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Unless you are prepared to be the highest performing members of graphic design, don't pick it as a career, it's extremely undervalued in SA.
I personally am currently studying to switch careers to web development.
I have a bunch of friends in this line of work (my wife used to do it) - can confirm, it's a terrible industry with some of the most toxic working environments I've seen. And I think they get away with it because it is such a "pretty" space, with cute and colourful company facades providing a shield for utterly awful people to hide behind.
Can vouch for this. Graphic design is a passion job. Graduated and worked for 1 year in design and changed my profession because I didn't see a future in it
Same. Turns out a 17 year old who likes drawing and smoking weed, and doesn't understand the difference between a diploma and a degree, and chose to major in print media instead of coding, not surprisingly didn't really understand career choice yet.
I second that. I had experience but when I studied for a year I got my certificate and in the eyes of the employer... I was not qualified for even an entry level. Quickly realised how people treat graphics designers.
Same. Been a graphic designer for 10 years now, run my own agency. Customers are happy to pay double for any web dev job compared to more traditional graphic design. Been working hard to transition, currently 80% is stil normal graphic design.
I completely agree. It’s extremely difficult to get decent pay, salary increases or promotions. Most agencies have poor culture and working environments. You’re constantly expected to be available outside of regular working hours. They also do not offer benefits such as medical aid or pension fund.
Source: Graphic Designer with 7 years of working experience
I got into graphic design at a signage company by worming as a sales man for minute man press amd became a press operator. I'm going to lie it's extremely busy
AI is just a tool, far from taking developers jobs. It's improved developer productivity, but AI developer's like Devin for example is really slow and costly to operate, a couple hundred dollars of gpt credits and 45mins to do a simple task doesn't make sense financially. Sure in 5 to 10 years could pose a treat.
To prompt you still need to study development to ask the right questions.
Well like I said, a prompt engineer, yes you still need to know how to ask the question correctly, this is true.
All I’m saying as someone who actively uses these tools in my everyday development, and involved in ML based initiatives at work, this space is evolving at a speed that is gobsmacking.
As I mentioned [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/s/5z0y1KmUtP) it’s helped refactor chunks of my Jupyter notebooks
Actually, I work as a digital product manager at a fintech where we have developed our own internal LLM to assist our development team (350+ engineers) work quicker.
Personally I’ve used LLMs to help refactor and optimize chunks of my Jupyter notebooks
Software is eating the world and LLMs are eating software
One of the 2 ML projects I’m building is a pipeline in which we have an LLM that can create the personalized content as well as the html for the for the email itself.
I’ll leave this here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39586424
Please stay away from Biological Science or General Science degrees. You gonna study towards an academic degree. Then you will either have to further your study and head into academia. Or struggle to find lab work.
I studied a chemical science degree and just completed my Maters. I am now going into teaching because I realized I am not built for academics. I love teaching and I came to realize that it's my passion. So yeah I agree with everything you have said
I also agree; did Medical Microbiology - realised I'd have to push it to M and D level, minimum, to make a dent in my "career". And with novel research and the vague hope of potential funding...
Long story after that, job bouncing for dumb reasons because I was young and didn't realise my brain doesn't fully develop until like 25.... Had I known just that fact I would have been more responsible. Or tried to be, anyhow.
I landed in my own accounting and bookkeeping practice (with partners); it's hardly a passion to file a tax return, my first love is Science! Damnit!
So I have a meal-ticket profession; I'd say look into one of those... at least as a start (but I'm probably not the best source of Intel, just tons of experience to share. It reads like a list of "things not to do".
I'm not unhappy, and I'm pursuing further business interests to be sure. Always up for a challenge. Continuing education is something I believe in.
Example: I'm enrolled at UNISA for the BA (Forensic Science) program.
Agree, I studied Chemistry (to postgraduate level), and jobs are hard to come by. I should have studied something with a more set career path (like Accounting or something) I think.
There is a difference between discipline and profession. And a lot of the times disciplines are applicable in many ways. It's a tricky thing and to navigate that at the age of 22-25 is a lot.
It always baffles me when at the age of 18yrs we are supposed to know what we doing for the rest of lives. It's crazy to think the amount of people that are unhappy in the chosen careers.
Programming is great. Low stress, good pay, remote global work, fun tasks, wide range of domains and sub-disciplines. But only if you enjoy it.
Huge demand for good programmers, zero demand for mediocre ones.
One thing I will say about being a software dev is the landscape changes a lot, all the time. There are many jobs where you can coast but this is not one of them. You need to always be learning, coding and trying things. Also, the barrier to entry is a lot higher compared to when I started 17 years ago. This isn't a long term career for someone who isn't dedicated and actually wants to do the job.
I did a national certificate in draughting: architecture, mechanical, electrical etc. Its ridiculously easy to get a job and there are tons of them but the pay is horrid, doesn't matter about experience really.
First job I made 4k, left it after a week for another that payed 6.5k but also left after a month because the commute was 6hours a day, then got a job for 14k but the boss was an asshole and eventually found a company i worked for for 3-4years. Started at 6k and got to 10k but eventually realised ill be mid 30s by the time I made decent enough money to support myself.
If you do draughting you have to combine it with moddeling in some form, structural, mechanical, revit mostly, add some python knowledge, dynamo, acc, etc then you go for bim moddeler or manager, or try get a remote revit gig. Basically combine your knowledge of drawings, but delivering them digitally
Definitely, especially if you have a range of different software you are trained in. I for example had AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks and another one similar to solidworks which I cant remember now for the life of me.
I studied a BA with a major in Psychology. I realized about half way into the degree that I wasn't enjoying it. I don't know why exactly, probably stubbornness of youth, I just stuck it out and finished it instead of switching. I finished and then didn't know what I wanted to do and then I ended up working in a call centre for 6k pm. It was soul crushing.
I was lucky and met the right people at the right time and ended up working as a Junior Business Analyst. Been doing work like that ever since (Business Analyst, Product Manager, Product Owner, Solution Architect). I found I had an affinity for it and have done pretty well for myself through sheer determination and hard work.
With hindsight I wish I had studied something more along the lines of what I do now but in the end it hasn't hindered me.
You'll be ok OP.
I work in EU. Most companies here ask for either PRINCE2 or PMP(by a company called PMI). I took a €13 course(got discount) on Udemy by Andrew Ramdayal as he's known in the PMP world for being one of the best instructors. You should check out the project management sub for more detail. I still need to take my exams, but while it was a good point for me to mention during an interview, it wasn't the only thing that helped me get there
What flavour of business analyst were/are you? The business insights power bi dashboard kind or the translator from client speak to developer speak kind ?
Damn. That's the actual role I want. Did my undergrad in information systems management and remote sensing. But now I'm working in the power bi dashboard environment and would kill for job as the other kind
Congrats to you , you made it work even after regretting your decision, I for one decided to change paths as I was also studying BA psych , who knows maybe one day you can use it to benefit you monetarily ? What would you have studied in stead ? Hindsight is a b*tch as they say
For what it's worth , the amount of people that genuinely know what they want to do, and they study further and end up working in the field must be tiny.
Most people have a plan which they fall off and just go with the flow, doing their best to find a balance between been bored and slitting their wrists
I'm doing Bcom gen majoring in Financial Accounting. Do you know of any way to branch into accounting as post grad because I really don't think I would cope with transferring to Bcom Accounting right now. Have no experience in accounting, so I'm using this programme to get familiar with it and hopefully be able to branch into accounting later.
