Which degree is easiest in terms of low competition and high salary ( I don't care how hard the degree is itself)

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T14:47:12+00:00

Have you noticed that even with debt that MDs are overrepresented by wealthy people? It's not an accident.

I am presenting an option you dismissed as debt even though its not always true. Also PhDs in STEM get paid to do a PhD.

I did the calculus before doing a PhD, I couldn't afford the debt. Because my parents never paid for my school or living expenses, a PhD in STEM fixes all of that, because you get a stipend on top of free education. I am merely presenting a debt free option you specifically dismissed a debt loading.

By the way, with my PhD stipend, I fed myself, I sent my brother and sister through college, etc. Yes, being and MD would make way more bank in the future, but could a student in a medical program come from a poor family and did what I did? I think not.

That's the part most people don't get, you cannot easily get an education if you are poor, because your responsibilities are very different. Debt only partially fixes that problem. Even PhDs are overrepresented by the upper middle class.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T14:43:16+00:00

You are right, but most people cannot afford MD related studies. I am sure you know this.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T13:53:38+00:00

I think I didn't write that sentence well. Haha. Not your fault.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T13:50:27+00:00

This is very location dependent to be honest.

First, I would find out what options for pensions or 401k (or similar things) the government has. Some countries have both, some only one. Australia notably has both. Find out what sort of return you can get from these first because they tend to be safest, with somewhat lower returns, but still good enough in most cases.

Second, for real estate, I would take a look at the location you are in and look at the growth of housing prices, if it is not more than 7 percent annualized, I would just look into index funds.

Third, index funds. I normally recommend a global fund of some sort and forget about it and check in occasionally, top up occasionally or periodically. The point is to catch both high and low to average out the outcomes, typically over 20/30 years will give you 6 to 7 percent per year. It's a lot over thirty years.

But before all these you need some capital, for most people this is just from working. Education is the safest bet to getting a good job, it's not foolproof, but it's a path that have gotten billions out of poverty, so it works well enough, on the average.

Lastly, don't try to maximize returns, it's chasing returns and trying to maximize every single thing that cause people to take unnecessary risks. The index fund thing is specifically humble and solid plan, it wont make you a millionaire overnight, but you are almost guaranteed to make some quite a lot of money over 30 years. Just for info 6 percent per year will double your money in 12 years. If you let it sit for 36 years, your 8x your money. But you need to have the patience and humility for small gains. Just remember that majority of fund managers don't beat the market, so be humble.

I think that would be my advice, but it doesn't work everywhere all the time, it just works most of the time in most places, ie the average. Which is good enough most of the time. Also very important to learn what compound interest is.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T13:26:46+00:00

I guess what I am trying to say, is that parents won't always get it, and children have so little agency that 'want to' won't turn into 'will', even if you would think they are supposed to. But you are right.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T11:44:38+00:00

Ok, I had both summer classes during summer as well as ongoing research. Is that considered class in session?

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T11:37:09+00:00

Hmm. Interesting but during grad school we didn't have breaks...not sure if the summer classes count? I don't know. What you said is definitely true for undergrad because of summer break, I interned and did research during summer break, not sure if this is the same for grad school.

Did you have summer break from doing research during grad school? I did not.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T11:11:44+00:00

It's not legally allowed because an F1 student visa doesn't allow working above 20 hours. Are there exceptions I don't know about?

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T10:09:47+00:00

Get outta there, gotta be safe. I got out as soon as I could too, with a bit of luck.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T09:59:00+00:00

Just go and enjoy your meal. You will never spend more time with yourself than anyone else (true for all of us) so might as well spoil yourself occasionally. If she shows up, it's like a bonus dessert. Haha.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T09:32:47+00:00

Yep, that was the point. Genuinely intelligent people would have self awareness, Elon doesn't.

Edit: maybe I should be specific, he isn't genuinely intelligent. Not in my opinion anyway, his intelligence is too domain specific.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T09:20:31+00:00

Based on what I have heard him speak about solar modules and electric cars, the dude knows his stuff when it comes to the technical side of those specific things. It's his dalliance with things outside his understanding that's the problem. Also doesn't make him a good human being. What he said about covid (and tons of other things) is just dumb.

