Any Suggestions For STEM Major For Me?

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After many days of thought, I have decided to enroll in a local CC online to get started on my potential degree for the Fall semester. Right now I plan on going through mostly the GE courses but I would like to figure out which major would be the best for me. I have an interest in any of the STEM majors however since I am more of a visual learner that daydreams too much, I am not sure which major would fit for me.

Although I can read adequately, I rarely read any books of interest. So I doubt a major that involves a lot of reading and writing would work for me. I find it much easier learning through images and enjoy watching movies and browsing the internet.

I had a good history in taking math and science classes in high school until the stressful environment had an influence in me withdrawing from caring about school and I almost ruined my senior year and graduation. I did take Calculus AB & BC in my junior year and I believe got the grades of B & C with a C as my overall grade. I should have studied for that class but instead I did the bare minimum of homework problems and studying. My mistake.

*Since I am an older student just outside the traditional age of most college students, I would prefer taking many courses with a more mature crowd that wants to learn rather than the partiers who slack off.

Any suggestions or advice?

Biology is way visual, not much math, and the visual elements are concrete. Chemistry is very conceptual and has a bit of math, but the visual components are not as concrete. Several engineering branches are very visual spacial, all have lots of math, but the visual elements are more in the schematics and line drawing representations. Physics has visual elements, lots of math, and the visual elements stink.

Really I advise you to take a class in each hard science and see what fits you best, also take an intro to engineering class for mechanical or civil engineering. Also think about what you want to do, and what job opportunities are going to be available from a degree in the different fields and if you would want to do those jobs.

The beauty of going to college/university is that you can learn however you want to learn. If you find that you're more into learning from videos and images - there are probably hundreds on the Internet suited to your purpose - you just have to look for them.
It would be easier if you had an end-goal in mind, e.g. wanting to work in a laboratory, not wanting to work with people, etc which would narrow down your selection criteria. On the other hand, if you're not pressured by having to do this as a career, you could also just try out a few courses - I'm sure that there are some institutions where you live who would let you sit in on classes from time to time to get a feel for what you would be studying. If this was a career decision, I would have also advised you to speak to people in the profession to ask their opinions.

It's hard to suggest a major when you don't list any of your interests or what type of job you want!

Part 1:

Well the problem is I am not sure what I exactly want in a job. I know I cannot handle working well over 50+ hours a week in a stressful environment with a lot of people like in businesses. On the other side I need some human interaction and not all work all day alone. Perhaps in a small business with a few co-workers. Now since I am an eccentric person they may not enjoy my company but I cannot help my weird "quirks".

For pay I do not need a high paying career but enough that I can live comfortably independent with some savings for retirement. I will need some free time after work as I would have other interests outside of my job. I know most jobs allow this but they are a few that require dedication to the work with little distractions. I cannot concentrate that long for such a job without burning out.

Part 2:

I am not sure if this will be relevant to the first part of your question but I will give it a shot:

For my interests I did not develop any hobbies/interests related to any career in my youth. I did collect many toys as a hobby, including building with LEGO pieces. I am not sure how that would fit into a job. Perhaps collecting samples of fossils, rocks, etc.?

I also did like enjoy building with LEGO until my hands grew too big and my coordination worsened with age. I made many attempts to try to experiment and create new designs but for the most part I did not work as planned. Instead of having a bunch of LEGO sets for display, I have several big buckets of pieces randomly assorted. I was drawn in a lot to the Space themed sets.

Years later I renewed my interest for LEGO for a time and did acquire sets I was too young to receive in my youth (including many space themed sets like M:Tron). I still have that collection with me with most of the sets still intact but I did not to touch them as my motor skills have declined.

I will say that I do want to be able to solve problems like a complex math equation I suppose. I do think way too much and I believe I can use that to my advantage. I think I also would enjoy designing stuff as well but I am not sure if I would be good at it.

Part 3

I remember taking Biology and Chemistry in high school and they were not bad classes. They were much better than the English classes and were more entertaining than the Math classes. Though I enjoyed doing the experiments in the class, my motor skills made it a bit of a challenge to measure the exact amount of liquids and handling fragile cells, etc. I am not sure I could do that since I am a clumsy oaf now. I did not take any Physic classes as the teachers pushed towards taking more history and math related classes. I am not sure why they pointed me towards that direction as I was just as good in those classes as the science classes.

I am definitely going to see someone at the Career Center at the college to seek advice. I have taken a couple of career tests in the past with inconclusive answers unfortunately. Since I do enjoy the aspects of Outer Space, I have enrolled in an introductory to astronomy lab course. That might be a major of interest though I heard the job field in astronomy requires a PhD and luck to get a job.

I am not sure if my response will help but I am assuming my interests in my youth might steer me into a direction. That or I am just rambling again.

Based on that, Mechanical Engineering would probably be a good fit, the job consists of mostly designing and troubleshooting mechanical pieces of equipment. Typically things like pumps, compressors, motors, engines, refrigeration systems, that sort of thing. A lot of math is involved and it is challenging work. Check out the other engineering fields while you're at it, if you have any questions about them I can try my best to answer. I agree that you probably would need a PhD to get a good job in astronomy or physics...actually most non-engineering science fields will require an advanced degree to really make a good career out of them.

Doh, it never occurred to me that my father is a Civil Engineer and my brother is in school for Engineering.

I am not sure if Engineering would be the best fit since I am eccentric and I am very nontraditional but I will do some research on it. If I do end up in such a job will just make sure not to work for the company my father is working with right now. He HATES it and it is adding more stress to his life.

Don't worry, most engineers are eccentric and nontraditional too

My Dad has been a Civil Engineer for over 35 years, working at the same corporation, and he told me I would not fit in the professional atmosphere.

Thanks for the answers everyone. I will get more answers when I take more career tests that will lead to the right direction.