I'm at a crossroads

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Right now I'm a junior in college majoring in Economics. The other day, I seriously started thinking to myself "what is the point of this?" A large amount of college graduates aren't finding work after graduation, and if they do, it's something completely unrelated to what they spent 4 years studying. For example, I know someone who graduated 2 years ago with Journalism and Spanish degrees. Now she's working as a part-time receptionist.

I know it'll greatly piss off my parents, but I'm thinking of dropping out at the end of the year to go to trade school and become an electrician. I'm feeling like it's the best chance I have of scratching out a decent living for myself in the United States. Let's face it, even engineers are being outsourced now. Not only that, but there isn't much you can do with a Bachelor's in Economics. Pretty much, my 3 paths would be
- Accounting, which probably wouldn't work, because there are so many accounting majors now, that I likely wouldn't be able to find a job in that field.
- Desk monkey. So many companies are downsizing anyway, that I likely wouldn't be able to find a mindless, soul-sucking 9-5 job working for some middle management prick.
- Grad school. I can hardly stand going to school right now, so there's no way I would be able to stand going to school for another 2-6 years.

What do you guys think? Does going to trade school sound like the more lucrative of my 2 options? If so, would becoming an electrician be the best path to take? If not, what better option do you think a 22 year old guy with AS and almost no job experience to speak of would have with a BS in Economics?

Maybe you could continue school part time, and get your electrician certification at the same time....? I've heard that HVAC is good too.

It makes no difference what your degree is in, only that you have one. Corporate suits do not hire people based on what their degree is in - but they do hire them because that paper proves that they have what it takes to pursue a goal and stick with it for four years, instead of giving up. Makes no difference if your degree is in economics or animal husbandry.

There may be people you know with degrees who aren't getting jobs in their chosen field at the moment, but that does not mean they never will, or that their degree is forever useless. The global economy is in a down state at the moment, but that wont last forever. Stay in school and get that sheepskin. If you don't, you are condemning yourself to a lifetime of low wages.

Do you realize in most companies having a degree automatically bumps you up one entire pay class? You could be working in a soap factory with a degree in Philosophy and just that paper will mean you get half to twice as much more going in the door than someone with just a High School diploma.

In most companies, not having a degree stops you like a brick wall at anything above office help or sales, meaning if you wanted to promote up to management or some other mid-level or higher position, you CAN'T - only degreed folks allowed above this level, sorry.

If you're already a junior, for God's sake finish. Even an electrician with a degree in Economics will be better off than an average electrician in the long run. And you need to think long term - into your forties and fifties. Not just the next couple of years, which will be gone before you can blink.

Accounting is a good career and there is likely to continue to be strong demand for it here in the U.S for some time to come. I spent 20 years in the field and would never consider discouraging anyone who is even remotely considering it as a career. There are LOTS of jobs in general, you can make a decent living at it, and accounting experience can open doors for you in other areas if you choose to switch careers later on (been there done that).

Because accounting deals with such sensitive data, many business owners are uncomfortable with the work being done outside of the office (ie outsourcing or telecommuting). It's not impossible, but I have found there to be much resistance to letting anything related to accounting be handled outside of the normal 9-5 in-office desk job.

With that said, I must admit that I have also been very concerned with the amount of outsourcing/offshoring that is happening to jobs in the U.S. I have come to believe that the only jobs that will continue to have some relative security in the future (as far as being un-offshorable) would be those in the trades and medical fields. You can't off-shore a job where you have to be physically present to do it (ie roofing, flooring, electrical, examining patients, etc).

The downside with the trades is that as you get older it can become much more difficult to do work that requires so much physical activity. You would most likely need to become a supervisor of some sort in order to continue in your field once you get into your mid-40s or 50s or so. There is also the factor of having to work in a lot of unpleasant conditions (extreme cold, extreme heat, dusty environments, wind, noise, etc). But the pay can be very good IF there is enough work. All-in-all, construction-related trades are a great route for one to take if they were not interested in going through 4 years of college.

Edited to add: After thinking about this a bit more, I have to agree with the poster just above mine - he's right. If you are already a junior - just stick with your current course. You will end up kicking yourself later if you drop out at this point. You have come so far and have only a short bit left to go. You CAN still go into the trades after you have your degree if you still feel that way.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I really hope it helps.

Actually, I'd be making pretty good wages. My dad's in a union (not for electricians though), so he has connections to other unions. He says he could get me into an apprenticeship making $19/hour plus benefits. That's more than my mom makes at her desk job. Plus I'd become a Journeyman after 3 or 4 years and make $30+/hr... plus benefits.



Yeah, that's the only reason that this isn't a sure thing. I'll have gone through 3 years and accrued at least $20K of debt. So if I drop out now, all of that time and money would be wasted. However, if I stay in, I'll get another $10-15K of debt...


Hmm... What did you switch to, and what other careers can you end up switching to?


That's one of the main reasons I'm considering it.


It's not nearly as labor-intensive as a lot of the other trades.

In my case it was marketing - search engine marketing to be more specific. My gig involves reporting on stats and rankings on 300+ websites that are run by the company I work for. Another thing I do is handle sending web traffic to different web sites via Pay Per Click advertising. It involves writing ads, testing different ad copy, tracking results, and determining whether a campaign is profitable or not. There’s a lot of analysis that needs to be done, and there is no doubt that an accounting background has been a huge benefit in this regard. Lots of numbers to crunch (but I love working with numbers anyway).

Interestingly, the FBI also looks for candidates with certain backgrounds to fill agent positions and accounting happens to be one of the several skill sets that they look for! For other positions, accounting is such a good and practical business skill – it’s easy to get promoted to management of some sort if you do a good job. In addition, you can use accounting skills in virtually any industry that exists – it’s needed everywhere. It would not be unheard of to eventually transfer to another type of job in the particular industry that you are working in.

I hope I don't get punished for reviving this. Still, it's relevant.

What have you decided on?

I ask this because I also plan to become an Electrician. University/College is horribly expensive, you get a degree which makes SOME employers consider you and a stack of debt which is going to make buying a house difficult. I would like to study while working, an apprenticeship would be a good way to do this, I'm still in High School, but I need to make a decision on a career and that's the one I have made.

Another thing is the pay. $15-40 an hour is good money. Earning that is something a lot of people want.

And finally, I have read stories about people going for a degree, getting it after 4, 5 or 6 years, coming out of college with no experience and their degree, they then proceed to get jobs as cashiers while their friends who decided to learn a trade own their own homes and have years of experience. Which scenario sounds better?