Is STEM just a meme, or the only worthwhile thing to major in?
>>1046262
>Every day until you like it!! ;)
>>1046262
a STEM degree is worth getting into mostly because of long term pay and job security, basically if you want a secure job market and are willing to wait a good number of years for really good pay, it's the way to go
>>1046299
This
Good, fairly secure and dependable path to upper middle class lifestyle
But why not shoot higher OP
It's worth it, but most of us wish we'd done engineering
>>1046317
by what? playing the stock market or being a banker? that's incredibly risky.
>>1046262
I got a job with a bachelor in economics, op.
>>1046318
>It's worth it, but most of us wish we'd done engineering
But engineering is part of stem.
Engineering is a good major because it teaches you how to learn and problem solve. If nothing else you can be an excel monkey because you used it so much in college.
It is also more focused than science, math, or tech majors. I got to avoid a lot of bullshit classes when I was in engineering school. Of the 135 credits I took, 115 were required for the degree. Science majors only had 60-80 required credits so they had to take filler SJW electives to get the degree.
Depends on what you're going for. Do you want to max out at a comfy $150k in your fifties? I'd say stem is definitely up there, but is it the best choice? Hard to say.
Personally I have an entrepreneurial spirit and I want to develop and implement new and emerging technologies, so for me applied physics -the principal field of technologic innovation- was the obvious choice. I have no doubt in my mind that the degree will "pay itself off" in the future, but I'd say it's more my own character and drive that will propel me forward; stem is just the direction.
In general though I'd say you want to go for something that a lot of people needs (protip: they might not even know this themselves), but that not a lot of people can do. Take comp sci and software eng for instance; you've got good indian and chinese programmers graduating by the millions every year, but how many of them are able to apply those programming skills to highly technical fields such as quantitative finance or numerical physics? I'd say if you can combine the power of computation with the highly exotic and in-demand ability of rigorous mathematical analysis, you've got yourself a strong hand, maybe even the winning one. Just my two cents though.
>>1046457
Hope you have good starting capital nigger, otherwise youre fucked unless you get a PhD.
>>1046465
well personally I've been able to amass a very small fortune through app development on the side of my studies (which take up about 60 hours a week easily lol), so although I don't have what I would consider good starting capital at this point, I'm at least able to stay out of debt and keep my head above well above water through my degree.
That being said I have a good network and share mutual acquaintances with several highly successful tech investors that might want to take a chance on me in future.
Oh and I'm definitely going for a PhD, provided other, more lucrative opportunities don't come knocking on the door, although I probably won't go out of my way to actively seek it until I at least get my master's (22 y/o, will deliver master thesis in the spring of next year)
Why does this keep getting reposted?
I've literally seen this thread at least 5 times.
>>1046262
pairing stem with business is the best in my opinion. You can joint or double major, or do undergrad in STEM and then MBA or vice versa.
I think CS pairs with Business swimmingly, especially finance ( HFT/risk management ) or marketing (data mining)
>>1046262
Who is Bill Gates?
Who is Steve Jobs?
Who is Larry Elisson?
Who is George Hotz?
Who is Mark Zuckerberg?
Who is Charles Koch?
>>1046321
>that's incredibly risky
what is risky about it, you have a life an you die, worst thing that is going to happen to you, and you know it ain't risk but a certainty. investment and shit is a stroll in a park, you only have to watch out not to step in too many shit piles.
STEM is a very safe career path but the school for it sucks
>>1046324
>job
>not a career
And that's why you don't major in bullshit.
>>1046545
>He thinks economics is bullshit
t. NEET who read too many motivation blogs
>STEM
>top kek
Get into economics and relax while plebs work and you collect money.
>>1046262
Anything non-STEM is a meme you idiot
>>1046262
STEM is a meme. I can't tell you how many unemployed people with biology, chemistry, physics, even engineering degrees there are. You need to stop basing a very important life decision on the word of some 4chan neckbeards who most likely don't even have STEM degrees or are STEM students who think there will be a red carpet rolled out for them for the rest of their lives when they graduate.
Regardless of what you major in, university is useful because you can make connections. The unemployed STEM grads are pretty autistic Graduating with any type of degree and not having social skills is basically a sentence to be unemployed or work as a wageslave forever.
I majored in none stem and I started making 60k when I graduated (I have an MA in counselling psych) and now I make 70k.
>>1046262
STEM is one on the biggest Memes out there since it is pushed by the government.
