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What Do You Do For A Living?

10K views 149 replies 76 participants last post by  97xj 
#1 ·
Hi, Im an undecided major at Oakland University and am just completing my first year. I'm kind of starting to feel the pressure of having to choose a major, and just wondering what some of you guys do for a living.

Also what was your major in college, and if you like your career choice after working there for awhile? And what does the job outlook look like in the future?

I really need to choose a major soon but don't want to end up switching majors all the time, or choosing a major that will lead me into a job that could easily be outsourced in the future

Thanks,
Brandon
 
#3 ·
...... or choosing a major that will lead me into a job that could easily be outsourced in the future

Thanks,
Brandon

Good luck with that.

If the job can be done by telecommuting, it can be easily outsourced. Ask the IT guys at Chrysler.

I do fabrication and rebuild work, electrical and mechanical, on press feed equipment. No shortage of work, but no overtime. Jobs are bid based on 40 hr week.


Health care is the only safe bet anymore.
 
#4 ·
I'm going after a mechanical CAD detailer degree, and I'll probably end up using the machinist aspect of said degree, and trying to work my way into the design/engineering department at whatever shop I get into.

Unless this other job pans out, and I'll be doing way cooler work. :naughty:
 
#5 ·
I'm into cars, trucks, and pretty much anything with a motor. Math and sciences are my strongest subjects, and i'm pretty good at critical thinking. i was leaning towards something along the lines of mechanical engineer but that job outlook doesn't seem too promising, and i got tired of autocad fast.

I want a job where i will be able to live out of the city also
 
#78 ·
I do adult day care. (Corrections Officer for a Federal Prison) College major was killing Haji and staying alive. (Army went to Iraq twice). Federal jobs have the best retirement I've seen, great benefits, average pay, and JOB SECURITY!!!


I want a job where i will be able to live out of the city also
Oh yeah, and most prisons are out in the middle of nowhere, cuz the big city folk don't want all those criminals living so close. :D
 
#6 ·
it's not uncommon at all for you to end up in a field completely unrelated to your chosen field of study. many, many, many, many people find that college is a place to get a piece of paper, and learn how to network with people.

as but an example. I have 3 younger brothers that are engineering alumni from UofM.

  • The youngest, an electrical engineering grad, had a full ride academic scholarship. One would have guessed he'd be designing circuits, etc. for one of the Big 3. He's a former Regional Director of IT for TimeWarner/AOL out of Austin, and is now a code-jockey doing high end GIS/Web programming contractually for Shell Oil, out of his house in Ashville NC.
  • 2nd youngest is a mechanical engineering grad. and is a lead IT/Sales/Implementation Specialist for a French IT Solutions firm, working in Chicago, or more appropriately working out of a hotel/airplane as he travels the world
  • Next is the aerospace engineer. Originally wanting to work for NASA, or Boeing, he's very happy compiling, and translating medical/pharmaceutical databases for a firm in Denver Colorado.
You need to ask yourself what type of job do you think you can do for the next 40+ years on average. e.g. some people simply can't stand the thought of corporate/office work...

if you are interested in an office environment, whichever skill-set/degree you chase, make sure you take a heavy emphasis in IT. the IT won't necessarily save you from being outsourced, in fact you'll find that as IT goes, the Asian Continent outsourcing will be cheaper than you for the foreseeable future. That being said, IT and it's peripheral sciences are becoming the basic business tools that everyone is expecting employees to have, and it can allow you to be nimble enough to take advantage of opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be there.

as an example, a close friend of mine got her foot in the door at VW simply by having some advanced knowledge of pivot tables, and vba. said skill sets allowed her to rapidly create reports, and analysis for her reporting manager that were really beyond the scope of her assignment, by being able to demonstrate that knowledge that the client didn't even know they wanted, they ended up hiring her direct from her contract shop after only a few weeks...
 
#8 ·
Nursing. Lots of different ways you can go and the shortage of nurses will continue since there are many nurses retiring. Pay isn't too bad to start and if you have a BSN or MSN you can teach or go into administration.
 
