why is every degree and job ‘oversaturated’ now and why does everyone wanna be a finance bro (1 Viewer)

[gammahydroxybutyrate]

is that what also happened to u for clerkship apps

i didnt do clerkship apps cos i had a guaranteed grad job by that point lol

 

[coolcat6778]

Idk if this will be helpful, but have you considered teaching? You could teach and have a guaranteed job with pretty decent pay in NSW public schools.
View attachment 50785

Since there is a shortage of teachers in general, there is pretty much no risk of oversaturation.

What the hell do teachers even do that's relatively cognitively demanding compared to something like Law or Engineering?

especially teachers in my school, they legit just make us watch YouTube videos cause they can't even teach. Then they just google stuff online to put on Google Classroom. This clearly doesn't deserve a 90k+ salary.

 

[lucy083201]

yeah drawback is the salary cap though. on the topic of teaching though, has anyone ever considered becoming a uni professor? you're studying for the rest of your life but being a lecturer + researcher doesn't seem too bad, plus there's possibility of advancing into executive positions. picking and specialising in the subject matter you like best seems pretty neat too. tbf idk much about it though, this is all surface-level observation from having an in-law that worked as a professor for uniSA

my mums a lecturer x researcher (full time researcher and part time lecturer at usyd) and let me tell you something:
its horrible (not salary wise)
shes glued to her screen 24/7, its literally 10pm on a staurday and she is still working although it is a good salary job with a lot of repect it is not necessary, i havent had a proper conversation w my mum in god knows how much, and shes always so stressed that whenever we speak we always end up fighting (she yelled at me the other time for smiling at her bc she assumed i was being sarcastic), it ruined her personality, life balance, family relationship, everything

unless you are able to find a balance (which is currently nonexistenial) youll be fine, but please do not consider it

 

[xyyvii]

Might be bit too early for this considering I’m in year 9 but if I were to become a chinese teacher, would I also have to teach other subject? I see a lot of language teachers also teach HSIE subjects or English and I’m just wondering whether it’s possible to solely teach a language. Also is it possible to pair teaching langauges with another subject such as maths or visual arts?

 

[jonolad69]

my mums a lecturer x researcher (full time researcher and part time lecturer at usyd) and let me tell you something:
its horrible (not salary wise)
shes glued to her screen 24/7, its literally 10pm on a staurday and she is still working although it is a good salary job with a lot of repect it is not necessary, i havent had a proper conversation w my mum in god knows how much, and shes always so stressed that whenever we speak we always end up fighting (she yelled at me the other time for smiling at her bc she assumed i was being sarcastic), it ruined her personality, life balance, family relationship, everything

unless you are able to find a balance (which is currently nonexistenial) youll be fine, but please do not consider it

 

[jane1820]

Might be bit too early for this considering I’m in year 9 but if I were to become a chinese teacher, would I also have to teach other subject? I see a lot of language teachers also teach HSIE subjects or English and I’m just wondering whether it’s possible to solely teach a language. Also is it possible to pair teaching langauges with another subject such as maths or visual arts?

i dont think you have to teach another subject alongside the language
yes you can pair teaching with other stuff (my math teacher has a major in korean and a minor in math)

 

[HazzRat]

Might be bit too early for this considering I’m in year 9 but if I were to become a chinese teacher, would I also have to teach other subject? I see a lot of language teachers also teach HSIE subjects or English and I’m just wondering whether it’s possible to solely teach a language. Also is it possible to pair teaching langauges with another subject such as maths or visual arts?

It depends on what the school you teach at demands. My school had enough demand for two full-time mandarin teachers.

 

[gammahydroxybutyrate]

What the hell do teachers even do that's relatively cognitively demanding compared to something like Law or Engineering?

especially teachers in my school, they legit just make us watch YouTube videos cause they can't even teach. Then they just google stuff online to put on Google Classroom. This clearly doesn't deserve a 90k+ salary.

its not intellectually demanding but certainly cognitively demanding.

when little bobby throws a tantrum over having to share the building blocks with susie and punches her in the face, then shoves 17 crayons up his nose and vomits all over the teacher, and calls her a bitch, bobby gets a suspension for 2 days and his parents get told he is being a very naughty boy. the teacher still has to put up with bobby for the rest of the year.

when your client, 42 year old bill throws a tantrum over his ex posting a reel with another man and punches her in the face, then shoves 17 grams of cocaine up his nose and vomits all over the attending ambulance officers, then calls his arresting police officer a fat bitch, his lawyer tells him that he can no longer act for him in circumstances the client-solicitor relationship has broken down and he does not have confidence in his representation. bill no longer has a lawyer.

