Dying Careers You Should Avoid [Archive] - SUBSIM Radio Room Forums

mookiemookie

05-02-13, 01:00 PM

Alternative Career: Accountant or Auditor

This, oh man, this. If you have any desire to enter into the business world, go to school and make accounting your major. No matter what you end up doing, you will deal with accounting in some form or fashion. The more you know about it, the better off you'll be. It's a recession proof job as well - the world will always need accountants. No matter if businesses are making or losing money, they will always need someone to tell them how much they're making or losing.

vienna

05-02-13, 01:10 PM

This, oh man, this. If you have any desire to enter into the business world, go to school and make accounting your major. No matter what you end up doing, you will deal with accounting in some form or fashion. The more you know about it, the better off you'll be. It's a recession proof job as well - the world will always need accountants. No matter if businesses are making or losing money, they will always need someone to tell them how much they're making or losing.

True statements. Accounting, and auditing in particular, also are very helpful as a basis into other fields. I started out as a "bean counter" and found the ability to be extremely accurate, detail oriented, and logically minded has served me well in my other pursuits during my life. Other fields may come and go, but the ability to make 2+2 equal 4, and the ability to prove it is invaluable...

<O>

Jimbuna

05-02-13, 01:28 PM

Whatever career you enter into make sure there is a decent pension included...certainly paid dividends for old buna.

Ducimus

05-02-13, 01:34 PM

Whatever career you enter into make sure there is a decent pension included...certainly paid dividends for old buna.

Pension? What is this pension you speak of? Is that anything like a "retirement"? Most places don't offer that anymore, and haven't for years. Just 401K plans in the stock market.

Wolferz

05-02-13, 01:52 PM

Pension? What is this pension you speak of? Is that anything like a "retirement"? Most places don't offer that anymore, and haven't for years. Just 401K plans in the stock market.

Either alternative offers an acute chance of getting screwed out of your money. 401K? Subject to the whims of the market.
Pension plan? Company gets bought by the likes of Mitt and Tagg Romney who then gut the pension plan and transfer all funds offshore while they systematically dismantle your livelihood for their own profit.:hmmm:

Jimbuna

05-02-13, 01:54 PM

Pension? What is this pension you speak of? Is that anything like a "retirement"? Most places don't offer that anymore, and haven't for years. Just 401K plans in the stock market.

Well that is fast becoming truer by the day here in the UK...we called them gold plated pension plans because you received a tax free lump sum based on your annual pension (I received x3), the pension was index linked against inflation and whatever your final pension was you could commute up to a further 25% at a rate of 12 to 1 (each pound given up gave you a £12 tax free lump sum).

They are fast becoming a thing of the past and in all honesty I pay 20% tax on each and every monthly payment I receive.

Not sure what a 401K plan is....something similar perhaps?

Armistead

05-02-13, 02:14 PM

Pension? What is this pension you speak of? Is that anything like a "retirement"? Most places don't offer that anymore, and haven't for years. Just 401K plans in the stock market.

Yep, up until the 80's many companies had a pension plan, replaced now by your 401K. Now, if you work for the govt....

I worked for a large contractor as a Sr. Progject Manager last position for 21 years. A family based business. I had a good income, benefits mostly went by the wayside in the 2000's. About 5 years ago, they closed when the ecomony failed. I couldn't find a job, so I went to work for myself.

I almost joined the fire dept with my friend at 20, but saw no future income. Now my friend is a Capt, life time benefits, medical, pension, and getting ready to retire in his 50's.

Be dang careful planning your future around a family owned small business.

the_tyrant

05-02-13, 02:14 PM

Well that is fast becoming truer by the day here in the UK...we called them gold plated pension plans because you received a tax free lump sum based on your annual pension (I received x3), the pension was index linked against inflation and whatever your final pension was you could commute up to a further 25% at a rate of 12 to 1 (each pound given up gave you a £12 tax free lump sum).

They are fast becoming a thing of the past and in all honesty I pay 20% tax on each and every monthly payment I receive.

Not sure what a 401K plan is....something similar perhaps?

We call them RRSPs up here in Canada. Its pretty much an investment account that the government incentivizes for you to use for retirement. (I believe you get tax benefits if you take money out of it after retirement)

Penguin

05-02-13, 02:25 PM

Reporter => alternative career: PR specialist
sad new world :nope:

Stealhead

05-02-13, 03:04 PM

There is another place in the US besides government work where you cans till have a true pension that would be some unions.For example I am a member of a pipe fitters union that has a true pension plan and a very good one at that.You pay in a share and your employer pays in a share in the union I am part of the pension is not a 401K.Which pleases me because 401K are a freaking joke and way too risky.These "finical advice" companies of course would never tell you this because they would go out of business if it not for 401Ks.

I am not wishing to start a unions are great/unions are crap debate.There are good and bad unions out there just like any other human endeavor.I am just stating that some unions usually true trade unions have none based 401K pensions.

frau kaleun

05-02-13, 03:09 PM

Not sure what a 401K plan is....something similar perhaps?

