With regards to the future, I do believe I have put
myself in a comfortable spot, financially, with a lot of help from my parents. Being
an economics major, I believe that this bachelor’s degree alone will not fulfill
my future expectations. I have chosen to add a business minor and am currently
considering going to graduate school in an attempt to further my studies as
well potential in the job market. Prior to being an economics major, I was within
the industrial engineering program here. Having an engineering degree would
presumably offer more job security and maybe a more financially stable future
compared to a bachelors in economics alone. I have chosen to switch to
economics, some could consider this a risk, because I find it more suitable to
my interests.
This past summer I held an internship at a
manufacturing company doing competitive pricing reviews as well as reviewing their
current business plan. Besides this being a great experience and immersing me
in a well-run business, it was also a great addition to my resume. I intend to
use this as a springboard into a different summer internship in 2016. With
aspirations to work for a private equity firm, I hope to get an internship at
an investment banking firm. There is a lot of opportunity to create wealth in
this industry
As
far as debt goes, I have not accumulated any because I have very generous
parents. I understand this is a luxury not all have but it is going to reduce
my future risk immensely. When I leave college I will attempt to get a job near
my parents so I can reduce living costs for the first years of my working life.
After I have accumulated two years of savings I will begin to invest! Watching my
brother invest for the long term over these past five years has really sparked
my interest in investing. If you stay up to date with the market, diversify,
and do your homework on your stocks, I see an enormous potential to reduce
income risk.
Aside
from watching my brother invest, I have been lucky enough to experience both of
my older siblings to enter the working world and purchase homes. Having not
moved from the same suburb of Chicago all my life I had either naively assumed
purchasing a house was simple, or just never thought of it at all. The whole
concept of real estate was new to me. So many outlaying factors go into buying
a house that turn it into a large investment. For example, buying a house in a
neighborhood where property values are rising can aid financial stability in
the long run.
As a
junior in college I would say I have made some solid choices with guards to
future risk. Choosing a major I’m passionate about, my internship experiences
and lack of debt should provide a smooth transition out of college. On top of
that I have witnessed two sibling transition into their later lives. I believe these
combined experiences have greatly lowered my future financial risk.
My older son was in industrial engineering, a few years ahead of you. He did stick it out, though I sense it was tough sledding. He is now working in the field. Whether he stays there, who knows? Perhaps he'll find an interest in economics down the road, though I won't push him in that direction.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether a student in your situation can aspire for both a well paying job and one where the work is socially constructive and clearly improves matters. I wonder if working in a private equity firm satisfies those criteria. I know very little about such companies. But they were prominently featured, particularly Bain Capital, in the Presidential race in 2012. The picture I got from that wasn't very pretty. I just did a quick Google search on Mitt Romney and Bain Capital and then scanned one piece from Fortune magazine and another piece from Rolling Stone magazine. They have somewhat different verdicts but neither makes it seem the business is clearly socially beneficial.
On the other hand, nobody is suggesting that private equity firms will be going away any time soon. Getting a job at one probably would assure you of good income into the future. Whether it would also assure you of job satisfaction is a different matter.
Switching gears, and since you mentioned the possibility of graduate school, let's consider the issue of timing of further education. The particular question to ask is whether pursuing a Masters degree immediately after you get your Bachelors is a good approach, or if it might be better to work for a few years and then get your Masters. Many professional programs of this sort are weekend programs, so those in attendance may miss Fridays at their jobs but otherwise keep working. Of course, there are also full time programs. There is one here in Financial Engineering that might appeal to you.
There is no a prior right answer to the sequencing question, but it is something you might start to think through now, so you can have a plan that has a decent rationale behind it. It is better to do that than simply to ignore the question till the last possible moment. Obviously, how your next internship goes and how the job market looks the year after that will matter. A decent plan accounts for the more obvious contingencies. It also should make you more comfortable with the choices you do make, though it is impossible after the fact to be assured that you remain still happy with that choice. What planning does is to make that less likely, not to eliminate the possibility altogether.
I hope your son is happy in his field of work! Many paths for IE seemed very rewarding and benefit society as a whole. As for private equity, I do agree that it has a rather negative connotation. I aspire to teach high school students and coach football later in life so maybe that'll be more of a positive contribution to the world. After all, a life spent not helping others doesn't seem to bright.
DeleteRegarding graduate school, I would like to work for a couple years before furthering my education. I'm not sure if I could keep studying for more than four years. Hopefully, working for a couple years I can save up some money and break the tedious cycle of schooling.