Majoring in STEM or picking up a skilled trade?

majoring in STEM or picking up a skilled trade?
what will let me live a comfy life in the US, some years from now?

A skilled trade is no a comfy life unless you advance in it, get further education and a license, and then own your own business.

Trades are gay boomer logic is literally be productive every second for Mr Goldsteinberg or its a sin

People who know how to lay tiling well are invaluable. Find someone to take you on as an apprentice.

As long as your major is Comp Sci do that

S_EM are garbage unless you also figure out how to apply them with CS concepts.

Like math, math is a good path to be a programmer if you learn a language.

But math alone isn't a good path unless coupled with specific skill sets like financial modeling etc

Working is never comfy

Aviation Maintenance. The ultimate comfy.

Pipefitting/plumbing/HVAC

Don't do trades unless you are too stupid to cut it in STEM

Which I assume that because you're even considering trades, you are subhuman intelligence

it depends, I can make more than our salaried engineers at the plant by a long shot, but I have to work pretty much 6 a week all year to do it. if I work 7 days a week I blow them out of the water and can make pretty much 100k a year as a tradesman. Tool and Die maker to be specific. really it comes down to what you prefer to do, I like solving problems and doing math, telling engineers their ideas are shit, and working with my hands.

Op needs to go talk to people that work as engies or other things and really get a feel for what they do before he makes the jump, I got lucky as fuck and landed in the right place right off the bat

Also, these two shilling faggot fucks have never done a real days work of anything other than maybe flipping burgers and need to literally kill themselves because tradesmen built this fucking country and will continue to do so.

Calm down you faggot fuck. I'm an electrician and I come from a working family but a trade isn't what I'd call comfortable unless you're a boss who isn't in the field.

Add these two to the list of shilling fucks too.

There aint shit wrong with being a tradesman as long as you get in something actually worth a fuck, electrican, machining, robotics programmer etc.

HVAC, plumbing and the others are SHIT unless you can get out on your own to do them as your own boss.

I get tired of people shitting on trades, muh bad. Industrial or residential?

Mostly residential but I do really large, well-off houses.

Shut up faggot I use to install HVAC from 17-20 trades are for scum

Making bank as a project engineer building things that help blow people up. CS is OK.

All tradesmen will be replaced by robots

All lawyers, doctors, and even programmers will be replaced by artificial intelligences

The only profession that wont be replaced is Art, which cannot be automated as it is a result of human emotion

you were probably shit at it

Yeah, some non-tech engineering paths are good, but a lot of engy paths are meme worthy levels of employment/salary

My only real experience with it is industrial but im sure the rich fags pay very well.

Carpenters, welders, plumbers, they all make a nice buck. One of my mexican friends went to try his luck up there, and he had no marketable skills as far as I remember. Now he owns his own contractor office and he gets a shitload of work to do. He worked his ass off to get there tho

Depends what kind of STEM you major in and what kind of trade you want to pick up.

Applied mathematics with a minor in computer science (good for data science jobs)? Purely computer science? Civil or electrical engineering?

Basically all other types of STEM/engineering degrees are garbage.

I was a beast it also gave me forearms of a god, still trades are for bottom of the barrel trash. Never again.

It's just not for everyone. At least ITAR regulations ensure job security for me. Lots of people all over the world can program. Not that many can make titanium hot form dies for fighter jet parts.

Both options are highly valued. Can I put you down for the four, eight, or value vocational package? Financing is available.

I laughed at my older brother for going into art, I thought he would be a starving artist. Now he is selling paintings for $5,000 each and his work is shown at some pretty big shows. Meanwhile I'm making about $60,000 with my degree.

I'm by no means poor and am able to pay my bills just fine, but he is making about double what I make and pursuing his life dream, while I despise my job.

But I also understand my brother is not the average artist and most can't expect to have that kind of success.

Majored in Biology, how fucked am I?

what do his paintings look like? I'm intrigued what the masses love these days.

What does his art look like?

People get paid millions for vagina sculptures so it seems like a pretty easy job as long as you can convince people of your bullshit

Trades typically have zero black people because it takes a lot of hard work to stick it through the hard first few years. Plumbers never starve.

Fucked if you stay in biology.

Not fucked if you don't.

I was bio and went into software after a couple years of bench research.

Literally quadrupled my salary.

In contrast, my last post-doc had a BS, a Master's and a PhD and made $6k more than me with just a BS.

I make more than the head PI now as well.

