What is a career that will be beneficial for me after college in terms of salary and also a career that will not die out?

You have a good number of interests, and that is great. As a serial entrepreneur, security specialist, and student of human nature, it makes sense that a person have a number of interests. I have personally done well in the IT security field(s) and security is a very stable field with lots of openings for competent workers. I chose security because I am interested in how things work on many levels. There are lots of different ways to apportion the work, but here is one way:

Network Security Architects create the safest, and most defended network plans that they can.
Security Incident Response Specialists are playing a real-life game against unknown attackers where they succeed most of the time, even though the odds are stacked against them.

Vulnerability and Risk Management Specialists weigh the costs of safety against the costs of having your network breached.
Security Engineers work with business owners to help them keep new network projects as secure as possible.
Secure code auditors put code through its paces to see if they can find the holes, and errors that will make the code vulnerable to attacks.
Application Security Specialists test code in production to see if it can be breached by Internet methods like buffer overflows or SQL injection.
Network Penetration Testers attack their networks to make them stronger. Since a criminal cracker has only to find one weakness in your network, the penetration testers have to be tremendously creative in their own efforts to attack the network.
Governance and Compliance Experts help create a safe network by making sure there are no policies or procedures that make an attack easier by enshrining poor practice in the company.
Security Operations Specialists maintain the routers and firewalls to block unwanted traffic.

I have done all of these roles to some extent, and have found them all fascinating. You get to use networking skills, puzzle-solving skills, coding skills, communications skills, and even artistic skills.

I agree with all previous answers, but ultimately you need to set your goals higher then salary and longevity. You need to choose a path that's right for you to bring you not just money but also happiness. There's no point in having money if how you're making is making you miserable.
Try figuring out what stirs your passions.... not always an easy task, but if you're able to work in something that keeps you interested and happy you'll be working and happy for a very long time!
Very best of luck in whatever you do!

Having good software engineering skills along with a solid understanding of some subjects in basic math or physics (statistics, calculus, linear algebra, and/or Newtonian mechanics) should be very useful. E.g. right now "data scientists" are in high demand.

Also consider following a User Experience path. I recently heard that UX Designers / Leads are making $250k / year at places like Netflix. Obviously not right out of college, but as a position to aspire to.

Reminder: Money isn't everything! Research shows that after you make about $70k / year (adjusted for local cost of living) your happiness doesn't really increase. Find something that you are interested in and you think would keep you interested for years. Something with lots of future learning and challenges. That's the way to true "riches."

Software Engineering, Communications and Robotics... It's completely taking over the world. The Internet Of Things.

I will also agree that software engineering is still a growing field. Few things in today's market do not involve software engineering. The pay is really good, and there is little chance the field will die off any time soon.

These are a few high paying careers that I believe will continue to be in high demand in the coming years:

• Developer (computer science)


• Data Scientist (statistics)


• Consultant (economics, math, other)

More importantly, find something that you enjoy. If you are very good, then you will be in demand (longevity). If you enjoy it, you will be very good at it. If you are very good at it, it might be possible to be paid well. This will be an easier goal to meet if you happen to choose a career that is in demand (such as one of the ones from my list above). I also think you will find that being in a job that you hate, even if it pays well, can become very difficult to bear, so find your passion.

I would first look through the Occupational Outlook Handbook which is put out by the government and summarizes many popular jobs. Most fields dealing with computers is hot now. However, trends change and you need to be aware of that. Game design would be more difficult to enter than general IT, but if you have the talent then go for it. Try to find a job you enjoy and then the money will come with it.

If you are interested in making games, I can assure it is a worthwhile and in-demand career and will be for a long time to come. I have worked in the industry for the past 35+ years. There are up and down periods like anything, and constant challenges (new platforms, computer languages, and game engines to learn), but I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

If you're serious about becoming a game developer google my name and contact me via email and we'll set up a time to talk on phone or Skype.

John,

I think you should first ask yourself what fields you think you would enjoy working in the most. Making a lot of money is nice, but if you don't enjoy what you're doing, money alone will not make you happy. Let me know what fields of work you think you would like the most and I can offer you some potential opportunities.