I am not in the tech industry and truthfully it's been awhile since I graduated with my BS in chemistry and got my 1st job but - holy shit - is a 70k salary just starting out actually realistic??? Maybe the LI area pays more, at least I believe the cost of living is higher than Philly, but damn, more power to you if you find that salary just starting out. And I didn't add a 6th digit to my salary until a couple years into my job post Ph.D. plus post doc...

It does seem chemical engineers make more than do chemists, and I can't comment on computer engineering at all. But my gut says your starting salary aspirations might be overly hopeful.

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To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.

honestly 70k was me being generously low. From what I've heard 100k would be an impressive start but anything within 70-90 seems average. Hell nurses start with 80+ where I live.

Are you planning on working in the city or Long Island? Don't know what your ideal job role would be but agree that 70K would be on the lower end. I'd say focus on the career first, especially right after graduating, since that's what pays rent. But it's definitely also feasible to train and work a lot. Takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice (less sleep, morning workouts, less going out weeknights / weekends) but it's absolutely possible and I'd assume you have some pretty good conditioning with that being a college athlete currently.

Also, triathlons and everything about them are so damn expensive. Earning some financial cushion early on pays dividends.

After you graduate, move to Mountain View and work for Google.

The issue is that I do have aspirations of going pro in triathlons if things go the right way after college. The issue here is of course that if I put my career first and triathlons second this may take away from that opportunity. I know the early years of my career will be important but I only have so much time before my body physically peaks for triathlon due to age. However, I basically have as much time as I'd like to perfect my work abilities.

Ahhh well that detail changes everything! Throw everything I said out and go for it! My general sentiment is that it's better to regret having done it than to regret never having tried at all, though I can't say I live by those words completely myself... I read recently that Meredith Kessler was an investment banker turned pro triathlete so there's certainly one good case study of someone having worked a lot + trained alongside it.

The devil's advocate response to your last point (though I generally do agree with you) is that while you may have all the time to perfect your work abilities, that doesn't necessarily mean the opportunities will always be there. From my limited work experience, getting older can "age" you out of certain roles and often times companies will look toward cheaper, younger talent, if available.

Bottom line, tough decision. Consider writing down a list of all the pros and all the cons so it makes you think about it and you have a literal visual representation you can keep referencing. Simple but useful tool, in my opinion.

I am not sure that the NY area is the best idea unless you don't mind training on a treadmill/trainer. You need to be able to get out and train with as few stop lights and smog as possible. Boulder or Austin might be better bets and they have a pretty decent tech sector. In Boulder you also have a pretty well established pro crowd and the support system that comes with it (you pretty much can't swing a stick around your head without smacking 1 or 2 pro Tri/bike/runner).

In terms of life choices, I would suggests getting started on a career and seeing if you really enjoy the triathlon scene enough to make it more than a hobby. I have had pro roommates and know quite a few Pro's. Being a professional exerciser is not as glamorous as you might be imaging and few people can jump from career guy/gal to pro athlete without experiencing some seriously lean times, unless your parents/family money are there to help out.

Also keep in mind that your skill set might get dated pretty quickly. I talked to Chad Haga about this a bit. He is a UT engineering grad and pretty much did what you are trying to do. He didn't seem to think that he could just go back and pick up an engineering career because he never really worked in the field and his skill set was becoming dated.

ugh life is so difficult, they should just give triathlon gear away for free. No matter what I'll be losing opportunities I suppose, big decisions, big decisions. Really hoping for a possible career in the athletics industry or something where I can really enjoy my life while also making $$$. Guess that's everyone's dream though.

P.S for everyone reading, I do really love computer engineering. My passion for technology comes 2nd only to athletics.

In the tech industry that is almost guaranteed if I don't start a career out of college. Also on my list of issues :(
Thanks for the advice, I don't mind treadmills/trainers or just dealing with poor conditions as I've done in the past however I can certainly see myself going out west in the future.

Your dream is totally doable. Evelyn Stevens went from a Wall Street job to pro cycling and holds the women's hour record to boot. Sanders went from drug addict to pro in the span of a few years. I think it is Thomas Gerlach, who is a frequent poster on Slowtwitch is going from 9-5 job to full time athlete and there are a handful of ProTour guys that are finishing degrees while training and racing full time.

If you have the drive, talent and focus you can do both a career and be a serious athlete, and your time management skills are probably pretty good from school and XC.

If you don't have the financial backing to just go try the Tri lifestyle, I would suggest starting your career and working on foundational/development stuff. You haven't mentioned whether you can swim well and how your cycling ability stacks up. Getting your open water swim technique up to scratch and dialing in a cycling position can take some time.

It's totally do-able. A tech job in the city should pay enough to live/train off of. I live comfortably in Queens at ~$55k. It's very do-able, you just need to sacrifice to get what you want.

As someone else mentioned, if you don't like the trainer, NYC area probably isn't the best place to be. ~90% of my serious training is on the trainer in my apartment. One thing that is nice is that the drivers in the city are more used to bikers than LI drivers, so it is slightly safer.

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Strava

I haven't mentioned my swimming ability for a reason haha. Only started having an interest in Triathlon this past summer and I've improved a lot but I'm no where near pro level ability. Got a few more years so hopefully I'll be there in time, not expecting to be some kind of legendary triathlete but being a competitive person by nature I'll certainly be working my ass off to get there.
Cycling is more of a hobby for me atm rather than a training tool. Don't have my own road or tri bike but I have access to one for races and training for races. Possibly purchase my own this summer if the budget allows. I definitely have the funds currently to pursue my interest but I'm more so worried about my future such as building a savings account, retirement, kids, house, etc... Not ready to be an adult lol