What Is Best Demanding Degree One Should Study Right Now?

TurkishDelight on 19/08/2015 - 11:49
Last edited 19/08/2015 - 11:49

Hello OZB's, I've got my cousin willing to come here from overseas. And So this question pops up, What is the best field/course/degree he should enroll in?
I've asked him what he want to become, but he don't have any particular Goals/Interest. He wants to become a footballer which he can do while doing his degree. Let's take football as his hobby and he don't mind getting into any profession as long as it's well paid and demanding. I was thinking about Mechanical Engineer or IT or petroleum. Any other advice? I've tried googling it shows up health care, accountants, plumbers, etc.

In case this matter he is 23 years old and have just finished his high schools. I hope it's not too late for him to get into those degrees.

Education & Work

Comments

    • spackbace on 20/08/2015 - 14:41
      -1

      I do hope you're joking :P

  • SydStrand on 20/08/2015 - 17:01
    +3

    Your friend sounds completely delusional. If there's some slam dunk method to make lots of money real quick, then thousands of others would have thought of it first. Worse for him, most of them wouldn't have the disadvantage of being a 23 year old immigrant with just a high school diploma.

  • [Deactivated] on 20/08/2015 - 17:52
    +1

    economics. analysis of big data, collectable via the internet, smart phones etc. will be huge in the next 10 years.

    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 01:02

      Is this similar as Statistics?

      • [Deactivated] on 22/08/2015 - 15:10
        +1

        Yeah statistics/economics, my understanding is they are very similar

  • panko on 20/08/2015 - 17:56
    +2

    Business Analytics is the next big thing. If he could get into R Programming or Python, it would have great demand in future.

  • belongsinforums on 20/08/2015 - 19:11
    +1

    If it's decent money he's after…
    Grad. Dip. in Business/Finance/Accounting/Management/Marketing. Then become a store manager at a big retail chain through their graduate program. $80k per annum straight out of study. Boring work, perhaps, but definitely in demand - most store managers do not have tertiary qualifications.

    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 01:04
      +1

      Yea Diploma in Business sounds a good option as he likes doing business. Also, the fees went be as high as Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering.

  • ProspectiveDarkness on 20/08/2015 - 21:34
    +7

    Why are you doing this research instead of him? Look, not to be rude or anything… but he's 23, just out of high school (…how?), has no idea what he wants to do, and did 'alright' in his studies - though you think he might be willing to take his degree seriously now. And the cherry on top, is that you're looking high and low for every single occupation in existence for him. Does this sound like a someone who will do well at university to you? Because it doesn't to me. He's 23, he needs to get his own sh^t together. Also, you need to seriously readjust your expectations. Even assuming he could get into high level degrees like engineering, nanotechnology, medicine… they have massive workloads and are massive commitments. I'm not sure you understand the scope to them. They are not something you just suggest to someone as if it's an item on a shopping list. It's literally decades of your life poured into this work. If one doesn't have the self-awareness or motivation to judge these degrees for themselves, they shouldn't be in them to begin with.

    Okay, that was a bit harsh, but I think it needs to be said. It's not liking picking out your next bit of furniture from IKEA. I'm sure you know your cousin better than we do, but this is just the impression I'm getting. Also take into consideration that as an international student presumably living on his family's money, with no particular drive of his own and after receiving numerous suggestions of intensive degrees from family members, he'll be under pressure and possibly not make the best decision for himself. I just don't think any of this is a recipe for a good outcome, TBH.

    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 01:12
      +1

      Right, I understand. But he is my cousin and his parent aren't very highly educated. As I am in Australia since last 4 years they are requesting me to suggest him some good career for his future life.
      Surely those courses arent easy and consist massive workloads. All I can do is suggest him and provide the most accurate data as possible, then its all upto him.

      • [Deactivated] on 21/08/2015 - 11:05
        -1

        Your cousin, why don't you be upfront and say it's you.

        • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 11:29

          Wish I was still 23. And if It was for me, there is no reason to say it's for my cousin.

        • [Deactivated] on 21/08/2015 - 11:44

          If he's so lacking to research what best for him, he's already a failure. If you only focus on what is in demand your are destined for a lifetime of mediocrity. Why Australia when we are in downturn? and why uni does he have to do a degree which become less and less relevant each year in terms of job seeking. A narrow minded person will never succeed.

        • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 12:02

          @Davo93: Ok thanks for your advice :)
          My responsibility is to suggest him, rest is up to him.

  • GameChanger on 20/08/2015 - 22:03

    Medicine is the best for prospects, other than that its all LUCK or contacts.

    If you're white thats a massive help for 'cultural fit reasons'.

    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 01:13

      Don't have any reputable contacts neither a white guy.

      • GameChanger on 21/08/2015 - 10:04
        -1

        Then you need above average marks, extracurriculars and great people skills. I found at the graduate level the amount of discrimination is enormous sadly.

        Put it this way I haven't come across a white guy with the above who is unemployed. Whereas if you're not white you're going to be doing twice the amount of interviews because some slut HR or small businesses worry cultural reasons make you a bad fit.

        • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 11:33

          Not fair, what has a business to do with cultural reasons?
          A job is a job.

        • GameChanger on 21/08/2015 - 12:11
          +1

          @TurkishDelight:

          I believe its for teamwork, keep arguments low/ keep everyone happy.

          Life isn't fair and most of these older people prefer to stick to their own race. Have a look at the boardrooms of companies in Australia, you will only see a token Chinese for their relationships with China.

          As to the argument you see racial diversity in many companies, it only exists because there was a time when companies had to look overseas for the skill set that didn't exist here.

          Want to reach the very top positions, all I got to say is good luck. You might be the smartest but end of day its a friends club and about image.

        • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 12:39

          @gamechanger: right.

  • FittyFitty on 20/08/2015 - 23:09

    Data forensics/analytics.

    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 01:14

      Yea I have got heaps of suggestion on this subject. Surely on my suggestion list.

  • zeomega on 20/08/2015 - 23:11
    +5

    No one asked this question. Where is his aptitude at?

    Everyone is programmed differently. If he doesn't have a strong logic based brain, then anything analytical, programming,etc will not be good for him.

    If he doesn't have people skills and ability to keep learning with a good memory/understanding, doctor is not a good profession.

    Law is a good profession, but without a great command of english and speed reading, may not excel.

    Rather than recommend him something, he needs to figure it out on his own. Without aptitude and passion, he might as well be a working zombie that is average at what he does.

    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 01:17

      I need to find out as well. He should be fine with data analytics.

    • Janko on 21/08/2015 - 17:21
      +1

      Yeah I was surprised to see aptitude not considered before your post. You just don't do mechanical engineering, often deemed one of the toughest courses at Uni. I did electrical engineering which was considered up there too and those having the entry marks but not the aptitude for the field soon changed course or dropped out.

      IT however is broad and it feels like 90% of the field are winging it. With his focus on football, it might save him from IT depression.

    • lenlynn on 22/08/2015 - 09:55

      I know a doctor with Asperger's lol

  • KnifeEnthusiastBoi on 20/08/2015 - 23:37

    I am currently doing a Masters in Applied Psychology (Organisational) and would like to help. However I think to better help I would need to have a conversation with him to identify certain factors. He needs to have a long hard think and then answer these few simple questions:

    How much money is he happy with earning per annum, and how long is he willing to invest to get there?

    Does he have the intellectual capacity to study subjects with difficult concepts and reasoning (i.e. engineering, medicine, physics)?

    Is he a relational person - Does he prefer to spend time working with people, or does he like to spend time alone?

    Is he technically minded (e.g. make things with his hands), artistically minded, or conceptually minded (likes to think about how things work) ?

    I would say aptitude and passion are not representative of 80% of todays workforce. People become passionate about the work that they do, most do not get passionate before they start working. Its very important not to base your career purely on "passion", because you may find your passionate interest as an appropriate hobby, but not one that can bring you everything that you want in life financially (which affects your lifestyle you will be able to live).

    But if he cbs answering my questions, ill give the top 5 occupations i think would be great…all of these require you to work hard, some also experience. But they have high potential for return.

    1. Business/Business Information Systems
    2. Dentistry
    3. Law
    4. Medicine
    5. Most allied health professions (e.g. optometry, physiotherapy, Dental Hygiene, podiatry)

    My top to avoid, unless you are talented in this field and/or extremely hardworking:

    1. Marketing
    2. Accounting
    3. Design (graphic, interior)
    4. engineering
    5. Psychology
    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 01:42

      Great Thanks. I will PM you once I find out those answers.

    • Davo1111 on 21/08/2015 - 17:40
      +1

      Most allied health professions (e.g. optometry, physiotherapy, Dental Hygiene, podiatry)

      While i agree in general with everything you've written, you get cycles of trending courses. Back in "my day", speech pathology became oddly popular and had a UAI of 99.97 … now it's back to 80. I think physio has had a more recent popularity explosion too.

      • KnifeEnthusiastBoi on 21/08/2015 - 18:42
        +1

        I made some of those recommendations based on a "general" trend where there will always be a foreseeable need and are quite stable..i mean it will take a significant economical disaster for australia to cut down on the demand of say allied health.

        Where as you get hundreds of graduate architects (if not thousands) every year….and australia just doesnt have that demand for 4000 architects a year consevatively speaking..

        oh yes avoid architecture industry too. There are always hundreds more graduates than there are jobs every year

        • Davo1111 on 21/08/2015 - 18:51
          +1

          oh yes avoid architecture industry too.

          100% agreed.

          In a way this thread would be easier for us to say "what not to do", and then pick from the rest of the list.

        • TurkishDelight on 22/08/2015 - 00:18

          @Davo1111: Great thanks davo and nairdajun.

    • shaybisc on 22/08/2015 - 18:42

      Business/Business Information Systems
      Dentistry
      Law

      Those are top of the charts for depression in the professions.

      • GameChanger on 22/08/2015 - 20:53
        +1

        I think denistry drives people mad!

