What field of work should I go into?

Since I don’t really know you, I can’t offer any specific advice other than make sure you enjoy what you finally end up doing and that you can be passionate about it.

Between my break in service between the Army and the Air Force, I worked a few odd jobs that I didn’t really like and I was miserable for the most part when I did them. Do something that you’re going to love because it really does make a significant difference. Best of luck to you in your pursuits.

Well, I don’t want to offend fellow flutherites needlessly, but to me the outstanding distinction between those choices is that structural engineering deals with something that’s real. Nothing is real in advertising.

In any field, creative thinking is going to be an asset in some ways and a drawback in others. (As someone wisely said, they tell you to think outside the box, but the pay is inside the box.) However, some professions are definitely more creative than others.

I don’t know how close you are to completing your education, but you might want to do some research and think hard about what things are going to be like when you are ready to enter the job market. How will the nature of advertising change when companies have to be more frugal with their expenditures? Nobody really knows how to measure the effect of advertising; they just know that you sell more when you advertise than when you don’t. When everyone is watching pennies, will advertising dollars be trimmed significantly, or will companies push even harder for the consumer and corporate dollars that are out there for harvesting?

Which field is more likely to survive layoffs and cutbacks in spending?

At the same time, you may want to ask how much new construction there is going to be for the next while. However, things will settle down after a bit, and you have to think more than a few years ahead.

One other point: if you can find a way to combine talents and interests, you may find yourself possessing a unique and highly marketable combination. I don’t know what happens at the point where structural engineering and advertising meet (if they ever do), but it might be interesting to locate that point and see what’s there.

And finally, you might want to look at fields that are considered recession-proof. Health care, for example, is still solid.

Maybe by the time you get out of school all this Sturm und Drang will be past. But I, for one, don’t believe we’ll ever go back to the way we were, for the same reason that you can’t un-lose your virginity.

@Jeruba Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question. (Lurve to you)
Just fyi, I’m a freshman in high school.

@bluefreedom Thank you. And thank you for all that you have done to protect this country.

@Elumas. You’re very welcome and with you being a freshman in high school, you have a lot of time yet to think over what direction you want to take regarding a career. Jeruba offered a very nice answer and she gave very sage advice I believe.

@Elumas Maybe you should be an architect. Math and creativity! Though, as Jeruba pointed out, new building will be down for a while at least.

Thank you, @Elumas. (And thanks, @Bluefreedom and @augustlan, for your kind comments.) Long before you are out of school, things will have changed and moved very far in some direction from where they are now. Given how early it is for you, I would say focus on what you love the most and do the best at, but keep one eye on the weather vane.

I think it would be better for you to go for a job in structural engineering, as it will pay you well. The only thing you need to have is good grades and you would be into it

As for pure creativity, it has a lot of competition and you would have to work hard to prove yourself

Either way, if you are equally good at both of these:

You career choice should =( pay you well)+ (give you job satisfaction)

think of both of these elements and choose. All the best

It’s hardly worth thinking about a career now, unless there is something that drives you so hard, it’s all you can think about.

As Jeruba says, by the time you are out of college, things will have changed. You will have probably had several different interests between now and then, as you get exposed to different things. Also, most plans about careers are kind of a waste of time, because events take you somewhere other than you thought you were going. You have no idea where you will be in eight years. Just follow your interests until then.

Is there a way to get your feet wet into advertising right now, I imagine you could use those talents now and see if that is what you really want to pursue.

I wouldn’t normally say go for advertising, because it doesn’t seem safe, but I was flipping channels the other day and Oprah had the CEO of zappos.com on and he’s very young and doing what he loves and his company is worth millions. You might try to find a copy of that interview, his salary is only 35,000 as the CEO, but he loves what he does. He says the money will come if you are passionate about something, maybe not always true, but at least you will enjoy what you are doing.

Anyway, good luck and who knows what you will think in 4 years, but good that you are thinking about it!

Get a CAD program and you will be able to spend some time now learning about the fundamentals.
From there, you can go in either direction and you will begin to learn skills necessary to start building out your portfolio.

Having dabbled in both, I’d say go for engineering. There are few things more satisfying than walking through a building that you have designed. And, it will pay the bills. Architecture and engineering have their economic ups and downs, but those cycles happen in just about any profession. Trust me, when economic times get tough, it is the marketing budget that gets cut first.