supercollegelife: funny facts, rant, photos, help, stuff...

[aoreugifragde]

about to start my second semester at csulb tomorrow. The stress begins 

[boy better know]

What degree you going for? I made the switch from business management to software development at just about the last minute and so glad I did, even if it means I'm now basically a math major and have to take like 6 additional maths.

computer science

[a bag of it]

I'm planning on majoring in finance, you guys are making me nervous. even though I pretty much sit in front of a computer all day as it is, the idea of programming/compsci just doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

[tac0tron]

Classes have been fairly good so far this quarter. I have a project that I've committed an awesome idea to, I just hope I can do it (luckily I'm collabing with someone else too).

However, I feel like shit right now so I'm not going to go to discussion.

[Thatboyo]

I'm planning on majoring in finance, you guys are making me nervous. even though I pretty much sit in front of a computer all day as it is, the idea of programming/compsci just doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

What exactly are you worried about? The guy a few posts up might simply not like it. Actually he just said he was a business major which is pretty broad

[cheapmuthafukr]

I'm going into engineering.... My wife won't let me do English or fashion

[aoreugifragde]

same here. I want to do astronautical engineering

[shimshimhae]

I'm planning on majoring in finance, you guys are making me nervous. even though I pretty much sit in front of a computer all day as it is, the idea of programming/compsci just doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

only makes sense to major in business/finance if you go to a top undergrad business program: Wharton/Stern/Cornell/MIT/Gtown, etc.

[jayrock]

finance is just a glorified sales career most of the time

a top undergrad program won't change that, as is hardly a requirement

Edited January 22, 2014 by jayrock

[POLYGAMY]

Undecided Engineering major here. What discipline should I go into? I'm thinking Computer Engineering or Structural/Civil Engineering.

[aoreugifragde]

what do u like? there are tons of different engineers, they even got engineers just to make tunnels lol. I think the coolest is Rnd Micro engineering, one of the newest too

[a bag of it]

only makes sense to major in business/finance if you go to a top undergrad business program: Wharton/Stern/Cornell/MIT/Gtown, etc.

 

this is part of what worries me. That I won't be able to break into high finance, and that I'll be stuck doing finance at a car dealership or something worse. I'm going to UMASS - Amherst which has a decent reputation around here (in boston), but it's definitely not top or even second tier. My dad is an equity trader, so I do have that going for me. It seems that finance is more about who you know than anything. 

[usher]

computer engg if you like electrical/electronics engineering. some programming too - i have no clue about job prospects/diversity

 

civil engg: structural if you like analysing trusses/beams (buildings and bridges). geotech if you like studying cement/soil/rocks/water. geotechnical engg may open more doors

 

i hated half of those and went into mining engineering

[boy better know]

this is part of what worries me. That I won't be able to break into high finance, and that I'll be stuck doing finance at a car dealership or something worse. I'm going to UMASS - Amherst which has a decent reputation around here (in boston), but it's definitely not top or even second tier. My dad is an equity trader, so I do have that going for me. It seems that finance is more about who you know than anything. 

if you want to work in high finance, study engineering and intern / network your way in

 

a degree in business / finance is worthless

[redninja2319]

Dietetics major here. Took 3 years of prereqs at a community college and now I'm at a real university...taking more prereqs...

[POLYGAMY]

what do u like? there are tons of different engineers, they even got engineers just to make tunnels lol. I think the coolest is Rnd Micro engineering, one of the newest too

 

I suppose I like keeping up with technology. Usually computers/hardware, tablets, phones, etc. If possible I'd like to work on most of the stuff that's showcased at CES and what not. 

 

computer engg if you like electrical/electronics engineering. some programming too - i have no clue about job prospects/diversity

 

civil engg: structural if you like analysing trusses/beams (buildings and bridges). geotech if you like studying cement/soil/rocks/water. geotechnical engg may open more doors

 

i hated half of those and went into mining engineering

 

Hm, I can most likely see myself becoming a computer/hardware engineer then. I'm not so sure about job prospects either. All the information is from the internet so I'm not sure if it's all true. 

Mining engineering sounds pretty dope lol. Where would you generally find work?