It's money that comes out of your paycheck before federal taxes are assessed and goes straight into an account (called a 401K) set up specifically for your retirement. The funds in the account are usually invested in something, stocks, mutual funds, etc. If you take money from the account to use prior to retirement you have to pay taxes on it and possibly other penalties as well. That's the incentive to put it away for later, it's not taxed by the IRS at the time you earn it unlike just stuffing part of your paycheck in a savings account after it's been taxed.

Some 401Ks are entirely employee funded, some employers will match employee contributions up to a certain amount. My employer matches my contributions up to 4% of my earnings, so if I put 6% of my pay in the account every paycheck they match an additional 4% for a total contribution to the account of 10% of my pre-tax income.

We're also very lucky to have accounts that we can manage ourselves, we can choose how risky a portfolio we want depending on projected time until retirement age. I think we can even go in and pick and choose which individual funds we want to invest in and what percent of the money goes into each.

Stealhead

05-02-13, 03:16 PM

We're also very lucky to have accounts that we can manage ourselves, we can choose how risky a portfolio we want depending on projected time until retirement age. I think we can even go in and pick and choose which individual funds we want to invest in and what percent of the money goes into each.

A friend of mine says that he can do all of that with his company 401K.It may vary from plan to plan through how much you can do but yours sounds similar to my friends.

Jimbuna

05-02-13, 03:57 PM

It's money that comes out of your paycheck before federal taxes are assessed and goes straight into an account (called a 401K) set up specifically for your retirement. The funds in the account are usually invested in something, stocks, mutual funds, etc. If you take money from the account to use prior to retirement you have to pay taxes on it and possibly other penalties as well. That's the incentive to put it away for later, it's not taxed by the IRS at the time you earn it unlike just stuffing part of your paycheck in a savings account after it's been taxed.

Some 401Ks are entirely employee funded, some employers will match employee contributions up to a certain amount. My employer matches my contributions up to 4% of my earnings, so if I put 6% of my pay in the account every paycheck they match an additional 4% for a total contribution to the account of 10% of my pre-tax income.

We're also very lucky to have accounts that we can manage ourselves, we can choose how risky a portfolio we want depending on projected time until retirement age. I think we can even go in and pick and choose which individual funds we want to invest in and what percent of the money goes into each.

A great explanation :up:

My wife is in a one where the employer pays double what the employee pays in but seeing as she is on a 20 hour per week contract she'll end up with a smaller pension than she would have liked but the devil in me asks would the employer have been so generous with a full time employee?

Stealhead

05-02-13, 04:29 PM

A great explanation :up:

My wife is in a one where the employer pays double what the employee pays in but seeing as she is on a 20 hour per week contract she'll end up with a smaller pension than she would have liked but the devil in me asks would the employer have been so generous with a full time employee?

Pretty soon most companies in the US will not offer a 401K plan that they pay into.Many of the employer based plans today are pretty crappy and the employer only pays in a small amount.Their way of saying thank you for your loyalty.The most kind hearted offer a plan but pay nothing into it.

the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Tchocky

05-02-13, 04:43 PM

Must be pretty lucky then - 10% of my paycheque goes into the pension fund before I get my hands on it, no choice in the matter.

the_tyrant

05-02-13, 04:44 PM

I am going to university this fall (really don't know what to do yet, I get to select my major second year).

But one of the things that people keep saying to me is that, try to get into a career where you become more valuable over time, not less valuable.

Become a computer programmer, and every year there are millions upon millions of people out there ready to replace you. And truth is, its a young man's job, your knowledge gets outdated quickly, and your ability to "crunch" and use red bull to pull all nighters really degrade with age.

Whereas with some jobs like lawyer or PR expert, you become more valuable over time. Experience and connections are worth a lot with it comes to these jobs, and your ability improves over time.

This is why I am really hesitant to go study computer science at university. Sure, I can probably do well, and become a good programmer, but truth is, your skill degrades with age, and remember, there is always an Indian dude who can do your job better than your for cheaper.

mookiemookie

05-02-13, 04:57 PM

Reporter => alternative career: PR specialist
sad new world :nope:

I know. Instead of valuing facts and objectivity, we value spin and bull excretion.

frau kaleun

05-02-13, 07:02 PM

Pretty soon most companies in the US will not offer a 401K plan that they pay into.Many of the employer based plans today are pretty crappy and the employer only pays in a small amount.Their way of saying thank you for your loyalty.The most kind hearted offer a plan but pay nothing into it.

I am very fortunate in this regard - the people who manage our plan have said many times over the years that they can't believe how generous our retirement plan and other benefits are given the relatively small size of our company. It pays off in the long run - I've been there 20 years, my boss has been there since she first got out of college, and most of the other employees have been there at least 10-15 years.

