Since you want to be empowered; feel you need to leave a mark right away, a job with a degree in Economics could be a good start. You can work for a non profit organization with a good start out salary depending on which part of the country you live in.

In the east and west coast, you can make anywhere from $55,000 – $65,000 with a bachelors degree. With a Masters you can make, $65,000 – $85,000 and your years of experience could factor into it. In the heartland not including the MI, WY and IN you probably will make $20,000 less in both cases.

If you want to understand how a business works and also have some decision on how a business runs, Internal Auditing could be a good area to start at. Internal Auditors know almost all aspects of how a company works, they report to senior management and also write reports on how well the company can run by cutting costs, reigning in spending etc. A degree in Accounting would be the way here. Normal Internal Auditing salaries are around $45,000 – $55,000 starting off, which is pretty normal for any part around the country. In New York it could be $10,000 higher.

No rush if you are a freshman in college or a senior in high school, think about what you really want in life and set goals to get there.