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callmemike20

callmemike20

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 21, 2007
856
11
USA
I'm in my last semester of college. I'm studying. I'm looking for jobs. But...

I'm bored.

I am looking for something fun to learn that would benefit me. I am getting a degree in finance, so my mind is always thinking about business. I read the WSJ every morning. I watch a few stocks. I watch the news all the time. I just need something new to learn because I don't feel like I'm learning anymore, but simply gathering knowledge.

Here is my list (incomplete):
-Learn to build things: Can't do this since I'm in an apartment.
-Learn to program: C++ or Java, or VBA in excel.
-Learn to golf

Give me some ideas. If you recently learned something new, share it.
 
I'm always teaching myself something new in my freetime and through all the things I've learned, the most rewarding things I've learned have been the things I've learned for me as a person, the more intimate the better.

Learn to Cook
Healthy. Delicious. Chicks dig it.

Learn about Health
Live happier. Live longer. Live healthier.

And my personal favorite:

Learn to be a Better Person
Some of the most educated people I know would benefit from this more than any other thing. Our happiness and the happiness of those around us depends on it. It is vital for success and realizing our potential. Anyone who really reflects on people they meet will find that most almost never accept accountability for their actions or their mistakes; that they rarely make any worthwhile to improve themselves as a human being.

A great start:
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
 
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There are so many cool things to learn and so little time to do so once your "in the real world" and working. Chances are you will have some down time between graduation and finding that first real job, so this is a great time to learn something new.

Photography: Learn to take better pictures. Over the past two years I've slowly been improving my photography skills and learning about what makes a better photo (composition, exposure, etc). Its VERY rewarding, though can be expensive.

Cooking: Someone already mentioned it but I'll reiterate it because by learning how to cook well, you can save money and eat better.

Language: Why not pick up a new language ? These days it is common to interact with people from a foreign country during the course of your work day. Pick a language and try and work on learning it, and about the culture of that country.
 
glocke12 said:
There are so many cool things to learn and so little time to do so once your "in the real world" and working. Chances are you will have some down time between graduation and finding that first real job, so this is a great time to learn something new.

Photography: Learn to take better pictures. Over the past two years I've slowly been improving my photography skills and learning about what makes a better photo (composition, exposure, etc). Its VERY rewarding, though can be expensive.

Cooking: Someone already mentioned it but I'll reiterate it because by learning how to cook well, you can save money and eat better.

Language: Why not pick up a new language ? These days it is common to interact with people from a foreign country during the course of your work day. Pick a language and try and work on learning it, and about the culture of that country.
Click to expand...

Photography sounds like a good idea, but as you said, it's a lot of money. I think I'll just stick with teaching myself how to program for now as it will be the most beneficial for me. I already cook for myself, so learning to cook has been a slow learning experience for me.
 
If you want to be able to do amazing things and blow people away, learn VBA in excel. I would imagine that with a finance degree you will spend quite some time using Excel.

It's incredibly useful to me to be able to write some powerful macros within excel.
 
If you like finance and/or accounting and you have a career in it that spans a lot of years, you may down the line find you need something physical to burn calories.

Take up swimming, surfing, running or something that is so different than crunching numbers in an office or cubicle. You will be very glad you did.

When I got into a low physical activity job, one person who was in the field for years suggested I take to a physical hobby and that has been the best advice ever.
 
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63dot said:
If you like finance and/or accounting and you have a career in it that spans a lot of years, you may down the line find you need something physical to burn calories.

Take up swimming, surfing, running or something that is so different than crunching numbers in an office or cubicle. You will be very glad you did.

When I got into a low physical activity job, one person who was in the field for years suggested I take to a physical hobby and that has been the best advice ever.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea. I was going to start working out soon. Well, just running for a bit to lose a few pounds.
 
i am trying to make an effort to learn one skill and only read the related books for a period of time.
Now ,i m learn the php.
 
callmemike20 said:
I hated Plato the 1st time, 2nd time, and third time. Never going back to that. I'm a numbers guy, but I do enjoy a non-fiction book every so often.
Click to expand...

