Based on US data, but pretty good chart
Salary vs. Stress by Occupation
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Thank you for your insights.
Quick question, did your friend maybe talk about people from a phil-hist faculty (which includes philosophy students)? Would be seriously surprised by pure philosophy students being regularly hired by EY, especially since there aren’t that many of them to begin with.
I’m not studying Business but Economics (VWL). I couldn’t tell you a lot about the workings of a firm.
Do you think your view also holds for the phil-econ combination? 
Thanks for writing all this down!
Even though I quite likely won’t be able to do such a thorough/long break in the short time future, this is really helps me to imagine how such a situation could be productively used (Maybe also during a shorter period ).
Did you also apply for some jobs to get some interview training? Or was that never really a concern for you?
I’m thinking about taking these steps in the next couple of months.
Learn a programming language (likely python)
The way I would go about this:
- Learn syntax, with code academy (or code combat/udacity)
- Learn to actually code by solving problems, with code wars/codeval or some book like “automate the boring stuff”/“python crash course”
- Deepen my understanding by taking some university online course, like the MIT 6.00.1 or something on Udemy
Arrange coffee talks with as many professionals as possible
I don’t really know many people working in fields I might be interested in but I think I’d be able to find a couple people who’d be willing to answer some of my questions about their field/firm.
Get a good sense of what firms are out there and maybe get work experience
I don’t have a good feel of what the landscape of corporations looks like.
I could increase my understanding by going through lists of larger firms and trying to figure out what each of them do. But maybe there is a more efficient way to go about this? (The coffee talks might also be helpful for this.)
If a firm seems really interesting or has an internship or student job listed that I would like, I would also apply. Any thoughts on unsolicited applications for a firm I find really interesting?
Look into possible further training after my studies/after some time on the job
I got recommended to maybe try to become a Chartered Financial Analyst, if I want to work in finance. Or Chartered Financial Data Scientist.
Or maybe some specialisation MAS.
Does that sound like a reasonable plan for my foreseeable future?
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this sounds like the straight path to success to me! good luck!
I’d suggest to go attend some meetups on topics that interest you - hopefully you’d both learn something interesting about a subject and get to talk to people working in it.
CFA will mean a pretty serious commitment to finance industry. AFAIK you need a few years of finance work experience to get it. It’s not just passing exams, which are also tough.
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Regarding learning how to code, next to online courses, I strongly suggest reading a book or two on the algorithms and data structures, i.e. learn the slightly more theoretical side too.
Will come useful and your knowledge of general concepts will deepen, which you will appreciate further down the road.
Wow, GPs earning the most / more than CExs? I find the numbers a bit odd.
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Why? Anyone can be a CEO. In Switzerland you just need 20k to incorporate. Some other countries can do it for low 3 figures fully online IIRC
The salaries in medicine are pretty high in the USA. Lot of expensive studies and an unregulated health system. https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/top-highest-paying-jobs/
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True that.
Still the GPs having a higher median than some other medical specialists - it is odd for my environment, I agree it doesn’t mean it cannot be true over there. 
Anyway, back to the OP’s topic - good to see the CS/software related jobs in the lowstress-highpay quadrant.
I should have read your first post again. Indeed my thoughts were driven by the idea that you are studying BA.
But I think the core of my message is still valid:
- More and more people with a diverse background are wanted
- Do something you enjoy doing
I dont know exactly what kind of Phil students he talked. Only remember him saying that they hired this graduates (would ask him for more details, but I dont really know him, he is a friends friend friend…).
Maybe this motivates you: during my work experience I met several people in high positions working in a completely different field that they studied. For example in my old company there was this chief marketing manager with his Doctorate in History…
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What is essential is to get in touch with people, which share your interests and already are (or want to be successful). There are several paths to that. One is to participate on CAS (Certificate of Advanced Studies) studies, where you can easy connect to peers around a topic you have interest in.
Those courses are usually short (1-3 semesters), but they cost a bit of money (around 10k). Even once you have a “job”, but still looking out for your dream - this might be a good step into the right direction.
