College Majors

[asterism]

here's some important questions to ask yourself;

Would I want to do this for the next 40 years.

Will I have to get more training, and would you want to get more.

Is getting done in 4 years more important than being sure you want to do it.

Have a trade in mind that you could do prior to working on a major.

and

Will this degree have jobs waiting for me, that pay enough to live on.


Like that girl off FB that cried her she couldn't get a job with her degree in music history, plan ahead.


My son is 13, he wants to join the FBI. To pay for training he plans on either becoming a welder or joining the service.

These are very good points! Thank you so much for the advice. It is just sometimes difficult to imagine yourself doing something for the next 40 years if you aren't really sure what that something even is.

Just wait until you've spent 20 years doing something you really love and then find out you've reached the peak and now want to do something else.

That's why it's good to make sure you actually get an education at college instead of just getting "a piece of paper." It's harder and you have to drink and smoke pot less (but not much less, there's still plenty of time for all that) but you end up with a degree that is worthy, skills that are marketable, and the tools to modify your life whenever you wish. Perspective is key, not "following your passion."

 

[LeslieKnope]

here's some important questions to ask yourself;

Would I want to do this for the next 40 years.

Will I have to get more training, and would you want to get more.

Is getting done in 4 years more important than being sure you want to do it.

Have a trade in mind that you could do prior to working on a major.

and

Will this degree have jobs waiting for me, that pay enough to live on.


Like that girl off FB that cried her she couldn't get a job with her degree in music history, plan ahead.


My son is 13, he wants to join the FBI. To pay for training he plans on either becoming a welder or joining the service.

These are very good points! Thank you so much for the advice. It is just sometimes difficult to imagine yourself doing something for the next 40 years if you aren't really sure what that something even is.

Just wait until you've spent 20 years doing something you really love and then find out you've reached the peak and now want to do something else.

That's why it's good to make sure you actually get an education at college instead of just getting "a piece of paper." It's harder and you have to drink and smoke pot less (but not much less, there's still plenty of time for all that) but you end up with a degree that is worthy, skills that are marketable, and the tools to modify your life whenever you wish. Perspective is key, not "following your passion."

Very true! Thank you! The only thing is, how exactly do you make sure you "get an education?" Do you mean a well rounded education? I think that college try to accomplish this with general education requirements, however most students just get them out of the way to continue along the major requirements path. I think it all comes back to the major, unfortunately :/

 

[asterism]

Why are students expected to know what they want to major in and do for the rest of their lives when they enter college? Of course, they say, "you can always change your major," but the truth is, one change of class and you are off track for graduating on time. It seems that major requirements are laid out so that if you change major, universities can just take more and more of your money. I hope I chose the right major!

That wasn't my experience. I changed majors twice and still graduated in 3 years.

Good to know! Do you mind if I ask what you changed between? Some are easier to change than others. It also depends on the school. It couldn't have been easy, right?

Computer Science to Business Management to Decision and Information Sciences.

But I took at least 15 credit hours per semester, didn't take summers off, and took CLEP tests for some of the basics.

 

[Unkotare]

You're probably right...

I know, now put away the bong and go sleep it off.

You're the one that probably smokes a bong. You'd have to be high and be on welfare to have the time to be a member of this site since 2011 and post 34,354 times.

You're not very good at guessing, Cheech.

 

[Bilbo]

I know, now put away the bong and go sleep it off.

You're the one that probably smokes a bong. You'd have to be high and be on welfare to have the time to be a member of this site since 2011 and post 34,354 times.

You're not very good at guessing, Cheech.

Okay Cheech

 

[Unkotare]

You're the one that probably smokes a bong. You'd have to be high and be on welfare to have the time to be a member of this site since 2011 and post 34,354 times.

You're not very good at guessing, Cheech.

Okay Cheech

You're not very original either.

 

[asterism]

These are very good points! Thank you so much for the advice. It is just sometimes difficult to imagine yourself doing something for the next 40 years if you aren't really sure what that something even is.

Just wait until you've spent 20 years doing something you really love and then find out you've reached the peak and now want to do something else.

That's why it's good to make sure you actually get an education at college instead of just getting "a piece of paper." It's harder and you have to drink and smoke pot less (but not much less, there's still plenty of time for all that) but you end up with a degree that is worthy, skills that are marketable, and the tools to modify your life whenever you wish. Perspective is key, not "following your passion."

