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/sci/ - Science & Math

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3977285 No.3977285 [Reply] [Original]

Best undergraduate degree to have for today's job climate, for the future, and regarding salaries?

>> No.3977321

Maths. 300k starting salary, any job you want.

>> No.3977333

None. Bachelors degree is new high school degree.

>> No.3977338

Engineering.

>> No.3977334

>>3977321
with inflation, that should be about 305k now.

>> No.3977345

>>3977334
Chalk that up to 306k at this point.

>> No.3977351

>>3977333
This. Its best to start pick a job you want. Get a position at the lowest point for that company or anything related to it. Self study. Move your way up over time.

>> No.3977358

>>3977345
307k, we're living in Zimbawe.

>> No.3977360

Mathematics, because you get to study Mathematics.

>> No.3977374

Mathematics.

Sure, you might suffer in the short term because you only have a degree.
But wait until you get your PhD.

>> No.3977378

Electrical engineering. Maths is useless if you don't have a MA or Ph.D in it.

>> No.3977382

To those that said engineering, which kind, specifically?

>> No.3977389

Nursing

>> No.3977403

>>3977378
Which is why one should get a PhD in it.

>> No.3977409

>>3977403

The OP asked about undergrad degrees you twit.

>> No.3977414

obviously it does not compare to engineering. is nursing a joke even if you get licensed beyond the mere vocational level?

>> No.3977419

>>3977382

You really can't go wrong with any of the "core" types of engineering. Mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, and industrial usually have a high demand.

>> No.3977421

>>3977409
...because you can't get a PhD after getting a BS, right? You stupid cunt.

>> No.3977428

>>3977421

You are missing the point entirely. The OP asked about the best undergraduate degree to have. Engineering is better at the undergrad level than maths.

Fuck, you are as thick as two short planks. How do you remember to breath?

>> No.3977498

What about the sciences? I really like science, but the problem I see with a science bachelor degree is the job prospects.

>> No.3977540

>>3977428
No, it isn't. A BS in math is best, because it prepares you to enter a PhD program.
Go back to playing with legos.

>being called thick by an engineer
Please excuse me while I try to keep my sides from splitting.

>> No.3977551

Bio-mechanical engineering
or biochemistry

>> No.3977573

>>3977540
He's right.

Engineers have more career prospects than I ever will, and I'm a mathematics major in my senior year.

I don't envy them, nor do I hold jealousy; however, to think that engineers don't have that one-up on you economically is just mad.

People study math not because it's economically feasible, but because they enjoy it for the sake of what it is. It's not going to net you 300k, any job you want-starting salary. I'm sorry if /sci/ led you to believe this.

Most people who go into Mathematics fall into three options:
a) Love Mathematics for the sake of Math, has plans for Grad school.
b) Preparing for something else that's economically feasible(statistician, lawyer, actuary, etc).
c) Showboat to their friends how hurr durr smart they are xD.

Stop misleading yourself. Math is not a millionaires career.

>> No.3977583

Physics, Chemistry, Math, Engineering.
PhD level.

The above, or go home.

>> No.3977587
File: 61 KB, 576x757, engineerposter.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3977587

ENGINEER BOOSH!!!!

engineering is a great way to experience involved math and science and still be in a high demand job market.. what could be better?

>> No.3977602

Petroleum engineer probably.

If you're willing to get a phd then math, physics, or statistics then go over to the financial sector.

>> No.3977615

>>3977602

Petroleum Engineering??? F that!
Mechanical has the widest base of application and largest likelihood of employment. Petroleum limits you to oil based industries

>> No.3977620

>>3977573
Don't presume to know what I believe, you stupid piece of dog shit.
I've worked as an engineer and I'm taking graduate classes in mathematics.

>> No.3977644

>>3977615
Look at our salaries historically
tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9505/Beazley-9505.html
allthingspolitical.org/careers/mechanical_engineer_job_outlook.htm

There's always a need for engineers, but mechanical engineering in particular has been saturated to the point that starting salaries have not increased in a number of years (relative to other engineers). Chemical, Bio-, Electrical, and Petroleum Engineers on the other hand have had an increase in demand relative to their supply.
So, Mech. Eng. is a good degree, but at the current time, it's not the most lucrative of the Engineering disciplines. My money is either on Electrical or Bio-engineering to be the current/next engineering field that everyone throws money at.

