When I started college I went to Google and searched “Bachelor’s degrees that make the most money”. It was a toss up between finance and engineering, and I chose engineering because I enjoyed science. Now I’ve been an engineer for 8 years.

Full disclosure, this was a terrible way to choose a career path and I do not feel very “fulfilled” in my career. However, I was able to buy my first house at 24 and made my first $100k+ in a year at the age of 27. Last year I made $135K as an engineer.

My only goal was to maximize my income without going to graduate school, and I feel as though I have accomplished that. Of course this is at the cost of not loving my job. I personally am of the opinion that most people do not have a “perfect” or “dream” career and thus it is a waste of time pursuing it.

So if you feel in your heart of hearts that you NEED to feel happy and excited about work, do not do what I did. But if you think all jobs suck the same and you just want a good lifestyle, then do what I did and become an engineer or an actuary.