[335is808]

Originally Posted by kyleb350

The computer science degree is always a good way to go, but I'm not sure what the opportunities are over in Hawaii though. You can (somewhat) combine the business management degree with that and go for a Management of Information Systems (MIS) degree. It can allow you to go either way.

A lot of people will ask "Well, what do you want to do?", and I found out you kind of figure that out along the way. I started out going for software engineering and ended up with an MIS degree.

what kind of jobs could you get with your degree if you dont mind me asking?

[The Nash]

Professional hog rustler.

[BayMoWe335]

You're not on the right track for money unless you have rich parents. Buying a 335is at your age was a dumb decision, even if it's "Almost paid off." You could have used that money for a great start to your life.

The best advice I can give you is save all you can while your life is simple. Whatever career you choose is more secondary because life will get more expensive as you get older. If you can save now, you'll get the benefit of compounding returns for the maximum amount of time. Time DOES matter. This is how you can be comfortable without having a $100k/year job.

The $40-60k you wasted on a car could be working for you for the next 45 years.

Open a Roth IRA and max it out. I started mine at 18 and it's crazy how much it's grown.

[335is808]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

You're not on the right track for money unless you have rich parents. Buying a 335is at your age was a dumb decision, even if it's "Almost paid off." You could have used that money for a great start to your life.

The best advice I can give you is save all you can while your life is simple. Whatever career you choose is more secondary because life will get more expensive as you get older. If you can save now, you'll get the benefit of compounding returns for the maximum amount of time. Time DOES matter. This is how you can be comfortable without having a $100k/year job.

The $40-60k you wasted on a car could be working for you for the next 45 years.

Open a Roth IRA and max it out. I started mine at 18 and it's crazy how much it's grown.

Just to clarify, i am not on track for just money period. I am on track for a stable career that has a better job market, i dont need to be rich. Saving of course is important, but if i was saving all my money and driving a POS honda just to have a better head start at my future, i would be miserable lol.(got my IS for 30k so i think its a steal ) You only live once, so all in all i guess it comes down to personal preference and what you think is better, i totally understand your point of view though. But thank you for your post, really made me reconsider the value of money. Ill think twice about buying meth now lol!!

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by 335is808

Just to clarify, i am not on track for just money period. I am on track for a stable career that has a better job market, i dont need to be rich. Saving of course is important, but if i was saving all my money and driving a POS honda just to have a better head start at my future, i would be miserable lol.(got my IS for 30k so i think its a steal ) You only live once, so all in all i guess it comes down to personal preference and what you think is better, i totally understand your point of view though. But thank you for your post, really made me reconsider the value of money. Ill think twice about buying meth now lol!!

You asked for advice and you're trying to justify a stupid decision. You are young and hard headed, but you'll realize I'm right one day (as are others in this thread trying to tell you the same thing).

My next advice is take advice when it's given to you by people older and more experienced. Don't try to justify what you did, because you don't know what you're doing, frankly. Don't be offended...I'm trying to give advice you asked for. If you think what you're doing is right, don't ask for opinions on career path, etc.

We work for money. If you want some kind of fulfillment from your job, save that until after retirement. You indicated you want a stable job to support your family and weren't concerned about making a ton of money per year. To accomplish your goal, my advice is solid and you should think hard about it before saying you'd be "miserable" without a 335. Sell your car and drive something you can afford. As much as you want to tell yourself you can, you really can't afford the car at this point...and that's OK.

Live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow.

[synclastica_86]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

You asked for advice and you're trying to justify a stupid decision. You are young and hard headed, but you'll realize I'm right one day (as are others in this thread trying to tell you the same thing).

My next advice is take advice when it's given to you by people older and more experienced. Don't try to justify what you did, because you don't know what you're doing, frankly. Don't be offended...I'm trying to give advice you asked for. If you think what you're doing is right, don't ask for opinions on career path, etc.

