No idea what to do when I'm older

Alright so I've been thinking, I'm completely confused on what degree to do or what to do when I'm older in general.

At first I thought I would be interested in Computer Science, that changed to Medicine, that changed to finance and finally I'm not sure about engineering.

I love Maths apart from statistics(which is what put me off finance).
Kind of like Economics.
I like Science apart from Biology which is boring tbh.

Computer Science interested me at first, but it didn't have the type of Maths I enjoyed(algebra, trig, geometry etc), I didn't want to be sitting on a computer for the rest of my life programming.

I kind of went into Medicine thinking yeah, good pay, highly respected and will do my parents proud. But now that I think about it, I don't want to spend 6 years of my life in education, then another 2 years on a 20k salary and working long hours for the rest of my life.

Finance put me off because it's boring and tedious.

I thought engineering would be for me, but from what I heard, the pay is not good, I want to be earning around 60-100k later on my career, but engineering does not reach that type of pay scale. Also, I want to study a degree which contains high amount of Maths but engineering doesn't impliment things such as algebra and it is not practical.

So yeah, any tips?

I'm in Year 11 by the way.

"I thought engineering would be for me, but from what I heard, the pay is not good, I want to be earning around 60-100k later on my career, but engineering does not reach that type of pay scale. Also, I want to study a degree which contains high amount of Maths but engineering doesn't impliment things such as algebra and it is not practical."

I got to the end and this statement and thought this has got to be a troll?

Engineering Maths is not hard enough! ROFLMAO.

But just in case this is a serious post, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and say you are not alone. Have you thought of business or starting up on your own?

Aspirations and ambition are a good thing. Reality and achieving them is something completely different. Having your cake and eating it comes to mind.

To get to the higher salaries and earnings POTENTIAL in any career, you have to be prepared with the right work-ethic for a life of hard work. And that starts with pain early in your education first and then the ladder rungs of any career.

There is no easy route - all of it requires determination, tenacity, sheer bloody hard work and the presentation of opportunity and building a network of contacts. Very often these latter two is the luck of being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right influential people.

But if you don't want to put in the hard work from the start, there will be plenty of people who do and they are the ones you are up against. Because any employer will choose then over you.

Don't get hung up on a cereer choice as yet. Study subjects that are 'enablers' and do not limit those choices. A balance of subjects of science, maths and then an essay based subject like Geography or English. (IMHO at any rate.)

Once in your first chosen career, if you are dilligent, opportunity will present itself and if you have ability, very rarely will you stay doing the same job. i.e. promotion or transfer etc. Mobility and skill sets are everything.

Any career you now choose, will most likely not be the same career 20 or 30 years down the line and that decision may be taken out of your own hands through redundancy or obsolescence. So you need to be prepared to change career perhaps two or three times in your working life.

For instance, flight crew on aircraft used to be 5 on long-haul. Computers do much of the work now and it's down to 2. Technology is now advanced enough for no need for any pilots. (future?)
Computers eliminated the need for drafstmen, typists, production line workers, proof readers, armies of ledger clerks, bank clerks, telephone operators - the list goes on and on.

All this to say, you are in yr 11. You don't have to go straight into university after A-levels. Many people get a job or take a gap-year travelling whilst they mature and get some perspective on the world of work.

Advice, take time and think long term skill sets. Pressure to choose too soon can lead to lot of years of resentment and heartache.

Most of all, it's your life, not your parents. Pleasing them is not a good motivation - after all, one day they will be gone and you will be left with that legacy for the rest of your life.

Thanks! Are you doing engineering or?

Qualified B.Sc.(hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering, M.Sc. Aerospace Systems Engineering.

I worked as an engineer for BAe Systems and MarconiSpace for 15 years, achieving Principal Engineer status before changing career as an IT programmes and senior project manager, for FTSE 100 companies in the financial and banking sector in London.

Is engineering fun? And how much maths does the degree contain?

I'm a maths fanatic

Why not a *gasp* Maths degree?

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Some engineering degrees are more maths heavy than others. With electrical and electronic engineering being probably the most maths intensive (and hard) of all degrees other than an actual maths or physics degree.

If you can download these, they will cover the first year and some way into the second year of that degree. All of the subjects studied throughout the degree uses advanced maths intensively.

Engineering Mathematics. K.A. Stroud, around 1200 pages of pure maths.

Advanced Engineering Mahematics. K.A. Stroud. Another 1200 pages.

That's 2400 pages of pure mathematics and this is just the maths lectures of the course which is about 20% of the lecture and study time.

The rest of the course draws heavily on the content of these books as applied mathematics specific to the engineering problems you will encounter.

And what can you do with a maths degree?

Finance? Boring.

IT? Boring.

Alright thanks. You've enlightened me

A few more questions:

Even though an engineering degree is hard, is it enjoyable?

I have no clue what type of engineering to do, I want something which is well paying and not boring, any recommendations? I'm considering moving abroad to perhaps the eastern countries also.

And what do you do in typical engineering jobs? What is boring and what is enjoying?

Thanks!

There are as many different roles in engineering as there are engineering disciplines. I studied and then was employed in design engineering and this to me was my vocation. It is more office based than other types of engineering like say, civil engineering, but the mental challenges were the things I loved the most.

I found it immensely enjoyable. You are pushed hard and the workload is very high and stress levels are high too, but the satisfaction of making stuff is incredible. We had competitions (timed races in groups) with set design and construction tasks which were then presented and picked apart by the other groups.

This is what it's like in real life.

Enginering bridges the void between physics and the real world by applying the laws of physics to solve real problems using mathematics as the common language.

Not only will you learn problem solving, you must write up and present your work in a professional manner. You have to construct your projects and make them work, analyse your designs to pick out the flaws and then come up with ways to improve them.

Engineering is about how to manufacture your designs in volume, cost analysis and production techniques so that businesses make a profit. YOu have to do all of this.

It will cover project management, time management, specification writing, software development, testing, independent verification and validation, conforming to government and international legislation. Health and Safety, fault and failure mode criticality analysis, design methodologies like Object Oriented Design, Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing, lean manufacturing, Just-in-time manufacturing, presentation techniques. etc.etc.

There will be some things you love more than others and some things you will find difficut to grasp and some things will frustrate you.

But it is immensely satisfying when you see your designs and products and hard work in production that people pay money to own.

Finally salaries:

Graduates join at around £22,000. Senior engineers earn around £40,000 by the time you are in your early 30's.

Principal engineers can move into project management and middle managment positions on salaries upwards of £50,000 to £60,000. From then on it's up to you and you can progress into senior management and directorships if you have the aptitude, ability and determination.

Contract engineers can earn £50/hr or higher dependent on your level of experience and field of work

Wow. I am very very grateful that you spent your time writing such a long reply.

Thank you very much!

Engineering looks very appealing to me. I love the idea of finding problems and solving the problems with mathematics or physics. I love the idea of a mentally tough job which has many dilemmas and calamities which challenges you every day.

I'm still not too sure about which type of engineering to choose. There are so many types e.g: chemical, electrical, petroleum, civil, mechanical

I have no idea what to choose

And for the salaries. Lets say I graduate from a top university like Birmingham, Imperial etc, what would I be earning perhaps 5-6 years into my career?

Thanks again