Choosing a major
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Jewel Runner
At this point the most appealing option is doing English, maybe doubling in religious studies, perhaps to go into technical writing. But I also like history, biology, and environmental things. And it's totally possible I just haven't explored some field that I actually really dig.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
I started college as an EE major, because it seemed responsible. I hated it. Not because electrical engineering isn't interesting -it is- I just wasn't any good at anything that you had to master to be an engineer, namely, calculus. I got kicked out of the university for non-academic and non-legal reasons, which I don't care to describe, but when I started college again I did so as a History Major, which is what my degree is in. Why History? Because I like it. Confucius said: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Majors are the same way. I graduated magna cum laude because attending and studying for my classes wasn't a chore, it was something I looked forward to doing.
I personally advise you to do the same. Study what you love, and do what you love. It will be more personally fulfilling for you, and you will be far more successful. Don't pay attention to job markets for majors* or pay by field, you can worry about finding a job later. I don't have a job in my degree field yet, but that's because more education is required of me before I can do what I want to, a problem I'm remedying soon.
Also, remember that at most schools selecting a major is not required of underclassmen. If you're on the fence about a few different subjects, sign up for the intro classes on them in your first or second semester, and do all that you can to see if that's what you do or don't want to be doing.
*What I mean is, don't base your selection on perceived job markets, especially as a Freshman, because you don't know what the market will look like in 4 or 5 years. Also, when you do pay attention, it should be in the manner of directing which similar major within the field that you want is more in the area of what employers want. You may want to study History, but what will you do with it? It may be more desirable to major in the similar, but still different, Museum Studies, Library Science, Archival Studies, Political Science, or Art History. So select based on those employer desires, not on Business vs. Engineering vs. Psychology.
I personally advise you to do the same. Study what you love, and do what you love. It will be more personally fulfilling for you, and you will be far more successful. Don't pay attention to job markets for majors* or pay by field, you can worry about finding a job later. I don't have a job in my degree field yet, but that's because more education is required of me before I can do what I want to, a problem I'm remedying soon.
Also, remember that at most schools selecting a major is not required of underclassmen. If you're on the fence about a few different subjects, sign up for the intro classes on them in your first or second semester, and do all that you can to see if that's what you do or don't want to be doing.
*What I mean is, don't base your selection on perceived job markets, especially as a Freshman, because you don't know what the market will look like in 4 or 5 years. Also, when you do pay attention, it should be in the manner of directing which similar major within the field that you want is more in the area of what employers want. You may want to study History, but what will you do with it? It may be more desirable to major in the similar, but still different, Museum Studies, Library Science, Archival Studies, Political Science, or Art History. So select based on those employer desires, not on Business vs. Engineering vs. Psychology.
DYNAMITE! DYNAMITE!
Seriously, though, Mise and the above pretty much cover it. Pick something that requires core skills you have an aptitude for/like, and pick a traditional major. Hard science and engineering do well.
I realize it's awfully far in advance, but I can give some recommendations of what not to major in if you want to grad school afterwards.
Seriously, though, Mise and the above pretty much cover it. Pick something that requires core skills you have an aptitude for/like, and pick a traditional major. Hard science and engineering do well.
I realize it's awfully far in advance, but I can give some recommendations of what not to major in if you want to grad school afterwards.
hobbsyoyo
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It wouldn't hurt to print out the full course lists and their associated prereqs of the various degrees you have any interest in and going through them to get an idea of what it takes difficulty-wise to get that degree. Then you could cross-reference the list of degrees with employment stats such as salary, unemployment levels, etc. Then go with your gut as your research will inform the decision.
The job markets for a lot of fields are relatively stable in the long term. They are either always hiring or hardly hiring. It really isn't Business v Eng v anything. We're just telling the guy to do research and make an informed decision based on his wants, the facts and desired outcomes. Just pretending that job markets are unpredictable and therefore useless leaves the desired outcomes out of the equation which is a huge mistake. He should study what he wants but have the understanding that studying what he wants doesn't mean he'll be able to do what he wants if he picked the wrong degree, the wrong field, the wrong degree for the field he wants or has higher expectations than his degree field could ever deliver on.
Solid advice on taking a wide array of classes if he really has no clue.
<snip>
Moderator Action: No need for that.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889
Spoiler :
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
My post wasn't directed against anyone in this thread, but more against the general idea of selecting a future for yourself based solely on perceived job security or future pay. You should never take a job you'll hate just because it pays better than another that you may like more.
hobbsyoyo
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And I didn't mean to sound like I was personally attacking you, sorry about that. I also don't think he should take a job he hates but I think it's wise to weigh all of the options and potential outcomes. Like I said, he can go study in a field he loves but never reach the goal he wants (employment in that field) if there are no jobs or the jobs in that field don't meet his needs such as a living wage.
