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The other day I was consulting my cousin. She wants to come to the United States for higher studies. I did some research for her. This post is an output of that research. There are careers, high paying ones, that don’t require you to have a college degree. 
On the other side, there are careers which do need an appropriate college degree? For me, I am from an orthodox family which always have advocated for education. Even knowing that career can be had without a degree. Even when my father didn’t have enough money to send me to college, he encouraged me to do so. Luckily the college I was admitted to had govt. subsidized education system.
As for my cousin, she’s been an excellent student all throughout her school. I am sure she’ll get scholarships as well. What about you? Or your son/daughter? How are you envisioning the career search? Will you go for your desire? Or, you’ll go for a career with a high potential for earning.
I always wanted to be a software professional, and, I had become one eventually. I was lucky that software sector is a booming sector even now, and the payout is not bad either.
Education, in many ways, similar to business investment. You need to make choices to better spend your time and money. Whether to order essays online or to write your own by investing your time is just one of the decisions you’ll make.
You put money with an aim of eventually make more money out of it. So, like every other investment decision, you need to put your step forward very carefully.
To me, the main points of consideration are as follows:
Do the one thing you love
My mother would always tell me, “If you love your work, it stops becoming a job.” Even before we moved here in the United States, I already had deep curiosity in computers and technology. I love knowing how they work. Moreover, when software development came around, I discovered I can be not only an observer but also a creator.
This should take priority in your list. No matter how high paying career you chose, if your heart is not with it, you can’t enjoy the work and you can’t excel at it. Worse, you may lose all interest and may lose your job.
Ask for help
If you’re confused, seek help. Confusion often leads to irrational decisions. It is a waste of time and money to be stuck in a course you can’t complete because it’s not something you really want to get into, in the first place.
Approach your career counselor, if you have access to. He/she can definitely tell you a thing or two about the most popular courses in the world, as well as how to make thorough and right decisions for you. If you don’t have a career counselor, you can find one online.
Just make sure it’s a person you can trust. Of course, you can ask for recommendations from your friends, parents, and even from experts and those who are already working like me.
When my uncle approached me for his daughter’s career counseling, I reached out to many people here. Including academics, being in India, they don’t have access to a suitable counselor.
But now since they sought help from me, they have details on fee structure, scholarships, best colleges in respective fields (medicine, engineering, law, etc).
Think long-term
Just because X job is in demand these days, it’s the best employment for you. In the end, you want to think about long-term and sustainability. Will it still be around in the next 10 to 20 years? If it has the chances of fizzling out within the next 5 years or less, it may not be the one for you. Otherwise, it may be quite difficult to apply for the same job in other companies or worse you’ll be out of work.
Find a good school
I have nothing against hundreds of colleges and universities. In fact, I don’t find anything wrong with online courses. However, I will tell you to be very comprehensive in choosing your school and its program. Whether you like it or not, there are still some companies that will judge you on where you come from.
Also, check out the programs and the course modules. Do they seem to address the current and possible future needs of businesses? If they are still “old school,” then don’t pursue it and look for more. You shouldn’t be stuck in old knowledge, especially if such learning isn’t timeless.
Spend some time researching online institutions. They are becoming increasingly prevalent and many large companies are hiring individuals with online degrees. If you want to position yourself for success, then online courses are the way for you to go.
These classes will get you up to date on the most current information in your industry, so you will be one step ahead of your competition when it comes time for job hunting.
These types of degrees will give them an introduction to the science skills they will need to complete their higher level coursework in medical school.
Check out Forbes
There are a lot of websites that often release the top X jobs next year or even in the next decade. These include Forbes. You may want to browse through their website or subscribe to their magazine so you can keep yourself up-to-date. You can then use the top-paying career list as one of your guides in choosing the right college or course in the future.
Make sure you’re taught how to use the different technologies
Technologies are needed today, and they will remain relevant for a very long, long time. Businesses are going to need some people who know how to use them, if not easily adapt to new technologies. Even the police force are teaching themselves how to use online databases and SaaS.
Besides principles and theories, it’s so important for the program you are trying to get in to teach you how to be resilient, adaptive, or flexible to a variety of technologies. It doesn’t just get you a job; it makes you invaluable to companies.
Ensure you’re taught how to be dedicated
Let me share a very good secret of getting a high-paying career: dedication. You should already display perseverance the moment you decide you want to find work. Trust me, getting a job isn’t that easy, even if you’re so knowledgeable or skilled. There are others who want to take your spot. The kind of traits you can get from schools such as commitment and dedication can help you dream on and pursue your ambition with a lot of will.
