Fork in the Road
Recently it has come to my attention that I need to figure out what exactly I want to do with my life. An avid procrastinator and one who has always dreaded change, it is no surprise that one of the biggest decisions in my life has been tucked away only to resurface at the last second. The problem is I have always thought I knew the answer: to follow in the footsteps of my father, an engineer. However, the last couple of years have brought a change to that innate belief. I have begun to think more for myself and have grown more as a person. I have developed that cynical, naïve, and unmotivated personality that seems so typical of an 18 year-old boy. Most importantly, I have lost that innocent touch of childhood and started my progression into understanding how the world truly works. A storm erupted and I am now in the aftermath, waiting and wondering what exactly my next move shall be. An obvious first step would be to weigh my options. Of course, I could in fact follow in my father’s footsteps and apply to engineering school. Another possible course would be that of the business world and all of the wonder and uncertainty that it entails. Also, medical school has been a rather enticing consideration ever since it came into the discussion not too long ago. With all of these choices equally alluring, it has come time to get to the bottom of it and to answer that critical question. I need to decide whether I want to attend the Engineering, Business, or Arts and Science school at the University of Colorado and finally what I want to do for a career and the rest of my life. It would only make sense to analyze my original choice first, engineering. I have always been pretty good in mathematics and the sciences and it would make sense to look into a subject where I know I have strength. However, I have struggled in the higher level math classes I have recently completed and each year brings more and more obstacles. I fear that they will only continue to grow in difficulty in the future and I could find myself struggling even more in the vigorous courses of engineering school. It would be a devastating blow to realize later on, and possibly too late, that I am just not quite cut out for the engineering world. I do not want to sound pessimistic. It is a fact that a large number of students drop out and I want to try to be as realistic as I can. Nonetheless, it could turn out that I have more than what it takes to succeed in that world and come out victorious. Only the future holds the truth so it is difficult to make a decision on that presumption. The schooling at a glance is rather typical: I would be working for a 4 year degree with the option for a two year master’s program and would pay the set tuition of CU. There would be a lot of flexibility in finding a major and switching in between them if warranted. Looking at the career opportunities for life after school is where the upside really becomes obvious. There is and will always be a lot of opportunity in the industry with “1.6 million jobs in 2008” (McKay). Through 2018, the industry is expected to see average growth but certain fields like biomedical, civil, and environmental engineering are projected to grow at a substantial rate. With a median salary of 80,000 dollars a year, this surplus of jobs shows great promise in finding a solid career right out of college (“Architecture and Engineering Occupations”). In my eyes, engineering is the safest and most conservative choice; it brings really good potential for a job with a decent pay and satisfaction. Business, my next option, is just about the polar opposite. Where engineering is conservative, business is incredibly risky. A starting salary would likely be much smaller than that of an engineering or medical job, but the payout in the long run could be exponentially better than the other two. Before we get to that, however, let us focus on how such a career would fit me. I love interacting with people