The WTF are u doing with your life thread

[youre sketch]

i regret not going to school for accounting sometimes. I still feel like I would have hated it, but it would have been secure at least. I am about to have a worthless degree in a bit. let the good times roll.

[Aeroplane]

finally landed a 'job' 2 months ago. at the time it was just employment, but now opportunities seem imminent! life's crazy

[freecat]

i don't regret reading jayrock's inspirating posts. there's some lessons to learn in this.

[eggshell]

good read jayrock. best of luck.

one of the programs i applied for more than 2 years ago now was accounting, didn't get in, now attending the same school, for economics. i'm happy with my decision, although up until recently i had a fairly narrow view of the accounting program.

i know there's a few other econ majors here, hi!

my program alternates school with paid internships, which is awesome, last term i worked for government doing economic analysis, but the job allowed me a lot of a freedom and i ended up working on some graphic work, and developing [both content and back-end] an internal wiki with the goal of 'increasing inter-ministry economic collaboration'... pretty cool, and overall was a great introduction into the professional working world for me, and a great opportunity to work in other cities

right now taking another study term, got an awful macro prof and a midterm for that class on thursday

applying to jobs for my next internship, no luck so far [set my bar a little high, tried for that job at facebook, etc haha]

just got a part-time job for the summer, at a girl's fashion store [aritzia, do they have that in the states?], only work with CWGs lol.... just need some money to chill

generally pretty optimistic about the future, my main concern right now keeping my marks up and getting caught up in math in order to take on my upper year econ courses

oh also trying to do exchange in sweden freecat aren't you also?

[DJ_Flame]

^ Actually I think you got the better end of the deal.

Econs nerally make more than Accts (at least in Singapore) and they mostly move on to analyst jobs with better bonuses than most acctants who are stuck for 3-5 years in the big 4 (which is the most likely scenario for me = 3 years @ PWC in order to get my CPA with shitty working hours)

Random observation: Almost all the guys in school are doing IB internships, everyone has a 3.7 or more GPA and they seem to hold executive positions in student bodies. I sometimes feel I should be going out there to pad my CV even though I'm pretty satisfied with what I got so far.

[BRICK DOM]

^Really?

Last two posts are giving me some hope then. Same as eggshell I had set out with an accounting major in mind but come next year it looks like I'm transferring as an Econ major (starting junior year in college). I had actually figured for the most part that accountants would have it better, and that in order to be truly successful as a Econ major I'd have to get an MBA, but hell, I don't really know much about these things to be honest. If anyone that knows more about this subject matter would like to shed more light I would definitely appreciate it.

As for what I'm doing with my life now ...

Working for a securities company (stocks, not protecting people) as an accounting intern actually. Or at least, that was my working title, but as of now, I'm just basically doing intern duties, which I'm totally fine with. Wish I could get more experience with either the operations side or the accounting side of my firm but they've been telling me that they just don't really have the time to show me the ropes (our accountant is about as new as me). I'm not sweating it though because I know that this will just be a temporary thing, but I would've like to have gotten my foot in the door.

[DJ_Flame]

In my experience, what you study affects only your starting 2-3 years salary and job title. After that, it's all fair game. Newly grad econs make 3.6 - 4k, Accts make 3.2k or so, but in the end it depends on what you do with your career over the first 2 years after graduation.

Anyways, good thing about acct interns is that you get actual exp working with the big 4 or a reputable firm. I'm an accts intern for Reuters now and am doing somewhat important stuff like consolidation of subsidaries and acct reconciliation.

My advice: get an above average GPA, network enough with industry ppl, pad your CV (prestigous firms don't want only good GPAs, they want guys who excel @ everything) and have lots of fun in college.

[gettoasty]

recent grad, took 5 years instead of 4. picked up 2 degrees and graduated cum laude--finance economics and quantitative management (statistics) both B.S. degrees. i have nothing waiting for me on the other side. i am able to secure 2 letter of rec. from an employer and professor if needed. currently getting ready to move back home from uni, which is a headache. i am figuring i want a month to fully settle back at home + help around the house while looking for employment. looking to live at home while i work or until i can pay for my own place. i do not think at the moment i want to be anywhere else besides northern california, but to be honest if a job requires moving i will. at the moment i am perfectly fine chilling though i am already getting bored as hell. going to be doing a lot of reading over the summer, gym time, prep for exams for future grad programs--anything to keep myself busy and learning. i am not stressing employment as much as i should be but to be honest, if i really had to find a job it would be pretty easy imo .. i am more stressed about life, taking care of myself atm

[redX]

-you can save a ton of money by buying groceries

this gem of advice is REALLY true. i used to barely squeeze by on my food and alcohol expences (i bought whatever i feel like eating that day) until i got together with my current girlfriend. and ever since i've always been cooking every meal for 2 people and concentrating on buying groceries when they're cheap (in germany each grocery store has different products marked down for a week) i've been able to save ~80-100€ a month.

plus i pretty much stopped drinking at bars/clubs. that's a very expensive hobby if you're strapped for cash

[goat]

In my experience, what you study affects only your starting 2-3 years salary and job title. After that, it's all fair game. Newly grad econs make 3.6 - 4k, Accts make 3.2k or so, but in the end it depends on what you do with your career over the first 2 years after graduation.