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I would recommend seeking out advice from people who have done similar degrees to you. For example: search on LinkedIn and then contact people, attend conferences and open days and ask career-related questions. Perhaps there is also a forum people in your domain use.
What you have received here is, in large part, info from people with BSc/BEng in CompSci/Software Eng (also one person telling you to become a medical doctor 
), so their advice is, accordingly, related to their own experiences. Advice about looking into management consulting is probably spot-on, though.
Edit: I should add that, if you can, doing your MA/MSc thesis in connection with a gov’t or private-sector entity would be a good move, probably more advantageous than trying to boost your grades.
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Hi @trotro
What I see a lot in young people is the need for work experience. Many do multiple internships, some of them even unpaid and work while studying. With every additional job, your grades should become less important. So yes, you should try hard to find meaningful work on the side.
Development Economy might be the perfect path due to several factors: 1. Starting from a Swiss-based location the salary would reflect the Swiss standard of living and pension fund while the work locations often are in low-cost countries. 2. Multilateral organisations such as World Bank, IMF, KfW, etc. offer great compensation packages, and sometimes tax-free. 3. High-level interactions and opportunity for meaningful impact in developing countries might really get you passionate about your future work.
So don’t think about what is easy, and instead go with what feels exciting. Break down any big vision into small and attainable goals and work on your data analytics capabilities (it’s the new oil!).
Having no assets (and no debts) is exactly where you want to be at the end of your studies. It makes you hungry for success and compensation and you will be willing to work your ass off for a couple of years.
I have switched away from my original study topic completely and have not regreted it. Many bosses go with the assumption that an academic degree shows that you can think and reason, whatever your specialty. And they like to give trust and responsibility to whomever seems trustworthy and shows a lot of committment. So success will come to those people who work hard AND are able to build great relationships.
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Some updates:
-
Learning to code:
Not so much. I’ve been struggling to get myself to do the bare minimum for my studies at the moment. The lockdown took away a lot of my attention initially and motivation later on. But I think I’m on the track to rearrange… -
Getting coffee with professionals:
[But I’m thinking about cold emailing some people with interesting jobs or educational backgrounds. Does anyone have any experience with doing this?] -
Career opportunities:
The good news is that I am now working as a student research assistant. It’s not in development economics but still in an economic field that will teach me some skills. And the pay is decent.
However, I didn’t really do a lot of research about my career.
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Hi trotro, hope things are going well.
I’m going to assume your original post and the replies you’ve received are still valid 1 month after your last update and I’ll just add my voice to what others have said.
First on your perspective on this: what’s important isn’t where you are, what really matters is your perspective on it (for your own guidance) and the narrative you’re crafting (to sell it to others).
I’m 35, have spent a lot of time searching for myself and have started my first “real” job at the age of 31. Meanwhile, I’ve accumulated social, political, leadership and conflict management experience and skills. I’ve started the career game 6 years after my peers (environmental engineering field).
Since then, I’ve changed job 3 times in 3 years for a 20% salary increase (total), a position better fitted to what I want (my first job was hell, this one actually suits my own pursuits) with a good amount of autonomy and responsibility. I am likely to switch jobs a few more times in the years to come to fit my ever evolving drives and better suit my terms (either to slow down and work part time or drive on and up my pay).
I’m not saying it’s a pleasant cruise, it requires sacrifices and stubbornness, but once you know what you really want to do and commit to it, things move quick (I know it’s cliché but you need a job to get a job, the first step is the hardest, things become a lot smoother once you are into the gears of the machine).
Philosophy is a useful background. Your paper partly opens to you the doors of your first job (and you’re right in that a philosophy paper isn’t the best tool out of them all there) but from there on, your personality and accumulated experience is what does it. Your background will enter the field then because it’ll give you a perspective on your projects that others won’t have, thus leading to solutions that would have been out of their reach. Sometimes, finding the right person to call and addressing them in the right way is all it takes. A hard tech skilled person may have trouble doing that. Understanding society and your business environment also helps, a lot.