[usher]

try to get in contact with a current undergrad or recent grad and see what they think. i'm pretty sure reddit is good for this sort of thing (lol)

 

mining is pretty specialised, so it's pretty much centred upon mining itself - most likely you'll end up in the middle of nowhere and in the dirt as a fresh graduate. there are also possibilities to land jobs gas/petroleum/anything exploiting natural resources.

 

elec/mech/civil grads can also work in mines if they want, to provide their services - mining grads can't really do the reverse. sometimes civil grads are re-trained as pure mining engineers, so all their hard work studying statics/structures is left behind lol

[philosophiliac]

mining engineering was big money in aus over the last few years - massive resources boom. if you were willing to work in the middle of nowhere on a fly-in fly-out (fifo) roster (often like 8days on, 6days off, or 2 weeks on, 1 week off) you could be making six figures straight out of uni without even trying.

 

Had friends on $300k+ six months after graduation - not high flyers either.

 

at the height of it you could be making six figs as a kitchen hand or unskilled construction labour etc - as long as you were willing to work shitty f-i-f-o rosters. dying off now though.

[conqueror]

yeah, the mining boom has pretty much died off now unless you have years of experience in oil & gas (which a lot do now after heading over 4+ years ago). the days of being paid $80k+ to dig a hole are over. i'm almost 27 with a bsc in psych and make about $47k AUS a year...one of my close friends dropped out in year 11 at 16, moved to WA and was making $105k in his first year (would have been around 2004) driving a truck back and forth. he has now moved back to SA and probably makes something like $350k - i get depressed just thinking about it. very humble dude though, has worked hard and by meeting him you would have no idea how wealthy he is.

not sure how it is in the US, but in aus basically every single degree/discipline is oversaturated with grads now with the possible exception of medicine and more niche fields like geospatial science. teaching is fucked, i.t. is fucked, accounting (zzz) is fucked...

Edited January 28, 2014 by conqueror

[boy better know]

not sure how it is in the US, but in aus basically every single degree/discipline is oversaturated with grads now with the possible exception of medicine and more niche fields like geospatial science. teaching is fucked, i.t. is fucked, accounting (zzz) is fucked...

no job growth / austerity shitshow / students getting the wrong skills

[Schoon]

Decided to pursue the structural concentration of Architectural Engineering (rather than hvac or digital building concentrations), and also to minor in Architecture so I can get more of the design aspect of AE into my curriculum as well.  Arch majors have warned me about grueling studio classes but right now i'd kill for some drawing to break up the intense math/physics/engineering classes i'm taking atm.  I'm also beginning to look into internships for next fall and finding some places I'd absolutely love to work.

 

Really excited for the future.  After a lot of ambivalence about what to do with my life, i finally feel like I'm on the right track.  

[Emiac]

this is part of what worries me. That I won't be able to break into high finance, and that I'll be stuck doing finance at a car dealership or something worse. I'm going to UMASS - Amherst which has a decent reputation around here (in boston), but it's definitely not top or even second tier. My dad is an equity trader, so I do have that going for me. It seems that finance is more about who you know than anything. 

That school isn't a target school for Wall Street firms, so you won't be working on Wall Street if you go that route. However, you could make an effort to transfer to Ann Arbor, which is a second tier target school. It might even be cheaper for you, it's one of those schools that dishes out a lot in financial aid if you manage to get in and have the need.

[herpsky]

That school isn't a target school for Wall Street firms, so you won't be working on Wall Street if you go that route. However, you could make an effort to transfer to Ann Arbor, which is a second tier target school. It might even be cheaper for you, it's one of those schools that dishes out a lot in financial aid if you manage to get in and have the need.

I don't know shit about finance but you really gotta go to a top 20 school. Somewhere with preferably a BBA program. 

I didn't go into business but went to a top 20 and all my brus who did BBA make over 6 figures. 

[Nebulae]

Decided to pursue the structural concentration of Architectural Engineering (rather than hvac or digital building concentrations), and also to minor in Architecture so I can get more of the design aspect of AE into my curriculum as well.  Arch majors have warned me about grueling studio classes but right now i'd kill for some drawing to break up the intense math/physics/engineering classes i'm taking atm.  I'm also beginning to look into internships for next fall and finding some places I'd absolutely love to work.

 

Really excited for the future.  After a lot of ambivalence about what to do with my life, i finally feel like I'm on the right track.  

sounds admirable but don't underestimate the time studio takes away from your life.