>> No.3977646

as far as stem degrees, engineering gives you the best shot at a job out of undergrad. pure sciences have the worst job market for undergrads. those you gotta go to grad school.

>> No.3977653

>>3977644
i'd stay away from bioengineering. the salaries look nice, but you also have to look at the number of jobs. bioengineering has the smallest job pool of any engineering field. this makes it way harder to get a job in the field. this is why grad school is basically a requirement to hold a job related to bioengineering. you just wont be competitive with a bachelors

>> No.3977654

>>3977620
>you stupid piece of dog shit.

Calm your ass down, mighty tim. If you're so high and fucking mighty, why did you disrespect the other guy about his suggestion of being an engineer since you worked as one?

Pot, meet kettle. You're a grade A hypocrite faggot.

Also, congrats on your switch to mathematics. I see your classes are making you frustrated as fuck. Welcome to the fold. Currently, I'm doing some backed up HW on PDEs. Given how irate you are, you're probably doing either:
a) Real Analysis, grad level
or
b) Topology/Geometry of some sort.

>> No.3977669

>>3977653
Good point. I hadn't considered that. I know a couple of Bio-eng friends that ended up taking the MCAT or GRE for a M.D. or Ph.D. after unsuccessfully looking for jobs.

>> No.3977679

>>3977653
Is the job market for bioengineering more secure once you go to grad school?

>> No.3977692

>>3977679
well it gives you a more competitive edge over people who havnt gone to grad school. the other thing with bioengineering is, at the undergrad level, they try to give you a real general overview of biology, biochemistry, and mechanical engineering. there's so much stuff to cover there's no time to look at any topics in depth. you get kind of a half way education in all areas. you dont really have a solid grasp of an area until you've picked one to focus on and gone way into it in grad school. this is why bioengineering isnt recommended as a terminal degree for undergrads.

>> No.3977700

>>3977692
I see. I'm a non-traditional student going back to school next semester and I am anxious to start working as soon as possible. Is it possible to studying EE or another field of engineering, work for a few years, and go back for a Ph.d in bioengineering down the road?

>> No.3977713

>>3977669
It's worth noting that Bioengineering or Biomedical are subjects where your prospects for a good and interesting job are significantly increased by having a graduate degree because most of what goes on in those areas is related to research. If someone just wants to get a bs it might be better to go for one of the more traditional subjects... Biomedical and Bioengineering are also things that you can get into by going to grad school having already completed a degree in chemical, electrical, or mechanical.

Just speaking generally, the masters of the universe on wall street have ruined the economy for what will end up being five to ten years,and this has effected everyone including engineers. I'm a ChemE, and when I graduated about five years ago companies were practically fighting over new grads The job market is much more difficult now because most companies have decided to hoard their cash rather than build and invest in themselves. This means more competition for jobs, flatter salaries, and underemployed people.

>> No.3977718

>>3977700
probably not. studying something unrelated for undergrad and waiting a few years for grad school both count against you.

if you're concerned about job prospects, look at mechE, EE, or chemE

>> No.3977724

>>3977285
Depends what kind of work you want. Combined computer science + maths is extremely good though as a general rule. The problem with straight maths is that you can't get actual maths jobs with just a bachelors, so while it shows high intelligence and problem solving ability it doesn't actually qualify you to do anything. Add comp sci and suddenly you have great prospects.

>> No.3977726

>>3977654
I'm not mad. I wanted you to know that you're a stupid piece of dog shit, which is why I told you so.

If mathematics was frustrating to me, I wouldn't be studying it. I recommend that you follow the same policy.

>> No.3977730

>>mech engineering student
>>futuresobrightigottawearshades.bmp
>>read thread
>>suddenly worried about job market
>>switch to women studies
>>>?????
>>profit.

>> No.3977734

>>3977730
Good call bro. Women are non-cyclical. They are going to continue existing regardless of the state of the economy.

>> No.3977739

Economics baffles me. I hear huge unemployment rates, people being paid less for jobs, and yet there are no jobs. shouldn't a lower rate of pay make this an employers market? It sounds like a great time to start a business. I can underpay my workers, treat them like shit, and just say "Theres 10 people that want your job. consider yourself lucky" Why haven't we seen an upsurge in businesses? The only thing i can think is poor people not having money to blow, but the money must be somewhere so why not start businesses that cater to the rich that must have more money now?

Why this isn't the solution in economics baffles me.

>> No.3977744

>>3977726
Okay, I may be dog shit to you.

But, at least I'm not a hypocritical piece of shit like you are. Not only are you a faggot, but you're a faggot in denial. You're the worst kind.

>If mathematics was frustrating to me, I wouldn't be studying it. I recommend that you follow the same policy.

Oh, brother. You can love a subject immensely, but it can still be frustrating. I'm sure even Picasso had frustrating moments with art, as much as he enjoyed it. Please don't give me that bullshit.

>> No.3977752

>>3977739
you wont be making enough money to pay your workers a wage that makes them stay

>> No.3977757

>>3977752
There are people with degrees working minimum wage jobs. are you saying i couldn't afford skilled labor at rock bottom prices?

>> No.3977759

>>3977739
>It sounds like a great time to start a business.
1) The credit markets are still fucked, at least for small businesses. You can't get a loan to get started.
2) There is no consumer demand. Consumers are underemployed, and the average household is in debt from credit cards and bad mortgages worth hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the house is worth. The rich are just as troubled by the economic uncertainty and holding onto their cash.
3) If you have a job, why start a business in light of 1 and 2? Especially when there is no guarantee of securing meaningful employment if you fail.

>> No.3977773

>>3977759
3) I was refering to people with money already, why don't they create more jobs since they can treat people like slaves?
2) Rich people don't hold onto their cash, the still use private jets and buy expensive things.
1) People with money don't have to worry about credit.

Even without these three things, why doesn't the gov do small business loans instead of giving stimulus money to everyone? Seems a safe bet to fix an economy. Or if capitalism wasn't your thing, what about taxing the fuck out of the rich and get government created jobs?

>> No.3977774

>>3977739
What you're saying is true to an extent, but corporate executive types are extremely risk-averse, and there are some legitimate reasons for them to be. For example, if you wanted to build a big new chemical plant, you're probably going to have to spend into the range of hundreds of millions of dollars. If the project goes wrong, or you get done and there's no demand for the product you're making then it literally can ruin your company.

That being said, there are tons of examples of corporations and ceo's thinking short-term in shameless fashion. Pfizer is an excellent example. They announced a few months back that they were massively cutting their r&d budget and would be engaging in a massive stock buy-back. Their stock price went up quickly after announcement, but in the longer term they could be screwed because their pipeline is apparently getting pretty sparse. The current ceo doesn't care though because they can make plenty in profits in the short term by laying people off, shipping their manufacturing to tax shelters, and lobbying congress to have their tax bill forgiven.

>> No.3977776

>>3977773
are you really that thick?

>> No.3977778

petroleum engineering
the oil industry takes care of their own

>> No.3977798

>>3977773
look dude, the fact that you dont understand economics isnt necessarily a bad thing and youre entitled to your own opinion but when people explain to you the faults in your understanding of economics you should at least be aware you have no fucking clue what youre talking about

>> No.3977800

>>3977776

What part was stupid? Rich people spend money on extravagant things. Governments creating jobs works ( its one of the reasons we recovered from the great depressing ), small business loans should work too, though i don;t have a historical situation to back that up.

Why not makes laws against outsourcing? That would make them hire Americans. Or give them massive tax breaks for doing so, and tax penalties for outsourcing.

Like i said, i don't understand economics, and i can't see why these things wouldn't work. pointing out that i don't understand something i already confirmed i don't is just being a dick.

>> No.3977804

>>3977800
>great depressing
oh. you're trolling. i get it now.

>> No.3977811

>>3977800
>Why not makes laws against outsourcing?
Because that isn't necessarily going to make them hire Americans. The outsourced operations might be too expensive to bring back to the USA, so the company might cease that activity altogether. It could even cripple a company to the extent that it loses administrative workers here in the USA. Significantly raising costs for companies in the middle of a feeble recovery is just not a good idea.

>> No.3977816

>>3977798

The fact that i am asking"given these reasons, why doesn't it work" makes me claim i know what i'm talking about? I'm looking for fault in my understanding because something here doesn't compute. My counterarguments are just how things appear, and I'm looking for why they are either misinformed, or why they are true but don't apply.

>> No.3977825

>>3977800
>Rich people spend money on extravagant things.
Some rich people do, and even so, they share the same attributes as other consumers, specifically risk aversion and the income effect.