But it's a long game, they have much better options long-term with comfy tenured tracks + consulting etc. Would be easy for them to break into data science as well and make more than me right now.

>Spending 500,000 on a degree
>Instead of just spending that on a home

What are you working for? Isn't the point of getting a degree to be able to afford a house? How come most degree programs cost what a fucking house does these days? It's a total ripoff, you borrow from the banks so you can borrow more from the banks.

Biology grad here. You're fucked if you give up. That's the key: never give up. You may not be working a job that requires biological knowledge but you do need the piece of paper that says you know it.

For example, me and a buddy of mine graduated with the same biology degree from the same university. Both of us tried to get jobs related to our major. Both of us failed. He gave up, I didn't. I now work at a distillery doing quality control (closer the chemistry than anything) and my buddy is addicted to pills.

You may not get the opportunity you expected, but you will find an opportunity. Just don't give up.

Welding is a great choice, huge shortage. Always a job. Advance in education with it and you will be able to pick your work and live most anywhere.

This.

There just aren't many jobs that require a Biology degree specifically, and those that do aren't lucrative.

However, you HAVE a degree, probably a BS. That actually does mean something. On paper, you have more than 80% of the US population who either have a BA or no degree at all.

You need to couple a skill with your knowledge. Try new things, network etc. Despite the new reputation Bio is not even remotely easy and has a really high drop out/switch rate just due to the rigors involved. Bio switchers usually switch into something easier, not harder.

He does really abstract stuff that looks like paint splatters, but he is also very skilled and can do perfectly lifelike work as well.

But his most expensive work just looks like somebody threw paint at a ceiling fan and had a canvas on the floor. Yeah I know it's bullshit. But hey, he sells a couple a month at like $5K each. So power to him. I'd never buy one.

>Spending 500,000 on a degree
Fucking where?
Figured as much. In campus opportunities have been few and lack of funding in relevant departments have been making it worse to find anything to plump up the CV and my experience which in turn makes it hard to find a job outside of it with this meme BS in biology.
I'll consider it. Been a year so far with little to show for it after graduating.
>couple a skill with your knowledge
Anything that you can suggest? Probably the most intricate thing I learned getting my BS was the process of gram staining slides and it's variants. Fun stuff and easy to fuck up if I'm honest.

Don't focus on bio related skills

Focus on other things. Sounds like you're still in college, join clubs! My university had business clubs that anyone could join. Do it, if nothing else it's good for networking. It also shows an employer you're interested in other stuff.

Get leadership positions. Get involved with charity events, you can get management experience out of it.

APPLY TO INTERNSHIPS OUTSIDE OF YOUR MAJOR

Also, learn to program. Python is easy and in-demand.

If you actually like biology and was a career out of it, you have to pursue a master's/PhD.

Go and do some labor work on a construction site if you never have before op i bet you'll be studying stem in no time. Not for the faint of heart blows my mind how hard those guys work compared to my daily 5 hours of youtubing and extended lunch breaks in IT. Destroys your body to.

Oh wait you graduated. Ok then, different plan.

Apply to literally anything that requires a Bachelor's degree that you're interested in.

Most people don't get jobs because of their degree alone desu, it's about who you know and what kind of relevant experience you can spin on a resume.

It's tough for everyone, I know business/finance/chem/lit/math/physics majors that can't find work in their fields either.

Here, There's nothing wrong with grad school. That's where I went when I realized I had reached a dead end.

Do what you know you are good at. Do what you know makes you happy. Just dont get mad and quit the first time you fail.

Trade

PhD in microbiology here. If you don't want to work in academia the job market is pretty slim, and the jobs that are available are very competitive. Science is hard if you aren't a OCD autist. Very repetitive and detail oriented. You need to not get bored doing the same thing over and over and over and enjoy being absolutely perfect in every detail as you do it. Otherwise you will go crazy.

I should have been a mechanical engineer. I love working on my car, building drones and racing them in my spare time, building computers etc. All my hobbies are mechanical or electronics related.

I chose biology because I considered it to be an emerging field that would be blowing up by the time I got my PhD. Biotech is an emerging field, but I admit I'm not good enough to get those top jobs. I'm currently making about $60K at a small biotech company which is pretty low for somebody with a graduate degree. But I think I can be making more pretty soon now that I'm building a professional resume that isn't just school experience.

At one of my job interviews after getting my PhD one guy looked at my resume and said "So you've never had a REAL job". You can tell a lot of people in the industrial side of biology really look down on the academia side of biology. There are thousands of people who never leave the academic bubble, they go to school, get their degree, and become teachers, and teach others how to become teachers.

