This blog post is not just about the highest paying jobs. It’s about pursuing the highest paying jobs for the right reasons and getting payed for doing something you actually like. Before you close the page because you think this article just focuses on finding your passion and getting “paid” in fulfillment, we’ll get to those highest paying jobs soon (or you can scroll down now).
Before You Choose A Major– Find What Subject Interests you
Far too often, Freshman students are forced to choose a college major before they’ve even taken a single class. This is a recipe for disaster. They end up choosing a program that sounds interesting but have no idea what they’re actually in for. A sociology major might sound fascinating, but maybe in reality it’s far too many vague theories to be intriguing for more than a semester.
So first things first: you need to find your passion, or at least something you’ll love learning and can see pursuing in the future. Your post-college life will be infinitely easier if you have a degree in a subject matter that doesn’t bore you to death. While salary and compensation are definitely key factors when looking for a job, if you hate your field, you’ll hate going to work. The lesson: Just because you find out actuaries make up to 150K a year, that doesn’t mean you should pursue a actuary degree if you struggle to calculate a 15% tip.
Below are amazing sites that have video tutorials or full lessons on just about every subject out there. This lets you test the waters before you dive into a marine biology degree or neuroscience. We couldn’t include all of them, but check out Wibki’s education page for more sites that have the best video tutorials and classes.
Coursera is a “social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free.” That’s right. The site gives you access to free courses from top-tier universities that include subjects like mathematics, life sciences, medicine, finance, and economics. They even have interactive exercises to make sure you’re keeping up with the material.
TED-Ed is brought to you by the brilliant minds behind TED talks. Like Coursera, they too bring you amazing lessons created by accomplished professors and talented animators. The outcome of this collaboration is high-quality videos that can be customized to create your own personal lesson. Soon you’ll be able to take part in TED-Ed clubs, where students can virtually get together to discuss and share their big ideas.
edX was created by Harvard and MIT to offer their prestigious courses on a global scale. You have the option to have your work submitted for grades, or to audit the class (if you’re simply exploring new interests before declaring a major). edX puts an emphasis on the social aspect of learning by having a discussion board for each class, where students can ask and answer questions from their fellow peers. You’ll connect to the other students, giving it a more authentic “classroom” feel.
Now For Salaries: Get Realistic Compensation Expectations
Because we all need to eat, it’s good to research what type salary to expect in your field so you’ll end up practicing one of the highest paying jobs. Even though you should be primarily motivated by intrinsic factors (i.e. job satisfaction), finding out that your dream job pays a maximum of 28K might make you realize you have other passions as well. Nowadays, finding out what your dream job pays is easy. Glassdoor, Payscale and Salary.com all offer salary projections. These sites are devoted to compiling data to give you an accurate salary range depending on years of experience, location, and title. Setting one of those highest paying jobs as a target has never been easier…
Glassdoor: On top of compensation predictions, Glassdoor is a career community that also offers an inside peek into companies. This includes employee reviews, interview questions, and more. When looking for a job through Glassdoor, they also look for Inside Connections; friends you have on Facebook who are connected to the company in some way.
PayScale: With this site, you can make your own profile and save salary searches. And for people who love numbers, they have a section of their site called Data Packages where you’ll find articles focused around presenting interesting data, in a straightforward way. One article presents average starting salaries sorted by school and college major.
Salary.com: On top of their comprehensive salary tools, this site also covers all aspects of searching for a new job. They have advice articles on managing workplace stress, archetype tests, and interview and cover letter tips. They also have cost of living calculators for prospective employees who need to relocate to find their perfect job.
Use Wibki As A Resource
The best way to tackle any challenge, whether it’s finding your passion or planning the next steps in your career, is staying organized. Wibki lets you arrange your saved lesson plans and salary articles in a visual way. With every bookmark in one place, all your resources will be right at your finger tips, and you’ll be able to find them again. The visual aspect of Wibki also means you’re more likely to go back to them and continue your lessons. It’s hard to narrow down your interests and figure out what path to take in university, but we make staying on track easy.