Very true! Thank you! The only thing is, how exactly do you make sure you "get an education?" Do you mean a well rounded education? I think that college try to accomplish this with general education requirements, however most students just get them out of the way to continue along the major requirements path. I think it all comes back to the major, unfortunately :/

You get an education by doing your best to become as much of an expert in the fields of which you are studying. Don't just do the reading and papers for History of Science, go to office hours and ask your Professor about some of the finer points in The Watershed. Don't just do the programming that charts the stock market P/E ratio, add some extra data to see if sectors move in negative or positive correlations. Take the time to join study groups or get to know details of other fields that aren't for classes you are taking so that you pick up cursory knowledge which might be useful later. Did you know that the job of a Radiologist is mostly technical and data interpretation? I didn't until I was roommates with a Radiology intern.

College is way more than a place to take classes, it's community of knowledge and you don't necessarily have to take a class to learn a subject. At the end of a semester the professional note taking companies threw out their old copies. I'd look through the recycling dumpster and pick out the notes for classes I wished I had time to take. It's not the same as getting an in-depth tutorial, but it was enough to find out what interests me and it was enough to make me better educated on many subjects.

A significant factor in success isn't picking the correct major, it's picking a goal and then doing everything you can to reach that goal. It doesn't matter if it's something you want to do for the rest of your lives. Lawyers own McDonald's franchises, Doctors sell insurance, and LOTS of music majors are computer programmers.


But..... I strongly advise you to pick a major that is marketable and provides you with some skills that are in demand. It's much easier to switch gears later in life if you're in a good place financially. You can always "find your passion" after you have enough in the bank to take a couple of years off and go back to college if you wish.

 

[Bilbo]

Peace out all you shits on this site. Go get some jobs and stop wasting hard working people's money. Just remember that I piss EXCELLENCE!

 

[Unkotare]

I guess he got to the end of the dime bag...

 

[Disir]

Check your school. You shouldn't have to declare a major yet. Once you do declare your major then a fee may be tacked on. If all you are taking is general course requirements the first year then don't worry so much. If you have a general idea of the direction that you want to go then check out what is on campus as far as speakers or organizations.

Contact people that are already in a field that you are thinking about entering and ask them about the good, the bad and the ugly- especially the ugly. Not just people at the top but people at the bottom.

If there is an intro course to a field that you are thinking about entering then take it. It is better to change a course here then throw yourself into something that will make you want to stab people in the eye with a pen for the rest of your life.

You're right that I don't have to declare my major until the end of the second year. The issue is that I have to be taking pre-reqs and classes required for the major as early as first semester of freshman year. I really appreciate all of your advice though, it is very true. There is a lot of research that has to be done and connections that have to be made. I just worry that some students won't be able to make these connections to discover what they are truly passionate about.

Well, that's telling.

 

[kwc57]

Why are students expected to know what they want to major in and do for the rest of their lives when they enter college? Of course, they say, "you can always change your major," but the truth is, one change of class and you are off track for graduating on time. It seems that major requirements are laid out so that if you change major, universities can just take more and more of your money. I hope I chose the right major!

Part of good parenting is to guide their children in understanding the importance of thinking about what they want to study and do later in life. No, not every kid is going to know and yes, some kids will change their major multiple times. But a parent owes it to their kid to prepare them for life and deciding areas of interest prior to college is one of the ways to prepare them.

Okay. I see your point. But what if this child is a first generation college student? Or what if the parents really have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. There may even be a case where a parent wants their child to pursue a career that the child has no interest in. I would agree that it is a parent's responsibility to assist their child to at least attempt to figure out their future, but it really isn't their job. The student has to choose what will make them happy for the rest of their lives. The only issue is how to choose.

You obviously are not a parent. "How to choose" is made easier by parents doing their job and making sure you acquire the life skills to make such an important decision that will affect the rest of your life. I have a son who is a junior in college this year. He excelled in math and science in elementary, junior and high school. He already knew before he went to college that he would major in something STEM related. Does he have interests in other fields? Yes, he does. But part of our parental advice to him as he got closer to college age was to look at what kind of jobs pay a good living and what kind of degree is required for those kinds of jobs. He chose Fire Protection and Safety Technology in the university's college of engineering. He spent last summer inAlaska with BP in a highly paid internship. This summer he will be doing the same, but in Houston. The vast majority of students in his program do internships and graduate with a good job waiting for them upon graduation. His peers that are getting degrees in theater, english and history can't find much of anything beyond being a waiter. Part of a parent's job raising their child is to get them to see the big pacture of the future. Sure you like to pick the guitar and sing, but can you actually make a living, support a family and buy a home doing it? There are far more people who don't make it than do. If you love it, make it your life hobby. If something comes of it, great. But look at the fields where there is actual need that pay decent salaries and get an education that prepares you for that. Pick your guitar in the evening when you get home or with your garage band on the weekends. You can still follow your dream AND pick a major that puts food on the table. A good parent will teach you that and reinforce it over your formulative years.