We work for money. If you want some kind of fulfillment from your job, save that until after retirement. You indicated you want a stable job to support your family and weren't concerned about making a ton of money per year. To accomplish your goal, my advice is solid and you should think hard about it before saying you'd be "miserable" without a 335. Sell your car and drive something you can afford. As much as you want to tell yourself you can, you really can't afford the car at this point...and that's OK.

Live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow.

I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree with you. There is value in spending money now instead of saving it for later. That's partially the reason why interest exist. Whether he choose to spend or save the 30K really hinges on whether he can find an investment that offers sufficient expected return to compensate him for his deferred spending (as well as any risks he must bear).

30K is not a lot of money and his investment choice may be limited. It's difficult for him to achieve sufficient diversification which such a sum; hence, he would be exposed to more unsystematic risk. With this in mind, it may be difficult for that 30K to grow as fast as the increase of car prices. This is certainly the case in Hong Kong. I just paid $115k for my 435 while an E92 335only cost about $83k about 4 years back. That's an annual inflation of 8.5%. I highly doubt that he can make that kind of return without taking excessive risk.

At this stage, I think he'd be okay as long as he doesn't rack up debt. Just focus on getting a good education and worry about saving later. I really think that it's good to have nice things when you are still young.

[twin fed]

I can tell you not to become an English major. I went that route and have been working in the automotive/culinary industry for the past 14 years and an English degree got me nowhere in these fields.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by synclastica_86

I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree with you. There is value in spending money now instead of saving it for later. That's partially the reason why interest exist. Whether he choose to spend or save the 30K really hinges on whether he can find an investment that offers sufficient expected return to compensate him for his deferred spending (as well as any risks he must bear).

30K is not a lot of money and his investment choice may be limited. It's difficult for him to achieve sufficient diversification which such a sum; hence, he would be exposed to more unsystematic risk. With this in mind, it may be difficult for that 30K to grow as fast as the increase of car prices. This is certainly the case in Hong Kong. I just paid $115k for my 435 while an E92 335only cost about $83k about 4 years back. That's an annual inflation of 8.5%. I highly doubt that he can make that kind of return without taking excessive risk.

At this stage, I think he'd be okay as long as he doesn't rack up debt. Just focus on getting a good education and worry about saving later. I really think that it's good to have nice things when you are still young.

What is the value in blowing your only $30k on a depreciating asset? Any investment vehicle has risk. The point I'm making is that this dude can't have many $30k piles sitting around (Actually, he probably had none since he's not even finished buying the car) and he'd be better served having it in an emergency fund than in a silly car at this stage. $30k isn't a lot, but it is when that's all you have and/or you have 45 years to let it grow.

Investing for the long term at his age has essentially a 100% probability of paying off by the time he retires. I know it sound like a long time in the future, but he can't get the $5,500/year in a Roth back if he never puts it in. That alone is worth it, even it's sitting in cash. He could be protecting those dollars from the tax man plus earning returns on his investment. He can buy an index and not look at it for 45 years.

You can diversify with $30k very easily...not sure what you're talking about there. Investing small sums is easier than large sums in a lot of ways.

"Saving later" generally gets you in trouble. Remember, we are talking about someone with very limited means and little desire to earn cash in the future. He's not studying to become a brain surgeon or entering the NBA draft. He wants a decent job, with decent pay. Saving now, investing in the future, and not blowing money on junk is going to get him farther than "saving later." Your argument about value in spending now to account for investment risk, too little to invest, limited options, and enjoy now due to those limitations is utter nonsense.

I do agree with not racking up debt, like a payment on a 335is.

[Myrder]

Originally Posted by synclastica_86

I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree with you. There is value in spending money now instead of saving it for later. That's partially the reason why interest exist. Whether he choose to spend or save the 30K really hinges on whether he can find an investment that offers sufficient expected return to compensate him for his deferred spending (as well as any risks he must bear).

30K is not a lot of money and his investment choice may be limited. It's difficult for him to achieve sufficient diversification which such a sum; hence, he would be exposed to more unsystematic risk. With this in mind, it may be difficult for that 30K to grow as fast as the increase of car prices. This is certainly the case in Hong Kong. I just paid $115k for my 435 while an E92 335only cost about $83k about 4 years back. That's an annual inflation of 8.5%. I highly doubt that he can make that kind of return without taking excessive risk.

At this stage, I think he'd be okay as long as he doesn't rack up debt. Just focus on getting a good education and worry about saving later. I really think that it's good to have nice things when you are still young.

30k at 20yrs old is a lot of money and if invested in something that returns even 3% annually will be at $45k when he is 35. I do not see how you can compare investing money vs spending it on a depreciating asset such as a car. Take the $30k and invest in a few mutual funds and watch it return much more than 3%.

He racked up debt on his car and will get more with student loans. I would have rather graduated loan free without nice things, but my only option was take loans and not have nice things, go figure.

[Maestro]

Do not take this the wrong way, IT/software/computer science suck, yes it pays well, that because they expect you to work long hours, since those systems tend to fail when it is time to go home. They can also easily outsource your job to India where many IT Jobs end up since they are more than happen to work for a 1/3 of what you make. Most Company unless their product are is purely and IT/software product like (facebook and such) put no value on people who provide IT solutions.

Most big companies will not hire IT/Programs as employees, they subcontract the work out to place in India and such.

I will tell you what I told me Son, Engineering or Business no other choose, you will learn skill and gain knowledge that can be applies to anything you do. If your not working for yourself, most all job positing out of the IT field list Engineering or Business degrees are a must.

BTW, my wife works in the IT recruiting industry and her company has a software product which they sell to what I call the IT meat market. There are more companies today who hire temp IT/Programmers today and make money off the these people doing contract work for all size companies. The treat IT/Programmer as warm body they can send to a client site.

[RR-NYC]

It appears as though you are looking at this all wrong to me. You first need to figure out what you want to do - not what kind of job will support my lifestyle. There are a few things you need to ask yourself.

1) What do I enjoy doing and is there career opportunity in the field and what type of education do I need?
If you want to do something that requires a trade skill over a 4 year degree, do it.
I cannot tell you how many people I have interviewed in the last few years that got a degree just to get one and want nothing to do with it afterwards. Don't waste your time getting a Bachelors for something you don't want or need. Thats the problem with college grads today - So many think just because they have a degree it was their ticket to any job.

2) Can you see yourself doing that for the next 20-30 years or will you want to kill yourself after the first 5 years?
I like my CPA but I would kill myself if I had to do his work. I've always been in sales and I can't sit in an office everyday - never have never will. So I found an outside sales career in a field that is virtually recession proof - Healthcare. My last company was based out of Chicago where I had an office for 7 years. I would fly there twice a month: in on the 6:40am flight and out on the 5:50pm flight. I could say there longer but why? Whether I am home or anywhere I want to be in the world, I am "working" as long as I have my phone and laptop. Granted, it took some time to get to this level so there was a time that I had a boss who would ride my ass to deliver. Now I am that person but I am way better to work for than my old boss ever was.

I would first decide what you want to do for a living and figure out how to get there

[335is808]

Originally Posted by Maestro

Do not take this the wrong way, IT/software/computer science suck, yes it pays well, that because they expect you to work long hours, since those systems tend to fail when it is time to go home. They can also easily outsource your job to India where many IT Jobs end up since they are more than happen to work for a 1/3 of what you make. Most Company unless their product are is purely and IT/software product like (facebook and such) put no value on people who provide IT solutions.

Most big companies will not hire IT/Programs as employees, they subcontract the work out to place in India and such.

I will tell you what I told me Son, Engineering or Business no other choose, you will learn skill and gain knowledge that can be applies to anything you do. If your not working for yourself, most all job positing out of the IT field list Engineering or Business degrees are a must.

