Hey Nowayhaha, and Pundit-Here is my little story. 8-4-4 did us a disservice because SM (Science & Math) was not complete STEM, and even with that, SM was not robust as it should be in the global marketplace. ALL 8-4-4 finishers had no iota of Technology and engineering when they left form four or grade 12. Kenya let us down, and it is still doing it! I remember doing my first assignment in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, two years after graduating high school! It was a complete horror story when a Nandi man from deep in the village met face-to-face with a computer!. Like most African students, I was embarrassed every time I had to go to the computer library to type the English 101 essay. I was dubbed the guy that stabs the keyboard because of the way I was using two index fingers to type! Wazungu used to shoulder-surf me to see how I could type a two-page of a word document in about 4 hours. I was a dinosaur in my early college years. when I compare myself to my kids in High school and middle school; now doing robotics, coding, computer discoveries, and cybersecurity courses and typing over 60 words per minute, I just cringe! CBC should reform and go complete 80% STEM because that is the future of interconnected global market place!
I decided then I wanted to learn about Technology, so I tried to abort the Economic degree I was pursuing then. As an international student with I-20, I couldn't change, so I decided to finish my Economics degree before switching to the Technology arena. In the US, tech careers are recession-proof and can lead one to work smart in a 9-5 environment. I'm not a guy that likes to kill myself working, so I tend to pursue avenues/businesses that keep me working about 2-4 hours a day and making the salary of someone working 12 hours a day! I believe after 40, someone should work smart instead of working hard. Careers in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Information Security, Day trading, and related fields can take you to that realm quicker!
Also, you must pursue exciting and consistently evolving things, like Technology; above all, you seek something that pays bills honestly. I have achieved a lot in IT and day trading. Still, I will be way happier when I get the approval for my ongoing dissertation in Information security, where I'm researching Deep learning use in intrusion detection systems and flaws past researchers made. Doing scholarly research in a traditional five-chapter dissertation by someone technical in the field is not easy, especially when you hit the statistics and have to quit Technology first to learn the Kendall-Tau-b correlation coefficient for months. Anyone with a Ph.D. in hard Stem, especially in Technology related fields of -Software engineering, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, etc., should be respected! They are back-breaking, and that is why my back is taking a beating now.