It all comes down to supply and demand. STEM supply is actually ultra high since all the graduates from China and India could do the work from STEM graduates from other countries and thereby increase supply and decrease the economic rents they could collect.
Supply for Business and Economics majors on the other hand is much less influenced by the Asian countries supplying graduates in these fields since Asian Business and Economics graduates are not necessary as employable as European and American business graduates. The barrier of entry for them in business and economics is much higher.
Very similar things happen in the field of languages.
Which foreign language gets you the most economics benefits in the US?
Spanish?
>>1046684
>>1046665
>You need to stop basing a very important life decision on the word of some 4chan neckbeards who most likely don't even have STEM degrees or are STEM students who think there will be a red carpet rolled out for them for the rest of their lives when they graduate
Tbh.
If you listen to 4chan for anything serious you're going very very wrong.
>>1046262
I've got a B. Math and two years off a comp sci degree. Where's my job?
>>1046262
> Is _________ just a meme?
Stop with this shit already.
>>1046665
This. I'm an unemployed (1+ years) engineering major whose only staying afloat with entrepreneurial efforts.
You have to network and score a job while in college and being an engineering major whose absolutely buried in coursework and projects makes this much more difficult.
>>1047610
Seriously? I figure any company would take a Comp Sci major or an Engineer.
>>1046262
Computer Engineering major here. Any engineering major is a horrendous pile of work and sweat where your brain literally shrinks from how much thinking, calculations and assumptions you do. You can get employed, yes, but the real money is in entrepreneurship.
got a degree in Software Engineering
did my hardest to never program throughout it
took me seven years, but I now have a degree in Software Engineering from a very good university known for their engineering and computer science program
I paid for it during with jobs, have like ~2k debt, but never made more than 30K per year during those seven years and I got a shitty GPA ( 2.57 ) out of it
I agree with the people saying it hurts your brain some of the stuff you gotta learn, but listen, if I can get a degree in Software Engineering anything is possible for the rest of you.
Just graduated so waiting for my degree in the mail before I seriously start looking for positions, but I am not worried... I am great at a bullshitting and the world is literally my oyster with a smile and a bachelors in Software Engineering because I can apply to a very broad range of jobs and be seriously considered for a position.
>>1047855
>degree in Software Engineering
>did my hardest to never program throughout it
>took me seven years
>I got a shitty GPA ( 2.57 )
holy shit, are you legally retarded?
>>1047871
funny because I post something truthful instead of lying and say I finished in 3 years and got a 67k job with benefits before I graduated like a bunch of liars in here
>2.57 GPA corresponds with something like a 78% or a C+
it's nice to know most of the people with great GPAs are all autistic fuckers that cannot look people in their eyes or have any life experiences to demonstrate they are well rounded human beings ( something companies look for more than GPA btw )
Can't study your way into behaving like a normal human being so I think I'll be fine ;)
>>1047875
>mfw I actually have a 65k/yr with benefits
>mfw I think its pitiful
You have the right idea though
>>1047875
>takes 7 years to finish a degree that can be easily finished in 4 years
>gets a complete shit tier GPA
>a-at least i-i-i don't have a-a-autism
so you are retarded then.
>>1047883
>thinking Software Engineering is easily finished in 4 years when the average time to complete is 5.5 years for that degree
>thinking GPA matters more than the University you attended ( went to a Uni known for their engineering and CS program )
>not living your life and enjoying your twenties while you are young instead of locking yourself in the basement and doing schoolwork non-stop missing out on developing social skills and friendships that enrich your life
You strike me as a very good goy
>>1046262
You need to be good and actually like computer science. There are easier ways to make money doing something you actually like and way too much competition from people who will devour comp sci knowledge for fun.
The government is shilling a lack of programmers, but they don't account for internationals or people who go into the field without college. Any monkey can learn a framework and manipulate a website, but if you want to be really valued you need a PhD from a top ten school.
Get a comfy research position at 150K and enjoy the fuck out of your life.
>>1047888
So just to be clear, you don't have a job. I don't fault you for taking forever and all that, I did the same. But I also had a few offers before graduation. Why have you not already applied places? I was working a week after I passed my last course
>>1047888
>No job
>Took 7 years to graduate
>Shit gpa
>Says Jew /pol/ memes
It all makes sense now.
>Developing social skills and friendships
So how many did you develope? Your idea of socializing is posting on 4chan's /pol/ probably. So basically you have nothing to show for anything.
>No money
>Bad marks
>Probably no friends or gf
>No job
>Took over half a decade to finish Undergrad
L m a o .