BTW, my wife works in the IT recruiting industry and her company has a software product which they sell to what I call the IT meat market. There are more companies today who hire temp IT/Programmers today and make money off the these people doing contract work for all size companies. The treat IT/Programmer as warm body they can send to a client site.

Thanks for this I was heavily debating business management/finance or MIS now that i have done more research.

[badazzm]

Tax accountant. Stable, chill and good paying once u reach manager (5 years).

[P1]

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Advertising, yet now work for world's largest consulting firm. Funny how that works.

By the way, I truly enjoy my job. There is nothing worse than wasting your life away working a job you hate.

[335is808]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

You asked for advice and you're trying to justify a stupid decision. You are young and hard headed, but you'll realize I'm right one day (as are others in this thread trying to tell you the same thing).

My next advice is take advice when it's given to you by people older and more experienced. Don't try to justify what you did, because you don't know what you're doing, frankly. Don't be offended...I'm trying to give advice you asked for. If you think what you're doing is right, don't ask for opinions on career path, etc.

We work for money. If you want some kind of fulfillment from your job, save that until after retirement. You indicated you want a stable job to support your family and weren't concerned about making a ton of money per year. To accomplish your goal, my advice is solid and you should think hard about it before saying you'd be "miserable" without a 335. Sell your car and drive something you can afford. As much as you want to tell yourself you can, you really can't afford the car at this point...and that's OK.

Live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow.

If you had read my post througly you would know that I did you not ask for advice on whether I should have bought my car, i specifically asked for career advice, you telling me how i shouldnt have bought my car is not advice and is in no relation to what this post was originally intended for. i did not come on here to have a discussion about my car, i came for a discussion about my future career and to see what some of the members do for a living. And you assume all people my age are young and hard headed which is a steryotypical statement, I take advice very well. Just not when its demeaming and biased. Anyways, Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts anyway and have a nice day

[Hawkeye]

Since you're Asian actuarial science should be a gimme. Stable job, pays well, usually ranked #1 or close on best jobs lists. Lot of maths though.

[Hisam135i]

I just graduated with a BA in Econ and a minor in business. Was one class short of a math minor :/ I'm now going for a PhD in Finance if I get into a program!

[Foxrus14]

We had T-shirts at Penn State that said... Penn State Engineering, if you can't hack it switch to business. I don't know anyone with a Business degree without having some technology minor that has a real job... Go the engineering route and you get all the business background.

[PSUSMU]

Engineering > everything if you can handle it, but I switched from Mech. Eng. to Information Sciences and Technology. Then I got my first employeer to pay for my M.S. in Systems Engineering.
You have to do what you're interested in, otherwise it'll suck and you will suck at it. I got into IT because I'm genuinely interested in it. I lead a team of software developers for government projects.

[talisman311]

Originally Posted by Maestro

Do not take this the wrong way, IT/software/computer science suck, yes it pays well, that because they expect you to work long hours, since those systems tend to fail when it is time to go home. They can also easily outsource your job to India where many IT Jobs end up since they are more than happen to work for a 1/3 of what you make. Most Company unless their product are is purely and IT/software product like (facebook and such) put no value on people who provide IT solutions.

Most big companies will not hire IT/Programs as employees, they subcontract the work out to place in India and such.

I will tell you what I told me Son, Engineering or Business no other choose, you will learn skill and gain knowledge that can be applies to anything you do. If your not working for yourself, most all job positing out of the IT field list Engineering or Business degrees are a must.

BTW, my wife works in the IT recruiting industry and her company has a software product which they sell to what I call the IT meat market. There are more companies today who hire temp IT/Programmers today and make money off the these people doing contract work for all size companies. The treat IT/Programmer as warm body they can send to a client site.

I graduated with an IS degree and have a lot of friends in the IT field. This isn't accurate at all. I've had head hunters reach out to me along with my friends and we're all doing quite well with many opportunities out there. Our specialties range from coding/PM to infrastructure to business leaders (we're in our late 20s to early 30s now).