 

[Geniusly]

To be honest, a lot of teachers don't deserve the 90k starting salary for the effort they put in. It's just unfortunate that some of the really good teachers are making the same amount of money. At my school, there is one teacher who literally only uses ChatGPT for notes and work plans. What's the point of teaching then, the students could learn literally the same stuff themselves.

 

[aqwerty13402]

i’ve never felt so lost regarding my career choice because every option i’ve considered somehow has the worst job market known to man with everyone trying to go for it. e.g. quant trading becoming the new IB, or unsw actl at 99 atar cus of demand. Then there’s compsci/software engineering which everyone says is doomed. am i just a sheep for jumping onto the bandwagon everytime; is aus job market just that fucked in general; or is it selection bias where obv everyone on forums and reddit are gonna pick the nerdy shit?

it doesn’t help that i have zero passion for anything. i just don’t wanna be living on the streets bro. i did SACE so idk mark equiv but for internals i got A+ for eng advanced and econ, A- for math advanced and chemistry, and A for research project. i got an early entry offer for law/comm alr but i lowkey hate law so i don’t wanna do it even though i’m stronger in humanities. maths i’m decent at and more interested it, i just slacked off this year icl, and also i didn’t do the SACE equiv of ext 1&2 so i’m kinda barred off from a lot of math-y courses unless i do a bridging course.

i put double actl for my top uac pref followed by engineering but idek if i could handle the math rigour for it or if i’d even get a job post-uni that’ll make my parents proud. atp its <$150k or nothing with how things are rn. fml

are there any good, well-paying careers that are sorta finance/STEM-adjacent that are niche and/or have labour shortages?

go for ur passion fuck money, life is too short to pursue a career just because

 

[Interdice]

To be honest, a lot of teachers don't deserve the 90k starting salary for the effort they put in. It's just unfortunate that some of the really good teachers are making the same amount of money. At my school, there is one teacher who literally only uses ChatGPT for notes and work plans. What's the point of teaching then, the students could learn literally the same stuff themselves.

Lol there's no point. School is just kid jail, where kids are placed, so they aren't a public disturbance, and also cause parents don't want to deal with them.

 

[ChatGPT]

i’ve never felt so lost regarding my career choice because every option i’ve considered somehow has the worst job market known to man with everyone trying to go for it. e.g. quant trading becoming the new IB, or unsw actl at 99 atar cus of demand. Then there’s compsci/software engineering which everyone says is doomed. am i just a sheep for jumping onto the bandwagon everytime; is aus job market just that fucked in general; or is it selection bias where obv everyone on forums and reddit are gonna pick the nerdy shit?

it doesn’t help that i have zero passion for anything. i just don’t wanna be living on the streets bro. i did SACE so idk mark equiv but for internals i got A+ for eng advanced and econ, A- for math advanced and chemistry, and A for research project. i got an early entry offer for law/comm alr but i lowkey hate law so i don’t wanna do it even though i’m stronger in humanities. maths i’m decent at and more interested it, i just slacked off this year icl, and also i didn’t do the SACE equiv of ext 1&2 so i’m kinda barred off from a lot of math-y courses unless i do a bridging course.

i put double actl for my top uac pref followed by engineering but idek if i could handle the math rigour for it or if i’d even get a job post-uni that’ll make my parents proud. atp its <$150k or nothing with how things are rn. fml

are there any good, well-paying careers that are sorta finance/STEM-adjacent that are niche and/or have labour shortages?

Here’s the blunt truth, without the fear-mongering Reddit energy:

1. You’re not a sheep — you’re reacting to noise

Every field looks “oversaturated” online, because the people who post the most are:

• stressed uni students,
• people chasing prestige-heavy careers (IB/quant/FAANG),
• people catastrophising to cope.

Meanwhile, thousands of grads quietly get jobs in less-hyped fields you never see discussed. Online ≠ reality.


Australia’s job market isn’t “fucked”, it’s just small, so prestige bottlenecks feel extreme. But the broader economy still hires a lot of grads.


2. You don’t need “passion” — you need tolerable work + decent earnings

Most people don’t have a calling at 17–20. They pick something they’re okay with, stick with it long enough to build competence, and that competence eventually becomes “interest”.


