Expert: Leigh Ishikawa - 10/18/2007

Question
I am 20 years old and currently in college with out a major.  My main goal in life is to be a successful real estate investor.  But to be on the safe side if that does not work, I want to get a degree and for the past two years I am having the hardest time deciding what type to get.  I am leaning towards some type of computer degree after my father has been pressuring me to do so.  I just do not know where to start.  Back in H.S. i took a website design class that was pretty interesting but left me with very little experience.  I have heard a good degree to get is a computer programming degree or computer information systems.  I prefer not to get a degree that has to do with the technical side of computers.  Could you please give some advise?  I would like to begin my studies for next semester.  Thank you.

Answer
Wow, I thought I answered this question.  Maybe I lost my internet connection?

Good thing I make backups.  Sorry about the delay.

Hi Nick,

My father insisted that I get a business degree because as an engineer he saw limits to where he could go within a large organization.  So he forced me to get a business degree, where I really wanted to be an engineer.  I ended up following my heart and doing what I love anyways, which is to be in the field working with computers.  I killed myself but came out with a double major.  (Though my 'main' major is accounting.)  I had couple of opportunities to get into auditing firms, but somehow my heart just wasn't into it.  I joined a software company I never heard of as a short term thing to prepare for MBA, and I never left the industry.

I sense that your heart is not into it.  Some people are totally fine with doing what they are told.  Few are born rebels.  While most are somewhere in the middle.  I think you want to please your parents, as most will, and you are trying to come up with a solution of getting the degree that they'd be happy, but continue with what you want.  Maybe you did voice what you want, but strong words from an adult figure like "You need to think about your future", "You need to consider about your family, not just about yourself", and "We made sacrifices to give you a life we never had" made you think twice about fighting back.  Or maybe you just want to be a good son.  This is normal.

I've had a great life and have had chances to meet all kinds of people and see many things.  I like philosophy so I try to see the meaning behind these things in life.  But I realized that people have difficulty expressing themselves.  I believe most of the time simply because they don't fully understand themselves.  (I think most people don't care to think that deep.  But I am not them so that's just an observation)

I think you've come up with what seems like a good compromise.  You figure you'll get a CS degree that'll keep your parent(s) happy, but you'll pursue something you really want.  But I want to let you know that Tech industry is not it was 8 years ago.  Because when you start, most college students carry debt, and you are competing with people from India and China where they get paid far less then you can and can live off of it.  (I've been to both of those countries and you can live for pennies.  Then again, watching someone bathing on the side of the road, or watching road filled with sleeping people in Mumbai makes one think about many things...).

I think what you need is to sit down with someone who listens to you, and trys to find a career that you'd want based on what you like.  There are plenty of jobs.  But what you do depends on what you want.  And I don't think you have pinned it down.  Maybe you like working with people.  Maybe you don't like working in an office and sitting down on the same desk every day.  Maybe you want to travel.  You like to meet new people all the time.  And you like the feeling of 'closing the deal'.  These are all important and when you narrow things down, there may be a job that is a good fit with CS degree.

But with any career, you will need all of your energy focused, instead of divided into two, to be successful.  I'm sure you heard of saying "Jack of all trades, master of none".

So, I don't think I can answer this question.  Because I don't think I know you well enough to answer this.  But what I can do is to offer you something else.  If you want me to, I can try to help you find something that you'd want.  Send me a comment with an email address and I'll ask you all kinds of questions as to what you'd want.  Then I'll try to give you all kinds of ideas and help you narrow things down.  There's a good chance you'll need to talk to other people to find what you need because I simply don't have all the answers.  Or, you can go talk to your career center at your school.  (They may or may not be helpful)  Have someone who knows you and who doesn't want you to fit into a paticular mold give you an advice.  That would be, ideally, someone who knows you well and has life experience and can give you sound advice.

By the way, finding that wise person with good advice is very hard.  So if you do find that person, keep in touch with them.

Good Luck,

L