[Schoon]

sounds admirable but don't underestimate the time studio takes away from your life.

lol what life

 

but yeah I understand that.  I've heard it's very common here for people to work all night in the studio, sleep on the floor, then wake up and work some more

[Emiac]

I don't know shit about finance but you really gotta go to a top 20 school. Somewhere with preferably a BBA program. 

I didn't go into business but went to a top 20 and all my brus who did BBA make over 6 figures. 

Yeah, pretty much. You (a bag of it) need to do some research and find out what schools are target schools. I think Ann Arbor isn't actually top 20, but it's a tier 2 target school, so you'd have a good chance of getting interviews and such.

 

The website wallstreetoasis.com is actually probably your best resource for finding information on this stuff (using the search feature ofc).

 

One thing you need to look into first is whether or not high finance is actually for you. I'm pretty much in your position, I'm set to go to a state school that's "alright" (Mizzou), but I realized that I could transfer to a target university and get into high finance. I'm really into effective altruism, so a good portion of my salary will go to worthwhile charities (in case you didn't know, there are such things as useless charities). My primary motivation to get into high finance is because I want to be a "professional" and basically be a useful person. If I stick with my state college, then I'll eventually be making decentish pay, but ultimately not a very useful or important person to anyone. Other people are motivated by the money. You'll be making more than most people do straight out of undergrad, so yeah, that's a pretty solid motivation. Some are motivated by the professional skills they'll be getting while doing their two-three year stints as analysts, which is a pretty solid motivation as well. However, you'll have to bust your ass for two or three years, maybe longer. When I say bust your ass, I mean you'll be pulling 100 hour work weeks. If your dad is an equity trader in high finance, then you may have already heard this before. I personally think it's worth it, but I know I won't enjoy it very much, at least not for a few years.

[boy better know]

My primary motivation to get into high finance is because I want to be a "professional" and basically be a useful person.

High finance is not useful.

[Thatboyo]

I wouldn't say Mizzou is "alright" for the industry. The BB don't normally recruit many from there so you'd better have a really fucking nice resume to get their attention. As far as pay goes, it's not as much as you think once you break down the # of hours worked. Also, not many people stay for the full 2-3 years anymore. HFs and PEs pull the better ones out of the BB before they become associates 

[Emiac]

High finance is not useful.

 

No, of course it isn't, but effective altruism is. There aren't many professions out there that are actually useful in themselves, and even fewer that I'd actually be fulfilled doing. So the best way for me to be effectively altruistic is to "earn to give." For example, doctors aren't very useful to society because they're replaceable (there's always going to be kids from rich families who decide to be doctors, always). However, a doctor that "earns to give" is irreplaceable because that's a lot of money they'd be giving (as they are doctors) and the average person only donates like .7 percent of their salary or so, while an effectively altruistic doctor would be donating much more. I stole most of this information and language from 80,000 hours.

 

 

I wouldn't say Mizzou is "alright" for the industry. The BB don't normally recruit many from there so you'd better have a really fucking nice resume to get their attention. As far as pay goes, it's not as much as you think once you break down the # of hours worked. Also, not many people stay for the full 2-3 years anymore. HFs and PEs pull the better ones out of the BB before they become associates 

 

Oh yeah no, fuck no, Mizzou isn't alright for the industry at all. When I said it was "alright" and then put "alright" in quotation marks, I meant that the school itself will allow me to get a job somewhere doing something, but it won't get me into high finance. This is why I wanted to transfer. I did look into how many alumni Mizzou has on wall street, and apparently there is a number, but I just really doubt I'll get where I want if I go there. As far as hours/pay go, I don't think that's an appropriate way of looking at the earning potential for this job/career path, but it certainly is worth considering.

 

 

I didn't really mean to draw attention to myself when I was posting, I just thought I might be of some help to a bag of it. Speaking of which, I looked into it more and someone actually did say that Amherst was a target school, but this is just one source. If you stick with Amherst and do very very well, as well as build a really great resume (without just padding it with useless shit), then I don't think it'd be unreasonable to say that it's not impossible to break into high finance that way. Especially with your father being an equity trader.

[fads]

one thing u can do w a mizzou education u can start a super cool leather jacket forum brand