#17 ·
You are on the right track. Energy is and will continue to be a very stable employment area. Over the next 5 years, there will be a HUGE number of people retiring from utility and energy related jobs. We estimate that currently around 60-65% of our work force will be eligible to retire in the next 5 years. You can either pursue the engineering side of the energy business, or the financial side. A financial engineering degree would kick ass. If you are good with the statistical analysis, you could do well. Learn the risk management, statistics, options, finance, etc... With 2-3 years of training and the willingness to work a rotating shift (24x7 operation), you can find jobs paying $100k base + up to 40% bonus or more depending on the location. It isn't for everyone because it is high stress and you are on your toes 12 hours straight. But, the pay is great and the education you get pays off as well.

Oh, yeah. I have a BA in econ and business management with an MBA from MSU. I handle the wholesale energy transactions for a municipal utility. I've been in the business going on 13 years now and did the rotating shift job for 8 years. I'm now in a supervisor role. Everyone above me is closing in on their 25 year anniversary or more, so there is plenty of room for advancement currently in the business.
 
#14 ·
i would preferably like to stay away from jobs that are effected heavily because of my personal experience. Just as rye bread said earlier those jobs are pretty much hit or miss. My dad owns an insulation company and goes through times where we are so busy we work 6 days a week all day trying to keep up, and sometimes like during the summer its one or 2 jobs a week. I'd like a job that is pretty stable... My moms a teacher and makes the exact same amount every week all year long no matter what. If only teaching paid more though lol
 
#15 ·
Undergrad: Microbiology and Business Admin Bachelor's
Graduate: Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

Health Care will not be outsourced, and neither can scientific research. If you are going to go into the sciences be ready to go to grad school unless you want to wash dishes and make media all day.

Nursing is also a good choice, but be ready to do your time on "Code Brown"
 
#62 ·
IMO, best advice yet. A lot of people go to school to get their dream degree & then can't find a job, can't find a job that pays well, they end up in dead end job or they get bored after 10 or 15 years. As Immortal said, look at the bottom line, which is............. you go to work to make money to feed your family and pay for your lifestyle. So many people lose sight of this. You have to ask yourself, if I do this, where will I be in 15 years and what are those people making now?

Most people I know who are doing "what they wanted to do" are in low paying jobs. There are exceptions. But unless you are very idealistic and want to live humbly, your dream job may lock you into lower middle class. Not dragging religion into it but a priest is a good example.

From my perspective, don't pigeon hole yourself into something that will not allow you to move on. Many times people get a MS in something only to find that it means that there are only a couple potential employers in their chosen place to live. What happens then? Supply and demand. You end up not being worth as much.

To answer your question, I started out in a shop as a broom pusher, got into an apprenticement, moved to the front office & got into the engineering group. Started doing technical sales assistance & working with customers. This progression from shop to engineering to business moved me into a general managers position. Now I have about 80 people working for me at a company that supplies heavy equipment to the steel mills world wide. If anyone had asked me 30 years ago if I would make a living building giant chain, I would have laughed at them.

Look for the dollars.
 
#21 ·
Thanls 84 Scrambler thats some pretty good advice, and i'm also pretty good in statistics... I will be doing a paper on my major in the next few weeks and need to interview someone in the field i'm choosing... Would it be possible for me to interview you over pm?
 
#25 ·
That would be fine. I would be willing to do that. Even if you don't get into the energy business, a background in statistical analysis and finance (plain jane or Fin engineering) will get you in a lot of doors. No matter if the economy is growing or shrinking, someone has to be smart enough to know how to measure that stuff. It's all a shirt and tie type job, but it beats the feast or famine careers that many people pursue. That is one reason I like where I am. No matter what happens to the economy, people are still going to use electricity. Even if the local economy sucks, we can sell our extra power on the market to other areas that need it. There are jobs out there like this that are mostly insulated from the economy.
 
#23 ·
I'm a mechanical engineer in the govt. systems division at Rockwell Collins an aviation electronics company. I graduated from MTU in May 2007 with my BS in Mech Engineering. Because of my internship, I was by them fairly quickly. All in all I like it, however I'm finding that I might want to go back for a degree in electricial engineering because of the company and the projects I'm working on. They say do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life; I'm doing what I love, I haven't worked a day since I got hired.
 
#28 ·
graphic design. been an art director for the last 15 years. basically I take peoples dumb ideas, throw them in the trash and make them something that looks like it wasn't shit out of an ape's ass. "i did this at home on my computer"...."yeah, it looks like it"
I have done a ton of kewl stuff over the years for companies like the red wings, thyssen steel, Detroit Grand Prix, 106.7, WCSX, General mills, Kroger, Buddy's Pizza and a billion others I can't even remember.
 
