i feel myself torn. I hold a bachelor’s in finance and i am currently working as a financial analyst. i picked finance because my father advised me to pick a business major. i had no idea at that time what to expect of the major and the job. however i am not liking it too much. every aspect, every person connected to it is all about the money. Risk vs return blah blah blah. keeping up with the richest corporations blah blah blah and interpreting every news solely to see how it will affect your wealth. I have realized that thinking in this way is just not part of my personality.
I took some philosophy classes in school and realized that i love it. I do see myself teaching philosophy or writing books. It is a subject that motivates me and makes me happy.
now my parents are expecting me to start my masters in finance or business and i told them i would do it because i dont wanna let them down. but i actually want to do a masters in philosophy and get trained as a professor.
now here is where it gets complicated. i know people will say i should do what i love but the truth is that working in finance does get u alot of money and a career in philosophy does not guarantee a well paying job or guarantee one at all. i was reading that only abt 5% of PhDs got accepted as professors out of a certain college.
so im torn as to what our priorities must be. i want to do what i love but i also want to be financially stable so I can contribute in my family and raise my kids well if i get married. I dont want to be selfish and think only of what i like and get stuck in a job which wont pay me and instead put all the burden on my husband…
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where are you from? and to get back to your point,
I am a chemical engineer working in the oil and gas field and even in my field we only think about the money, thats why we work, Every project we do revolves around how much money we can make, the risks associated, how long till we make all our money back etc etc so wherever you go money is always going to be central to any decisons. Unless you go for medicine or psycology where money is not the main issue,
however i can assure you its not only finance people that just think about the money.
you have to weigh up what you want but the grass is always greener on the other side, once you actually do psycology you might not enjoy it so think hard!
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Philosophy! not psycology......lol
well that sounds reassuring that all majors are thinking of money....haha
but i've promised myself not to work for unethical corporations like citigroup who support bush and the war.
by the way im in New York. originally from karachi.....
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…
So it is not only me. HA HA HA HA HA… i told my dad I wanted to specialise in advertising. He was like :nono: I said, okay, then I’d specialize in marketing. He was like 
Then I was like I would study media and he was like :nono3:
I wasted my time studying finance. That’s what he wanted me to. I studied and got good grades but till date cant make myself like it.
Im working in customer services and have a messed up interest in marketing. I’ve started to dislike marketing. One day my dad was watching a girl (some news reporter on BBC) and said, “I think you should rather be in media. That would suit you.”
I was like 
Now, I want to be a singer and only singer. Kisi ne rokna hai tau rok lay 
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shweetdreamz
Ypou willsoon realize that even if you want to "just" teach philosophy at a half way decent university, you would need to compete with profs from all over to get research grants, without grants no dice. and as far as writing books goes...publishers have to figure out how much money they can make.. u know the risk vs rate of return dealio.
People have unrealistic visions of what life is on the other side, knowing academics who are stressed with the dog eat dog world of rivalry in academia, I can assure you, its not as simple as you think.
If that is something you want to do, more power to you and bravo on making a decision that is in line with your dreams...just make sure you evaluate it factually and know all that you can and not just notions of laid back academia, wearing cords and tweed and riding bicycle through a rolling green campus to teach a few classes, and write books.
It is much more than that. competition in academia at top institutions rivals that of people jockeying for positions in the business world.
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ok i got my reality check thank u all.....
o Mr. Fraudiay...wah ji wah tou kinna set hai....lol sorry couldnt stop myself!
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I am going through the same dillema...it is not the major i chose but the 9-5 job mentality thing thats bothering me....i have been working for the last to years and really hate it.
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9-5? in finance u're lucky if u get an entry-level job thats 9-7....its slavery i tell u!
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^^ i know i know…i have finance and economics as majors and i (inshallah) wants to get my CA after skool…so this job i have is like a warm-up session but i still hate the idea 
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its so chill in pakistan....my dad has to get to work@10 and leaves @3 its even easier on girls....
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Mr. Fraudia........notions of laid back academia, wearing cords and tweed and riding bicycle through a rolling green campus to teach a few classes, and write books.
add to that waking up late, and summer vacations....i guess everything has an opportunity cost....and gone are the days when philosophers were respected and held in high regard in society.........
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sorry philosophy not psycology, dont know where i got that from...
Nearly everyone i know that has done finance is not happy with the field,
nearly everyone i know thats done chemical engineering says they would rather have done finance.
Some people doing law have said they would rather have done engineering! just goes to show you are not alone
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I did arts - IR, something I thought I was passionate about, but bringing in the bucks and finding an appropriate job is damn hard. I kick myself everyday for not having done something like finance or engineering, I had all the grades to get into these fields. Atleast if id chosen those degrees I'd be sitting in kpmg, accenture or arthur anderson like the rest of my friends. Damn humanities.
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Fraudz, i like that vision of tweed and bicycle, but you forgot an important aspect..."private tutoring to co-eds on the quad grass covered with autumn leaves ...as she looks up in your eyes with a piercing stare and sighs at your very word when you draw parallels between exisitentialism and virginity"
Now to the originator, you have a job that majority of people in the world would give their left nut to obtain at your age. Stop being a flaky moron and stick it out. You are barely learning how the numbers aer put together and what they mean. In a few years, you will have the ability to translate that to how value is created and you will do it yourself for others and for your family. indignant pussies!!!
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AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…
bursting into laughter
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^ I swear after 5 years on this board, that song still pops into my head and stays for a good 5-10 minutes after seeing Mr. Fraudia
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I thought money wasn’t important to you…how come all of a sudden you are worried about which career will pay you more. 
Nothing stops you from reading philosophy for your own sake. It is a wonderful subject. I have a background in Engineering and Business yet I love Philosophy and Psychology. Degrees mean nothing, they are only good for biweekly paychecks..knowledge is everything…and there is so much to learn that one life time is too short.
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Catty, I’d actually forgotten the song after looking at Mr. Fraudia but now I can only relate him, LOL.
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Cattie ummmm which of your frineds are currently working for Arthur Andersen?