A Young Investor with an Engineering Degree

By Haitham S. Alajmani

We live in a world where society agrees that a degree in a certain field and a job with fixed pay is all you need to live a successful, stress-free life. A Young Investor with an Engineering Degree challenges this dogma and explains in simple terms why a degree alone is not sufficient. This book aims to open new doors for other sources of income you thought were closed and explains why people are hesitant to invest in the first place. Most importantly, this book explains the subject of investment in simple terms assuming you know nothing of it, and provides the necessary exposure you need to embark on your investment journey, so don’t worry. You have the choice whether to invest or not, but at the very least understand its minimum. It proves, theoretically and practically, that investment isn’t a difficult subject after all. It emphasizes the importance of keeping things simple, and how investing could aid you on the long-run. This isn’t a book you only want, it’s a book you both want and need.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9789948806097

Haitham S. Alajmani

Haitham S. Alajmani is an engineer with a master’s degree in Engineering Systems Management. He has several academic and professional awards and is involved in investing in stocks. He has several academic publications; A Young Investor with an Engineering Degree is his first book.

Book preview

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my family, who supported me throughout my education, career, investments, and writing this book. To the UAE for being the land of opportunities and blessings, may it always be safe. To all the young adults who want to know and learn. To all students who wish to drop out from their education, don’t do it. To all the adults who wish to enter, it’s never too late.

Copyright Information ©

Haitham S. Alajmani 2022

The right of Haitham S. Alajmani to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with Federal Law No. (7) of UAE, the Year 2002, Concerning Copyrights and Neighboring Rights.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to legal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The age group that matches the content of the books has been classified according to the age classification system issued by the Ministry of Culture and Youth.

ISBN – 9789948806080– (Paperback)

ISBN – 9789948806097– (E-Book)

Application Number: MC-10-01-9141150

Age Classification: E

First Published 2022

AUSTIN MACAULEY PUBLISHERS FZE

Sharjah Publishing City

P.O Box [519201]

Sharjah, UAE

www.austinmacauley.ae

[phone]

The Desire

At the age of 18, high school students are typically confronted with a challenge that will decide their path for the majority of their lives. They are asked to select a university major to study in the upcoming years. After graduating from the university, these grown high school students will pursue jobs that complement their education.

Xang wishes to become a mathematician, Sara wishes to become a doctor, Sam dreams of becoming an engineer, and Michael wants to become a bodybuilder. All of which in reality had little or no exposure to the desired fields during their youth.

Innocent as they are, unaware of the journey ahead of them, these high schoolers ended up with different long-term outcomes in their careers. These consequences cannot be assessed properly at a very young age. Each individual will be rewarded for his or her efforts in the chosen field.

Xang, who wanted to become a mathematician, practically the brightest in the class, ended up as a humble school teacher. Michael, who was the least performing student in school, became a national champion in bodybuilding. Dr. Sara and Eng. Sam secured stable jobs with fair pay to provide for their middle-class households.

We all have our journeys in life, we all face different obstacles, and quite frankly we were all given different resources in different quantities. Everybody strives for a decent living, and that decent living comes from a decent job with a decent paycheck. And that is the main reason the students pursue a university degree.

These students, despite all their differences in the field with different successes, are all like us. The dogmata of society heavily influence the choices everybody makes throughout their lives. We have been taught to pursue a decent education to find a decent job to secure our expenses in adulthood. That is the typical life sequence for the majority of people. It is so right yet it is so wrong.

What society never teaches anybody is that a round table with a single leg will not stand when that leg is broken. A structure will not stand if one of the main foundations fails. That table and that building will stand when there are other supporting elements that contribute to their stability.

To put that in a more realistic perspective, you and I will not stand if our jobs fail. Failing can come in different aspects, it can be by weak salary, a toxic environment, despicable people, or worst case of all, not enjoying what you’re doing.

We’ve learned that a university degree is a sole support for everyone’s career. This again is so right yet it is so wrong. A university degree from a good university might as well secure a good job, but the problem with it is that the university graduate’s career depends on the choices made by others such as the recruiting companies. A company with the best pay will definitely attract the best employees.

Employees will work hard for years and earn their paychecks at the end of each month. They will later spend the amount received on the necessities and luxuries based on how much they earn. When the employee is promoted and earns a higher paycheck, their expenses typically increase to include more luxuries such as a more spacious home, a better car, new furniture… At the end of the day, that employee is left with sediments from the paycheck. This never-ending cycle is called the Rat Race. A race that most people are stuck running without a final destination.

I was 23 years old when I was sitting at a coffee shop with some of my friends studying for one of our master’s courses. It was not long ago that I physically entered the stock market. I entered the market in the first few months of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic when prices were plunging down. Without understanding what prices were plunging down even meant at the time, I knew that there was a hidden treasure somewhere. Despite not having any previous exposure in any way to the stock market and how things worked, I knew that everything was ‘cheap’ at the time. Until that year, my life experience was basically an education at school, a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, a few years with a technical Civil Engineering job, and an ongoing Master’s student in Engineering Systems Management.

I took a risky leap and invested a vast quantity of my savings in the stock market. As a young adult with basically no knowledge of how the system in the stock market works, not even knowing what the word stock even meant, some might have criticized my investment approach, especially during an international pandemic. But that’s OK because that’s what society is supposed to do. Society typically advocates orthodox practices, because that’s what the majority is practicing unaware of the other closed doors that life has in front of them. These doors are not locked, they are just closed. It is the responsibility of each individual to open the doors ahead of him or her to explore the opportunities that life has to offer, especially if these doors are within arm’s reach.

Ever heard of I want to make millions without working a single day or I just want to make money while not doing anything…? For the majority, this is just a crazy imagination. But for successful investors, this is their main secret to a wealthy life.