I knew a guy who took to being a financial planner right after college and he had a job that was pretty much only in the office at the desk and on the phone a lot. Not only did he get out of shape, he threw his posture off sitting in a bad position and this was before the age of computers in the workplace. I could only imagine how much worse it has become with things like desktop computers and laptops.

I had known him since he was 11 and he was always a very serious athlete first and then anything else second. But now in his mid-20s, he had already lost his athletic ability as well as wrecking his back. Sitting at a desk, which isn't a natural thing to do for the human body 40 hours a week, can turn a good athletic body into being soft and prone to injuries. He made good money compared to what he had before college as a high school kid, but he sacrificed a healthy lifestyle he once had into becoming a former athlete who was at best a full time desk jockey. What he had done, sadly, was trade a balanced lifestyle of being a high school and college student who took time out for physical activity into being just another out of shape office worker.

It was rather easy for him to get into this rut. While a student, his work was doing homework and his fun was playing vigorous sports. Neither activity paid him any money so they were of equal importance on his daily routine. But when he got his degree and went into the work world, only being at a desk in a suit and tie paid him anything, and since he never got paid for sports, he abruptly dropped them. What happened is that where he could have used his time off to exercise, he went to social events with clients which at most included lifting a fork up to his mouth and drinking some form of alcoholic beverage. What he gained was more money and more clients, but what he had lost was his health. He could always get more money and clients later, but once you lose your health/body, it's hard or impossible to get that back.

I don't mean to scare you, but long term it's what I have seen with virtually all my white collar friends after high school and college. During the ten and twenty year reunions, it's always easy to spot people who work at a desk and fail to get exercise. You won't get out of shape at a desk in six months to the point the people you were raised with won't recognize you, but after twenty years of riding a desk for a good paycheck, you will have more money but end up looking or morphing like, well, Alec Baldwin. ;)
 
63dot said:
I knew a guy who took to being a financial planner right after college and he had a job that was pretty much only in the office at the desk and on the phone a lot. Not only did he get out of shape, he threw his posture off sitting in a bad position and this was before the age of computers in the workplace. I could only imagine how much worse it has become with things like desktop computers and laptops.

I had known him since he was 11 and he was always a very serious athlete first and then anything else second. But now in his mid-20s, he had already lost his athletic ability as well as wrecking his back. Sitting at a desk, which isn't a natural thing to do for the human body 40 hours a week, can turn a good athletic body into being soft and prone to injuries. He made good money compared to what he had before college as a high school kid, but he sacrificed a healthy lifestyle he once had into becoming a former athlete who was at best a full time desk jockey. What he had done, sadly, was trade a balanced lifestyle of being a high school and college student who took time out for physical activity into being just another out of shape office worker.

It was rather easy for him to get into this rut. While a student, his work was doing homework and his fun was playing vigorous sports. Neither activity paid him any money so they were of equal importance on his daily routine. But when he got his degree and went into the work world, only being at a desk in a suit and tie paid him anything, and since he never got paid for sports, he abruptly dropped them. What happened is that where he could have used his time off to exercise, he went to social events with clients which at most included lifting a fork up to his mouth and drinking some form of alcoholic beverage. What he gained was more money and more clients, but what he had lost was his health. He could always get more money and clients later, but once you lose your health/body, it's hard or impossible to get that back.

I don't mean to scare you, but long term it's what I have seen with virtually all my white collar friends after high school and college. During the ten and twenty year reunions, it's always easy to spot people who work at a desk and fail to get exercise. You won't get out of shape at a desk in six months to the point the people you were raised with won't recognize you, but after twenty years of riding a desk for a good paycheck, you will have more money but end up looking or morphing like, well, Alec Baldwin. ;)
Click to expand...

Now is not the time for a career change. There aren't many high paying blue collar jobs anyway. But I see your point.
 
callmemike20 said:
Now is not the time for a career change. There aren't many high paying blue collar jobs anyway. But I see your point.
Click to expand...