#29 ·
I'm also at OU, my major is Industrial Engineering.....


YOu said you were good in math and statistics, so that might be somthing to consider.


I was a Mechanical Engineering student before, but then switched for a few reasons, one being its a lot harder to outsource an IE than it is an ME. Except for Research and developement positions, but those aren't that abundant. And with an IE Degree you can also work in the health care industry.


FYI, Engineers for GM in Mexico make less than 20K USD a year. Needless to say Design type of jobs are working their ways out of the states.
 
#30 ·
I'm an automotive designer. Currently designing engine parts.

I have a 2 year degree in drafting.

I like it OK but after 18 years I'm starting to bored with it.

The job outlook for the future is horrible. More and more of the design work in getting outsourced over seas.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Automotive Electrical Engineer.

I'm not as bleak about outsourcing as some of the others. but I work in first surfaces, we have a lot more direct contact with the OEMs. I've seen several suppliers try and fail to outsource main application engineering, doesn't work well.

You need to adapt, though. We have engineering all over the place. Some of my job, I'm a typical embedded systems engineer, some I'm a hardware team manager. So I have a couple guys in mexico that report to me, and work with a few in China as well. I work with GM on 4 continents.

13 years in the business. Plenty interesting, and you get to visit all the 2nd world countries...

BSEE from Oakland Univeristy, most of a MSEE as well, but never got around to finishing it. MS doesn't make much difference in my field.
 
#36 · (Edited)
BSEE from Oakland Univeristy, most of a MSEE as well, but never got around to finishing it. MS doesn't make much difference in my field.
:sonicjay:


That being said, if I had everything to do over again, I wouldn't choose automotive engineering as a career choice. As I get older, I notice more and more that I develop other priorities. In hindsight, I think I should've become an RN based on my feelings today. Sure, my job is great - but I am stuck for better or worse in Metro Detroit and I am limited as to what I can offer an engineering firm outside of the automotive field. That's got me trapped here until I can save enough to retire or win the lottery. :d:.
Although Scoots is in a field that isn't shrinking nearly as quickly as others he is right, its very hard for the average (scoots might notbe average) engineer in the detroit area to the shake the automotive stigma and relo out of state in other engineering disciplines.

Alternative fuels is huge in auto or energy, etc.

You need to look at the types of opportunities out there that are going to last. If you are interested in engineering look into civil, healthcare/medical devices, Government contracts (Defense and Armor still seem pretty strong), etc.

The key is to determine what you want to do? Work on computers, sell stuff, be an engineer, etc. Then pick a good field where you can live in many places and you know it should stay in decent demand.
 
#33 ·
Medical Electrical Engineer.

I'm still a student at Kettering University, but I have an internship with Stryker Instruments (in Kalamazoo, MI).

I LOVE IT.

I started as an Industrial Engineer, but didn't feel challenged enough, so I went to Mechanical Engineer. Same story there, so I went with Electrical.

It's medical, we have had 20% growth for the past 20 some years, and we're still growing. There isn't much of a job concern there, which is nice.

Another perk I've found about electrical, is that most people don't have as firm of a grasp on it. (If you don't understand mechanical, you can still "make it work" most times, but, with electrical, you need to know what you're doing most of the time).

This means that you can always find side jobs and such helping others with electrical stuff.

Just my $0.02
 
#35 ·
I work in advanced controls at GM; our "sister" group designs new hardware/technology and we get to write and calibrate the software to run it. My job is very cool, but there are not many others that offer the freedom I have. Once I get assigned a new project, I am responsible to validate production feasibility in a compressed timeframe. Think of a full development schedule from start to finish - and you're responsible for everything, from getting the hardware, specing the controls system, finding companies to test for you, repairing failed hardware, well, you see where I'm going with this.

Sometimes it is complex, as in an entire powertrain; sometimes it can be one or two components that need research and development. Very rewarding.


That being said, if I had everything to do over again, I wouldn't choose automotive engineering as a career choice. As I get older, I notice more and more that I develop other priorities. In hindsight, I think I should've become an RN based on my feelings today. Sure, my job is great - but I am stuck for better or worse in Metro Detroit and I am limited as to what I can offer an engineering firm outside of the automotive field. That's got me trapped here until I can save enough to retire or win the lottery. :d:

If I were an RN, I would have a much better shot at living where I want (big priority for me at 39) and I could have the added gratification of helping people.
 
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