College and Majors

Life is funny! Kids want to be grown and grown ups want to be kids again. Young people think being an adult will bring them all this freedom. Adults look at being young as a time when they had the most freedom from responsibilities of family and finances.

Let’s face it, young people are always going to want to be grown, to get away from their parents rules, thinking this will bring them freedom. But how can we make sure adults continue to believe that being grown does allow them freedom in their life. One way is to make sure teens plan a better career choice for their future that they love, as opposed to a career they dread while making sure student loans don’t cause their career choice to be too costly to enjoy.

Your career choice is one of the biggest choices you will have to make. And it gets even better because according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average U.S. worker changes careers 3-5 times during their lifetime. So that means you will have many more times to face this big decision. Nevertheless, let’s start with career número uno (number one for my none Spanish readers).

Most teen students, and parents for that matter, are more interested in the college or university as opposed to the major one will take up at school. Yes, the college matters in terms of quality of education, family alma mater and of course – the fun! But more importantly, you need to look at the cost of the education versus the return of investment of that degree – the wage you will earn.

Below are some occupations and the annual entry wage for Chicago, Illinois. Also noted is the demand for the job and any additional degrees needed. To research your career interest, go to www.careeronestop.org, Salaries + Benefits tab.

Elementary School Teacher - $39,428, in-demand
Lawyers - $70,065, in-demand, requires post bachelor degree
Graphic Designers - $27,687, in-demand

Research the cost of attending the school of your choice. Will you have to get loans? If so, how much will it cost you? Then look at the cost of any additional degrees, like a master’s or Ph.D., you will need to obtain to start a career. Now, compare the job’s entry salary to your total cost of attending college(s). Decide if you can survive on that salary after you meet your educational student loans, housing expenses, food and transportation.

Side note: Oh and by the way, please don’t rack up any credit card debt while in school or ever if you can help it. Now back to our regular scheduled program.

If you can great! But if you can’t, you’re not going to experience the freedom, you’ve so longed to get by being grown. Rather, you have become a grown up who wants to be a kid again because financially you have no room to breath and that’s no fun.

A part of growing up is exploring your freedom, freedom to choose your clothes, the time to come in the house and make important decisions in your life. Being financially free and enjoying your job, not as work, but as play really brings adults the most sense of freedom. So begin planning (education) with the end in mind (career) and make sure it’s fun and financially beneficial.