Right about now, thousands of kids around our nation are taking SAT exams and applying to college. Thousands more are doing neither, their eyes set on vocational schools or local community colleges. In both cases, I think students need to take a good look at themselves, what they want to do, and decide which path will best take them towards their goals.

When I look back at the last ten years, I’m amazed at the path my career has taken. I went to college because “that’s what you did after high school.” I graduated into a horrible tech job market, went into graduate school and I was able to secure a job in the defense industry working software projects a year later. Two companies and five years later, I find myself doing what I do now – personal finance blogging. Crazy huh? Very little that I did academically or professionally, in the last eight years, prepared me for what might eventually be the career that takes me into retirement.

If you want to do one thing to ensure your future success and happiness, it’s finding a career that’s right for you. Once you’ve decided on the career, knowing full well it could change a half dozen times before you get it right, the next step is to find the right school. After seeing this CNN Money piece on the most expensive colleges (Sarah Lawrence College is over $55,000 a year!), it should be clear that not everyone should be going to college… and that’s OK.

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These lists are fun to read but I never take them too seriously because how much someone is paid depends on so many factors, their alma mater included. That said, it’s still interesting to see who gets the top spots and this year the highest paid, as measured by both mid-career median salary and starting median salary, isn’t an Ivy League university and has an undergraduate enrollment of under 800.

1. Harvey Mudd College: Mid-career median salary of $126,000 and a starting median salary of $68,900. 757 undergraduate enrollment with a 2010-2011 tuition of over forty thousand dollars.
2. Princeton University: Mid-career median salary of $123,000, starting median salary of $58,900. Tuition of $36,640.
3. Dartmouth University: Mid-career median salary of $123,000, starting median salary of $54,100. Tuition of $40,437.
4. Harvard University: Mid-career median salary of $121,000, starting median salary of $57,300. Tuition of $38,416.
5. California Institute of Technology: Mid-career median salary of $120,000, starting median salary of $69,900. Tuition of $36,282.

Sixth through eighth were MIT, Stanford, and Colgate, in that order.

Colleges That Bring the Highest Paycheck 2011 [CNBC]

I’ve been fortunate that most of my local friends have not been affected by the economic downturn. I’m especially fortunate because I have not been affected by the economic downturn. While the companies we work at have downsized, for the most part, we’ve all escaped unscathed in what’s clearly the worse economic decline in our lifetime. It’s difficult to explain why we were so fortunate, many of my friends work in defense which is practically hallowed ground in times of war, but I saw a chart last week that might explain it:

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The Coverdell Education Savings Account, or Coverdell ESA, is the education version of a Roth IRA. You get to make annual non-deductible contributions, like a Roth IRA, and withdrawals are tax-free if you meet certain requirements. It’s a great benefit for many families because anytime you can have an investment grow tax free, you should try to find a way to take advantage of it.

The Coverdell ESA, once known as the Education IRA, is the only tax advantaged option for primary and secondary education. All other tax benefits apply strictly towards college and beyond. Unfortunately, there are some changes on the horizon for old Coverdell.
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When I was younger, the plan for my future was pretty straightforward. You go to high school to learn, get good grades, and get into a good college. You go to college to get good grades and then get a good job. After that, just circle the mouse wheel until retirement. OK, that last part about the wheel was my own addition but that basically was my “job” as a kid. That plan worked for me and it’s the path many people have walked with great success, but it’s not the only path.

With the government looking at additional regulation on the for-profit colleges, I started to wonder again whether college is “worth it.” In general, it is. However, recently with all these for-profit schools, a lot of people are going to college unnecessarily. They’re being promised things that the schools can’t deliver. They’re being sold something they don’t need, depending on what they want to do, and they’re only buying it because we’ve put “college” on a pedestal. In this Devil’s Advocate post, I explain why you might want to skip college.

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My wife started her first semester of classes this fall on her way towards a Ph.D. One of the best things about a Ph.D., besides the degree, is that candidates are paid to go to school. The salary isn’t something you can retire on but with the cost of education, anytime you can get college education for free (or less than free, in this case!), you jump on it.

With the start of classes comes the need for college textbooks. As I remembered years ago, college textbooks are not cheap. In fact, the prices seems exorbitant to me but that’s what happens when there’s a small market forced into buying a product. Fortunately, there are some techniques you can use to defray the costs.

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I remember the first day I set foot at college, it was a mixture of excitement and fear at the prospect of being on my own. I arrived in Pittsburgh, PA a few days early and had the opportunity to wander around an empty campus. Carnegie Mellon University, especially in 1998, wasn’t a large campus, you could walk from one end of the campus to the other in less than twenty minutes, but it was still intimidating. After five years, a few degrees, and a great experience, I departed for the “real world.”

One thing I wish I had when I started college was a list of things I had to do for my finances like I did for my academics. College is where you set many of your life’s foundations. Whether it’s spiritual, physical, academic, or financial, your foundations are laid in your youth but set when you’re in college. I was fortunate enough not to make too many missteps and managed well enough, but I wish I had a list… so I wrote one, I hope it can help you whether you’re starting college or just starting over. I hope it helps. (and it sure beats reading another list of best paying careers!)

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Jim has covered the fundamentals and offered great tips on what to do before you start working after college. I figured I would chime in with my thoughts on how college students can get ahead of their peers by the time graduation day rolls around.

This is not textbook theory; I have used these tips myself. These are also not tips that only college students can use, just ideas for how to get ahead of the pack. Finally, you can use this advice at any time in your college career, from 1st year to 4th year (or even 6th! nothing wrong with switching majors).

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