It's OK to have a desk job, it's just that you have to go out and make an effort to get phsical exercise, preferably outdoors if possible. In worst case weather scenarios, a gym is OK, but the contrast of going outdoors and exercising against an office keeps your body sharp.

A trap many others fall into is working at the office all day only to come home to a high calorie dinner, prime time TV, and then sleep. Even 20 minutes of aerobic workout is far better than none. I know, it's easier said than done and it's akin to getting into a habit of eating vegetables and fruits often or to floss every day.

You can use all the number crunching to keep your mind sharp while at work. :)
 
63dot said:
It's OK to have a desk job, it's just that you have to go out and make an effort to get phsical exercise, preferably outdoors if possible. In worst case weather scenarios, a gym is OK, but the contrast of going outdoors and exercising against an office keeps your body sharp.

A trap many others fall into is working at the office all day only to come home to a high calorie dinner, prime time TV, and then sleep. Even 20 minutes of aerobic workout is far better than none. I know, it's easier said than done and it's akin to getting into a habit of eating vegetables and fruits often or to floss every day.

You can use all the number crunching to keep your mind sharp while at work. :)
Click to expand...

Hey hey hey... I eat vegetables every day. I'm one of the few college students that don't eat fast food or drink cola/soda/pop.
 
ender land said:
If you want to be able to do amazing things and blow people away, learn VBA in excel. I would imagine that with a finance degree you will spend quite some time using Excel.

It's incredibly useful to me to be able to write some powerful macros within excel.
Click to expand...

+1000 for this. If you are considering a career in finance (quant), VBA or C++ are a must. Regarding free time: a foreign language or sport are good advice. I would recommend snowboarding or tennis (my favourites) :D .
 
SlovakApple said:
+1000 for this. If you are considering a career in finance (quant), VBA or C++ are a must. Regarding free time: a foreign language or sport are good advice. I would recommend snowboarding or tennis (my favourites) :D .
Click to expand...

I was thinking about tennis. Do you know of a website or something that will teach me some basic techniques. I tried tennis once and completely sucked at it.
 
With all this snow, go skiing or snowboarding. Keeps you in shape, it's social, stop by the bar afterward, and learn tennis in the summer.

It takes time to learn to ski/snowboard well. You definitely won't be board, scared maybe, but not bored.
 
pilotError said:
With all this snow, go skiing or snowboarding. Keeps you in shape, it's social, stop by the bar afterward, and learn tennis in the summer.

It takes time to learn to ski/snowboard well. You definitely won't be board, scared maybe, but not bored.
Click to expand...

I want to learn to snowboard, BUT...

I'm currently walking outside in shorts and a t-shirt. It's been in the 70s the past few weeks.

So, I could golf and play tennis right now, but there are no mountains with snow nearby to learn how to snowboard.
 
I vote for golf. I played my first round in 7th grade. I haven't stopped since. Worked at a country club, off-course golf shop, and golf website throughout high school and college. Of course, no pun intended, different strokes for different folks.

Also, being in finance, golf can be important. I know family and friends that spend a lot of time on the courses with clients.

If you do decide to give it a try, shoot me a pm and I can give you a few pointers on how to get started, but definitely don't try and do it yourself, a quick driving range lesson with a pro can get you started off on the right foot. I know a lot of people that want to start playing and try and do everything by themselves and end up giving it up, because golf really isn't fun, when you don't know how to hit the ball.
 
wvuwhat said:
I vote for golf. I played my first round in 7th grade. I haven't stopped since. Worked at a country club, off-course golf shop, and golf website throughout high school and college. Of course, no pun intended, different strokes for different folks.

Also, being in finance, golf can be important. I know family and friends that spend a lot of time on the courses with clients.

If you do decide to give it a try, shoot me a pm and I can give you a few pointers on how to get started, but definitely don't try and do it yourself, a quick driving range lesson with a pro can get you started off on the right foot. I know a lot of people that want to start playing and try and do everything by themselves and end up giving it up, because golf really isn't fun, when you don't know how to hit the ball.
Click to expand...

Sent a PM.
 
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