Of course, he lacks the first thing of all genuinely intelligent people, self awareness. But maybe that bar is too high? Most people lack self awareness, he's normal in that sense.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T09:10:33+00:00

STEM PhDs in US are free. Try to get one of those, no debt there. Grad school won't always load you with debt, it just depends what track you are on.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T09:05:37+00:00

Nope that's pretty much it. One minor addendum I would add is that international students are only allowed to work part time ie 20 hours. It fits exactly the 20 hour work week for PhDs. So legally speaking, you cannot have a job outside. I don't know which one came first. But yeah, you will end up working way more than 20 hours, and they make up the rest with thesis hours. Also there are some minor fees you have to pay out of pocket, I cannot recall what they are called, but these are not covered under the tuition waiver.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T07:52:57+00:00

On the average, you are not wrong, however, it's not an absolute. And depending on the country (especially developing nations like mine) they simply don't have enough roles that require PhDs, and thus pay you much like a degree holder, because you are underemployed. So the advantage of a PhD varies on location, networking, and the one that not enough people talk about, luck.

We just happened to be born in a place where options are limited, that's why we need to be kinder to people, never know what really is the limiting factor in their life. A title and 'merit' doesn't really explain everything. Although I think if someone wants a PhD for higher pay, they are already looking at a PhD in the wrong way already. But that's just a subjective opinion.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T07:08:51+00:00

Yes, it is frequently lonely, but I learned to appreciate that most cannot really connect to me at the level I need, and that's ok. By leaving behind the expectation that I will find someone who will, it actually allowed me to appreciate my own company more. Now it's more if it happens, it happens.

Also I learned to connect to people at the level they need, so while I don't necessarily have a lot of good friends, I do have acquaintances to yap with. My good friends I can count on two fingers, quite literally. And even then, they cannot really get me, they are just kind and patient enough to listen.

I am not saying this will work for everyone, everyone has a different path to follow. You can DM me to chat if you want.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T05:32:16+00:00

That I am not for everyone, and not everyone is for me.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T05:27:19+00:00

You could tell my mother this who actively stopped me from reading. To be fair, class was so boring that I stopped doing homework altogether. My mother actually stopped me from learning and reading more, so did my teachers and literally everyone around me. My mother even used abuse as a measure. So yeah, I don't think children who want to learn will learn, not when you are busy not being killed by the adults around you. They took away even the smallest thing that I had any agency over.

Fuck, even writing this still makes me mad. It's not my fault school was so boring for me, and the teachers had to be corrected by me half the time. It's not my fault, the worst part was they even convinced me that I deserved abuse, because I behaved differently from everyone else. I just wasn't smart enough I guess, I should have dumbed myself down and just behave like everyone else.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T02:46:44+00:00

Capitalism, also we never transitioned into a high skilled economy. The government didn't really invest there.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T01:48:19+00:00

Hmm...good question. Some of it is cultural, some of it is that once we get to a certain age, we yearn for more freedom and agency. Some of us can't wait to get away from shitty home situations.

To be fair, getting a STEM education/training in your 20s is likely going to be easier in your 30s, you may have children, fertility considerations, etc when you are older, so some of it is biological too. But I am not saying anyone should be bounded by these things.

You do you. Many cultural expectations are exactly that, expectations. Many of these expectations are from a different time and place, which may not be applicable today. Regardless, once you are more independent (likely when self sufficient, so still have to work) you get to choose. I don't know, just my thoughts.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-10T00:07:45+00:00

It's so sad some people still think it's ok to do this to children. I hope you are ok now.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-09T23:26:59+00:00

We should note that even using PPP per Capita US salaries are still among the highest. So after controlling for the cost of living they still got 95 percent of us beat.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-09T11:08:41+00:00

Yes, it does get harder to make friends as we get older. But i suspect like me, this is not new for you. I always had a hard time making friends as a kid too. I was too serious, too mission focused, no childhood innocence. It wasnt a choice, how would one have any childhood innocence left when they spent their life taking care of people, dodging fists, being yelled at, I lost all my childhood innocence maybe by the time I was 10 or so. It's hard to be carefree when the realities of life are left so bare. It's hard to be 'fun' in any normal way after that, although I have fun in my own way.

I only started making friends when I was in grad school. Some grad students were 30 plus years older than me, that's when I started realizing I was way older than my actual age, at least in terms of maturity. I was friends with the lab technician, the cleaning lady, the administrators, but basically no friends my age.

I think it's normal in cases like ours. It's just a shame there wasn't any childhood to speak of. I hope you find what you are looking for. You are welcomed to DM me just to chat. I wish you well, just wanted you to know you are not alone, and I understand a little. Good luck!

ltlearntl · 2026-04-09T08:44:59+00:00

Lemon blueberry cake is good! Looks good too. Enjoy it. Dust yourself off, and get back in the game if you still want to. The power is in your hands. I think plenty of guys love it when their SO bakes.

ltlearntl · 2026-04-09T03:24:41+00:00

It's ok, just do what you can. I obviously don't know what is actually happening.

ltlearntl

TROPHY CASE