31 replies to this topic

[ED]

mechanical engineering, there is a very high demand in US and all over the world for professionals in this field, if you like building things, design them, want to learn CAD, such as PRO-E, SOLID WORKS, VISI-CAD, UNIGRAPHICS etc

[Sip]

If you find you are technically oriented, I advise strongly against becoming a patent attorney. It is not an intellectually rewarding path. To each his/her own of course.

It's strange you say that because up until now I always admired patent lawyers' insane creativity and ability to transform a clean, clear, and well organized conceptual invention into something that is ENTIRELY incomprehensible to anyone.

[ExtraHye]

mechanical engineering, there is a very high demand in US and all over the world for professionals in this field, if you like building things, design them, want to learn CAD, such as PRO-E, SOLID WORKS, VISI-CAD, UNIGRAPHICS etc

This is very true, I have about 5 job openings with the above qualifications.

So let me know if anyone is looking for a job that have those qualifications.

[LK82]

Engineering and law, while requiring similar intellectual level, thrive on almost opposite character traits. If you are to become more than a patent attorney or some grunt worker taking care of details, I think you would often need to use your logical reasoning in ways that favor illogical outcomes. You would need to be in tune with the illogic of the individuals making up the jury, or the absurdities of the law. An engineer, by temperament, finds comfort in the rational workings of things.

If you find you are technically oriented, I advise strongly against becoming a patent attorney. It is not an intellectually rewarding path. To each his/her own of course.

If you are simultaneously interested in law and engineering, you are probably blessed/cursed with ADHD (a very Armenian condition). If that's the case, read books on how you can actually leverage it to your advantage while building a support system that takes care of the "details" for you. Basically a "secretary" of some sort; normally a family member (mother?) that is willing to embrace that role without undue nagging and guilt-tripping. Oh, and you do need to decide what to do, when you can get around to it

In general, greater rewards come with greater risks. If you value security over the pursuit of something extraordinary, you need to take some chances, and accept that you may have to live with the negative consequences of failure.

One last thing: you often learn more from talking to failed people than "successful" ones. The former are a sure source of information about mistakes to avoid. The "winners" often don't really know why the heck they became successful, don't know that they don't know, are typically unaware that their success was in good part due to luck and circumstance, and can give you tragically misinformed guidance.

Good luck.

ADHD huh, now there is a thought.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[LK82]

Levon, du irenc mi lsi. I think Law school is a great idea. But don't do Poli Sci as a Bachelor; choose some other field you like such as Bio or Psych or even English. I wish I could go to law school and become a trial attorney. But it is just not feasible for my situatiion. And no matter what you do stay AWAY from personal injury law. It's mundane, non-challenging and not worth the time and effort you put into it.

By the way do not ask practicing attorneys if you should follow that route. They will laugh at you and tell you to do something more productive with your time. And of all professionals, attorneys are most likely to undergo depression. But dentists kill themselves, so I guess depression is not so bad.

Thanks Em. I was thinking about pharmaceutical law, or criminal defense. My decision will be based solely on the amount of money involved. I've heard from some people who are disappointed with their chosen career, yet a majority of them wouldn’t be as unhappy if their compensation was rewarding enough. I have another week to decide which path I will take. If I choose Law then I'll major in English, if not then ill major in Engineering and branch off to either mechanical or electrical.

[Sip]

For God's sake don't major in English if engineering is at all a possibility in your future It is easier to start down the engineering path and then fall back on one of the "other" majors than to go the generic route and then try to retarget yourself towards engineering. The main reason is once you waste a couple of years taking those misc liberal arts courses, anything you did manage to have in terms of math will be gone and it will be much more difficult to try to recover and take the more technical courses.

I don't know what sort of academic background you have but the good news is, it usually becomes very clear very fast whether you have what it takes to go down any of the engineering paths. But even if you do decide to do English, Communications, or any of the wide array of other random non-techy majors, then at least try to take a couple of math courses here and there to keep your brain active. You should at least have multi-variable calculus, differential equations, and either some complex analysis or discrete math in your first year and a half of college.

[Sip]

By the way, this is not to say that English major is a "dead-end" per se as there are those that major in English and then go on and take the MCAT and go to med school. It all really comes down to what kinds of courses you take ... do you focus on 12th century middle english classics or intro to matlab. I can pretty much guarantee you that 99.999999% of jobs out there will require one a LOT more than the other (and no, it's not the 12th century classics -- even though I made the name up)

[Sip]

Ok and while I'm on a roll here ... the other thing to keep in mind is that the more books you end up reading (with lots of words) in your particular major, the less money you will make at the end. That's just a basic fact of life. So if money is what you want, stay away from the kinds of majors that are going to require you to read and read and read. That's not where the money is at.

Note to self: Remove foot from mouth later

[nairi]

You can always write a best-seller and be done with for the rest of your life. Or go into publishing. An English major can get you into many places, including journalism, politics, and education. If you have the smarts, the energy, and the passion, you can reach quite high and make enough dough to make engineers, lawyers, and doctors alike wish they had majored in the liberal arts.

[vava]

You can always write a best-seller and be done with for the rest of your life. Or go into publishing. An English major can get you into many places, including journalism, politics, and education. If you have the smarts, the energy, and the passion, you can reach quite high and make enough dough to make engineers, lawyers, and doctors alike wish they had majored in the liberal arts.

Again, I think it's less about your major and more about your attitude and work ethic.

[Stormig]

The unlikely idea: earth sciences. Great fun, and you never know where you end up. I had no idea at the time when I was making my choices that a geologist could have a couple hundred K - or more - in shares in the consulting company he worked for alone. Of course, it depends on whether you are motivated enough to take the risk of metabolic syndrome. Even if not, still it could be great fun, entirely satisfying, depending on what floats your boat.

[shaunt]

Studying law, and hoping to find employment at the UN, State Department, CIA, or FBI (in that order).