Best Undergraduate Degrees by Salary

It's important to have a roadmap of how your efforts will be rewarded. This link below shows the Best Undergraduate Degrees by salary.

While money is not everything, it is an important part of any college student to know he or she is not studying to be in poverty. Don't let the word "engineering" throw you off...if you're half as smart and grew up in Jamaica, you can be an engineer.

See link for list: http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp

The top 10 are:

Best Undergrad College Degrees By Salary	Starting Median Salary	Mid-Career Median Salary
Aerospace Engineering	$59,600	$109,000
Chemical Engineering	$65,700	$107,000
Computer Engineering	$61,700	$105,000
Electrical Engineering	$60,200	$102,000
Economics	$50,200	$101,000
Physics	$51,100	$98,800
Mechanical Engineering	$58,900	$98,300
Computer Science	$56,400	$97,400
Industrial Engineering	$57,100	$95,000
Environmental Engineering	$53,400	$94,500

The BOTTOM 10 are:

Religious Studies	$35,300	$57,500
Drama	$35,600	$56,600
Fine Arts	$35,800	$56,300
Hospitality and Tourism	$37,000	$54,300
Education	$36,200	$54,100
Horticulture	$37,200	$53,400
Spanish	$35,600	$52,600
Music	$34,000	$52,000
Theology	$34,800	$51,500
Elementary Education	$33,000	$42,400
Social Work	$33,400	$41,600

The 7 Baby Steps to Wealth (first 1 to 3)

I like to share the 7 Baby Steps to Wealth:

1. Save a mini-emergency fund of $1000.
This money is for the true emergency -- doctor, unplanned car repair, sudden insurance dues, etc -- it is not emergency pizza money or vacation money or shopping money. This money is your buffer against Murphy's Law.

2. Pay off debt. Better yet, do NOT even use credit cards or get into debt as a "smart financial tool".

Debt is the BIGGEST mistake of financial life, even if it's just $100 or $500, especially credit card debt. It becomes addictive and a quick solution to everything. I advise you to pay CASH for everything. How? By saving for things. When you use credit cards, you will overspend because you don't feel the pain of giving out money. Instead of a $10 lunch, you will charge a $25 lunch with a big tip on a credit card. So avoid using credit cards -- instead use CASH or at least, debit cards.

Example: Mozart as you know, was one of the best and famous composers, a child prodigy from age 4. But, did you know he lived a miserable life of constant debt? Why? He was ignorant in the ways of money, and had a habit of trying to impress his peers with his spending. He died at 35. Do NOT follow his example. Intelligence and child prodigy does not mean financial smarts sometimes.

3. Create a 3 to 6 months of expenses savings. This is the full-sized emergency fund to replace Step 1. I realize if you are someone in college, you don't have much expenses regularly. This is the BEST time to start this habit. If you spend on movies and food and clothes, your monthly usage is very low, so create a 3 month spending cushion.

If you are starting your career, begin this lifelong habit. Company firings / layoffs are getting more common. By the time you have a family, this is a MUST-DO. You will have your spouse or your kids depending on you and this 3 to 6 month emergency money to live on.

(AGAIN, this is not your vacation money or shopping money - be sure to save it in a CDs or hard-to-get place.)

So I have share steps 1 to 3. I will add steps 4 to 7 next. Within these 7 steps will be the paths to the other financial tools needed...like insurance, investments, etc..

For now, let's keep it simple.

Each step must be completed, before you can graduate to the next step. Do #1, then #2. You cannot do these steps in parallel.

Be well and prosper!

In the beginning...

In the beginning, my goal for this blog is to HELP you become the best version of yourself as you grow. In all areas of your life - professionally, financially and personally - the best of what you can be.

How? By sharing my life experiences, my knowledge, and my hard-earned wisdom (learned from my personal mistakes ) and what I have learned and read from others -- so that you, my family and my friends can benefit in your own life, and accomplish even more things.

My other wish to make this fun reading for you. I am grouping my personal notes into 4 categories:

1. Wealth - sharing tips and information that allow you to create and enjoy a wealthy life - including one of financial peace and success.

2. Health - sharing what I see has worked and not worked. The focus is on healthy actions and principles from simple things to overall big picture things.

3. Wisdom - this is a challenging category where I hope to share wisdow I have learned or guided me.

4. Fun - While each generation will claim to be hold the best parties or legal vices, that is not my area. My goal is to share the timeless things such as travel, food, and other topics that makes life fun.

I hope to include in my notes and words of wisdom include full use of media like video and voice. I want to share with you as much as I can, so you may have the BEST of wealth, health, wisdom and fun in your life!

So let's begin...