Im not into swapping

Nothing will let you live a comfy life. Nobody is comfortable. You will work till you die.

I forgot this next part:

You should ask yourself what will let you live a SATISFYING life. Not a comfortable one.

Only if you care about money.

You were a tin basher congratulations.

idk why people shill for trades so hard. most trades are really boring, don't pay very much for the amount of hard work you do, and you most likely won't start your own business; instead, you will be the guy that is 50 and working under some guy, still.

I write retirement projections. I see people retiring from STEM (mostly computers) in their 50s all the time.

you're doomed no matter what without some nepotism on your side

Biology major here. Then 2 years PA School. I make 6 figures.

depends on your IQ

Hmmm I work on my own schedule. Unless its an emergency I work according to a facilities budget and my free will. Trades do pay well.

Sorry to hear that brother. Ever thought about heading out on your own? Fermenting beer, wine, or cheese? With a background in microbiology and an interest in mechanics, I would peg you as someone ready to take that plunge. A microbiologist can make yeast dance (lactobacilli for cheese, whatever) and an ME knows the equipment to give them a stage to dance on.

What would you suggest instead?

Yeah I've actually brewed a little on my own, just like 3 batches so far.

I have a friend from grad school who quit about halfway to his PhD and went to be an apprentice under a beer brewer at some nearby craft brewery. I should look him up and ask him how it is going.

Always wanted to pursue brewing but never really pursued it other than trying a couple small batches myself.

Beggar's can't be choosers. Got it. Hopefully the feeling of feeling ripped off wears away at some point. Boomer fuck of a high school counselor sold me on "Go into stem and the offers will literally pile up". Horse manure.
This is what I was thinking about as my next step but I'm wary of feeling like I'm just digging myself into a deeper hole. But yeah job listings tend to request for masters or higher in biology. Fucking sucks. Did it pay off for you?
My condolences man, i dabbled in microbio research in undergrad and it was boring as hell. I grimace at the trials you went through. Autistic OCD is the main ingredient to satisfaction in a career in the sciences I think.

God damn it, if I could go back I probably would have gone for a quicker route like nursing or a trade like carpentry. Thanks for your advice and stories guys, I really appreciate it.

Maybe because you were not built to be an alpha. I enjoy sweating my ass off floating 60 ft above the ground in a bucket, or working a live 3 phase panel.

Lineman make good money and work very little.

yea, that's real bull work. no one takes you faggots seriously.

I'm jealous of my friends that went into pharmacy. I have a few friends making 6 figures putting pills in bottles. But from what I have heard the market is getting very saturated now and its harder to get a job now.

You do when your power is out

STEM isn't a major. It's an acronym for a bunch of fields that have multiple things one could major in including junk. Save your money

High debt low reward relative as well.

I hate to keep telling everyone to get into software...but you'll seriously make a lot of fucking money without professional school debt.

I know everyone wants to be a doctor of some sort, but it's a loooooong road, particularly before you don't have to consider the debt limitations.

Your little puter do workie when there’s no power

Im going for joint geology/archaeology degree
Hopefully score some badass gov funded expeditions

i got solar panels

Stainless union welders for nuclear steam make upwards of $45.00 us per hour plus expenses

I write computer code from my house and it’s super comfy.

>>hurr durr i can make more than entry level engineers if i work like a slave
>>thinks 100k is allot

Unless your working for a shit company any and every engineer that's been around for more than a couple years should be making $100k+ without working your slave labor hours.

They will easily retire making about $250k with 32 hour work weeks while you work until the day you die.

Awww you keep trying.

Award goes to you, user, for the most random, intriguing, philanthropic post in this thread. I like you, and hope other user becomes a kickass cheese man

I've been brewing for about a year now myself. I enjoy it pretty well. I don't know what kind of area you live in but in my part of Tennessee, 2 microbreweries have done exceptionally well here. One has a taproom, the other just kegs and sells. I imagine it's a pretty comfy life to get into without back breaking effort.

All that being said, I've read the craft beer bubble will bust soon. Disheartening to hear, but advantageous for you and I and others who may want to get in the game later in life.

its nice that this bothers u

Just finished up a birdogs beer and filtered it. Its strong like 91 percent alc but perfectly clear.

Im drunk and laughing. Are you?

