You can get in to just about ANY industry if you have the desire and a willingness to start at the bottom and work your way up. Having the degree signifies that you are a good student and earning achievements is a priority for you.

Don't assume that because you are have an engineering degree.. you are somehow LOCKED into an engineering career, and that you can't make good money elsewhere.

About 4 out of 5 people who earn bachelor's degrees find themselves happier and getting paid more, in a field OTHER than that which they have their degree for.

BUT... they started AT or NEAR the bottom.

Truth be told.. even if you started a job in an engineering field...you'd start AT or NEAR the bottom, despite the degree.

So if you want to learn more about finance, investments, stocks, bonds, and the like? Start applying in the finance firms in your area.

There's banks, insurance companies, investment companies (like Charles Schwab), payroll companies (like ADP or Paychex), they are all out there.

On your resume, indicate the LEVEL of the degree you have.. AS, AA, BS, BA.. and then off to the side write (majored in civil engineering)..

Most employers are only concerned about the LEVEL of the degree you have.

One last little bit.. people tend to either have GENERAL knowledge about a subject or they have SPECIALIZED knowledge about a subject.

If you want to know what pays more... It's the SPECIALIZED knowledge.

For me personally.. I don't have a degree.. BUT I have specialized knowledge in my field (programming, database administration, SQL SERVER, etc., and FINANCE) and that earns me a salary ABOVE my associates who HAVE bachelors degrees.

Something seems a little.... unfair... about it, but I didn't make the rules...

My advice is to get yourself into a job in the finance field and then start working on SPECIALIZED knowledge above and beyond your associates. When there is a limited number of people who can DO what you DO.. you're salary will make BIG JUMPS!

Haha are you serious??? Engineering degrees in the financial industry make more money than finance degrees in the financial industry. Engineering people who switchover have a lot of things that finance people may not be so adept at, like creating analytic models from scratch, or looking at numbers and accurately reading into them faster than "normal" employees. You have a significant leg up. However, if you know nothing about the financial markets, you're at a slight disadvantage.

heyy...better not worry. Its not a bad idea. Its a great combination, all you need to do is get strong in Finance basics....better join MBA in finance it will take you a long way..
all the best.

One disppointing fact with these programs is that although you are receiving a degree of sorts in Finance , in most of the Programs you do not have access to the Faculty of Finance housed within their business school. For instance, the University of Chicago has some of the most renowned Finance Faculty in the country; however, you are given no access to these Professors and they teach none of the curriculum in the Financial Mathematics Program. The only programs that provide access to Finance Faculty in the US are the programs housed within their respective Business Schools or ones that provide the ability to take electives within the School of Finance .

Hi,

Yes it doesn't matter that you are going to change your industry. If you already have a talent for design, doing research, or connecting people with each other you can start a new business. Business ideas are all around you. Starting any kind of business is going to take a considerable amount of work on the individual entrepreneur.

Thanks

If you are going to start your own business I suggest you read The E-Myth by Michael Gerber...As far as following your dreams I will try to tell you reference some paragraphs from John Maxwell's Leadership Gold....paraphrased// In 1970 a study was created that followed 1500 graduates of an University. Group A was graduates who went in the field that they felt could earn them the most money, not concerned about how much they enjoyed the work just that it payed the best. Group B decided that they would follow the work that they loved regardless of money, just that they loved what they did and who they could serve. Group A had 1300 people Group B consisted of 200. 20 years later they interviewed both Groups and of the 1500 there was 101 millionaires....1 came from group A and 100 came for Group B....lesson follow your passion and the money will follow....chase the money and you will always be running

Congratulations on not spending 20 years doing what you thought you should do when you started in school... congratulations also on achieving a degree that not only looks good on resumes but will serve you in whatever endeavor you select... whether you go into business for yourself or seek to be employed everyone is looking for solutions... when you think like an engineer and have skills to match you're two steps ahead of the crowd that can visualize a solution but lack the skills to actualize the outcome.

I wouldn't worry too much since Engineering is a demanding career.

In almost all of the top business schools at present, you will find at least 25 % students are engineers. This is apparently somewhat astonishing. One might naturally question that why does an individual already trained in a particular discipline still want to be trained in something else? However, this trend clearly indicates a basic fact - if so many engineers are aiming for it, even at the cost of a couple of their valuable years, there must be some usefulness. So why are engineers increasingly going for an MBA degree? What specialization should they opt for when they are planning to do an MBA? In this blog we introspect a few such issues,For the future of engineers in the modern competitive times, getting a post graduation degree is increasingly becoming important. There are certain specified matching sections for engineers in order to attain chartered status in their careers and one of them is management.

Learn some finance, play around with a PA (private account) and try your luck at finance. Not as much now cause quants fell out of favor but you could still crack a banking job on the Street if you have financial knowledge and some contacts. Give it a shot, engineering degrees don't go stale and you can always fall back.