Technology career..Is MBA the silver bullet?

me DeleteThis @privacy.net wrote:
> nc DeleteThis @iname.com wrote:
>
> > Realize that a degree by itself will not get you a job, much less keep
> > you in one. What will do those things is either skills or connections.
> > Connections can be acquired either through familly ties, or by going
> > to the "right" school regardless of major, or by working while in
> > college (including internships). Skills are best acquired on the job
> > or in technical training. So, unless you are a scion of an influential
> > family, or can afford Ivy League-level tuition, or are bright enough to
> > get into an Ivy League-level school on scholarship, you should
> > concentrate on acquiring skills, work (preferably, in a position that
> > requires technical knowledge) while in college, and choose a major that
> > interferes with skill acquisition to the least degree possible.
>
> Agree and understand abt a degree by itself will NOT
> guarantee success or happiness
>
> However... my question still stands....what FILED
> should one chose now days that wont obsolete itself in
> a few years?

Ah... As James Cromwell's character in the recent "I, Robot" movie put
it, "that, Detective, is the right question".

Just look at the society in which we live. Wealth concentration is
steadily increasing, population as a whole is aging (female population
even more so than male population), gender gap in earnings is gradually
closing (although it is by no means closed), and obesity becomes more
prevalent. So if you want to remain in high demand, you need to be in
a field that has something to offer to the super-rich, the elderly
(especially if you can get the government to pay for it), working women
(especially executives and professionals, who tend to have high
disposable income and appreciate things that save their time and make
their lives less complicated), and/or the overweight. Whether it means
you need to start a private island brokerage, operate a retirement
community, open a 24-hour women's-only gym in an office park, or become
a bariatric surgeon is entirely up to you...

Cheers,
NC

me.TakeThisOut@privacy.net wrote:
> nc.TakeThisOut@iname.com wrote:
>
> > So whatever you earn, be sure to save at least 10% of it.
> > While you're young, maintain healthy allocations to equities
> > in general and foregn equities in particular...
>
> Agree with saving thing
>
> But unsure of doing it in equities anymore

For a good reason; in another message you mentioned you were 48...

> What abt real estate? Something a person has some
> 'control" over?

Real estate is just as risky as equity, only the nature of risk is
slightly different. As to control, this is mostly an illusion. First
off, what kind of control would you have if you are one of 12 limited
partners in a partnership that owns an office building (better yet, 15
office buildings across the country)? Even if you own, let's say, an
apartment building by yourself, you only have control over costs, and
only to an extent. You still have no control over prevailing level of
rent and the vacancy rate...

This said, real estate is a good diversifier and a great inflation
protector; if owned directly, it can also be a tax shield.

> Stock values are controlled by things totally out of my
> hands and things that often are silly and don't make
> sense.

So are real estate values...

> So...what abt real estate and bonds only?

Be very careful with bonds. As interest rates go up (and go up they
will), bond prices go down...

Cheers,
NC