Pharma is huge where I'm at, so I hear ya. It's disgusting how much the execs and sales people get paid, and generally most of the people in the industry aren't very intelligent.

Back on topic, I started saving for the FR-S a few months ago and I should have enough to say for at least half of it in cash. I would like to see if I can get a good down payment before I take out a loan, if I have to.

That does make me feel a little better. Do you have a job that pays decent? As for the percentages, I am aware but that's all part of the business. Marketing is the key to getting the drugs to the public so I understand why it's such a large portion.

Still in medical school. After residency I shouldn't have a hard time finding a job. If I do, then things here would be so bad it wouldn't matter. I would have my zombie gear ready at that point. But once I get a real job I plan to pay off my loans in 3-4 years.

I have my zombie gear ready too. Its going to happen! DON'T DENY IT! lol

Also.. this thread is now about how screwed everyone going into/already in med school financially is. Lol..

*sigh* :(

^ i think we have a better chance of financial survival by just playing the lottery. -__-* lol

Haha, isn't it funny how that happens. And tranzformer, good freakin luck. People don't become doctors for the money anymore, it doesn't pay as well as it used to and the loans are insane but I commend you, we need more people who do it for the passion.

On a side note I just got off a phone interview with the people I worked for at my internship, a whopping $18-$20 an hour as a 2-year temp, no benefits, no paid time off, I love my life! lol

I also get "writer's block" when I code but the syntax could come quicker if you're forced to do it regularly for a class or a job.

My buddy was a math major and now he works for a Disney computer animation studio and I think he has to code. I imagine companies like NASA are big on math majors. Could you enlighten me on what other job ops there are for a Math undergrad? I would think it's a starting point to transition into something like a MS or PhD or going into science or engineering. I commend you for sticking with you passion in Math. In hindsight, I liked math/physics out of high school and should have just majored in that. Instead I figured to pick engineering and put all my eggs in the Electrical Engineering basket... now my career path is somewhat limited to that discipline so I'm trying to find one that sticks and learn to love it along the way.

It's good to familiarize yourself in CS to give yourself more opportunities but don't get tempted to chase it for the money... you may be making good dough but if you don't like it you may still be unhappy. What's great about your major - it's very portable. A solid math foundation gives you breadth and freedom to explore any science/engineering role. But you don't seem interested in practical applications haha. You still got time before you graduate... I'm curious do you have an idea what you might want to get into after college?

Serialk11r, if you are serious in math study as your career, you got to learn how to write code, C++ or Java or whatever. From what I know people with a math degree have two career paths: becomes a professor/researcher in academic world or do serious programming and analytical math in stock trading, and either way, you need computer language programming skill to do your calculation. In addition, see if you can learn Matlab or MathCAD for mathematical calculation in your studies.

Actually, doing programming for math purpose is not that hard. You just need to know the basic of programming: just like writing a text, declare your variables (ideas) and use them to compute something and display your results. Nothing fancy.

^+1 on the MATLAB!

Amazing what applications that simple little tool can be used for.

Yeah another +1 for Matlab.

I guess I sort of lucky/got in early since I work in the software field at Qualcomm, which also deals primarily with Perl and Matlab scripting. I got my BSEE from a 3 yr trade school and found that majority of the people who work here was due to knowledge but more through networking. I've interned at SPAWAR and Solar Turbines, worked at HP and now Qualcomm. I have a couple of buddies who left to go work at Google and Apple and even extended their word of mouth since the test development is very similar.

Though this might sound weird, going for your MS in either a CS or EE major might not give you that much of an advantage.

Yea, math basically you either:
1. Get your PhD
2. Go into another science
3. Go do trading on Wall Street (I guess there are firms that are not in New York though), which requires you to be able to code proficiently. (this can happen after options 1 or 2 though lol)

I know how to program somewhat, I just never do so I probably should do some a bit more. Matlab/Mathematica is powerful, but I've never really had to use a tool like that so I never really learned how... Most of math doesn't deal with...numbers...so programming a computer to do computations in a general context is quite a task, I know some mathematicians utilize this more than others (computer case checking for certain things comes to mind).

Great thing about math is it's the best way to develop general problem solving skills and organized thinking, makes picking up other stuff a ton easier. Having no life in high school sure did help in some way :P

Oh and RRnold I think you're right, at least for CS I get the same impression. Great thing about CS is they're willing to hire college graduates, you can make good stable money right out of college.

Qualcomm... do they do a 10% reduction of force every year? I'm wondering because I once worked for a comparably sized corporation (Cisco) that practices that. I'm hesitant to join a large corporation again... I figure fighting through the struggle that smaller companies face would be good for me before I try to come back.

You're right about the networking - helped me to some extent but raw knowledge, a polished resume, and people skills are also key to landing the job.

If you are fresh out of college with an MS, you may face tough competition against MS holders who will likely have years of industry experience. But in my job search during this recession, most tech companies want MSEE/MSCS holders. When I worked for Cisco, most of the new hires alongside me held an MS with only college internship experience and about 5% (including me) were BS holders.

I hear folks here talk about it all the time. One example is one guy with an undergrad from Waterloo and another guy who was a grad student from UCSD and are essentially doing the same thing.

Qualcomm has been stable enough to not force any layoffs. During the start of the economic tumble, in '08, they had review and bonus cuts and redutions on certain expenses but thats about it. They canceled one division but managed to moved those employees to other divisions.

Cisco has a lot more employees than Qualcomm. We only have 16K employees compared to 70K @ Cisco so that is probably why it didn't hit as hard as Cisco did. Even at 16K, it still has that big corporate structure.

You're also absolutely right about all of the other requirments and networking plays its role. Oh for sure I believe having an MS will work to your advantage for the tech companies but since this field is so dynamic, the focus is more on how much experience and how much it is catered to that particular position you are applying for.

lol i came in here looking to see what everyone thought of financing their car purchase and have now come out seeing that I don't even think any of you can afford it with all this school debt

There should just be no subject title and thus we can never go off topic