RE: a serous question
30K a year straight out of college is low-balling it, dude 30k isn’t squat with housing nationwide averaging over 170K, here you can’t touch a condo for less than 370K. 45K a year minimum. As far as career choices is all in what you want. Are you simple about cash? Fields like aeronautical engineering have huge potential for money but you'll be worrying about weather or not you have a job every 5-10 years. If that what you want to do that then take every math class you can squeeze in. you should be through calc 1 with a b+ in high school or at least through pre calc ready to take calc your first semester in college.
If your worried more about security then look to working for municipalities say civil engineering, designing airports?
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Any technician position should earn you 30+k easy. At our plant we have 3 EMT position starting at 22 an hour 45K. Personally I never considered being a wastewater operator as a kid. But once I’ve seen the career potential I was there. I started at 35K a year no college degree. While working for a municipality they paid for my college and now have an AS in electronic and now working on a BS in Water science and working on my grade 4 state exam. Since I work nights allot I get to study all night on the job, it’s cake and it’s great. When I’m done I’ll be first in line for the superintendent position making 90K which would set me in a position to get into division management making well over 100K. Our current city admin started were I’m at and is now pulling over 180K
Same with my brother. He started digging trenches for verizon and worked his way to lineman. Verizon pay for his school and now he’s got his BS in communications now running the DSL switches making over 80K a year.
You either just bit the big one and go for broke going for your degree or work and earn it at the same time or join the military