Managing Future Income Risk

Going into college, I did not think about minimizing my own future income risk because, let’s face it, I was young. But my parents, on the other hand, definitely had that on their minds: they completely covered the cost of my college education so that I would be debt free upon graduation. Given that I’m an out-of-state student, that is no small cost. With the same thoughts toward my future, my parents suggested I major in electrical engineering, where the technical skills and know-how I would learn would make it very easy to find good employment. Even though I had my reservations, I agreed, knowing that they were right (as usual). I was semi-interested in technology to begin with so I thought electrical engineering might work out for me. But even though I was a fine student, my interest waned as I had to trudge through the basic courses where it’s rote learning and memorization. Even though we had labs, they weren’t very hands on, or interesting to be frank. So I decided to switch into economics, where I have greater passion for my studies and academics. Previously, I’ve interned at a large financial corporation with the hopes of possibly working there in the future. I’ve also founded and led the Illini Investment Group as an extracurricular activity. I’ve done these activities all with the hopes of them correlating directly into the job market or, alternatively, graduate school. I know that a career in economics, either through employment or graduate school will offer me two good paths toward decreasing and better managing future income risk. In a similar vein, even though I do not have an older sibling, my older cousin is in medical school and he does have an interest in medicine, yes, but it was also done with an eye towards a successful career and decreasing future income risk.