By 'desired outcomes', I meant a more holistic approach; certainly more than just salary considerations.
So for instance, how much does he value having the option of being mobile? To use my field as an example, there are not that many rocket factories in the country so I don't have the option to choose where I work. If I were to study English, however, I could teach or be a professor nearly anywhere in the country. So if I wanted to live in one area or stay near the folks, I wouldn't go into Aerospace.
Then there are financial, non-salary considerations. If you teach, you can count on solid pension plans and healthcare. Plus, teaching has this awesome thing called tenure that is about the best job guarantee you can get.
Some fields are decent at the entry level, but plateau after a few years and don't have many chances to advance.
Some fields pair well with other fields. What I mean is there are some degrees that go well together such that if he got a BS/BA/BFA in one field and then tacked on a masters in another field, there are combinations where that work really well and other fields where that doesn't work at all.
The companies or government agencies in some fields are actually likely to pay for an advanced degree. Both teaching and aerospace are like this; while it's not guaranteed, many schools and engineering firms will pay for an employee to go back to school. So if he wants to go on to get another degree, that's another consideration.
Oh and then there's things like the amount of paid time-off (teacher's get summers off, some fields get virtually no PTO), flextime (where you can work from home part or all of the time) and opportunities to take sabbaticals or even consult on the side (professors get those kinds of benefits).
By 'desired outcomes', I meant a more holistic approach; certainly more than just salary considerations.
So for instance, how much does he value having the option of being mobile? To use my field as an example, there are not that many rocket factories in the country so I don't have the option to choose where I work. If I were to study English, however, I could teach or be a professor nearly anywhere in the country. So if I wanted to live in one area or stay near the folks, I wouldn't go into Aerospace.
Then there are financial, non-salary considerations. If you teach, you can count on solid pension plans and healthcare. Plus, teaching has this awesome thing called tenure that is about the best job guarantee you can get.
Some fields are decent at the entry level, but plateau after a few years and don't have many chances to advance.
Some fields pair well with other fields. What I mean is there are some degrees that go well together such that if he got a BS/BA/BFA in one field and then tacked on a masters in another field, there are combinations where that work really well and other fields where that doesn't work at all.
The companies or government agencies in some fields are actually likely to pay for an advanced degree. Both teaching and aerospace are like this; while it's not guaranteed, many schools and engineering firms will pay for an employee to go back to school. So if he wants to go on to get another degree, that's another consideration.
Oh and then there's things like the amount of paid time-off (teacher's get summers off, some fields get virtually no PTO), flextime (where you can work from home part or all of the time) and opportunities to take sabbaticals or even consult on the side (professors get those kinds of benefits).
_random_
Jewel Runner
Sure, I'd like to hear your thoughts. I think academia might suit me eventually.
Here is m advice: pick something you're interested in, and can do WELL. If you aren't good at math, or have no interest in engineering, don't major in it. It's better to do really well in a liberal art field.
I majored in Political Science. I was super interested in politics, thought I was going to go to law school, then maybe run for office or work for some NGO and save the world. I didn't really seriously waiver from that until my last semester, when I realized I wanted to write instead, but couldn't change my major. Oh well.
If you want to study a liberal art, it doesn't matter at all which one you do. I'd probably pick English to be honest (which is what I would have majored in if I could do this all over again, if not economics), if you're going to do a liberal art degree, so you can get the most writing practice possible.
If you aren't doing STEM, and you're most concerned about work prospects, getting a job in college or building a professional network is more important than your coursework anyway.
I majored in Political Science. I was super interested in politics, thought I was going to go to law school, then maybe run for office or work for some NGO and save the world. I didn't really seriously waiver from that until my last semester, when I realized I wanted to write instead, but couldn't change my major. Oh well.
If you want to study a liberal art, it doesn't matter at all which one you do. I'd probably pick English to be honest (which is what I would have majored in if I could do this all over again, if not economics), if you're going to do a liberal art degree, so you can get the most writing practice possible.
If you aren't doing STEM, and you're most concerned about work prospects, getting a job in college or building a professional network is more important than your coursework anyway.
I'm a math major, currently in grad school.
I'm assuming you don't have any subjects that just seems awesome to you, nothing has jumped out yet, at least that's the situation I was in. I had no idea what to do, but leaned toward STEM for prestige/job reasons. I had a B in first semester calculus so I decided to focus on math since it would be important and any STEM major. Later on I hit some of the math classes further on in the curriculum and found I liked them much more, so that's where I ended up majoring.