Know what those employers want
Would you like to work in Google or NASA? Find out what they need and what qualifications would help you get such position.
You can browse through their Career Opportunities section. You can also check out message boards, company profiles, and a list of jobs found in websites such as Monster.com, dice.com, and Indeed.com.
It’s pretty easy and the right approach as well to keep your desired career in front of you while choosing college or your major subject in your course, because that makes you focused and committed to your goals.
Whether it’s a high-paying job or not, the road isn’t going to be smooth. Prepare yourself as early as possible by getting the right college education, even if there are jobs to be had without it.
Are you looking at an appropriate career for yourself or someone you know? Do you have any other advice/experience to share?
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GREAT post. I cannot advocate enough how important (I think) it is to go to a school with a program you are interested in. Or at least one that has two or three you could see yourself doing in case you change your mind. I had to transfer schools because I wanted to do theater and the school I was at did not have a program. Bravo!
this sort of things happen a lot! I had a couple of class mates who dropped in between for lack of love. They admitted due to parent pressure. Parents should also realize that they should gauge their son’s/daughter’s real interest.
Your first piece of advice is the most important piece. Doing what you love is key. If you’re not happy, why spend the time, energy and money? It’s far more difficult to achieve greatness when you’re miserable, so above all else do what you love.
-Christian L.
It should be combined with Edward’s comment below. If you leave your education in between, because you discover you don’t like it, then you are ruined. Its very difficult to repay the debt you’d accumulate till you leave. So be carefully in gauging the things you love. Do you love it really, did you love it a few years back, will that have potential left 5 years from now, when you graduate?
selecting your education is probably the biggest decision in your teen life. Try to reach out for help from elders.
Don’t go to a crazy expensive school unless you want to work at a prestegious place where it is basically a requirement. If a cheaper school would have gotten you the same job you’ll kick yourself foe those extra loans.
This is true, but there’s a difference between a Yale or a Harvard MBA vs. some other university MBA. Premium price is there for premium products. If you can’t get in to a A -grade school, then look for cheapest option. But otherwise, I won’t advice any one to not go for A-grade even if it costs more money. There’s an entire life of benefit to get out of that education.
Work out a backup plan. After I decided I didn’t want to teach, I was already 90% though the program with very little experience outside of it.
Problem is you’ll never know if you needed a back out plan. When you realize, it is already late in the game. When I went to college I had only one thing in mind -getting out with a distinction and bagging a job
That’s exactly why you need one. If you wind up going all the way with your plan A, the backup just provided you with some rounding out experience-wise. But if you need to switch gears, you won’t have completely wasted 4 years of school.
yes, I do agree.
Education is a very important for todays generation. As you said there are careers, high paying ones, that don’t require you to have college degree. On the other side there are careers which do need appropriate college degree-I completely agree but for a back-up plan a college degree is a great support.
No argument against that, yes education makes you more marketable. Also once you are in high paying job that doesn’t require college degree, a dietitian for example, you are stuck with that career, you do not have room to do anything else for living. At least from employment perspective.
My husband “followed his dream” and got a Bachelor’s degree in theatre arts. Needless to say, he had to go back to school later and get a useful degree!!!
That’s why it is important to assess the market. It is also very important to take others, especially, elders’ opinion on this subject. Thanks for sharing this real-life story.
I’m from a family that very much believes in higher education and getting a degree. Neither of my parents have had the opportunity to go to college but they managed to put 3 kids through college in the U.S. and always stressed the importance of education and choosing to do what you like.
There’s plenty free information out there to research, which can help you choose a major that’s worth your time and money!
Great post!
Very good Offain! you said it right! People should research thoroughly before putting their loan in. Compare colleges, their placement records. How many companies come to campus for selecting students? What’s the market demand and future demand for a course of interest, etc. are very important factors for decision making.
I’m not sure I agree with this, mostly stemming from my own experience.
In high school, I desperately wanted to know what I was going to be when I grew up, but nothing seemed to grab my attention. It wasn’t until college that I learned that there were limitless options. For example, not many high school students ever take a course in psychology so how can they know that they might be interested in it?
I figured it out toward the end of my sophomore year of college, but I’m glad I didn’t try and figure it out too soon!
So you suggest that it’s OK to lose money with a wrong decision? Just because you do not know your choices? Well what role parents will play here? The way we grew up we knew what options we had and what future potential looked like for each of them. Our parents made at least that sure.