Choosing a major

[High Rise Nation]

Many people going into college or people already in college sometimes have a hard time deciding on a major. Many people choose a major depending on their interests and other people choose a major depending on the demand of a certain job. How should we really choose our major when we go into college? should we choose a career that we will actually enjoy? or choose a job that will give us a good amount of money because the demand for people in that job is high?

[Card Storage 01]

I am planning to do a little of both, as I plan to major in zoology/biology, and specifically herpetology if possible. I love reptiles, and there isn't bad pay if you get a job

[Earthbound Immortal Squad]

I suppose it depends on what sort of a vision you have for your future personally I chose something I was good at and would give me good career prospects too. It all depends on the degree you choose I always believed in a balance of the two factors but if you don't enjoy it then there is no point at all.

[Saiwania]

College in general, is a bad decision if you're not going into a career field that absolutely requires it, such as if you're becoming a Doctor, Lawyer, or Accountant. The tuition for university is expensive enough. Don't jeopardize your future with substantial student loan debt. If you're going to go, you might as well make damned sure that your financial prospects will be good enough to warrant pursuing a degree that'll ultimately cost a lot.

More and more people are going to wake up to the fact that degrees aren't worth as much anymore, certainly not like was the case in the 1960s to 1970s. Everyone is going to college these days, so there is nothing special about it.

If you're really at a loss as to how to launch a career, my recommendation is to follow what people who do HR for a living recommend. You usually need work experience to make it more likely to get more work experience to put on a resume, but if you have none and no accomplishments, you will need to take volunteer and temp agency work until you're competitive enough for entry level, and then you'll be ready for jobs that want a resume.

Skilled trades are said to pay more than a ton of college graduate programs. Go for whatever pays the most money, with money you can get your life in order if you can budget and invest well enough. Doing "what you enjoy" is for suckers if that happens to not pay you much.

[Pim Fortuyn]

Whatever you do, don’t choose Lesbian Dance Theory as you undergrad major. They don’t teach you how to use Quicken and I wasn’t able to get any internships at accounting firms.

[Jebslund]

College in general, is a bad decision if you're not going into a career field that absolutely requires it, such as if you're becoming a Doctor, Lawyer, or Accountant. The tuition for university is expensive enough. Don't jeopardize your future with substantial student loan debt. If you're going to go, you might as well make damned sure that your financial prospects will be good enough to warrant pursuing a degree that'll ultimately cost a lot.

More and more people are going to wake up to the fact that degrees aren't worth as much anymore, certainly not like was the case in the 1960s to 1970s. Everyone is going to college these days, so there is nothing special about it.

If you're really at a loss as to how to launch a career, my recommendation is to follow what people who do HR for a living recommend. You usually need work experience to make it more likely to get more work experience to put on a resume, but if you have none and no accomplishments, you will need to take volunteer and temp agency work until you're competitive enough for entry level, and then you'll be ready for jobs that want a resume.

Skilled trades are said to pay more than a ton of college graduate programs. Go for whatever pays the most money, with money you can get your life in order if you can budget and invest well enough. Doing "what you enjoy" is for suckers if that happens to not pay you much.

Considering how many jobs are requiring either degrees or years of experience even for entry-level jobs, getting a degree is actually a very good idea, provided you choose one based on the job you want.

As for doing volunteer and temp work, that's nice, but neither provides a reliable source of income, so, while it's great if you have a relative or friend willing to let you stay with them rent-free, it's not so good an idea if you actually have to pay to have a roof over your head and food on your table (and a table to put said food on).

Even skilled trades are going to want a degree or experience, so, in the end, college is the best way to go if you go about it smartly and work hard. Your degree is worth the effort you put into it and the skills you learn from it. If all you can say is that you have a degree, of course it's going to be worthless, because you just saying, "I have a degree" doesn't say anything other than you paid money and did coursework. On the other hand, "I am skilled in X, Y, and Z, which I learned by studying for my Bachelor's in ABC" has a lot more worth, because it demonstrates that you actually learned and retained the course material, and that you are willing and able to devote yourself to learning a job.

[Xmara]

I’m double majoring in biology and criminal justice and minoring in chemistry. I’m going into forensics.

Whatever you do, don’t choose Lesbian Dance Theory as you undergrad major. They don’t teach you how to use Quicken and I wasn’t able to get any internships at accounting firms.

Wait is that a real major? If it is, what would you even use it for?

[Cannot think of a name]

Well, there are a lot of things that go into it.

If you're reading off a list of 'jobs that are in demand', will they be 'in demand' in four to six years? Also, do you suppose every other undecided went in having read that list? Do you have any aptitude whatsoever in those fields? Are you going to end up being a mediocre person in a field of hopefuls who all read a list of 'in demand' jobs four years ago? Will that job last your lifetime or are you going to have to 'retrain' for the next 'in demand' job in a couple years? Do you really think you can do that crap for the rest of your life, 40 or more hours a week, week in and week out? Will the money keep you from contemplating driving your Audi off the bridge on the way home now that you dedicated your life to a picket fence and two car garage with 2.6 kids a wife and a yard?