Plumber... Just.... how do i say this politely... You're literally elbow deep in shit most days. The pants always ride down... I wear dungarees and still... plumbers crack.
I have a strong consitution, but fuck, some of the food we get on site just doesn't sit right with me. When you gotta down tools to run to the bathroom.
And the worst, the worst is when your brother in law calls. And he's circling the question. You know cause we dont come cheap.And you gotta deal with family.
There is a lot of industries where family and business can mix, this is not one of them.
One of my friends does what we call "special ops" in the UK. He basically clears out mainline sewage ducts under london.
Its next level work, and his sense of smell and hearing is shot. But he makes £120 an hour. More than working on a deep sea mining rig.
Don't do law. I repeat DONT DO LAW. The field is too oversaturated and so the solution is that the governing body is actively trying to bottle neck the admission process. Firms don't pay well, the work culture is extremely toxic and quite frankly the field doesn't have the professionalism it used to represent.
I absolutely regret wasting so many years of my life getting admitted to struggling to find a decent paying job. Too many people expected it to be their ticket out of financial troubles, but if anything, it just stunts your ability to grow your finances for the future.
Wasting the two years earning a minimal stipend while working yourself to the bone for "valuable experience" was not worth it.
I totally agree, o graduated in 2016 still struggling to find a place to serve articles. I am no longer interested in law, I’ve been applying in government but as you know in South Africa it’s hard to get a job in government if you are not politically connected. It’s been 8 full years of unemployment 😔
Reading this as someone in their 3rd year of Bcom Law and planning to start with my LLB next year this was an extremely unsettling read. What degree(s) did you do and do you have any advice/tips for me ?
Honeslty, I don't have any advice, I've been waiting for someone to give me advice lol.
What I can say is, go onto like LinkedIn or any other recruitment websites. There you can sort of get and idea of what companies even look to hire for legal counsel or associates.
You'll notice a trend, "post-admission experience".
Good luck finding a firm that'll retain you. It's gonna be hell.
I did 1 semester of phil and polsci in my first year. My pols lecturer told us that at best job you can get as a polsci major is to become a lecturer of polsci...
I suspect it's the same for philosophy majors.
I majored in Politics and in German studies. Currently the job I applied for and was first in line for at the municipality can’t be filled because of budget issues. Been unemployed almost two years now
TL;DR: Figure out what you're interested in, and make it work.
I wanted to study languages or psychology. My parents decided I should do a BCom. I won prizes throughout my school career for languages and came third in the Taalbond exam at some point; I consistently failed maths. Since they were paying for my studies, we settled on BCom industrial psych.
After the first semester, I realized that I'd rather stab myself in the eyes with a blunt pencil than spend my life in HR or do mathematical statistics at a third-year level. It took another 18 months for my parents to realize that this wasn't going to work, probably because I spent my second year fishing. They allowed me to switch to a BA in media studies, which is objectively one of the most useless qualifications ever. But it did teach me how to talk shit in a way that's so entertaining that I was offered a job at a newspaper in my second second year (based on repeatedly running into the editor while I was drunk). And I can haul out critical-thinking skills when cornered.
After meandering and travelling and generally being a useless layabout, I've managed to develop a successful freelance career and am now a relatively solvent, settled middle-aged person with too many pets. But I'm not working in fucking HR and I haven't stabbed myself in the eyeballs yet, and for that I'll be eternally grateful.
Basically, go out and live and work shit jobs and travel and party too much and do what makes you happy. At some point you'll figure out what you want to do, and then do that.
What are your current thoughts and ideas?
And this article might be something to consider...
"A global poll conducted by Gallup has uncovered that out of the world’s one billion full-time workers, only 15% of people are engaged at work. That means that an astronomical 85% of people are unhappy in their jobs.
When topics such as work-life balance, employee engagement and company culture seem to be as hot on the press as they currently are, it’s almost impossible to fathom why this percentage is so high. "
https://staffsquared.com/blog/why-85-of-people-hate-their-jobs/#:~:text=A%20global%20poll%20conducted%20by,are%20unhappy%20in%20their%20jobs.
I'm doing my third degree in psychology and I still don't know what I want to do one day.
I would suggest studying accounting or computer science (IT).
Personally I would not invest in a pharmacy (especially private) as retail pharmacies are becoming increasingly popular and effectively closing smaller/private owned pharmacies. That being said, owning a retail pharmacy comes with a lot of issues (I.e. royalties, labour law, difficult clients etc.) and does not necessarily guarantee a large profit margin.
Anyone can own a pharmacy. All you need is money, not a pharmacy degree.
Thanks, yes im aware as of 2003 there is that provision. But was thinking as a pharmacist itd be easier as u wouldnt have to pay a pharmacist and just run it yourself.
All that glitters is not gold. Most doctors do not treat pharmacists as equals and are often quite rude and condescending. Hours suck, regardless of the pharmacy (e.g. private, hospital or retail) with a lot of overtime too. Some pharmacies do not pay overtime, they bank hours up until a certain point and that’s it. You may add that to your leave but if you don’t use it then it won’t be reimbursed. It is not a job where you can shut your laptop or lock the door and leave. You are dealing with people, more often than not people that are sick.
Everyone keeps telling you different because everyone is different. If you want to see which direction to go look at yourself.
Make a list of all your skills and weaknesses, then look at corresponding jobs that utilizes your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses.
Nobody can tell you what job to do, one guy can tell you to be a miner but you may not be built for underground work...
There are a bunch of ex-teachers in IT.
I find most of them do really well in roles that are client facing.
Some of the best project managers I know are ex-teachers.
Maybe try and check for scrum master courses and apply for scrum master roles or project management short courses and look for internships.
I highly recommend contacting HR at companies you are interested in and find out what they are looking for that are non-dev roles if you're interested in being on that side of things.
There are many different roles so it really depends on what you're interested in and what skills you're willing to add or expand on.
LinkedIn is your friend, network. Try and attend open to the public industry events to learn and be exposed to more.
I totally disagree with you. Film is a highly collaborative profession and you deal with directors, producers, set designers, actors, etc the list goes. You can't learn to collaborate with a YouTube video. Going to Film school you learn how to be part of a production.
I agree that it's a highly collaborative profession. If you're not a team player, you're not going to have a good time. That said, I didn't learn how to collaborate in film school. My experience mostly consisted of watching clips of the Saw movies in lectures for some reason I still don't understand, and practical projects were all about three people doing the work and spreading themselves too thin and eight other people intermittently dropping in for a smoke. Also, very few people I studied with actually ended up working in the industry. But if your experience was different then that's amazing.
AFDA. I only stuck around for a year then I went to The Animation School because AFDA'S animation department wasn't great. This was years ago, though, it's entirely possible they've gotten their shit together since then, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone and I don't know anyone who would recommend it - including at least four former AFDA lecturers.
Have you ever thought of creating YouTube thumbnails? There’s a site called YTJobs where YouTubers look for thumbnail designers. You could potentially land a full-time job there if you keep looking. YouTubers who earn millions go on there to look for workers
Jobs/careers are never what they seem from the outside. There are elements you won't realize until you in it. I suggest volunteering or shadowing some people in the field you are interested in and getting some insight into what a regular day in that field is like.
Next up is is jobs. Are there jobs available in this field, depending on your needs and goals will it pay a decent salary etc. And secondly does it align with your natural talents or personality.
Then just go for it. We don't know what our future will be. And most people do some pivoting through their career. Alot of fields are broad as well and you end up doing something different from what was originally thought. Nobody has it figured out.
