Help a decrepit old fart dropout choose a new path in life

[newber]

im currently a civil engineering student at a CSU fullerton (california state university), i have about 1.5 years left to graduation.

i was talking to my professor a few of his students who graduated last year with a 4 yr degree got starting salaries of 57-63K. 1 of those students work in orange county, in southern california where i live, another moved over to nevada and gets paid a little bit more. apparently the companies are always complaining that our university does NOT churn out ENOUGH graduates every year, which is limited by our facilities since we have limited space in our labs and classes.

i find the classes to be pretty interesting so far(much more so than EE sine that was the major i transferred in from), but you have to have a strong background in mathematics and critical thinking to get through the general classes. (we take all the calculus series, and physics series as a prerequisite for the core engineering classes)

overall the civil engineering degree will guarantee you a $50K+ starting salary, once u get your masters or a PE license after a few years expereince you add another 20K on top of your salary. since our field requires a lot of on site work and the fact that we need to be licensed by teh state to work, job security is second to none (vs other engineering occupations)

[GrooveNougat]

Space,
I think the key is just to get started as soon as you can. You don't have to declare a major until your junior year anyway. The first two years are pretty much all the basics.

I think you also have to consider what kind of career is not going to care that you spent the last ten years in the adult internet industry. Or at least answering that question during an interview might be awkward. Just my $0.02.

KG

[hamsamich]

[ QUOTE ]
What have you been doing since you were 20?

[/ QUOTE ]

Polishing that post obv.

[Jbrochu]

While you're trying to figure out what it is you want to do start banging out the liberal arts classes you will need to take for any degree. Take them somewhere cheap and transfer the credits once you decide where and what you're going to pursue.

And BTW - 30 isn't that old to start pursuing an education. I started going to college part time at age 32, just like you with only my GED, and am graduating from Northeastern next month at the ripe old age of 38.

Good luck.