Another cliché: don’t let your paper limit what you think you are able to perform. See a job offer that appeals to you? Make a call and send a dossier. Worse case scenario, you get rejected. Better case, you get an interview and can better learn what is expected in the field. Best case, you get hired! 
How did you go about it? I don’t know the field but if you can get an internship for that semester, that’d be an alternative to consider too.
I’m not in your field but, to me, finding a job right out of studies has been hard (took me 6 months but I had to sustain myself during my master thesis too). Having a job during this time helps. Something remotely related to your field would be best. Waiting tables is an option. I’ve worked for a middleman group (Hotelis). It doesn’t give a lot of predictability but allows for networking both with fellows students doing the same and people working in your field of choice (I’ve worked for Richemont and participated to envents held by Nestlé and the banque cantonale vaudoise, for example).
Speaking of it, on the networking side of things (which is really important), I would go to events. You usually get a free buffet so that’s already a reason for doing it (saving on food) but more importantly, you get to meet with people active in your field and build your brand. Ask questions when you’re there, approach the groups with people who’d be useful to know and just listen if you don’t do anything else. If you want to say something, don’t be afraid to speak up.
Good. Build side competences. IT is a premium, many small businesses don’t have a dedicated IT specialist and having someone decent at understanding it in the workplace adds value. I’m not in your field but I’d say that knowing a coding language, basic network architecture and data security all add an useful premium in my working environment (where the basic required IT skills are inputting data into existing software).
Human relationship skills help too, as do hazard management ones.
You seem to have the right mindset going on, wishing you fun and success along the way (though you should keep in mind that not everything you are doing now will have a real huge impact on your short term employment prospects. Most like in investing, it’s the compounding effect that matters. Build yourself, take care of your narrative, keep adjusting to better suit your real pursuits. It won’t prevent you going through difficult times (the time between the end of the studies and the first job is just such a time) but it will do you good longterm).
Enjoy the ride!
Edit : wording and typos.
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Thank you very much for your thorough advice!
I’m in the middle of my exam period and will respond afterwards.
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Thank you again for taking time to give me advice. 
I struggle a lot with “crafting a narrative”. Even though I made some decisions quite intentionally (especially lately, with economics), I never had an overarching goal.
Is the trick to keep the focus on what you learned by doing x, y, z and not on why you did them?
I’m also not quite sure how I would talk about what I’ve learned. Often I didn’t learn as much as I hoped I would, sometimes I learned really vague things and other times I only learned that I didn’t want to do something. Do you have an example of how you framed your own experiences?
I have a temporary research assistance job for a couple of months at the moment. This semester brought a lot of pass/fail exams and therefor not a lot of opportunity to better my grades (I’m simply aiming at a magna cum laude at the moment, which should be feasible).
I’m looking into either another research assistance afterwards or doing an internship. But internships usually require at least 80% of work, which makes it hard to do my master thesis on the side (something like 50% would be perfect).
This was my plan for this semester but all those events got cancelled. I’m going to look into it for this summer or my, hopefully last, next semester.
I’m trying to do this summer and next semester with python.
Do you think it’s mostly just important to be able to put it truthfully in my CV or do you think it would make sense to invest some extra time and money into some certificates (either online or at a university) to back up the claim that I can code in the language?
Best regards
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Best - both for reference for interviews as well as establishing the skill for yourself - would be that you pick a side pet project and build it yourself.
You can do 10 online courses and they will mean close to 0 in a couple of months, if you don’t apply what you learned; and have something to show for it (other than certificates).
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Great idea.
I don’t have a lot of experience yet with coding in any language (only some minor projects in Stata and Matlab).
How would I best go about finding my pet project?
I don’t quite know what kind of projects would be possible for me, let’s say in 2-3 months.
I started doing code wars and this course focusing on economics. Hopefully this will give me a sense of what is possible