>>1046262
Doing STEM to get rich is a meme.
Even generalizing about STEM is hard because career prospects and progression for a math major is so different from an engineer.
But with that out of the way, STEM is really hard if things like facebook and vidya matter to you because STEM requires a fixation on the real world. Even data analytics and software engineering are built on understanding the uncomfortable complexity behind interfaces.
For example, it kind of creeps people out to understand that Facebook is essentially a really big computer in silicon valley that monitors everything you do and tricks you into spending money. A lot of gamers who go into software engineering because they "like computers" get blown the fuck out when they have to deal with computer logic. I haven't even touched on mathematics or theoretical physics etc.
Thinking is hard and STEM requires a lot of it. I wouldn't say it's a meme but doing it to be pop nerdy is a meme. It's always tempting to take the gender studies way out but there's also nothing inherently righteous in a math major. Just make sure you know why you're doing whatever you're doing.
>>1046484
Lately I've been considering which sub field I wanted to master in my CS degree. I'm a freshman, and have been really excited about the prospect of machine learning/AI. I've seen this will most likely require a strong focus in math, as well as a PhD. I would love to spend a large amount of time working towards a unique specialization such as AI. Any insight into this thought process anon?
also, I have an opportunity to attend a top 5 AI school very close by to family. This has been a huge consideration for my decision to begin college here in the first place.
>>1047918
>Thinks having a gf in college is a sign of success
>mfw
>>1046499
college dropouts?
What I want to know is what cuck-tier university these unemployed stem grads went to. Of course shit tier universities will have poor placement rates. Go somewhere proper with good job placement and starting salaries.
>pic related
>>1046606
Econ is a shit major. It's also a difficult major with very little payoff
>>1048741
what makes you think that?
>STEM degree
>got best internship of anyone at my college
>got normalfag job for 3 years then quit
>no one will hire me now
>5 years unemployed
>>1048877
what? really? holy fuck.
>>1048877
You wont get any job unless you know anyone in the industry.
>are the main drivers behind every major economic development and industry a meme?
You tell me anon.
Now, are you asking whether a STEM degree will be stronger than pure nepotism...it depends on how asinine the industry or company you're applying to is.
Generally it isn't but it also depends on what you do with it but at the very least you CAN do something with it.
Research doesn't pay well unless you're doing it privately for some mogul and even then you're livelihood is dependent on you being able to create or find something that might not be there.
Engineering is a solid paycheck and the math is pretty easy compared to pure chemistry or physics.
Math is also pretty good but at that point you're more likely to work for a bank if you get good grades rather than do actual mathematical research.
I never understood how Technology is different from Engineering but whatever
>>1048740
>all those 40k low end offers
those are all the people that didn't know anyone in the industry/weren't minorities so they had to accept shit tier contract positions just to have a job.
>>1047918
>criticizing others on a site made for the purpose of being a weeb
>>1049675
Your point? Obviously part of college is networking and internships, it's not handed on a silver platter. Of course some spergs got bent. Not my concern, and there aren't enough of them to drop the mean or median.
>>1049734
what offer did you get, or are you a tard that hasn't even graduated yet is talking about the job market?
People in the field are walking memes, however STEM is totally worthwhile, It's a lot better than going into something in liberal arts or whatever
Well, they shill STEM every chance they get on TV so there must be something atleast sort of worthwhile.
>>1046499
wasn't Charles Koch born rich though?
>>1048847
nothing, he's just mad the econ majors got better prospects than him with his biology degree
>>1046262
I remember my high school AP chemistry teacher. He was such a bitter asshole. Always talked about how he was #2 in his class or something like that. Would get angry at kids for not getting the material right away. Huge superiority complex.
>>1046648
college is a meme you idiot
Science - meme. Very few jobs except in the phd level field and they are generally underpaid. To succeed in a science degree you need to be exceptional.
Tech - depends heavily on the field and the current and predicted demand for it. The right field at the right time could get you a lot of money.
Engineering - meme. Again, tons of grads, most good jobs are masters or phd level and the resources boom is well and truly over. Engineering is a better field than say, history or art. But its not the golden goose people think it is.
Mathmatics is much the same as science, love it, be good at it, and get to the masters or phd level and you might find something.
>>1046262
It is a meme. When in college you have to network and intern to make it anywhere, just like with every other degree.
A kid with a cs degree and no resume will be working at the same Starbucks as the kid with no resume and a psychology undergrad.
