again I's go technical with underwater construction and welding. But that's a young mans game, and young, I am not. I'm happiest working with my hands, not flipping electronic paper.
Thankyou wartoad.i too had a friend that was over a power plant in tamu back in the eighties.
My uncle was a geologist and yes he made big mula.traveled alot too.maybe thats where i should point her.that or math.sometimes its better to learn to love the one your with.most people i know at fourty still dont know what they want to be when they grow up.
On the money part.money is not a problem when your at the very bottom income bracket.it makes it a little easier.