You already said:

I’m decent at maths, kinda interested, slacked off this year.
That’s honestly enough to enter half the finance/analytics/engineering-adjacent fields.

3. You’re overestimating how much maths you need

UNSW actuarial is brutal, yes, but you don’t need to be an Olympiad kid. Most of the maths is statistics + financial maths — doable with discipline.


Engineering maths is also structured; it’s not abstract real analysis.


Bridging courses work. Tons of students didn’t do Ext 1/2 equivalents and still survived.


4. You do NOT need to hit $150k straight out of uni

If that's the benchmark, you’re setting yourself up for anxiety.


In Australia:

• $110–130k at 3–5 years experience in STEM/finance is normal.
• $150k+ comes with seniority, not magic degrees.
• You can absolutely get there without IB/quant/actuarial.

5. Careers that are STEM/finance-adjacent, well-paid, and NOT ridiculously oversaturated

Here’s the list you’re actually looking for — niche, high demand, solid pay, realistic entry.


A) Data Engineering / Cloud Engineering

• Why it’s good: Massive demand in Australia; every company is migrating to cloud.
• Not as oversaturated as pure software roles.
• More structured, less LeetCode pain.
• Often hits $150–200k at mid-level.

Path: Comp sci / IT / information systems → AWS certs.


B) Business/Data Analytics (NOT same as “data science”)

• Less math-heavy, more problem-solving + Excel/SQL/PowerBI.
• Every bank, insurer, consulting firm hires these roles.
• $90–110k early career, hits $130–150k by mid-level.

Path: Commerce / economics / IT / analytics degree.


C) Risk & Compliance (financial institutions)

Sounds boring, but:

• Banks constantly hire risk grads (credit risk, market risk, operational risk).
• Good money, stable, strong progression, very undersupplied.
• Doesn’t require crazy maths.

Pay: Grad $75–90k → 3–4 years $130–160k.


Path: Commerce/econ/actl/business analytics.


D) Actuarial adjacent roles (no full qualifications)

You DO NOT have to become a fully qualified actuary to enter actuarial teams.


Many people stop after a few uni exemptions and switch to:

• pricing analyst
• capital analyst
• product analyst
• analytics roles in insurance

These still pay very well and are more accessible.


E) Supply Chain Analytics / Operations Research

• Big labour shortages.
• Lots of data + modelling + optimisation.
• High demand in logistics/mining/manufacturing.

Pay: Very solid — mid-level can hit $140–170k.


F) Cybersecurity

Not coding-heavy, massive talent shortages, pays extremely well.


Pay: Mid-level roles regularly hit $140–180k.


Path: IT/comp sci → security certs.


G) Mining & Energy Technical Roles (non-engineer)

Especially in SA/WA — analyst, planning, scheduling, environmental modelling roles.


Mining pays stupidly high.


You can earn $150k+ even early career with site exposure.


H) Treasury & Corporate Finance (not IB)

Less competitive than banking; still pays well.
Think: large companies, government agencies, utilities.


Pay: $95k grad → $140–160k in a few years.


So what degree should you actually pick?

Given:

• you’re good at English/econ,
• decent at maths,
• don’t want pure law,
• want finance/STEM adjacent,
• want employability + good money,

Your strongest choices are:

1. Commerce (Analytics/Econ/Finance)

Most flexible.
Feeds into 70% of the above careers.
Pairs VERY well with data analytics or CS minors.

2. Actuarial (only if you’re willing to grind)

High employability if you don’t burn out.
But don’t do it if you’re already anxious about rigour.

3. Information Systems / CS Lite / Data Science

Not full software engineering, but enough technical skill to get cloud/data jobs.

4. Engineering (Electrical/Software/Mechatronics)

Stronger maths requirement but high employability.
But only choose it if the content won’t make you miserable.


If you want a safe but high-paying path that doesn’t require insane competition:
Commerce/Business Analytics + SQL/Python + internships

→ Data analyst
→ Risk roles
→ Pricing/capital analyst
→ Cloud/data engineering with certs


This path is realistic, employable, and gets you to $150k faster than actuarial, IB, or quant for most people.



If you want, tell me:

• what subjects you enjoyed the most (not what you were good at)
• whether you prefer people work vs computer work
• whether you’d rather grind 60hrs/week for prestige or live chill with good money

…and I can narrow this down to a 100% personalised degree + career plan.

