Quote from Lucias:
My sister is a lawyer and she graduated a few years ago. Many in her class didn't get a job. She doesn't make a ton yet. But the big difference with a lawyer is that the top level pay is very high. Law school is actually a pretty good value. In my opinion, it requires a lot less work/time then medical school and has a very high top-end pay.
As I tried to point out, when any profession pays a huge amount more then others then what tends to happen is an over supply of workers comes on the market. So, you can't just look at what pays a lot and expect to make that.
Sells is probably the easiest job to get into that has the potential to pay large figures at top level. I like jobs that can't be outsourced. Technology has even hit the legal field though. A lot of that work is being outsourced and computer technology has, also, reduced the number of lawyers needed.
So, technology is affecting all fields. Doctors probably less so but some people are flying to India to have some operations done. The problem right now is that the corporations have managed to profit form this asymmetrical development more then the people have.
As for what I'd recommend, tough to say. Chemistry looked like a good technology alternative. But, much of that work has went to China. In general, I like a good solid base pay with a high/unlimited top ceiling. Trading offers that. Accounting is outsourced but seems to be pretty stable.
Becoming an investment adviser is a though, that's basically another sales job and you have rich clients by default which is a win-win situation. I can imagine a large contraction in all banking sector jobs though.
I like small business right now and service oriented sector. One reason I like services is that they can't be outsourced. You can't outsource certain services. I expect services to become a larger sector of the economy. However, it is rather hard for investors to monetize on this trend and if it develops in a big way then the stock market and other global business could be in for a world of hurt.
I'm not enthusiastic about the social media craze. I'm bearish on cell phones too. I'm neutral to bullish on tablets. I'm bullish on mass transportation. I'm relatively bullish on small service oriented business. I'm bearish on all banking related.