We went through some hard times over the past five years or so and a company that didn't reward loyalty as well probably would've seen a lot of people bail out and start looking for jobs elsewhere. We only had one person leave and that was the lowest person on the seniority ladder who (wrongly) expected to be let go and jumped the gun on finding another job. Everyone else stuck it out and took a temporary 10% pay cut - every cent of which was paid back to us as quarterly bonuses when the funds finally became available. Not many companies would do that and that's why so many of us are still there through good times and bad.

AVGWarhawk

05-02-13, 07:12 PM

There are other tools for saving for retirement. IRA and stock portfolios. Hiding some under the mattress. Bury your penny jar in the backyard. I'm fortunate as well as my employer matches and has profit sharing. This makes employees more vested in succeeding everyday as it will pay off big dividends. I'm in transportation. Something always needs to be shipped somewhere.

Oberon

05-02-13, 07:14 PM

By the time I get to pension age, I think we'll be lucky to have pensions. :doh:

Hottentot

05-02-13, 11:43 PM

I know. Instead of valuing facts and objectivity, we value spin and bull excretion.

I can't decide if the possibility of reporters going away is a good or bad thing when most of the news I read these days seem to be Facebook status updates disguised as news articles.

Take, for example, this "article" I just saw in the online version of the local newspaper yesterday: "The newspaper's photographer saw two blue tits fighting each other. Perhaps they had taken booze on May Day?" And they had also bothered some poor ornithologist to ask if it's normal to have birds fighting each other. :dead:

JU_88

05-03-13, 04:24 AM

Im not counting on there being any state pension when my retirement comes around in the year 20.....
.... Actually Im not counting on having a retirement period. :dead:

Jimbuna

05-03-13, 05:25 AM

By the time I get to pension age, I think we'll be lucky to have pensions. :doh:

Im not counting on there being any state pension when my retirement comes around in the year 20.....
.... Actually Im not counting on having a retirement period. :dead:

Don't go wishing your lives away....youngsters :)

AVGWarhawk

05-03-13, 07:21 AM

Don't go wishing your lives away....youngsters :)

:yep:

Penguin

05-06-13, 06:22 AM

I can't decide if the possibility of reporters going away is a good or bad thing when most of the news I read these days seem to be Facebook status updates disguised as news articles.

Take, for example, this "article" I just saw in the online version of the local newspaper yesterday: "The newspaper's photographer saw two blue tits fighting each other. Perhaps they had taken booze on May Day?" And they had also bothered some poor ornithologist to ask if it's normal to have birds fighting each other. :dead:

You make it sound as if reporting about tits would be a bad thing. :D

On topic: Here is an excellent statement by David Simon on the future of journalism: http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/journalistic_practice/wire_creator_david_simon_testi0719
He's a guy who saw much of the decline of newspapers in the US and the conglomeration of the media in the hands of some few corporations - the reason why he ended his career in this sector.

nikimcbee

05-06-13, 09:14 AM

Dying Career #3: Semiconductor Processor

You'd think if any job was safe in this computer-filled world it would be the people who manufacture electronic semiconductors, aka microchips and integrated circuits. But alas, looking at projections by the U.S. Department of Labor, it appears these workers are destined to be processed out.
Projected Decline: The Department of Labor expects this job to decline rapidly by 18 percent, going from 21,100 jobs in 2010 to just 17,300 in 2020, a total loss of 3,800 jobs.
Why It's Dying: Here's a bitter irony for those in the semiconductor processing biz: Despite the fact that semiconductors are in strong demand, increased automation in the plants that make semiconductors means fewer of these workers will be hired, says the Department. In addition, many microchip manufacturers will close plants in the U.S. and move production overseas to less-costly countries, says the Department.
So if you're a techie, you might want to think about...

:dead: I could ramble on about this forever. It's all automated. Nearly everything is made in Asia:dead:

So, become a maintinance tech:hmmm:.

Whatever happened to AMD?

mookiemookie

05-06-13, 09:21 AM

:dead: I could ramble on about this forever. It's all automated. Nearly everything is made in Asia:dead:

So, become a maintinance tech:hmmm:.

Whatever happened to AMD?

It's the story of American manufacturing in a nutshell. It's not that we don't make anything in America anymore - we do. Tons of stuff. It's just that it's all so computerized and efficient that we don't need armies of workers all turning screwdrivers when we have robots who do it faster and more precisely. What used to take 100 people a day to manufacture now takes a few minutes with one guy sitting in front of a computer screen. THAT'S where all your manufacturing jobs went.

Sailor Steve

05-06-13, 09:35 AM

So in the end it turns out the Luddites were right? Who saw that coming?

nikimcbee

05-06-13, 09:37 AM

It's interesting what parts of the semiconductor process are done in the US and outside the US. Many of the chips are made in the US, but are assembled in Asia:hmmm:.

Asia's safety standards are a lot lower:dead:, so if you want to cut red-tape, make your chips in China. (not saying this is a good thing)

will post more later....off to my engineer meeting.:shifty: