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Jaejoongfangirl
Sea Gull
Joined: Oct 20, 2007
Posts: 207
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 Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:28 pm Post subject: Help with majors? |
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I have no idea what I want to major in. I still have a year until I'm in college, but I'm currently looking at schools and trying to figure out where to apply. Having some idea about my major would probably help me find a good fit or at least narrow down the choices.
My English teacher this year told me that my writing style, ideas, and thoughts in essays were outstanding and that I should think about becoming an English major.
I enjoy literature, but I do not know if majoring in literature or English would open up many desirable career options for me. I do not want to become a secretary and would hate to have to write memos for an office. I’ve thought about editing, but I don’t really know what it means. Is editing just catching typos or is it something more? Plus, I’d just be assisting with someone else’s ideas.
I like writing analytical essays about books and exploring character motivations, but I don’t really see that sort of essay writing as an immediately available career option.
However, even though I don’t know how I’d make a career based exclusively upon it, I think that my essay writing talent can assist me in whatever I ultimately decide to major in.
I’ve also thought about teaching. However, the pay generally isn’t very good and I’d likely be stuck teaching a number of uninspired and uncaring students who are there just to get their required English credit. Unless I got a PhD and became a college professor with enough prestige to teach an elective (which would take quite a while), I doubt I’d enjoy it very much.
I also enjoyed Chemistry class this year. I’ve understood almost every concept the very first day it was discussed in class and frequently received over 100% on exams that the majority of the class bombed.
Recently, I visited a college and was allowed to sit in on a General Chemistry class. Even though I’d never studied the concept before, by the end of the class I understood it so well that I could have done the homework that the professor had assigned the students for that evening.
I don’t know what aspect of chemistry I would want to focus on yet, but I’m taking Chem. AP my senior year so I can figure that out later, I guess.
I also love foreign languages. I’ve been taking Spanish for almost 6 years (total) and tend to retain the vocabulary and grammar concepts very well since I enjoy it so much. I use words and phrases in my everyday conversations and I’m fascinated by the concept of language and culture. All the different words, accents, writing systems, etc. are just so intriguing. The fact that people rely on words so much for communication, and yet there are so many separate varieties of language utilized on a daily basis across the globe is astounding to me. I’m not interested solely in Spanish, but in many other languages as well.
I don’t know about majoring in this, though. Being bilingual/multilingual seems more like an auxiliary advantage than a central skill that would relate to specific careers.
I just wanted to ask people's opinion on which one of these options seems like it would be most realistic or advantageous for getting a job in the future. Are science or education majors generally more sought after than English or foreign language majors? |
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Phagocyte
Low-Functioning NT
Joined: Oct 16, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 1924
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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Well, as a biology major I find science very rewarding and enjoyable, albeit certainly not easy, so I vouch for the science option. Also, some universities allow undergraduates to participate in research, which can be rather exciting and really brings the science major full circle. I know that at least the life sciences is a very versatile major, you can go into medicine (chemistry is a good major for that) or research as I plan to do. By the way, chem is a subject that people commonly consider one of the tougher subjects, it's admirable (and fairly uncommon) that you have such a skill in it.
But, that's just my opinion based on my tastes. If I were you, I would take a very wide sampling of courses during your first year and attend undeclared for a while. You really can't tell what you like until you get your feet wet.
Regardless of what you choose, best of luck to you. 
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Awesomelyglorious
Destroyer of worlds, reaver of souls
Joined: Dec 18, 2005
Posts: 6120
Location: United States
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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Science majors are more desired than Arts majors. I do not think that English educators are in high demand, but I do not know for certain.
Umm... have you ever thought about studying neuroscience and then going into medicine? Psychology might not be an uninteresting field to you as you seem to like understanding language, culture, and motivation, and on the neurological level there is an overlap between it and chemistry. If you go to med school then you could potentially make some significant money.
Chemistry alone is not a terrible choice, and chemists can make about 40k right out of college.
Out of the options you mentioned, chemistry will give you the most money. Umm... chemical engineering does better than the chemists, but it is very very demanding and demands a good skill at math.
If you want to explore additional sides of your person, you could major in chemistry for money, and then minor in something you like more, such as English, or Language, or even a meta-study that might include background in both such as sociology, psychology, or philosophy. If you can't tell though, I hate the arts, but do not mind more systematic approaches to the phenomena.
Also, you can keep in mind that additional options will also exist.
The fields that make bank are physics, computer science, chemistry, any engineering, mathematics, economics/finance, other business, medicine(if you go to med school), law(if you go to law school), and yeah... hopefully that provides some perspective.
Last edited by Awesomelyglorious on Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4243
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:37 pm Post subject: |
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I second the vote for science, but I'm a tad biased, since I'm pre-med. As far as what gives you better options career-wise, science/enigneering majors graduate with job offers that often pay better starting out than someone in education will earn after 30+ years of teaching experience. Doctors, of course, are well-compensated for their work. English majors... I've got no idea what they could possibly do with their degree, the first thing that jumps to mind is college professor, but given that many English majors are competing for limited professorships and the relatively low wages of professors in general, that doesn't sound promising. At least, not if money is an important factor in your career decision. Foreign language, ditto the "no idea what you can do with that degree."
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tlcoopi7
Blue Jay
Joined: Jan 12, 2008
Age: 27
Posts: 91
Location: Illinois
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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Use the first year to focus on the general education requirements. That way you can get them out of the way before choosing a major. Here are my recommondations of getting the required general education requirements out of the way
First semester:
Comp 1
Public speaking (if you fear public speaking, taking the class first will get it out of the way)
Humananities elective
Math
Science elective (non-lab)
Second semester:
Science lab
Social science elective
Humanaties elective
elective
I will wait until your second year of college to take Comp 2.
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4243
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Awesomelyglorious wrote: | | Chemistry alone is not a terrible choice, and chemists can make about 40k right out of college. |
You're underselling it, AG. I know chem majors who have turned down six-figure salaries. Chem engineering, as you said, is even higher pay, and I have been told that you can make even more money (and with a fairly minimal level of education and ability) if you are willing to, as one acquaintance put it, "sell your soul to the oil companies."
| Quote: | | If you want to explore additional sides of your person, you could major in chemistry for money, and then minor in something you like more, such as English, or Language, or even a meta-study that might include background in both such as sociology, psychology, or philosophy. |
That's essentially what I'm doing. Pursuing medicine as a career, music as a hobby. It is possible to study things you find interesting without making your life miserable by trying to drag a career out of them.
| Quote: | | The fields that make bank are physics, computer science, chemistry, any engineering, mathematics, economics/finance, other business, medicine(if you go to med school), law(if you go to law school), and yeah... hopefully that provides some perspective. |
As a side note, physics only pays well if you use it to become an engineer. Physicists get paid terribly, largely because they haven't been doing much lately except making up nonsense about invisible strings. Computer science pays well if you're really good, otherwise you're not getting a job. There's stiff competition, but once you show yourself capable you get plenty of good offers. Same for engineering. Mathematics, like physics, is probably harder to make a career out of unless you apply it to something else. Econ/finance/business I don't know much about (is that what you're in?) but a couple uncles of mine are lawyers, and lawyers tend to be better off than engineers. Medicine, as already stated, is always a good option if you're interested in money, but med school is quite expensive and also, from what I've heard, rather stressful.
Aside from these pecuniary considerations, you also have to think about what you enjoy. If you have a knack for chemistry and find it at least mildly interesting, go for that. You'll be in a field where you have financial security and where you won't have to get on your knees and beg for job opportunities. But, if you don't like chemistry, don't make your life miserable just so you can have a better paycheck. Try to find something where you can live off your salary, but if you're happier as an English professor earning 40K a year than as an MD earning 400K, choose the former.
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Awesomelyglorious
Destroyer of worlds, reaver of souls
Joined: Dec 18, 2005
Posts: 6120
Location: United States
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:05 am Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: |
You're underselling it, AG. I know chem majors who have turned down six-figure salaries. Chem engineering, as you said, is even higher pay, and I have been told that you can make even more money (and with a fairly minimal level of education and ability) if you are willing to, as one acquaintance put it, "sell your soul to the oil companies." |
Well, a lot of it will depend on your school and what you do there. The average for a chem major is a bit over 40k, so to sell it as over 40k is honest.
| Quote: |
As a side note, physics only pays well if you use it to become an engineer. Physicists get paid terribly, largely because they haven't been doing much lately except making up nonsense about invisible strings. Computer science pays well if you're really good, otherwise you're not getting a job. There's stiff competition, but once you show yourself capable you get plenty of good offers. Same for engineering. Mathematics, like physics, is probably harder to make a career out of unless you apply it to something else. Econ/finance/business I don't know much about (is that what you're in?) but a couple uncles of mine are lawyers, and lawyers tend to be better off than engineers. Medicine, as already stated, is always a good option if you're interested in money, but med school is quite expensive and also, from what I've heard, rather stressful. |
Well, I think that the issue is that the math and technical skills are useful for a number of careers while the actual subject itself sucks. If you go into actual physics then you won't get good pay, but the degree does not suck, you just work too hard for too little. CS does have competition. Mathematics can be good, not for the abstractness but rather because it shows you are a good thinker and because of the utility of statistics and modeling and such. Econ/finance/business are not bad fields. Law only is good if you are really good, it sucks if you are not as most people straight out of law get crap jobs. Law school is stressful the first year.
| Quote: |
Aside from these pecuniary considerations, you also have to think about what you enjoy. If you have a knack for chemistry and find it at least mildly interesting, go for that. You'll be in a field where you have financial security and where you won't have to get on your knees and beg for job opportunities. But, if you don't like chemistry, don't make your life miserable just so you can have a better paycheck. Try to find something where you can live off your salary, but if you're happier as an English professor earning 40K a year than as an MD earning 400K, choose the former. |
Bah, do your research to find situations that maximize your prospects. |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4243
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:46 am Post subject: |
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| Awesomelyglorious wrote: | | Law only is good if you are really good, it sucks if you are not as most people straight out of law get crap jobs. Law school is stressful the first year. |
I think that's actually true for most of the fields we've listed: it's great if you're really good, otherwise you get stuck in crappier jobs. And I don't know much about law school, but I do know sleep deprivation is a highly popular lifestyle choice among med students.
| Quote: | | Bah, do your research to find situations that maximize your prospects. |
:shrugs: Eh, I'll be poor (relatively speaking) in the career path I've chosen. Research doctors have to beg people to fund their projects and don't often get to have much of a life outside their work.
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Jaejoongfangirl
Sea Gull
Joined: Oct 20, 2007
Posts: 207
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 3:14 am Post subject: |
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Although money is somewhat of a concern for me, I’d much rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable. The thing is, like I said in the opening post, I don't know what job will make me happy yet.
I didn't know Chemistry was such a profitable major... That's really good to know. And the fact that there are so many career options for a Chem. major is really heartening as well. I hope I still enjoy Chemistry by the end of next year so I'll know whether or not it's the major for me.
Med School also sounds like an interesting option. I’ll definitely look into that and try and find out more about what exactly it entails.
Getting a minor in either a language or two or in something more abstract and analytical like psychology would be very interesting as well. Not only would it be enjoyable, but I may be able to travel abroad or something like that. Plus, being bilingual never hurt anyone and I tend to overanalyze everything anyway. 
Thanks for all the replies! They are very helpful and much appreciated! |
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Awesomelyglorious
Destroyer of worlds, reaver of souls
Joined: Dec 18, 2005
Posts: 6120
Location: United States
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: |
I think that's actually true for most of the fields we've listed: it's great if you're really good, otherwise you get stuck in crappier jobs. And I don't know much about law school, but I do know sleep deprivation is a highly popular lifestyle choice among med students. |
Not really, you are overestimating the difference, which is why I was looking at the average. I think law has a major difference and I think is particularly noted for that. The other majors do not have quite as big of an issue as I think law does. Really though, I think in any option, there is going to be some difference, but some professions are noted for even bigger differences. |
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Phagocyte
Low-Functioning NT
Joined: Oct 16, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 1924
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:56 am Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: |
| Quote: | | Bah, do your research to find situations that maximize your prospects. |
:shrugs: Eh, I'll be poor (relatively speaking) in the career path I've chosen. Research doctors have to beg people to fund their projects and don't often get to have much of a life outside their work. |
M.D. researchers still get paid better than Ph.D researchers, much like the applied/pure mathematician wage gap. Are you doing the M.D./Ph.D option?
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I am neurotypical - I just want to find out more about Asperger's Syndrome.
But Master! Does not the fire need water too? Does not the mountain need the storm? Does not your scrotum need kicking?
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4243
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Phagocyte wrote: | | Orwell wrote: |
| Quote: | | Bah, do your research to find situations that maximize your prospects. |
:shrugs: Eh, I'll be poor (relatively speaking) in the career path I've chosen. Research doctors have to beg people to fund their projects and don't often get to have much of a life outside their work. |
M.D. researchers still get paid better than Ph.D researchers, much like the applied/pure mathematician wage gap. Are you doing the M.D./Ph.D option? |
Yes, but I'm still not sure exactly where one goes to get a job in medical research. I'll PM you with questions so as not to hijack this thread.
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Nan
Phoenix
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Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 3158
Location: left coast
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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a lot of it depends on why you're going to university.
if you're going for "personal enrichment", study something you find interesting. you'll find some kind of work to do eventually no matter what your major, and, quite frankly, a lot of majors won't get you very far in the work world with only an undergraduate degree. so, if you're going to major in literature or "communications" or sociology (or so on), do so because you are interested in it. you can't do a whole lot with them, particularly, without significant postgraduate work. you're not looking at having anything other than the opportunity to say you got an undergraduate degree in many fields. if you love it, do it. but don't expect it to pay for itself financially, necessarily.
if you're looking at it as a career prep, i'd say take some career tests, see how well you score in both the aptitude and interest parts, then look at current placement rates and job growth opportunities (these stats should be available at any good career or advising center in a school) and pick one that looks like you can handle the degree program and eventually earn the kind of money you expect back from your investment. be aware that the typical worker makes it about 3 years in a given job these days, and that most people will change career fields several times over their working lives. try to pick something that won't pigeon-hole you into one career/industry only, if you can.
if you are only going to college/university because it's expected of you, you might want to take a year or two off and get a job and save some money. it will give you time to think about what it is you might really like to do.
best of luck to you!
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curiouslittleboy
Deinonychus
Joined: Jun 07, 2007
Age: 20
Posts: 328
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Orwell wrote: |
As a side note, physics only pays well if you use it to become an engineer. Physicists get paid terribly, largely because they haven't been doing much lately except making up nonsense about invisible strings. Computer science pays well if you're really good, otherwise you're not getting a job. There's stiff competition, but once you show yourself capable you get plenty of good offers. Same for engineering. Mathematics, like physics, is probably harder to make a career out of unless you apply it to something else. Econ/finance/business I don't know much about (is that what you're in?) but a couple uncles of mine are lawyers, and lawyers tend to be better off than engineers. Medicine, as already stated, is always a good option if you're interested in money, but med school is quite expensive and also, from what I've heard, rather stressful.
Aside from these pecuniary considerations, you also have to think about what you enjoy. If you have a knack for chemistry and find it at least mildly interesting, go for that. You'll be in a field where you have financial security and where you won't have to get on your knees and beg for job opportunities. But, if you don't like chemistry, don't make your life miserable just so you can have a better paycheck. Try to find something where you can live off your salary, but if you're happier as an English professor earning 40K a year than as an MD earning 400K, choose the former. |
It isn't being made up. It's the main candidate for the next standard model of physics, in the same way Einstein's Relativity was about a hundred years before.
What's more, the idea of that that's all they do is a load of horseshit right there, Orwell.
I was at UPenn's Summer Program in Physics last year.
I saw a bunch of things going on. Nano-technology, Solar Energy, partical physics, etc.
And there's a ton of stuff going on in Optics, to the point where it's now on the brink of becoming a new field of Engineering.
You ever checked out UM:CP? They have one of the best applied physics dept's around and focus on things like Cryogenics, Optics, Chaos Theory, etc.
As for their salary,
that varies tremendiously depending on what type of Physicist you are (Experiemental vs. Theorical), and how good you are at your job (which may or may not show based on what University you work at).
Top Experiemental Physicists earn up to 2 million per year, while top Theorical ones are about a half a million because the former's need of equipment and supplies in their labs.
Granted, you are correct in the having to get grants and, in a way, "beg" people with money for it.
In fact, this is one of the reasons I wanted to go into CS or EE instead of becoming a Professor of Physics. |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
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Age: 19
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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| curiouslittleboy wrote: | | It isn't being made up. It's the main candidate for the next standard model of physics, in the same way Einstein's Relativity was about a hundred years before. |
All right, I'm a bit disdainful of Unified Theory attempts. They don't have any testable predictions yet, from what I've heard.
| Quote: | What's more, the idea of that that's all they do is a load of horseshit right there, Orwell.
I was at UPenn's Summer Program in Physics last year. |
UPenn sucks, as a side not.
| Quote: | I saw a bunch of things going on. Nano-technology, Solar Energy, partical physics, etc.
And there's a ton of stuff going on in Optics, to the point where it's now on the brink of becoming a new field of Engineering.
You ever checked out UM:CP? They have one of the best applied physics dept's around and focus on things like Cryogenics, Optics, Chaos Theory, etc. |
As I said, physics is great if you apply it to engineering. Other than that, not so great.
| Quote: | As for their salary,that varies tremendiously depending on what type of Physicist you are (Experiemental vs. Theorical), and how good you are at your job (which may or may not show based on what University you work at).
Top Experiemental Physicists earn up to 2 million per year, while top Theorical ones are about a half a million because the former's need of equipment and supplies in their labs. |
Those are definitely exceptions to the general rule. Looking at averages online, I can see that several of them are skewed by including people working in engineering who have physics degrees. My point was that physics as a career, rather than as training to do something in engineering or a similar field, does not pay well. Even so, physicists with PhDs get paid less than engineers with a bachelor's degree. Chemists make more than physicists, as do doctors (obviously). But Physics can be an excellent option if you then go on to apply that knowledge to another career field, which is usually engineering. I briefly considered doing a dual major in engineering and physics.
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