Your college major matters
In most cases, it can have an influence but doesn’t necessarily determine your career path in life. Sure, a few degrees will have a tremendous impact, like a degree in law or medicine. However, majoring in engineering doesn’t guarantee a larger paycheck or more successful career than majoring in accounting. On the other hand, it would be much harder to major in philosophy and expect the same amount of money as an engineer—but still entirely possible. In the end, it all depends on your company’s core business. The core business is what you would ideally have a degree in. I don’t care much for those average salary charts by major. I know plenty of people whose salaries don’t fit into those buckets. For instance, I hang out with several liberal arts majors who are in their early thirties and make six figures a year. I also work at an engineering company—where many of the engineers don’t make six figures.

You should work for a big, successful company
At a large corporation, you’re basically a number. There are a lot of other people just like you. The odds are, you will not rise to an executive position—it’s simply a numbers game. Also, many large corporations have already experienced their peak years of growth. Growth is really the critical factor here. You want to work for a growing company, no matter its size. Working for a large corporation is safer, but you will make sacrifices in the area of promotions and work experience. You will have higher risk with a smaller company, but a much bigger potential for a large payout. It really depends on what you’re comfortable with. I’ve worked for some giant corporations and I was never really happy with any of them. You have to figure out what’s right for you.

Everybody knows the economy is in the crapper. As it relates to Corporate America, you can expect layoffs, and for those who aren’t laid off, you can expect smaller bonuses and salary increases for the New Year (if you get one at all). Most families are cutting back and hoping for a better tomorrow. However, when it comes to our national economic policy, we’re doing the opposite. We’re spending trillions (the Fed won’t even state where the money is going) like there’s no tomorrow. Sure, it might create a quicker turnaround, but at what cost?

As consumers, we have to ask ourselves if we really need that new car right now, but this is the opposite of our national fiscal policy. We’re spending irrationally to save the very companies who broke the system. This is somewhat ludicrous in my opinion. The money isn’t going to the families that need it, it’s going to corporations who have a proven track record of greed and mismanagement. The few individuals who are getting help are the very people who bought too much house out of greed—how does this make any sense?

Last week I was in a meeting giving a project proposal. One of the bosses, who seriously outranks me, made a suggestion that he thought would be an improvement. Several suggestions had been given to that point, and I thought all of them were very good; however, the suggestion by this boss wasn’t going to benefit anyone. At first, I made it a point to review the data—which I thought would help to dissuade him. It didn’t.

I was now faced with a real problem. I could have vehemently argued my position, but I could tell he wasn’t going to budge. I then quickly did a cost-benefit analysis of what he wanted me to do. In the end, it didn’t result in more work on my part, but it would make the project a little more difficult without adding any real benefit. I decided to agree and stated that I would implement the change.

We just hired several new employees, to replace ones that were let go, and I have to say that I’m not feeling the love. I get along with most everyone in my department—the exception being two people that are relatively new. I have been in this situation before, and I don’t plan on making the same mistakes I did the first time.

The first time this happened to me, I ended up losing my cool and said things that made it awkward in the workplace from then on (this was at another company). I didn’t use foul language, or say anything that violated company policy—it was actually pretty tame, but I definitely lost my normal composure. The bosses did absolutely nothing to rectify the situation. Most bosses don’t want to interfere unless they have to; they don’t like dealing with conflict. This time around, I’m not going to say anything. I plan on just grinning and bearing it.

I recently went out to dinner with a former colleague who now works at another company. I was, of course, very interested to hear what he had to say about his new work environment. He is employed by another Fortune 500 and has only worked for them for a couple of months.

I should also mention that this colleague is very ambitious, although I don’t really know very many people who would turn down a promotion. He is definitely working to make as much money as possible. One of the more interesting points of our conversation centered around his belief that many of his new co-workers were fairly complacent with their position within the company, thereby creating more opportunity for a go-getter like himself.