So far so good on my end. It's a difficult perspective to see, but a graduate degree is less off an expectation, like a diploma or B.S., for yourself and more of an investment in yourself. It WILL, eventually albeit, pay off being able to show on paper that you were willing to go the extra mile to set yourself apart from others.

Get good grades in STEM - there's a decent amount of scholarship money sloshing around, and it isn't too hard to make your college expenses zero or near zero.

TY

STEM has treated me well. The money has been decent and I've lived comfortably. However, I don't like what I do so, yea, you should consider whether the work you do is pleasurable. Maybe work isn't in general. I dunno

Gonna let you in on a little secret - get the STEM degree and go into to technical sales. Especially if you're chad, belonged to a frat, and got pussy easy in college.

It works the same in industry - the betas will be resenting you and fawning all over you at the same time. You'll schmooze your way through days on the golf course, paid lunches, car plan, travel, etc. $150k/yr typical, more if CA based or other high cost of living city.

You don't even have to be good at whatever your major was, you just have to have enough technical background to coordinate design activity and procurement schedules and manage the personalities.

Piece of cake if you got the social skills, easy job, high salary. Of course, look at STEM graduates and you'll realize it's a small percentage that aren't autistic basement dwellers. But if you got it - it's the place to be.

Not all STEM subjects are born equal. Petroleum engineering will probably provide you with the comfiest life in the shortest duration, but will probably be hard.
Electrical engineering is a very wide umbrella and you can find plenty of options there as well.
Computer science is a mixed bag. Make sure you go to a good school and they have a decent program.
See if you can find a school which requires you to take the smallest amount of subjects in the humanities.
As far as trades go - picking up a trade is always a useful idea. Have you thought of working part time in a trade to pay for your degree?

This
Especially if you also learn underwater welding

Trades are for morons

>what will let me live a comfy life in the US, some years from now?

Neither. Place is going to hell.

>there's a decent amount of scholarship money sloshing around, and it isn't too hard to make your college expenses zero or near zero

Calling BS. Had trouble reeling in scholarship money even with a > 3.5 GPA. If you're a minority and/or female, then there is probably schollie money available.

>tfw about to start school to be a mechanic

Hows it look like for prospecting Mechanics guys? The school I go to does Welding and A/C repair too, I still have enough time to change it if I want

What kind of math are you using?

Go with what you'd enjoy doing the most.

you're probably just an unlikable prick that no one wanted to give money to.

I'm pretty happy making a little over 70k a year. That's before overtime or other bonuses too. Welding/Mechanics.

Job is easy. Coworkers are cool. Boss is chill guy. Great benefits. Low stress. Area is low cost of living.

I'm majoring in Bio and I want to get a job as a doctor years down the road. The content doesn't come as naturally to me as it does some of my fellow students, but I've never lacked for determination. I had no idea Bio majors were looked down upon by so many----but I had the impression several years down the road finding a job a pharmaceutical company or as a doctor wouldn't be too terribly difficult. Am I wrong?

Computers scary me =/

>looked down on
For whatever reason, it's not highly valued.

I think the problem is that HR people write job descriptions and have no fucking idea what they're doing, since they usually have no qualifications or even knowledge in the field they are trying to attract, and even less knowledge in the content of most majors

Your average HR person is functionally incompetent, with a BA in sociology or something silly

There seems to be a LOT of misconceptions about the trades in this thread so I'll clear it up

Yes, it's not easy. It's shitty work. But a few years from now, all the boomers will retire. And nobody these days wants to be a fucking tradie, so there's going to be demand for it. The job pays good money, gives you a good sense of accomplishment and makes you manly. But don't expect to be working past 55 (and that's if you're lucky).

Now, if you guys are smart, you wouldn't go to to a shitty trade. You want to go to a highly specialized and technical trade so that nobody steals your job. A good rule of thumb is: the harder it is to get into a certain trade, the better it is. Examples are elevator mechanics, steamfitters, refrigeration mechanics. Those trades are where they make bank.

How did you get started in welding? Thinking of that or commercial diving and maybe underwater welding eventually

>I had the impression several years down the road finding a job a pharmaceutical company or as a doctor wouldn't be too terribly difficult. Am I wrong?

If you're a white male, your chances of getting into med school are < 50%. The jobs in pharma go to engineers and doctors. A straight bio degree might get you a job in teaching or in government.

I'm probably gonna go with mechanic and hopefully move into boat repair too, I met this Christian qt and I'd really like to start a family before I hit 25. Well a man can wish at least

~50% isn't terrible, but maybe I should look more into pharma jobs or chemical engineering. Idk