 

[coolcat6778]

Lol there's no point. School is just kid jail, where kids are placed, so they aren't a public disturbance, and also cause parents don't want to deal with them.

Well in America schools aren't just jails, they are s.r.

 

[Geniusly]

My English teacher said that I needed to do more past papers in my report, yet I literally did 2 full exercise books of past papers before the trials (so about 240 pages in just 4 weeks) I also had done another 240 pages from the start of Year 12. She has the audacity to write this despite her taking 1.5 terms (and two holidays) to provide feedback for 20 marks of short answer questions for paper 1. And she earns $110 000. Other issues include this English teacher not responding to anyone asking for help (she was too busy listening to Justin Bieber on the white board and socialising unnecessarily with a student who probably did not put in any effort). They also recommended to use AI for notes (AI providing made up quotes for The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night Time).

I dropped Enterprise Computing because I had to wait 17 weeks for our marks and feedback. I had to threaten them with reporting them to the senior advisor if they did not give us our marks. We ended up with out work being marked by AI, and (probably no proper marking) me getting a 35 % (despite helping another student with most of the work who got a 95 %).

What is wrong with some teachers? This is just ridiculous.

I want to become a teacher, but surely I will not act like this.

Not all teachers are like that though. My Legal Studies teacher marked 3 essays of mine in one day (she is excellent) without making up excuses.

Exact same thing happened with my maths teacher. We got our half-yearly and third-term results the week before trials. On top of that, this was his only class and he had 19 papers to mark like WTF.


My chem teacher, on the other hand, I could give exam papers in the morning, and she'd have them marked by the afternoon.

 

[SylviaB]

It's not fair there's no jobs for graduates every field is oversaturated

also we need infinity immigration forever

 

[Interdice]

It's not fair there's no jobs for graduates every field is oversaturated

In CS, most internship and grad roles are for domestics only.

The only jobs available for intls are ones that require 5+ YOE.

 

[Interdice]

also we need infinity immigration forever

Australia is horrible mismanaged. 26 million people, all these resources, and we've got nothing to show for it. Expensive houses, expensive produce, shit jobs etc. Even the fag hub Netherlands, where the women resemble men, are richer than us.

Less immigration is not gonna fix Australia's fundamental problem. Australia's GDP per capita peaked in 2012, well before the relatively new mass migration. I think the government is taking in the new immigrants, to make a halfarsed effort, to increase Australia's tech/STEM industry. Ofc we're failing with this, cause all the smart Chiense/Indians are in the UK/USA.

 

[SylviaB]

In CS, most internship and grad roles are for domestics only.

The only jobs available for intls are ones that require 5+ YOE.

yes dumb dumb, but that dramatically reduces the demand for graduates

If the only way to get experienced people was by training up grads, companies would hire far more grads in the first place

 

[SylviaB]

Less immigration is not gonna fix Australia's fundamental problem. Australia's GDP per capita peaked in 2012, well before the relatively new mass migration. I think the government is taking in the new immigrants, to make a halfarsed effort, to increase Australia's tech/STEM industry. Ofc we're failing with this, cause all the smart Chiense/Indians are in the UK/USA.

Yes it is.

We're primarily a resource based economy. The amount of resources produced does not scale with population, so population growth dilutes the resources per citizen.

And "boosting tech/STEM" is 100% not close to the reason for the vast majority of immigration to Australia today. It's to provide cheap labor for businesses, demand for housing for land lords/developers/banks, and votes for Labor.

 

[enoilgam]

yes dumb dumb, but that dramatically reduces the demand for graduates

If the only way to get experienced people was by training up grads, companies would hire far more grads in the first place

100% bang on the money. It just baffles me how business and especially government cannot see the connection between shortages of experienced staff and the decimation of junior level roles. Honestly, if I were the government I would set a KPI regarding graduate recruitment prior to allowing any immigrant labour. So if the business lobby asks for immigration for HR Professionals, Id say only once HR graduate unemployment is below 5%. It's ridiculous in HR seeing so many people being brought in from Britain when graduates have such a rough trot getting a role.

Its even worse for Doctors. The gall of the AMA saying "we dont have enough capacity to train more Doctors in Australia despite huge demand" whilst then stealing Doctors from third world countries where they are actually needed. Utterly immoral.

Im fine with immigration in fields where Australia is not producing enough graduates due to lack of interest from locals, but it shouldnt be allowed in fields with huge numbers of graduates/domestic demand.