Bro, Stanford Law -> become Kanye West. Imagine the possibilities. Go into divorce court and defend your client by belting-out "Gold Digger" at the top of your lungs. ProfLogic thinks Surfer is FOS?
Well, it's not for me, but a son of one of my friends. I have an undergrad in engineering, but would think there are more opportunities in the business world. If one wants to purchase businesses, what degrees would be best? MBA? There is one company I know of that buys, streamlines existing businesses going under or not running efficiently, and then sells them for more profit a few years later. Is MBA the best for something like this?
U can still make a good living without much education if you know allot about a particular "basic" business. An example is house-painting and roofing. If you know what you are doing you can put together a few crews and if the economy is ok make a professional level income. All you really need is specific knowledge that has market value, and some drive/discipline. For social standing, however, education is needed.
I am not sure a degree in any field of study will be 'profitable' in the future. It will be mainly a means to be employed even if it is underemployment. Until our economy has reached an equilibrium with third world countries, the job market in the USA will be meager. In the foreseeable future, it will be a buyers (employer) market. A person will be fortunate to have a job. The multi-national companies and the politicians have placed our country in a peerless position. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer with the elimination of the middle class.
First, the important thing is to find out what the kid likes to do. What interests him. What anyone else thinks he should do doesn't matter.
Social standing be damned. That is only relevant if you live in a metro area and are concerned with that crap. You can't eat social standing. One needs to LEARN whether the economy will handle your entrepreneurial venture, one needs to LEARN to evaluate market value of what they are doing and one needs to LEARN discipline. Those things aren't learned on a street corner and even if one takes a few community college courses they are further ahead. Again, the most important part of the process is desire.
My youngest wanted to be a fashion designer. I knew it was a no win situation considering the competition but I supported her none-the-less. She graduated in the middle of her class but had a huge amount of desire. After getting out into the real world her interests and focus changed to internet development and product design. She worked on the latest Logitech commercial with Kevin Bacon some of you have seen on TV. She absolutely loves her new direction and is going back to further her education in that direction. The important thing is that she absolutely LOVES what she is doing.