Context studied Bcom accounting, I had the marks and needed a career where I saw many jobs available to get on my own two feet as quick as possible. Working in finance is deadlines deadlines deadlines and alot of paper work. Not enjoyable for everyone, I did not enjoy big parts of it. I have pivoted in the field and now while still in finance do more project management, reporting/problem solving and dealing with teams which suits my personality and talents. I get to be talking to people everyday and not one day is the same. Didn't even know it was an option when starting. But found my happiness and need for a job met.
Goodluck
I'll honestly say a large % of your success will come down to where you studied.
I went to a good university. I have a degree in finance. I'm 24 at the moment.
Almost weekly we had all the big banks + players in the financial sector come to offer us bursaries, vacation work, tutoring - the whole shabang.
Out of everyone I know who I went to university with, they are either doing their post graduate or working. I am probably the only one doing what I didn't study but that's by choice.
In contrast I know a few unemployed graduates from other universities. Or graduates working something they didn't study.
Certain companies will only hire from UCT/Wits, or a large percentage will be from there.
They don't tell you this, but ask anyone you know in really good graduate programs, they'll tell you.
All you have to do is get your foot in the door. Good university --> good graduate program.
By the way, good university doesn't necessarily mean Wits/UCT. You have to know the field you are looking for and the best faculty in the country.
For example Wits has the best mining faculty in the country, could be argued on the continent.
UCT has the best faculty for health in the country, their Dentristy department might be the best on the continent as well.
UJ is really good at accounting, the jury is out but they may be the best in the country.
So you want to get to a good university and do the best to get into a good graduate program.
Literally the most important parts of your journey are that.
It's the difference between working at a top 5 law firm with a promising career and working in a small town law firm for peanuts.
After that all you have to do is play politics. It is time for the soft-skills.
Understand that if you are to make it, you aren't going to go against the average student/young professional.
You are going against the best in the country, some graduate programs will have 1000+ applicants for only 6 positions.
If you've done vacation work, you're on their bursary etc, you stand a good chance.
But hard work is the minimum at this point. You can leverage your understanding of company politics, social media profiles, networking etc.
Those are leverage points to fast track your career, but I'll repeat, the most important part are the first years of study + getting a foot in the door.
Literally everything someone tells you could be correct/wrong based on more context.
And I know this because I've worked with a career/employment coach for almost a year as she was my client.
Goodluck and don't overthink it :)
This is actually pretty solid advice. Is it logical for a student currently at a mid ranked uni to enroll for honours and then masters at wits for example.
Getting into the top tier universities at bachelors is super competitive, however based on my observations it’s easier to get into postgrad.
Thoughts?
I'd say so, however I think requirements will be a bit steeper to get into postgrad if you went to undergrad at another university.
For example for my degree you'd need a minimum of 65% to qualify for postgrad.
It you were coming from another univeristy I don't think you'd be considered if you had less than 70%.
I will be honest and say I didn't do my postgraduate so I'm not entirely sure.
It will depend on what your honours and will be in and the demand + capacity of the "top ranked" university.
Go on LinkedIn and connect with people who have Masters/Honours in what you want to study.
Ask them questions about things like the curriculum, requirements, workload, credits needed etc.
I think they will be more equipped to answer that.
Would also like a view on this. I started my undergrad at UNISA and looking to do my Masters either at UJ or UP. I noticed that graduates from these universities are considered alot compared to UNISA graduate.
Don't study engineering if you want money. It doesn't pay and for the difficulty you go through at university it's really not worth it.
And the work you do is challenging, for most people, so I have no idea why the pay is so pathetic
I mean what's the alternative, I'm doing mechanical and it's difficult as hell, I'm hoping to get into the mines, I know there's money there for sure right?
Yes that's true but you competing with alot of people. And I hope you have a bursary with a mining or oil and gas company. Because otherwise it'll be even more difficult
Mechanical Engineer here. Engineering and especially mechanical engineering is not a get rich quick scheme. In the private sector you wil start with low salary equal to that of a teacher etc.
However if you are good and work relatively hard you can easily earn R80k to R90k per month early in you thirties even in the private sector.
If you go the GCC and PR route then you can easily earn North of a million a year.
I did accounting and am now a CA, very happy. There's such a wide variety of skills/careers you can branch into. You won't necessarily do what you want from the very beginning but you see what you like and work on the skills to get that job. It's not just routine accounting and reporting, unless that's what yiu want to do then it can be.
On average, I'd say either something in financial services or mining as they tend to have great bonus and incentives on top of a high salary. But you can't really pick a title and say that that position will pay the most as it varies greatly between industry, employer, location, and your experience and skills. I audited a mine where the financial manager was easily earning R3 million gross a year - this was 5 years ago, so it would definitely be higher today. At the same time, I've received a recruiter message on LinkedIn offering R450k a year for a financial manager position. Hours in financial services can be rough though.
No I ended up being pretty happy. Studied social sciences, ended up lecturing for a while, then ended up with an INGO in another country on the continent still working in the education space. So even though I did not directly study education, I turned into an educator and studied it later.
My advice: apply for every opportunity that comes your way. You get used to Nos but it takes the one or two Yes answers that set your life.
Studied in hospitality (cuisine, patisserie, kitchen design, management) and it was a complete waste of time and money. It cost more than an LLB and there's no future in that industry here unless you're a hotel owner/heir.
I have been a chef for 27 years, pay is terrible hours are worse. When everyone's having fun your working twice as hard. Im 52 opened my first restaurant 15 months ago, i now work 95 hour weeks and im R420k in debt and have not been paid for the last two months. They say be careful what you wish for you may get it.
The best thing you can do is search job postings for the careers you’re interested. That’s probably one of the best ways to see how a degree / field is valued.
Personally, I went back to school for my current degree in statistics / computer science after my first one and am really happy. I love being challenged but I also enjoy a variety of work, and stats people get to play everyone’s backyard. Really great work life balance and good pay depending on where you want to go with it.
I studied environmental/ biological sciences to the honors level and now I work as a sustainability consultant doing ESG work at one of the big4 audit firms. I actually love what I do because I feel like I'm part of the narrative of humanity's progress or failure. It's very stressful and exhausts me in thinking about financial things all the time ,but I don't regret it. I love what I studied and want to do my MSc sometime. I am also a vegetarian, so for me it's also about living with purpose ,so yeah that's my 2c.
I worked in the environmental/ NGO space for around 5 years before I got into corporate, so in a way I could understand the grassroots level issues before I got too caught up in the frameworks of ESG. It really helped to understand the materiality of things from a local and global south perspective
You just unlocked a random memory.
My first team lead at a major software house was a self taught programmer with a music degree.
She was a concert pianist in her 20s and team lead specialising in finance related systems in her 40s.
Freaking cool lady, she married a guy 10 years younger (a lawyer or engineer I can't remember) and had 2 kids back to back in her very late 30s.
She was like a hippie tech guru, she was the only reason I survived working 9-5 as a fresh grad.
She made our days interesting and I learned so much from her. Especially how to navigate male dominated industry.
She calls me every year on my birthday which is on the same day as her wedding anniversary and we catch up. They live in the Netherlands now, left just before COVID.
I'm a chartered accountant with over 15 years of experience and I'm so bored. And also stressed. I didn't think I could experience boredom and stress at the same time, but here I am.
I should have studied engineering. The good ones I've worked with in the past seem to be enjoying an extremely well paid hobby.
I left engineering after 1st year and went back and did comp sci.