>> No.3977827

>>3977804

Actually no, i just hit spell check and didn't proof read. My mistake. I'm dyslexic, so i don't always catch those things and have to rely on spell check heavily.

>> No.3977830

>>3977825

I read about an iPhone app that was a blinking red dot, that was selling crazy for the mere fact that it cost three grand. Status symbols apparently are recession proof.

I understand not all rich are like this, but many of them waste their money just for show even now. How can we profit from this and recirculate money. I refuse to believe there is just not way to profit during a recession.

>> No.3977836

>>3977830
Yes, I understand your point, the rich still have money. That does not mean that they want to spend it on a new company that is very likely to hemmorage money.

>> No.3977840

>>3977800
>Rich people spend money on extravagant things
so you're going to have an extravagant things business?
it costs a lot to produce these things. you'll have to cover those costs to start the business.
people arent buying these things left and right. there's low demand.
you cant just go to a bank, take out a massive loan, buy five private jets and sell them just like that

>government creates jobs
we dont have the money to do that right now

>Why not makes laws against outsourcing
people would get angry with the government influencing the free market. it would strain international relations. prices would go up as a response to having to hire american workers and pay them more. generally a ton of inflation.

it's fine not to understand things, but dont go arguing on the internet about things you dont understand. it's completely asinine. i dont know why im even responding.

>> No.3977846

>>3977830
so your business strategy is "sell something for a really high price so rich people are compelled to buy it"
really?

>> No.3977866

I'm not even arguing this. I'm looking for flaws in my logic. If you aren't up to enlightening me about a subject i know little about, that's fine. I've learned a lot already, and i thank you for it.

There are plenty of things that sell for a lot of money that don't have a lot of overhead, such as jewelry. the market on a piece of jewelry is often around 1000% of material cost.
Other things are expensive because of extensive labor, especially skilled, that is involved. Such labor can be had for cheap now. As for loans and startup money i can see how that would be problematic, but again i don't see much risk if you could find a niche with the above requirements.

>> No.3977870

>>3977866
Okay, you don't seem to understand basic supply and demand.
There are only so many rich people willing to spend so much money. There are already so many companies selling them almost that much money worth of goods. Yes, there are some potentially unexploited markets, some of them involving rich people some not. Even if every single one of these markets were to be exploited, there are not enough rich people spending enough money that this would fix the economy.

Man, and I thought intro micro was a waste of time.

>> No.3977874

Biology, because you can do whatever the fuck you want with a bsc in biology

>> No.3977878

>>3977870

Oh no no, i am not talking about fixing the economy. i am talking about a few individuals recession profiteering. Obviously EVERYONE can't make expensive things with high markups, even given an abundance of cheap skilled labor, but i would think you would hear about some start-up companies. I am just curious why it doesn't happen.

My god, i hope you didn't really think i thought it was simple to fix the economy. Only part i was curious about was why the government doesn't supply jobs in a recession, or try to force American hires. I can see how you would think i merit those for the same cause of fixing this broken country.

I'm thinking about just skipping off to another country with my degree.

>> No.3977887

>>3977878
People do profit from the recession just not nearly as many as lose money, the government basically can't do anything but stimulus spending on retarded fucking terms because of the clusterfuck of politics and this stimulus spending mostly goes to tax cuts and pork rather than job creation, and forcing american hires makes shit more expensive and makes people poorer in general even if it helps those who get jobs.

And you really don't want to go anywhere except for China and maybe Brazil, and you don't want to go to China. I guess Brazil's okay, though.

>> No.3977898

>>3977887
That's a shame. I don't speak Portuguese. I was thinking somewhere in Scandinavia, Germany or Australia. Is it terrible that i don't want to move to a place where i will be the minority, or have a culture vastly different than those around me?

>> No.3977921

>>3977898
Yes you fucking intolerant racist nazi scumbag, you are a horrible horrible person and you should feel awful.

>> No.3977929

>>3977921

Okay...

>> No.3979142

Best undergrad degree is in Underwater Basketweaving.
First, not many people get this coveted degree due to the myth that it's not useful. so there is
very little competition.
Second, you'll have a job right out of college. This is a 'technical' degree, it teaches you excatly what you need to do for your job (making baskets). You can even be a professional fruit basket maker and make almost 3 dollars a year!