I don't want to spend a lot of time justifying and typing about my experience, but it's a lucrative and interesting field to be in. You do have to exhibit passion and be good at something (jack of all trades, master of none won't cut it). If you approach it as just a job that pays well, employers aren't going to want you. Needless to say, you do have to stay on top of technology since it's always evolving, otherwise you'll just be dead weight (I've met some older folks who seem to be stuck in the analog era and haven't made it).

One of the most important things with anyone going into a IT degree program is to seek out internships and establish connections/experience. We've had some great interns at our company and had job offers immediately because they went for the internship opportunity and performed.

[RR-NYC]

Originally Posted by Foxrus14

We had T-shirts at Penn State that said... Penn State Engineering, if you can't hack it switch to business. I don't know anyone with a Business degree without having some technology minor that has a real job... Go the engineering route and you get all the business background.

Engineering is definitely tops as far as starting salaries for college degrees but it's far from the promised land as far as incomes. Those stats mean very little in the real world and we will wind up with a bunch of engineering grads flooding the country with with no jobs.

My take is that those with engineering degrees are usually better equipped to join the workforce compared to the typical English major or business major or any other degree for that matter.

[synclastica_86]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

What is the value in blowing your only $30k on a depreciating asset? Any investment vehicle has risk. The point I'm making is that this dude can't have many $30k piles sitting around (Actually, he probably had none since he's not even finished buying the car) and he'd be better served having it in an emergency fund than in a silly car at this stage. $30k isn't a lot, but it is when that's all you have and/or you have 45 years to let it grow.

The value of blowing $30k is immediate enjoyment. If he cannot make a return that exceeds the rate at which the prices of cars are increasing, then he'd be better off spending it right now. I'm not trying to jump to conclusion regarding his financial situation, but it really seem that he has quite a bit to fall back on from his family in case of emergency.

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Investing for the long term at his age has essentially a 100% probability of paying off by the time he retires. I know it sound like a long time in the future, but he can't get the $5,500/year in a Roth back if he never puts it in. That alone is worth it, even it's sitting in cash. He could be protecting those dollars from the tax man plus earning returns on his investment. He can buy an index and not look at it for 45 years.

His long investment horizon simply means that he has a higher ability to tolerate volatility. It doesn't guarantee that his investment will beat inflation, especially after-tax. I'm not sure what you mean by "protecting those dollars from the tax man" as it doesn't seem like he currently owns any asset that generates tax liabilities.

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

You can diversify with $30k very easily...not sure what you're talking about there. Investing small sums is easier than large sums in a lot of ways.

I'm not sure what asset classes are available to him, but what I meant by limited diversification is that some assets have minimum buy-ins.

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

"Saving later" generally gets you in trouble. Remember, we are talking about someone with very limited means and little desire to earn cash in the future. He's not studying to become a brain surgeon or entering the NBA draft. He wants a decent job, with decent pay. Saving now, investing in the future, and not blowing money on junk is going to get him farther than "saving later." Your argument about value in spending now to account for investment risk, too little to invest, limited options, and enjoy now due to those limitations is utter nonsense.

I do agree with not racking up debt, like a payment on a 335is.

I agree that saving too late will get you in trouble, but I don't think that waiting till after graduation will constituent as too late.

Originally Posted by Myrder

30k at 20yrs old is a lot of money and if invested in something that returns even 3% annually will be at $45k when he is 35. I do not see how you can compare investing money vs spending it on a depreciating asset such as a car. Take the $30k and invest in a few mutual funds and watch it return much more than 3%.

He racked up debt on his car and will get more with student loans. I would have rather graduated loan free without nice things, but my only option was take loans and not have nice things, go figure.

I really get your point about saving for the future, and that's probably the right thing to do. But really, it's really nice to have nice things at a young age. The same toy is much more exciting when you are 20. Idk, I think I getting quite irrational on this topic. I recently had a family member pass away unexpectedly. He worked hard, deferred his spending and had loads of savings. But he ended up not enjoying any of it. Sad.