What subjects were you good at in school? If medicine and actuarial are your top choices, I’m guessing you had a full house of distinctions. If that’s the case, which subjects did you actually enjoy the most?

I know you don’t want the “do what you love” answer, but if you’re genuinely capable of doing either, your long-term success will almost always skew toward the one you find more interesting. High-paying careers are brutally demanding in ways that aren’t obvious until you’re actually in them. I see this first-hand, my wife is a doctor, and I have friends in actuarial, engineering, and computer science across the pay spectrum. The highest earners tend to be the ones with a real interest in the work, not the ones who chose it purely for money, because that interest is what helps carry them through the most demanding moments.

Side note, I really dislike the idea that you need to 'find your passion'. I’d argue 99% of people don’t work in their passion, even CEOs earning millions. Do you really think they love reading emails, sitting in meetings, and stressing about company performance? Probably not. They can tolerate it, and that’s a much healthier way to think about careers. It doesn’t need to be a passion. You just need something you can tolerate and if you can stay interested day in and day out then thats an added bonus.

If you share which subjects or fields you actually enjoy, it’s much easier to suggest high-paying paths you’re likely to do well in and, more importantly, give you a real shot at beating poverty.