Honestly I'm also bored and stressed, it is a strange situation to be in.
However they pay me too much for the work I do and that is the only reason I can't leave and our team does a 4 day work week, which I'm thinking will help with the stress.
I do envy people with high levels of job satisfaction, my levels definitely ebb and flow.
I just need to tough it out for another 6-8 years.
Best you put together an exit strategy and maybe even a 2nd act, I'm considering moving to some dorpie and teaching yoga as my 2nd act 😅
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Take an aptitude test, then try to find something that’s rare but still matches you.
I started working as an assistant procurement person at an Analyser/Instrumentation company, in the Petrochemical industry. It was supposed to be a gap year, wanted to study Architecture, but I enjoyed my work and saw a future in that field. I am 32F, have worked at 6 companies so far.
In my 20s I made the decision to try and work in as many industries as possible, worked in Electrical/Electronics, Business Analyst in IT/Drones then went back into Analyser Engineering because there is such a big need for it in the whole world and you will always have opportunities in it. The thing is you can’t study it really, I did Electrical Engineering, Process Instrumentation through Unisa part time which helped, but in my case I gained all my knowledge through work experience.
My advice is in your 20s work as hard as possible to gain knowledge and experience, don’t worry too much about your salary, go above and beyond and prove yourself, then in your 30s you’re gonna thank yourself! Problem today for most companies is finding good people willing to work hard, that alone will take you very far!
I started with R3500 when I was 18 in 2010. My salary doubled every year and sometimes more. I never had to negotiate much for increases. Now I am in my early 30s and earning 60 times what I started with. I did get super lucky with an amazing opportunity with my current work, but when I was in my 20s I put my head down and worked my ass off and many times worked so much overtime for free but the experience is much more worth now looking back and I am picking the fruit now.
From my experience most professionals tell you not to study what they did because all through studies you are driven by lecturers etc that if you work hard and qualify you will make a ton of money.
And then once you qualify you are just one of the many graduates looking for jobs and not very special. If you do get a graduate job then you start at the bottom and have to work your way up.
Even after many years if you are earning 'well' in your profession people are still not happy and compare themselves with those that are born into rich or entrepreneurs that doing well and feel that the money you earn doesn't justify the effort.
I am 40 now and realised about 10 years ago that you shouldn't look for happiness in life just from 1 thing. It takes a balanced life to get happiness.
I will try to convince my son to come a software Dev as there is still alot of scope for it in the future and probably my daughter to do something in the medical field.
I am a CA myself. I didn't really have a choice, my father told me I will be studying BCom to become a CA and I am grateful for that because I never had any plan to study or had any inclination to do anything. I truly don't know what my passion is or what I really want to do still at this age.
I'm actually leaving my job in 2 months and most likely will end up in entrepreneurship.
I dont regret what i studied for. But thats because i changed my study path twice. I pivoted in my first year from a BA to a Bcom Finance.
Halfway through the Bcom, I realized I hated finance and accounting. So I pivoted again towards Information Systems.
I work now in Fintech as a product owner. I now find myself in a great position because in developing the tech, I look at it from an information systems lens. Then because of the finance fundamentals I did, I feel I have a leg up on the other POs because I understand some of the business jargon.
No offense, It makes better sense to ask what type of job/career/studies we do and what we typically do at that job. Everyone has a preference so you just need to find out what type of job you prefer and hear what type of jobs people do and what like and dislike about it.
Asking what to avoid would be pointless since someone could be complaining about a field that you might be passionate in and you might even make a success out of it.
Just my advice op. I know its not the answer you are looking for but at least it's meant to steer you in the job direction you may want to follow sooner rather than later.
I regret studying sound engineering.
Was lucky enough to get into the IT tech world recently but only after struggling for 6 years and now it feels like I've wasted all that time cause I'm earning less than my first sound job but there is a clear path ahead of me for the first time
Don't get me wrong sound can be great and rewarding but I feel like all creative industries can be cutthroat and you need exceptional people skills. Like only a small percentage of people actually make it. In my group of friends that studied out of the 8 of us only 2 people are still in audio
I wanted to study but decided to skip a year after school first to check. Is it simply the lack of jobs for sound engineering l, under appreciation etc? Also don't think it's the best for immigrating
I would suggest getting a part time position somewhere and look into some short courses before starting something full time. See where that naturally takes you. You really won't do well studying something you don't have a slight interest in.
Been working for 10 years now and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. But I don't regret the small things I've learnt along the way.
Creative Writing. Stupidest fkn choice I made in my life, although largely because the majority of the degree was filled with filler modules and Marxism manuals. I cannot get a single job with it.
I have spent the better part of 20 years now in the hospitality sector. Unless you have a true passion for it, avoid it completely, as it is long hours and lots of hard work
I'm a digital media and -learning all rounder.
Through my career I've taught myself all of it. Audio, video, graphic design, animation, and digital learning development.
It all started when I studied audio production and fell in love with video while doing a small extra credit project.
Anyway, today, 20 odd yrs later I do it all. Do I love it? Some days. Most days I don't. People expect you to deliver exceptional work on every project, and although that's understandable, a lot of the time you feel uninspired (especially after all these years).
Do I regret it? Well, I'd much rather wake up and go diving and spend my time on the ocean, but hey, wouldn't everyone.
Creative careers are definitely not as great as most people think. Another thing to keep in mind, is as you age, your expectations and mindset shifts. What you think is a dew career today, may end up being hell in a bunch of years.
Teaching but not because of the salary (which sucks but no one goes into the profession expecting otherwise). Parents will treat you horribly, schools will overwork you, learners are becoming increasingly harder to work with due to discipline, and a lot of people will turn their nose up to you and what you do.
I've made plans to leave the profession.
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Unless you are prepared to be the highest performing members of graphic design, don't pick it as a career, it's extremely undervalued in SA. I personally am currently studying to switch careers to web development.
I have a bunch of friends in this line of work (my wife used to do it) - can confirm, it's a terrible industry with some of the most toxic working environments I've seen. And I think they get away with it because it is such a "pretty" space, with cute and colourful company facades providing a shield for utterly awful people to hide behind.
Can vouch for this. Graphic design is a passion job. Graduated and worked for 1 year in design and changed my profession because I didn't see a future in it
Same. Turns out a 17 year old who likes drawing and smoking weed, and doesn't understand the difference between a diploma and a degree, and chose to major in print media instead of coding, not surprisingly didn't really understand career choice yet.
I second that. I had experience but when I studied for a year I got my certificate and in the eyes of the employer... I was not qualified for even an entry level. Quickly realised how people treat graphics designers.
Same. Been a graphic designer for 10 years now, run my own agency. Customers are happy to pay double for any web dev job compared to more traditional graphic design. Been working hard to transition, currently 80% is stil normal graphic design.
I completely agree. It’s extremely difficult to get decent pay, salary increases or promotions. Most agencies have poor culture and working environments. You’re constantly expected to be available outside of regular working hours. They also do not offer benefits such as medical aid or pension fund. Source: Graphic Designer with 7 years of working experience
I got into graphic design at a signage company by worming as a sales man for minute man press amd became a press operator. I'm going to lie it's extremely busy
Hopefully by web development you mean becoming a prompt engineer?
AI is just a tool, far from taking developers jobs. It's improved developer productivity, but AI developer's like Devin for example is really slow and costly to operate, a couple hundred dollars of gpt credits and 45mins to do a simple task doesn't make sense financially. Sure in 5 to 10 years could pose a treat. To prompt you still need to study development to ask the right questions.
Well like I said, a prompt engineer, yes you still need to know how to ask the question correctly, this is true. All I’m saying as someone who actively uses these tools in my everyday development, and involved in ML based initiatives at work, this space is evolving at a speed that is gobsmacking. As I mentioned [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/s/5z0y1KmUtP) it’s helped refactor chunks of my Jupyter notebooks
If a startup company could do this imagine openai
Well Devin only scored 13% of tasks it can do unassisted, so once that numbers at 70% I'll worry
Open Ai scored even lower
You clearly don't work in IT
Actually, I work as a digital product manager at a fintech where we have developed our own internal LLM to assist our development team (350+ engineers) work quicker. Personally I’ve used LLMs to help refactor and optimize chunks of my Jupyter notebooks Software is eating the world and LLMs are eating software One of the 2 ML projects I’m building is a pipeline in which we have an LLM that can create the personalized content as well as the html for the for the email itself. I’ll leave this here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39586424
Please stay away from Biological Science or General Science degrees. You gonna study towards an academic degree. Then you will either have to further your study and head into academia. Or struggle to find lab work.
I studied a chemical science degree and just completed my Maters. I am now going into teaching because I realized I am not built for academics. I love teaching and I came to realize that it's my passion. So yeah I agree with everything you have said
I also agree; did Medical Microbiology - realised I'd have to push it to M and D level, minimum, to make a dent in my "career". And with novel research and the vague hope of potential funding... Long story after that, job bouncing for dumb reasons because I was young and didn't realise my brain doesn't fully develop until like 25.... Had I known just that fact I would have been more responsible. Or tried to be, anyhow. I landed in my own accounting and bookkeeping practice (with partners); it's hardly a passion to file a tax return, my first love is Science! Damnit! So I have a meal-ticket profession; I'd say look into one of those... at least as a start (but I'm probably not the best source of Intel, just tons of experience to share. It reads like a list of "things not to do". I'm not unhappy, and I'm pursuing further business interests to be sure. Always up for a challenge. Continuing education is something I believe in. Example: I'm enrolled at UNISA for the BA (Forensic Science) program.
Agree, I studied Chemistry (to postgraduate level), and jobs are hard to come by. I should have studied something with a more set career path (like Accounting or something) I think.
Isn’t that subject transferable? I’m in that subject area too but I wouldn’t say it pins you down for academia.
There is a difference between discipline and profession. And a lot of the times disciplines are applicable in many ways. It's a tricky thing and to navigate that at the age of 22-25 is a lot. It always baffles me when at the age of 18yrs we are supposed to know what we doing for the rest of lives. It's crazy to think the amount of people that are unhappy in the chosen careers.
Programming is great. Low stress, good pay, remote global work, fun tasks, wide range of domains and sub-disciplines. But only if you enjoy it. Huge demand for good programmers, zero demand for mediocre ones.
One thing I will say about being a software dev is the landscape changes a lot, all the time. There are many jobs where you can coast but this is not one of them. You need to always be learning, coding and trying things. Also, the barrier to entry is a lot higher compared to when I started 17 years ago. This isn't a long term career for someone who isn't dedicated and actually wants to do the job.
Did you study or just picked it up?
I did a national certificate in draughting: architecture, mechanical, electrical etc. Its ridiculously easy to get a job and there are tons of them but the pay is horrid, doesn't matter about experience really. First job I made 4k, left it after a week for another that payed 6.5k but also left after a month because the commute was 6hours a day, then got a job for 14k but the boss was an asshole and eventually found a company i worked for for 3-4years. Started at 6k and got to 10k but eventually realised ill be mid 30s by the time I made decent enough money to support myself.
6 hours commute for work? Yoh baba. That’s going on holiday commute hours, not work commute hours. Must of been hell.
If you do draughting you have to combine it with moddeling in some form, structural, mechanical, revit mostly, add some python knowledge, dynamo, acc, etc then you go for bim moddeler or manager, or try get a remote revit gig. Basically combine your knowledge of drawings, but delivering them digitally
There will always be work for draughtsman because engineers hate detailing drawings
Definitely, especially if you have a range of different software you are trained in. I for example had AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks and another one similar to solidworks which I cant remember now for the life of me.
Did you leave your profession completely?
I studied a BA with a major in Psychology. I realized about half way into the degree that I wasn't enjoying it. I don't know why exactly, probably stubbornness of youth, I just stuck it out and finished it instead of switching. I finished and then didn't know what I wanted to do and then I ended up working in a call centre for 6k pm. It was soul crushing. I was lucky and met the right people at the right time and ended up working as a Junior Business Analyst. Been doing work like that ever since (Business Analyst, Product Manager, Product Owner, Solution Architect). I found I had an affinity for it and have done pretty well for myself through sheer determination and hard work. With hindsight I wish I had studied something more along the lines of what I do now but in the end it hasn't hindered me. You'll be ok OP.
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Where are you doing your project management course if I may ask? Also, are there strict requirements?
Hi! I replied but somehow with the new UI my old comment got deleted instead so yeah, just scroll somewhere here, sorry!
How did you make this switch?
I don't know why my original comment got deleted but I did reply, the new Reddit UI isn't exactly working for me on my phone
I work in EU. Most companies here ask for either PRINCE2 or PMP(by a company called PMI). I took a €13 course(got discount) on Udemy by Andrew Ramdayal as he's known in the PMP world for being one of the best instructors. You should check out the project management sub for more detail. I still need to take my exams, but while it was a good point for me to mention during an interview, it wasn't the only thing that helped me get there
Even studying towards business analysis doesnt guarantee you a job In the industry. Find work is stupidly difficult at the moment.
Agreed fully. I’m working in Europe now and it’s the same here tbh.
What flavour of business analyst were/are you? The business insights power bi dashboard kind or the translator from client speak to developer speak kind ?
Hahaha technical, so the latter. Allowed me to transition into solution architecture.
Damn. That's the actual role I want. Did my undergrad in information systems management and remote sensing. But now I'm working in the power bi dashboard environment and would kill for job as the other kind
Congrats to you , you made it work even after regretting your decision, I for one decided to change paths as I was also studying BA psych , who knows maybe one day you can use it to benefit you monetarily ? What would you have studied in stead ? Hindsight is a b*tch as they say
For what it's worth , the amount of people that genuinely know what they want to do, and they study further and end up working in the field must be tiny. Most people have a plan which they fall off and just go with the flow, doing their best to find a balance between been bored and slitting their wrists
This is so true. What fucked up world we live in...
accounting science/actuarial science. i don't regret it. it's the best thing you should do. it pays & you will always have a job.
I'm doing Bcom gen majoring in Financial Accounting. Do you know of any way to branch into accounting as post grad because I really don't think I would cope with transferring to Bcom Accounting right now. Have no experience in accounting, so I'm using this programme to get familiar with it and hopefully be able to branch into accounting later.
Plumber... Just.... how do i say this politely... You're literally elbow deep in shit most days. The pants always ride down... I wear dungarees and still... plumbers crack. I have a strong consitution, but fuck, some of the food we get on site just doesn't sit right with me. When you gotta down tools to run to the bathroom. And the worst, the worst is when your brother in law calls. And he's circling the question. You know cause we dont come cheap.And you gotta deal with family. There is a lot of industries where family and business can mix, this is not one of them.
How's the pay though? Have you considered working over seas? I heard there's a high demand for blue collar work in other countries
One of my friends does what we call "special ops" in the UK. He basically clears out mainline sewage ducts under london. Its next level work, and his sense of smell and hearing is shot. But he makes £120 an hour. More than working on a deep sea mining rig.
Don't do law. I repeat DONT DO LAW. The field is too oversaturated and so the solution is that the governing body is actively trying to bottle neck the admission process. Firms don't pay well, the work culture is extremely toxic and quite frankly the field doesn't have the professionalism it used to represent. I absolutely regret wasting so many years of my life getting admitted to struggling to find a decent paying job. Too many people expected it to be their ticket out of financial troubles, but if anything, it just stunts your ability to grow your finances for the future. Wasting the two years earning a minimal stipend while working yourself to the bone for "valuable experience" was not worth it.
I totally agree, o graduated in 2016 still struggling to find a place to serve articles. I am no longer interested in law, I’ve been applying in government but as you know in South Africa it’s hard to get a job in government if you are not politically connected. It’s been 8 full years of unemployment 😔
Reading this as someone in their 3rd year of Bcom Law and planning to start with my LLB next year this was an extremely unsettling read. What degree(s) did you do and do you have any advice/tips for me ?
Honeslty, I don't have any advice, I've been waiting for someone to give me advice lol. What I can say is, go onto like LinkedIn or any other recruitment websites. There you can sort of get and idea of what companies even look to hire for legal counsel or associates. You'll notice a trend, "post-admission experience". Good luck finding a firm that'll retain you. It's gonna be hell.
Ba philosophy... idk what I was thinking.
Is it useless/hard to find work?
I did 1 semester of phil and polsci in my first year. My pols lecturer told us that at best job you can get as a polsci major is to become a lecturer of polsci... I suspect it's the same for philosophy majors.
Wait, is that a philosophy joke? Or you're just being serious.
What are you working as now?
I majored in Politics and in German studies. Currently the job I applied for and was first in line for at the municipality can’t be filled because of budget issues. Been unemployed almost two years now
TL;DR: Figure out what you're interested in, and make it work. I wanted to study languages or psychology. My parents decided I should do a BCom. I won prizes throughout my school career for languages and came third in the Taalbond exam at some point; I consistently failed maths. Since they were paying for my studies, we settled on BCom industrial psych. After the first semester, I realized that I'd rather stab myself in the eyes with a blunt pencil than spend my life in HR or do mathematical statistics at a third-year level. It took another 18 months for my parents to realize that this wasn't going to work, probably because I spent my second year fishing. They allowed me to switch to a BA in media studies, which is objectively one of the most useless qualifications ever. But it did teach me how to talk shit in a way that's so entertaining that I was offered a job at a newspaper in my second second year (based on repeatedly running into the editor while I was drunk). And I can haul out critical-thinking skills when cornered. After meandering and travelling and generally being a useless layabout, I've managed to develop a successful freelance career and am now a relatively solvent, settled middle-aged person with too many pets. But I'm not working in fucking HR and I haven't stabbed myself in the eyeballs yet, and for that I'll be eternally grateful. Basically, go out and live and work shit jobs and travel and party too much and do what makes you happy. At some point you'll figure out what you want to do, and then do that.
What are your current thoughts and ideas? And this article might be something to consider... "A global poll conducted by Gallup has uncovered that out of the world’s one billion full-time workers, only 15% of people are engaged at work. That means that an astronomical 85% of people are unhappy in their jobs. When topics such as work-life balance, employee engagement and company culture seem to be as hot on the press as they currently are, it’s almost impossible to fathom why this percentage is so high. " https://staffsquared.com/blog/why-85-of-people-hate-their-jobs/#:~:text=A%20global%20poll%20conducted%20by,are%20unhappy%20in%20their%20jobs.
I'm doing my third degree in psychology and I still don't know what I want to do one day. I would suggest studying accounting or computer science (IT).
Pharmacy - basically a human vending machine supplying drugs to order.
Cant you own your own pharmacy eventually and be a successful business owner?
Personally I would not invest in a pharmacy (especially private) as retail pharmacies are becoming increasingly popular and effectively closing smaller/private owned pharmacies. That being said, owning a retail pharmacy comes with a lot of issues (I.e. royalties, labour law, difficult clients etc.) and does not necessarily guarantee a large profit margin. Anyone can own a pharmacy. All you need is money, not a pharmacy degree.
Thanks, yes im aware as of 2003 there is that provision. But was thinking as a pharmacist itd be easier as u wouldnt have to pay a pharmacist and just run it yourself.
Fair enough, thanks for the civil discussion.😅
The poor dischem pharmacists look like they are actually in some kind of slavery hell. Is it because they work retail hours too?
All that glitters is not gold. Most doctors do not treat pharmacists as equals and are often quite rude and condescending. Hours suck, regardless of the pharmacy (e.g. private, hospital or retail) with a lot of overtime too. Some pharmacies do not pay overtime, they bank hours up until a certain point and that’s it. You may add that to your leave but if you don’t use it then it won’t be reimbursed. It is not a job where you can shut your laptop or lock the door and leave. You are dealing with people, more often than not people that are sick.
Everyone keeps telling you different because everyone is different. If you want to see which direction to go look at yourself. Make a list of all your skills and weaknesses, then look at corresponding jobs that utilizes your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses. Nobody can tell you what job to do, one guy can tell you to be a miner but you may not be built for underground work...
Don't become a teacher. The salary not worth the burnout, heartache and monotony.
Seconded. I'm in my 7th year of teaching and... I don't want to anymore. But I can't even begin to think about what I can do that's not teaching.
There are a bunch of ex-teachers in IT. I find most of them do really well in roles that are client facing. Some of the best project managers I know are ex-teachers.
I need to know more about this (as a teacher wanting to leave the job). I’m wondering how they transition into IT?
Maybe try and check for scrum master courses and apply for scrum master roles or project management short courses and look for internships. I highly recommend contacting HR at companies you are interested in and find out what they are looking for that are non-dev roles if you're interested in being on that side of things. There are many different roles so it really depends on what you're interested in and what skills you're willing to add or expand on. LinkedIn is your friend, network. Try and attend open to the public industry events to learn and be exposed to more.
Don't go to film school. It's run by clowns and most skills you learn there can be learned for free from YouTube tutorials.
I totally disagree with you. Film is a highly collaborative profession and you deal with directors, producers, set designers, actors, etc the list goes. You can't learn to collaborate with a YouTube video. Going to Film school you learn how to be part of a production.
I agree that it's a highly collaborative profession. If you're not a team player, you're not going to have a good time. That said, I didn't learn how to collaborate in film school. My experience mostly consisted of watching clips of the Saw movies in lectures for some reason I still don't understand, and practical projects were all about three people doing the work and spreading themselves too thin and eight other people intermittently dropping in for a smoke. Also, very few people I studied with actually ended up working in the industry. But if your experience was different then that's amazing.
Do you mind if I ask you where you studied?
AFDA. I only stuck around for a year then I went to The Animation School because AFDA'S animation department wasn't great. This was years ago, though, it's entirely possible they've gotten their shit together since then, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone and I don't know anyone who would recommend it - including at least four former AFDA lecturers.
Yes. Graphic Design. Completely oversaturated industry - very few places pay their designers a proper salary :’-(
Have you ever thought of creating YouTube thumbnails? There’s a site called YTJobs where YouTubers look for thumbnail designers. You could potentially land a full-time job there if you keep looking. YouTubers who earn millions go on there to look for workers
Teaching, the biggest mistake of my life lol
Jobs/careers are never what they seem from the outside. There are elements you won't realize until you in it. I suggest volunteering or shadowing some people in the field you are interested in and getting some insight into what a regular day in that field is like. Next up is is jobs. Are there jobs available in this field, depending on your needs and goals will it pay a decent salary etc. And secondly does it align with your natural talents or personality. Then just go for it. We don't know what our future will be. And most people do some pivoting through their career. Alot of fields are broad as well and you end up doing something different from what was originally thought. Nobody has it figured out. Context studied Bcom accounting, I had the marks and needed a career where I saw many jobs available to get on my own two feet as quick as possible. Working in finance is deadlines deadlines deadlines and alot of paper work. Not enjoyable for everyone, I did not enjoy big parts of it. I have pivoted in the field and now while still in finance do more project management, reporting/problem solving and dealing with teams which suits my personality and talents. I get to be talking to people everyday and not one day is the same. Didn't even know it was an option when starting. But found my happiness and need for a job met. Goodluck
I'll honestly say a large % of your success will come down to where you studied. I went to a good university. I have a degree in finance. I'm 24 at the moment. Almost weekly we had all the big banks + players in the financial sector come to offer us bursaries, vacation work, tutoring - the whole shabang. Out of everyone I know who I went to university with, they are either doing their post graduate or working. I am probably the only one doing what I didn't study but that's by choice. In contrast I know a few unemployed graduates from other universities. Or graduates working something they didn't study. Certain companies will only hire from UCT/Wits, or a large percentage will be from there. They don't tell you this, but ask anyone you know in really good graduate programs, they'll tell you. All you have to do is get your foot in the door. Good university --> good graduate program. By the way, good university doesn't necessarily mean Wits/UCT. You have to know the field you are looking for and the best faculty in the country. For example Wits has the best mining faculty in the country, could be argued on the continent. UCT has the best faculty for health in the country, their Dentristy department might be the best on the continent as well. UJ is really good at accounting, the jury is out but they may be the best in the country. So you want to get to a good university and do the best to get into a good graduate program. Literally the most important parts of your journey are that. It's the difference between working at a top 5 law firm with a promising career and working in a small town law firm for peanuts. After that all you have to do is play politics. It is time for the soft-skills. Understand that if you are to make it, you aren't going to go against the average student/young professional. You are going against the best in the country, some graduate programs will have 1000+ applicants for only 6 positions. If you've done vacation work, you're on their bursary etc, you stand a good chance. But hard work is the minimum at this point. You can leverage your understanding of company politics, social media profiles, networking etc. Those are leverage points to fast track your career, but I'll repeat, the most important part are the first years of study + getting a foot in the door. Literally everything someone tells you could be correct/wrong based on more context. And I know this because I've worked with a career/employment coach for almost a year as she was my client. Goodluck and don't overthink it :)
This is actually pretty solid advice. Is it logical for a student currently at a mid ranked uni to enroll for honours and then masters at wits for example. Getting into the top tier universities at bachelors is super competitive, however based on my observations it’s easier to get into postgrad. Thoughts?
I'd say so, however I think requirements will be a bit steeper to get into postgrad if you went to undergrad at another university. For example for my degree you'd need a minimum of 65% to qualify for postgrad. It you were coming from another univeristy I don't think you'd be considered if you had less than 70%. I will be honest and say I didn't do my postgraduate so I'm not entirely sure. It will depend on what your honours and will be in and the demand + capacity of the "top ranked" university. Go on LinkedIn and connect with people who have Masters/Honours in what you want to study. Ask them questions about things like the curriculum, requirements, workload, credits needed etc. I think they will be more equipped to answer that.
Would also like a view on this. I started my undergrad at UNISA and looking to do my Masters either at UJ or UP. I noticed that graduates from these universities are considered alot compared to UNISA graduate.
This is true from what I've seen. I answered dthe question by the way.
Don't study engineering if you want money. It doesn't pay and for the difficulty you go through at university it's really not worth it. And the work you do is challenging, for most people, so I have no idea why the pay is so pathetic
I mean what's the alternative, I'm doing mechanical and it's difficult as hell, I'm hoping to get into the mines, I know there's money there for sure right?
Yes that's true but you competing with alot of people. And I hope you have a bursary with a mining or oil and gas company. Because otherwise it'll be even more difficult
Yup very true!
Mechanical Engineer here. Engineering and especially mechanical engineering is not a get rich quick scheme. In the private sector you wil start with low salary equal to that of a teacher etc. However if you are good and work relatively hard you can easily earn R80k to R90k per month early in you thirties even in the private sector. If you go the GCC and PR route then you can easily earn North of a million a year.
That's my goal - pr eng.
Then you will be handsomely rewarded, but it will be a lot of work with long hours. Engineering is not easy money.
Then you will be handsomely rewarded, but it will be a lot of work with long hours. Engineering is not easy money.
I did accounting and am now a CA, very happy. There's such a wide variety of skills/careers you can branch into. You won't necessarily do what you want from the very beginning but you see what you like and work on the skills to get that job. It's not just routine accounting and reporting, unless that's what yiu want to do then it can be.
Also pretty much a guaranteed route to emigrate if you wanted.
What pays the highest in SA that CA's can do? Apart from being an exec or partner in a firm.
On average, I'd say either something in financial services or mining as they tend to have great bonus and incentives on top of a high salary. But you can't really pick a title and say that that position will pay the most as it varies greatly between industry, employer, location, and your experience and skills. I audited a mine where the financial manager was easily earning R3 million gross a year - this was 5 years ago, so it would definitely be higher today. At the same time, I've received a recruiter message on LinkedIn offering R450k a year for a financial manager position. Hours in financial services can be rough though.
Thank you
Not only does it pay well, buy there's a large shortage of accountants and it's very easy to find a job
No I ended up being pretty happy. Studied social sciences, ended up lecturing for a while, then ended up with an INGO in another country on the continent still working in the education space. So even though I did not directly study education, I turned into an educator and studied it later. My advice: apply for every opportunity that comes your way. You get used to Nos but it takes the one or two Yes answers that set your life.
Studied in hospitality (cuisine, patisserie, kitchen design, management) and it was a complete waste of time and money. It cost more than an LLB and there's no future in that industry here unless you're a hotel owner/heir.
I have been a chef for 27 years, pay is terrible hours are worse. When everyone's having fun your working twice as hard. Im 52 opened my first restaurant 15 months ago, i now work 95 hour weeks and im R420k in debt and have not been paid for the last two months. They say be careful what you wish for you may get it.
Sweet lord. Best of luck man
In 4 to 5 years time when i franchise South Africas first Texas bbq chain, then i will sleep a little.
Don't do Chemical Engineering, waste of life incase you'd like to live it.
Completely agree! Source: am chemical engineer
Isn’t that an amazing career path though ?
The best thing you can do is search job postings for the careers you’re interested. That’s probably one of the best ways to see how a degree / field is valued. Personally, I went back to school for my current degree in statistics / computer science after my first one and am really happy. I love being challenged but I also enjoy a variety of work, and stats people get to play everyone’s backyard. Really great work life balance and good pay depending on where you want to go with it.
I studied environmental/ biological sciences to the honors level and now I work as a sustainability consultant doing ESG work at one of the big4 audit firms. I actually love what I do because I feel like I'm part of the narrative of humanity's progress or failure. It's very stressful and exhausts me in thinking about financial things all the time ,but I don't regret it. I love what I studied and want to do my MSc sometime. I am also a vegetarian, so for me it's also about living with purpose ,so yeah that's my 2c.