Anyways, good thing about acct interns is that you get actual exp working with the big 4 or a reputable firm. I'm an accts intern for Reuters now and am doing somewhat important stuff like consolidation of subsidaries and acct reconciliation.

My advice: get an above average GPA, network enough with industry ppl, pad your CV (prestigous firms don't want only good GPAs, they want guys who excel @ everything) and have lots of fun in college.

The difference between acct and econ is that you'll plateau a lot quicker with econ unless you continue with that path towards a masters or a phd (or as mentioned above, couple it with an MBA)

You're right about the shitty work and low (kinda) pay for a new grad in accounting, but the growth in salary is exponential once you have the 3 letters after your name. Grind it out and study hard and you'll reap the benefits of the designation.

As for IB - there's no doubt you'll be making money hand over fist (Uni Grads that go into IB will start at $70 - 80k in their first year), but you work ridiculous hours for your entire life. Guys that are in IB 10 years after grad are still putting in 70 hour weeks.

It all comes down to enjoyment at the end of the day, because you hit the nail on the head with saying that the job market is fair game for everybody with a commerce background (regardless of designation)

[ohsnap]

i'm glad there's more talk about accounting/IB now as it's related to my finance major

to those who are in the field/s (e.g. goat, jd salinger, dj flame), do you enjoy what you do?

i had a bank internship a few years back and i dreaded waking up during that whole summer. i just hated the cubicle environment and lack of interaction. to be fair, i had no clue what was going on. i tried to understand depositary receipts, but my interest waned as the (paid) internship went on.

[BRICK DOM]

lol, well I wouldn't say I'm exactly in the field. I'm probably more along the lines of what you were doing with your paid internship at the bank. All I basically do is open and close accounts (as I said, I wish I could branch out more and deal with other things, but since I'll be done with this by the time summer is over, it's not really worth their time in training me in other areas I suppose). But, I will say that I actually do enjoy the cubicle office type environment. I'd say it sure beats the hell out of the other sorts of options I have as a 19 year old (idk, only food-type or mall-related jobs come to mind as alternatives).

This econ vs accounting argument is weighing kinda heavily on me. I have the option of going to UCDavis this fall to study economics, but I'm currently awaiting a decision from Boston University on whether I can get in as an accounting major (though even if I do get in, tuition may still prevent me from actually attending). Neither of these colleges are top tier so I've been feeling that it'll be tough for me to find a job ... but I'd rather not look that far ahead into the future. I've been thinking about just holding off transferring for another semester or a year and to try to get into somewhere with an accounting program. I really am not sure though.

Also, in regards to the MBA, I remembered an accountant friend of my dad's telling me that pairing an MBA with an econ degree wouldn't help much. An MBA would be better suited to some other degree in a different field, like Engineering? Not too clear on that.

Some very good advice posted so far though, will rep when I can.

[goat]

J.D. - There are MBAs that are focused on Economics, but I think your dad's friend was alluding to the fact that it still doesn't help your situation all that much because an econ degree isn't focused.

One big thing that isn't always clear - an MBA enhances your current skills / degree by showing you different ways to analyse and strategize. At the end of the day, if you're not in a roll that is utilizing your Econ degree, then there won't be anything to enhance.

Using the Engineering degree as an example - there are many engineers that are good at what they do, but have no idea how to manage / forecast. So the MBA provides those skills, but at the end of the day they're still an Engineer.

Regarding finding a job from uni - you need to get involved in your uni......join a club....i was part of my commerce society, i was a TA, i was part of a club dedicated to hip hop, and i had a radio show. There was not a single interview that i went through where I wasn't asked "so what is the Political Hip Hop Association???"

There are recruiting and networking events....go to as many of those as you can and meet people. When it comes to applications, these companies are gonna get 200+ people applying for 3 jobs. They gotta be able to put a face to the name.

And, of course, just study hard.

ohsnap - I actually really enjoy what I do. I've had an interest in accounting since I was 16 and never really thought otherwise. I contemplated Economics and Finance, but at the end my heart was in accounting.

[junglejane]

jayrock your brother is totally right. I was also advised to never stop interviewing, even with a job.

in fact I am switching jobs in a week because I went to an interview two weeks ago to "keep my options open"... turns out they were offering a super interesting position that paid more and had a way better contract.

[st_]

jayrock your brother is totally right. I was also advised to never stop interviewing, even with a job.

in fact I am switching jobs in a week because I went to an interview two weeks ago to "keep my options open"... turns out they were offering a super interesting position that paid more and had a way better contract.

how long have you been in your current position?

it would feel odd to me to continue to interview after only being in a job for a short period & then just leave.

i've been in my current role for approx. 3 months and am considering leaving, feels too soon though.