        It got to be the worst repetitive job haha.

        • BartholemewH on 23/08/2015 - 12:15

          Accounting is worse.

        • TurkishDelight on 24/08/2015 - 12:08

          Dentistry is also Expensive and hard to study.

        • GameChanger on 24/08/2015 - 16:46
          +1

          @BartholemewH:

          I doubt you can beat standing up 12 hours a day working on a mouth. Its like surgery every second without the same financial rewards.

        • BartholemewH on 24/08/2015 - 19:54
          +1

          @gamechanger:
          Touché

  • shaybisc on 21/08/2015 - 06:17
    -1

    Furniture removal.

    • TurkishDelight on 21/08/2015 - 11:35

      I got tons of friends doing it. Not a degree but they pays well, but my friends said it so damn hard (the furniture are heavy he means).

    • Davo1111 on 21/08/2015 - 12:26

      Not sure a job that any man with a truck could do is a good career prospect.

      • KnifeEnthusiastBoi on 21/08/2015 - 18:43

        except plumbing and hot water installations. I hear thats insanely lucrative

        • Davo1111 on 21/08/2015 - 18:47
          +1

          that's a trade though.

          I'm referring to unskilled labour, delivery drivers, couriers, removalists etc.

        • KnifeEnthusiastBoi on 21/08/2015 - 18:51
          +1

          @Davo1111: gotcha. totally agree

  • jellykingdom on 21/08/2015 - 13:03
    +2

    You could look at the CSIRO's list of 7 Megatrends that they produce each year. It is a list of major genre's of development and growth that they are expecting. So for e.g, online marketing, blah blah blah

    They aren't literally geared towards "what job should i do" but its a good spot to start looking

    As a mechanical engineer, I know for a fact there are not a lot of jobs out there. There are loads for civil/structural engineers, but that will inevitably change in 4years time before they graduate!

    • KnifeEnthusiastBoi on 21/08/2015 - 18:46
      +1

      ^ jellykingdom is totally right. Not to mention that by 2017 or 2018 australia's automotive manufacturing industry is going to stop. Which means mechanical engineers are going to find it more difficult than before to get work (one less industry they can get into).

  • thechemist on 22/08/2015 - 00:05
    +2

    Being a Pharmacist and having many other friends in different heath professions here is a summary
    10 years ago newly registered Pharmacist 100% employment 80K-100K income easy, now not much full time employment available and more like 60-70K per year
    5 years ago Nurse and Dentistry 100% employment, now no guarantees with employment but dentist wages have gone down substantially as too many graduates and prices being dictated by private insurance companies
    Local medicine graduates still 100% employment (Big commitment as usually on average 10 years of Uni/hospital life now if one even wants to be a GP and 15 years for specialty)

    The future is e-commerce and with the internet the middle man is being cut out so industries like investment banking are dying and others already dead

    Things are not looking good for most industries but even if an industry is going backwards you can still find a job and flourish if you are naturally talented at the job and you work hard. Something relating to e-commerce or the internet would be my guess.

    A degree or qualification by itself is not as valuable as it once was

  • od810 on 22/08/2015 - 10:17

    I would suggest IT degree, but he needs to be very active during the course of study. Unlike other industries, you can have very good working experiences during study from participating in open source project. I don't know in few year time, how the industry will be. But for now ever now and then i got a random call from a recruiter asking if i want to chat about new opportunities.

    • TurkishDelight on 24/08/2015 - 12:10

      I have lots of IT friends, they suggested me it's not a good option.

      • od810 on 24/08/2015 - 13:39

        I think it really depends. But in term of practicality, IT grads have the highest chance of being practical and close to market expectation. Market for experienced developers is really high (in the last 3 4 months I had 3 calls from recruiters). One of the earlier suggestion, Statistics is in high demand as well. If you can get IT degree + good knowledge of stats, I will hire the person.

        The way I see is that general programmers will not be in demand in the next 5-10 years. But if you have good domain knowledge and programming skill, there will always plenty of jobs out there. You don't know how hard it is to hire someone who has good programming skill and decent domain knowledge.

  • R3XNebular on 23/08/2015 - 08:28

    If he likes running and chasing the ball then he can chase offenders, he can join the police depending on which state he is in.

    State Salary
    ACT $56,814
    NSW $65,000
    NT $58,392
    QLD $53,984
    SA $59,225
    TAS $55,865
    VIC $60,526
    WA $68,801

    I know traffic officers get paid around $125,000 (That's including speed camera overtime). Plenty of options to get into, forensics, cyber crime etc.
    Also does he speak another language, a big + for policing. Don't worry about doing a course, just apply. Plenty of 21 year old's in the job. You can also study inside as a police officer e.g prosecutions. After that you can leave and join a legal firm.

    • TurkishDelight on 24/08/2015 - 12:12

      I bet they won't be allowing an overseas student to join their Acadamy. You need to be at least Permanent Residence to join Police or Defence in Australia.

  • eatwell365 on 02/09/2015 - 19:45

    Once MBA was the prerequisite in corporate management, now the hottest degree is MBS.

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