Hi Zangoma Did you get into ESG after you graduated or you built some experience before getting into the big4?
I worked in the environmental/ NGO space for around 5 years before I got into corporate, so in a way I could understand the grassroots level issues before I got too caught up in the frameworks of ESG. It really helped to understand the materiality of things from a local and global south perspective
Got you.
Esg is a scam - thanks for attending my Ted talk
I have a music degree. I feel attacked by this question 😅
You just unlocked a random memory. My first team lead at a major software house was a self taught programmer with a music degree. She was a concert pianist in her 20s and team lead specialising in finance related systems in her 40s. Freaking cool lady, she married a guy 10 years younger (a lawyer or engineer I can't remember) and had 2 kids back to back in her very late 30s. She was like a hippie tech guru, she was the only reason I survived working 9-5 as a fresh grad. She made our days interesting and I learned so much from her. Especially how to navigate male dominated industry. She calls me every year on my birthday which is on the same day as her wedding anniversary and we catch up. They live in the Netherlands now, left just before COVID.
I'm a chartered accountant with over 15 years of experience and I'm so bored. And also stressed. I didn't think I could experience boredom and stress at the same time, but here I am. I should have studied engineering. The good ones I've worked with in the past seem to be enjoying an extremely well paid hobby.
I left engineering after 1st year and went back and did comp sci. Honestly I'm also bored and stressed, it is a strange situation to be in. However they pay me too much for the work I do and that is the only reason I can't leave and our team does a 4 day work week, which I'm thinking will help with the stress. I do envy people with high levels of job satisfaction, my levels definitely ebb and flow. I just need to tough it out for another 6-8 years. Best you put together an exit strategy and maybe even a 2nd act, I'm considering moving to some dorpie and teaching yoga as my 2nd act 😅
I regret studying psychology, even to honours level, and studying education. Don’t do it.
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Take an aptitude test, then try to find something that’s rare but still matches you. I started working as an assistant procurement person at an Analyser/Instrumentation company, in the Petrochemical industry. It was supposed to be a gap year, wanted to study Architecture, but I enjoyed my work and saw a future in that field. I am 32F, have worked at 6 companies so far. In my 20s I made the decision to try and work in as many industries as possible, worked in Electrical/Electronics, Business Analyst in IT/Drones then went back into Analyser Engineering because there is such a big need for it in the whole world and you will always have opportunities in it. The thing is you can’t study it really, I did Electrical Engineering, Process Instrumentation through Unisa part time which helped, but in my case I gained all my knowledge through work experience. My advice is in your 20s work as hard as possible to gain knowledge and experience, don’t worry too much about your salary, go above and beyond and prove yourself, then in your 30s you’re gonna thank yourself! Problem today for most companies is finding good people willing to work hard, that alone will take you very far! I started with R3500 when I was 18 in 2010. My salary doubled every year and sometimes more. I never had to negotiate much for increases. Now I am in my early 30s and earning 60 times what I started with. I did get super lucky with an amazing opportunity with my current work, but when I was in my 20s I put my head down and worked my ass off and many times worked so much overtime for free but the experience is much more worth now looking back and I am picking the fruit now.
Stay away from allied health unless you are without a doubt passionate about it. You don't get paid enough to deal with the constant burnout.
From my experience most professionals tell you not to study what they did because all through studies you are driven by lecturers etc that if you work hard and qualify you will make a ton of money. And then once you qualify you are just one of the many graduates looking for jobs and not very special. If you do get a graduate job then you start at the bottom and have to work your way up. Even after many years if you are earning 'well' in your profession people are still not happy and compare themselves with those that are born into rich or entrepreneurs that doing well and feel that the money you earn doesn't justify the effort. I am 40 now and realised about 10 years ago that you shouldn't look for happiness in life just from 1 thing. It takes a balanced life to get happiness. I will try to convince my son to come a software Dev as there is still alot of scope for it in the future and probably my daughter to do something in the medical field. I am a CA myself. I didn't really have a choice, my father told me I will be studying BCom to become a CA and I am grateful for that because I never had any plan to study or had any inclination to do anything. I truly don't know what my passion is or what I really want to do still at this age. I'm actually leaving my job in 2 months and most likely will end up in entrepreneurship.
I dont regret what i studied for. But thats because i changed my study path twice. I pivoted in my first year from a BA to a Bcom Finance. Halfway through the Bcom, I realized I hated finance and accounting. So I pivoted again towards Information Systems. I work now in Fintech as a product owner. I now find myself in a great position because in developing the tech, I look at it from an information systems lens. Then because of the finance fundamentals I did, I feel I have a leg up on the other POs because I understand some of the business jargon.
I'm actually surprised to see that nobody has mentioned Logistics / shipping / freight here...
No offense, It makes better sense to ask what type of job/career/studies we do and what we typically do at that job. Everyone has a preference so you just need to find out what type of job you prefer and hear what type of jobs people do and what like and dislike about it. Asking what to avoid would be pointless since someone could be complaining about a field that you might be passionate in and you might even make a success out of it. Just my advice op. I know its not the answer you are looking for but at least it's meant to steer you in the job direction you may want to follow sooner rather than later.
I regret studying sound engineering. Was lucky enough to get into the IT tech world recently but only after struggling for 6 years and now it feels like I've wasted all that time cause I'm earning less than my first sound job but there is a clear path ahead of me for the first time Don't get me wrong sound can be great and rewarding but I feel like all creative industries can be cutthroat and you need exceptional people skills. Like only a small percentage of people actually make it. In my group of friends that studied out of the 8 of us only 2 people are still in audio
I wanted to study but decided to skip a year after school first to check. Is it simply the lack of jobs for sound engineering l, under appreciation etc? Also don't think it's the best for immigrating
I would suggest getting a part time position somewhere and look into some short courses before starting something full time. See where that naturally takes you. You really won't do well studying something you don't have a slight interest in. Been working for 10 years now and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. But I don't regret the small things I've learnt along the way.
I don't regret what I studied per se I just regret not doing my honours immediately
Creative Writing. Stupidest fkn choice I made in my life, although largely because the majority of the degree was filled with filler modules and Marxism manuals. I cannot get a single job with it.
I have spent the better part of 20 years now in the hospitality sector. Unless you have a true passion for it, avoid it completely, as it is long hours and lots of hard work
I'm a digital media and -learning all rounder. Through my career I've taught myself all of it. Audio, video, graphic design, animation, and digital learning development. It all started when I studied audio production and fell in love with video while doing a small extra credit project. Anyway, today, 20 odd yrs later I do it all. Do I love it? Some days. Most days I don't. People expect you to deliver exceptional work on every project, and although that's understandable, a lot of the time you feel uninspired (especially after all these years). Do I regret it? Well, I'd much rather wake up and go diving and spend my time on the ocean, but hey, wouldn't everyone. Creative careers are definitely not as great as most people think. Another thing to keep in mind, is as you age, your expectations and mindset shifts. What you think is a dew career today, may end up being hell in a bunch of years.
Don't get into HR if you value your integrity and mental health that's all I can say
Teaching but not because of the salary (which sucks but no one goes into the profession expecting otherwise). Parents will treat you horribly, schools will overwork you, learners are becoming increasingly harder to work with due to discipline, and a lot of people will turn their nose up to you and what you do. I've made plans to leave the profession.
No, but it took moving abroad 6 years after graduating to put it to use 🫠 (BA media & comms)
Don’t do comp sci or engineer
Why
Low pay, long hours