[goat]

While keeping your options open is always a good thing, jumping around can eventually come back to bite you in the ass

I know if i'm interviewing seeing somebody that's worked at 6 jobs in 7 years would be less appealing (regardless of title and duties) than somebody that's worked 2 jobs in 7 years

@st_ - If the opportunity is really that much better, then ignore the fact that you've only been at your current place for only 3 months. Just make sure you're moving for all the right reasons

[iralex]

Taking culinary classes this summer, going to paramedic school this fall, unless I like cooking more but I doubt that.

[junglejane]

how long have you been in your current position?

it would feel odd to me to continue to interview after only being in a job for a short period & then just leave.

i've been in my current role for approx. 3 months and am considering leaving, feels too soon though.

I've been there since the beginning of april, so totally short term too.

The company is aware that they offer shitty contracts to recent graduates, so it was no surprise to them that I decided to leave after being offered a long-term contract somewhere else.

I would have stayed (the job was okay and the people were chill), but I realized that even the young folk that have been there for two years or so were still under a temp contract that the company would keep renewing.

It depends on what you want, I guess. do you like the position you currently hold? is it resume-worthy? do people seem to advance within the company?

in any case don't feel bad about quitting to take up a better offer, you have every right to do so

[st_]

^fair enough to seek something else if the environment doesn't seem overly secure.

the main reason i took this role is the advancement the company offers. i made a kinda sideways/slightly-backwards move into this role, which is probably why i'm bored/frustrated already. i think i'll give it a year & see how it pans out.

[percy]

so jane, you took the job with the shit contract but higher profile company then? like you said, they should expect their talent to get taken if they dont treat them as others would.

[boy better know]

im pretty happy with my situation

im in the middle of my finance degree then im starting a masters in financial engineering after that

i receive no support from parents, i pay all my bills with this $10.50/hr (and ive been working there for six years...) job at a slaughterhouse

but hard work will pay off

update:

still working at a slaughterhouse although i got interviews next week, one for an internship at microsoft and one for a part-time gopher job at a boutique investment bank, gotta start somewhere i guess

i graduate in june 2012 so i registered earlier this month for the CFA so hopefully i can take the level 1 test next summer

i'm thinking of taking the GMAT too just to have as many options as i can then go from there, i've been eyeing berkeley and UCLA but not right after graduation though

my mom was diagnosticated with a brain tumor in december so i had to maintain full course load with a nearly full time job all while trying to take care of my mom

so every morning when i see those carcasses i know why i'm doing it for

[lsinner]

Wow thread is deep. Really liking it

[geekbonchic]

I keep wanting to go to a nearby CC and learn how to sew and cut patterns and shit.

Nothing super serious, I just want to be able to fix and mend my own stuff and knock out simple things if necessary. If I wind up taking a liking to it, maybe more later, but I just wanted to be a little more able to do shit with my own two hands.

[amardeep]

•

Edited May 24, 2020 by amardeep

[lsinner]

Going to USC to turn in my transcript for my appeal tomorrow then probably gonna hit Melrose

[DJ_Flame]

Regarding finding a job from uni - you need to get involved in your uni......join a club....i was part of my commerce society, i was a TA, i was part of a club dedicated to hip hop, and i had a radio show. There was not a single interview that i went through where I wasn't asked "so what is the Political Hip Hop Association???"

There are recruiting and networking events....go to as many of those as you can and meet people. When it comes to applications, these companies are gonna get 200+ people applying for 3 jobs. They gotta be able to put a face to the name.

And, of course, just study hard.

This.

Please get involved in a relevant club or student body or something, also try to hold a executive / committee / director position within your club.

Network is super important, especially in singapore where its a small country and every commerce graduate practically knows one another from school and internships.

and also STUDY HARD & PRIORITIZE.

[geekbonchic]

Keep your head down, handle your shit, make people know your name.

That's really all there is to it.

[freecat]

oh also trying to do exchange in sweden freecat aren't you also?

yes sir ! i'll be stuying at the Gothenburg School of Business and Economics next year. i just passed my 2nd year at Toulouse School of Economics. feels good ! (drop me a line if you move there).

I'm throwing this piece advice in the pool, but if you're studying Economics, Economics and Maths or Economics Whatever, don't do a Master in Economics, unless you want to work in the research field. I talk to new people on a near daily basis that tell me they did this in very good schools but can't find a job at all.

It's obvious companies would rather employ someone that worked practical cases for 2 or 3 years they can underpay instead of some nerd that studied theorical cases in the form of econometrics and whatnot that they would have to pay premium.

(i'm +repping myself for using the word Economics 7 times including this one)

[robbie]

Paying bills with my two hands as opposed to my brain cause i suck at school.

[rgray]

oh also trying to do exchange in sweden freecat aren't you also?

I just finished an exchange in Uppsala. It was a really cool place for studying. I would recommend it. I also have friends who have studied in Jonkoping and Goteborg (like freecat), KTH in Stockholm and in Lund. I don't think you would be making a bad choice regardless where you went.