As far as job prospects go STEM is your best bet, then recognizable degrees as other have mentioned, skip anything that doesn't sound real.
Then ask yourself: what am I good at/don't hate doing?
If you're good at writing then do English/Business/etc.
Are you good at problem solving? Math/physics
Do you like to tinker a lot? Computer Science
Are you good at "grinding World of Warcraft style? Engineering
etc. Figure out your strength and do something you're good at.
I'm assuming you don't have any subjects that just seems awesome to you, nothing has jumped out yet, at least that's the situation I was in. I had no idea what to do, but leaned toward STEM for prestige/job reasons. I had a B in first semester calculus so I decided to focus on math since it would be important and any STEM major. Later on I hit some of the math classes further on in the curriculum and found I liked them much more, so that's where I ended up majoring.
As far as job prospects go STEM is your best bet, then recognizable degrees as other have mentioned, skip anything that doesn't sound real.
Then ask yourself: what am I good at/don't hate doing?
If you're good at writing then do English/Business/etc.
Are you good at problem solving? Math/physics
Do you like to tinker a lot? Computer Science
Are you good at "grinding World of Warcraft style? Engineering
etc. Figure out your strength and do something you're good at.
caketastydelish
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The world is not exclusively divided between humanities and STEM fields- many things aren't in either one of those.
For example, Plumber. Go ahead and laugh but those people make good money and it's not a job I see being outsourced to India or replaced by robots any time soon.
For example, Plumber. Go ahead and laugh but those people make good money and it's not a job I see being outsourced to India or replaced by robots any time soon.
It's also not a job that requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher learning.
caketastydelish
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All the more reason to consider it.
No, all the more reason it's completely irrelevant to the person who started the thread.
caketastydelish
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No, I PMed Random a really long PM yesterday telling him what to do in terms of that so I've already helped him out in that regard.
Spoiler :
The considerations in grad school change a bit based on the field. As I understand it, it's somewhat more difficult for a grad-level humanities student (say, in literature) to find employment outside of academia because there is an expectation amongst employers you will cost more. It's a bit different for the people who study economics and public policy, though, they apparently tend to be more valuable than their undergrad counterparts. I'm not an expert in this field, though, just have talked to a few friends so I'd defer to the others in the thread with more rigorous experience there. There's also a general issue of becoming overqualified for some types of jobs if you want to go to industry afterwards--nobody wants to pay a PhD an extra $15k a year to do a Bachelor's job. In several engineering fields, you shift from a process engineering role to a project-design type role.
There is also some degree of convergence in STEM majors as far as research goes (my lab has chemical engineers of several stripes, organic, polymer, and one inorganic chemists, and medical students). There are also labs that focus on computational work (computer scientist/chemical engineer overlap), and plenty of other examples. So, if you know you want to work on X or can at least narrow it down a bit to X, Y, and Z, I'd pick a long-established undergrad major that feeds into each of those and has a basic set of classes you like or at least won't hate. For example, if you wanted to work in my group but hated the core biology classes, take the chemist or chemical engineering route and not the med student route. You end up in the same place, but you enjoyed your undergrad instead of making yourself miserable.
There's also the matter of compensation and pay--chemists and chemical engineers are working on the same projects in my group, but the chemical engineers are paid much better (~15% more). So if it's the application and not the core major that motivate you, I'd pick the best-paying route into that application.
If you have a Bachelor's only want to get a Master's then get out into the workforce, look at the grad schools you are applying to and see if they have both a Master's and a PhD program, and whether or not you can transition between them. It might be possible to backdoor your way into a Master's by signing up for the PhD, then dropping out after the qualifying exams. The difference? PhD candidates are usually paid a stipend as a research assistant, while Master's have to pay the school. You could get paid to do your Master's if you play your cards right.
Even in a STEM field, you should take this advice. Doing internships or summer jobs related to your field is always good advice.
sophie
Break My Heart
You aren't expected to declare your major until your second year generally. I'd recommend taking a bunch of classes and just seeing what interests you.
Like bundle, I've known what my major was going to be since I was 9, so not really the greatest person to ask.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
There's should be (a) subject/s you're interested in, something you wouldn't mind spending hours reading and studying about. And of course doing it in a future career. What is/are it/they?
Same here. I have difficulty relating to people who don't know what they want to do yet.
So not related to the thread then, as Dachs was saying.
I'm not defined by my job, I'm never going to "know what I want to do", I'll just take whatever cool opportunities come up.
