What do you wish you'd studied?

[Iormlund]

I did not go to University. I should have continued in that path & do an electrical engineer degree.

Electrical Engineering.

I wish I had not gone into Electrical Engineering. Or uni at all. If I had to do it all over again I'd just study for civil service exams (maybe IT tech). I'd be set for life in my late teens. Having a job for life would mean access to cheap credit when home prices and interest rates were at their optimum alignment. Having paid my home by now, I would be worth a lot more than I am today and get home every day at 15:30 from a job with no stress and no responsibility. Not to mention a job where I would actually meet women.

[Norgy]

More computer science. Or engineering. Or simply urban planning rather than comparative politics. Nobody needs someone who studied comparative politics.

[Ideologue]

Oh, geology, I forgot about that one.  Math's not too hard and you work for oil, which means both money and that your work benefits society as a whole (until we all die).

It's not too bad. If I could go back to 1993 and tell my former self what to do, the second thing I would tell me is to go into oil exploration. The first thing would be how to kill that one bitch without anyone finding out.   

I'd tell him to buy put options on airlines on 9/10/01 and the names of the next five presidential election winners.

[alfred russel]

Oh, geology, I forgot about that one.  Math's not too hard and you work for oil, which means both money and that your work benefits society as a whole (until we all die).

It's not too bad. If I could go back to 1993 and tell my former self what to do, the second thing I would tell me is to go into oil exploration. The first thing would be how to kill that one bitch without anyone finding out.   

I'd tell him to buy put options on airlines on 9/10/01 and the names of the next five presidential election winners.

I'd tell him to give the airlines a warning about 9/11/01 and to assassinate the owner of the Texas Rangers.

[merithyn]

Computer Science

I got a degree in History in 1995. Now, in 2014, I'm working on a second one in Computer Science. Just imagine how much money I'd have made between then and now if I'd done that first...

Tell me about it.  But if I had had that career and all that money I would never have ended up with my wife and lovely kids so, you know, it worked out somehow.

Wait until the kids are teenagers. You might be more willing to make that trade.

[Valmy]

I wish I had not gone into Electrical Engineering. Or uni at all. If I had to do it all over again I'd just study for civil service exams (maybe IT tech). I'd be set for life in my late teens. Having a job for life would mean access to cheap credit when home prices and interest rates were at their optimum alignment. Having paid my home by now, I would be worth a lot more than I am today and get home every day at 15:30 from a job with no stress and no responsibility. Not to mention a job where I would actually meet women.

The Civil Service is not the glamorous place in the US it is in Spain clearly.

[Ideologue]

Oh, geology, I forgot about that one.  Math's not too hard and you work for oil, which means both money and that your work benefits society as a whole (until we all die).

It's not too bad. If I could go back to 1993 and tell my former self what to do, the second thing I would tell me is to go into oil exploration. The first thing would be how to kill that one bitch without anyone finding out.   

I'd tell him to buy put options on airlines on 9/10/01 and the names of the next five presidential election winners.

I'd tell him to give the airlines a warning about 9/11/01 and to assassinate the owner of the Texas Rangers.

I'm unsure if 9/11 was an overall negative event and if I'd want to change it.  And if my past self did change 9/11, first he has to account for where he got the information--and I cannot think of a possible explanation that would be satisfying--and second much of the future knowledge becomes worthless.

[Valmy]

I'm unsure if 9/11 was an overall negative event and if I'd want to change it.  And if my past self did change 9/11, first he has to account for where he got the information--and I cannot think of a possible explanation that would be satisfying--and second much of the future knowledge becomes worthless.

Just say you are from the future and had the choice of killing Hitler or preventing the 9/11 hijacking.

[Iormlund]

I wish I had not gone into Electrical Engineering. Or uni at all. If I had to do it all over again I'd just study for civil service exams (maybe IT tech). I'd be set for life in my late teens. Having a job for life would mean access to cheap credit when home prices and interest rates were at their optimum alignment. Having paid my home by now, I would be worth a lot more than I am today and get home every day at 15:30 from a job with no stress and no responsibility. Not to mention a job where I would actually meet women.

The Civil Service is not the glamorous place in the US it is in Spain clearly.

Engineering is not exactly glamorous either. And while it is fun, there's a lot of bullshit surrounding it (dealing with suppliers, customers, bosses; very long hours, stress ...).

In Spain getting into the civil service means you have, in practice, a job for life. You might have to kill someone to lose it, but even then I'm not so sure. And there's all kinds of jobs to be had. From high level manager to lowly clerk. Doctors, IT guys, plumbers, electricians ... Also, working conditions in the public sector are much, much better than in the private sector.

That's why many young Spaniards spend years trying to ace the exams (a tremendous waste of talent if you ask me).

[Iormlund]

I'm unsure if 9/11 was an overall negative event and if I'd want to change it.  And if my past self did change 9/11, first he has to account for where he got the information--and I cannot think of a possible explanation that would be satisfying--and second much of the future knowledge becomes worthless.

Just say you are from the future and had the choice of killing Hitler or preventing the 9/11 hijacking.

Or maybe just leave an anonymous tip.

[Ideologue]

Actually, it's not that different in the U.S.  I think you can be fired a lot more easily from the fedgov, but it would be the best possible career for 95% of the people in the country.  Wages are higher, working conditions are better, your employer won't disappear or be bought by another company, and working for the government is PSLF eligible.

[Valmy]

In Spain getting into the civil service means you have, in practice, a job for life. You might have to kill someone to lose it, but even then I'm not so sure. And there's all kinds of jobs to be had. From high level manager to lowly clerk. Doctors, IT guys, plumbers, electricians ... Also, working conditions in the public sector are much, much better than in the private sector.

Not here.  Working conditions and pay and so forth are all much better in the private sector.  Budgets are always tight as well so enjoy no raises even as they pile on job duties!

[Ideologue]

I'm unsure if 9/11 was an overall negative event and if I'd want to change it.  And if my past self did change 9/11, first he has to account for where he got the information--and I cannot think of a possible explanation that would be satisfying--and second much of the future knowledge becomes worthless.

Just say you are from the future and had the choice of killing Hitler or preventing the 9/11 hijacking.

Or maybe just leave an anonymous tip.

"Watch out for that guy with the mustache."

[Ideologue]

In Spain getting into the civil service means you have, in practice, a job for life. You might have to kill someone to lose it, but even then I'm not so sure. And there's all kinds of jobs to be had. From high level manager to lowly clerk. Doctors, IT guys, plumbers, electricians ... Also, working conditions in the public sector are much, much better than in the private sector.

Not here.  Working conditions and pay and so forth are all much better in the private sector.

LOL.

Oh, you mean for engineers.

[Barrister]

I don't mind working for the government, but you sure as hell CAN be fired!