On the other hand, are you a middle class kid who has the support network and blind optimism to make a go at something that may not pay your bills or be something you can make a living at? Or are you from a poor or struggling family that's hoping you can become self sufficient as soon as possible because everyone is struggling to keep their heads above water and they could use the help?

Are you lucky enough to be good at something lucrative or stable? Where you get to have the best of both worlds where you're doing something you like and make a decent living, like a mechanic who loves working on cars or an accountant that loves numbers and whatnot?

Here's the good news. People change their minds about what it is they're going to do in the early stages all the time. And in the late stages. A friend of mine went all the way through to a masters in materials engineering from CalPoly and a job at Aerojet and then decided that us teasing him about making missiles was too much and went and got a completely different degree in counseling to help at risk youth. Money humpers will tell you he's a fool, but he's doing fine and he's a lot happier than he was trying to make bombs more accurate.

Find something you can do without it driving you out of your mind because you'll have to do it a lot. Then try and find a way to make money doing it because you have to eat and pay rent and shit. It's a delicate balance.

But then, my degrees are in music, film, and playwrighting. So...you know...

[Saiwania]

Even skilled trades are going to want a degree or experience, so, in the end, college is the best way to go if you go about it smartly and work hard. Your degree is worth the effort you put into it and the skills you learn from it. If all you can say is that you have a degree, of course it's going to be worthless, because you just saying, "I have a degree" doesn't say anything other than you paid money and did coursework. On the other hand, "I am skilled in X, Y, and Z, which I learned by studying for my Bachelor's in ABC" has a lot more worth, because it demonstrates that you actually learned and retained the course material, and that you are willing and able to devote yourself to learning a job.

This credential inflation bullshit really pisses me off, but all I can say with certainty is that outside of select fields that are low risk and have high demand for those services such as a Dentist or a tax accountant, college is not the answer. Fuck paying $20,000+ for 2 to 4 years to get some piece of paper that ultimately won't pay off. Like I said, if too many people are going to college, any degree you can get will inherently have less worth than would be the case if relatively few people were able or willing to go to college. It's a rip off in a ton of cases, it doesn't just apply to degrees that're obviously BS such as "marketing" but also to degrees that sound good.

There are tons of people who can't make their degrees pay off any, so they wind up never paying off their student loan or only pay it all off decades later. It's better in my view to bypass the need to college. Bill Gates for example, quit what he was doing because his Microsoft idea was objectively better. It made him the richest man ever for a long time.

That is the sort of thing people should be aspiring to.

[Earthbound Immortal Squad]

That may be true in America unfortunately in the UK there is a very differently story you practically need a degree for anything these days it's quite sad really.

[Saiwania]

As for doing volunteer and temp work, that's nice, but neither provides a reliable source of income, so, while it's great if you have a relative or friend willing to let you stay with them rent-free, it's not so good an idea if you actually have to pay to have a roof over your head and food on your table (and a table to put said food on).

It is still a good idea for a person with a blank resume, because chances are- no one is going to hire them for a paying job anyways. They have to first have any kind of experience to point to, even if the only way to get it is to offer their services for free.

The career world, I now view as a positive feedback loop where you'll only get out what you put in. If you have successes, that will lead to perhaps more successes, and if you keep the momentum up, you'll be in good shape if you keep progressing in status and importance. If you fail or stop for too long however, you lose and won't stop losing until you do what is necessary to get back in the game.

None of it is fair or a cake walk initially. Just take what you can get if nothing is going your way.

[Krasny-Volny]

Many people going into college or people already in college sometimes have a hard time deciding on a major. Many people choose a major depending on their interests and other people choose a major depending on the demand of a certain job. How should we really choose our major when we go into college?

Don't go to college. Work in the field you think you want to major in, if possible. No matter how menial the job is. Work in it FULL TIME. Do this for at least two years.

At the end of two years, you'll have had:

1. A chance to observe the people firsthand in the field you think you want.
2. Know far more about your legit career prospects than 90% of college grads aspiring to the same profession.
3. Know exactly how much money you're going to make, and what the benefits/drawbacks are.
4. Know exactly what the work entails. How much of it corresponds to your preconceptions, and what it realistically consists of.

If you don't know what field you want to major in, don't go to college. Look into any career field you might be remotely interested in majoring in, and do the same as above. If you don't like the work, quit and repeat until you find something you actually like.

College is a monumental cost. A massive investment of time and money.

You do not want to make this investment unless you know exactly what you're going to get out of it aside from hangovers and the freshman 15.

should we choose a career that we will actually enjoy? or choose a job that will give us a good amount of money because the demand for people in that job is high?

Working in the career (or even a variety of careers) before going to college will help you to answer this question. Usually it's a mix, but you might find you're thrilled to be working for peanuts just because you love the work so much, or go to the other extreme and realize how important money really is when it comes to a career.

[Krasny-Volny]

As for doing volunteer and temp work, that's nice, but neither provides a reliable source of income, so, while it's great if you have a relative or friend willing to let you stay with them rent-free, it's not so good an idea if you actually have to pay to have a roof over your head and food on your table (and a table to put said food on).

It is still a good idea for a person with a blank resume, because chances are- no one is going to hire them for a paying job anyways. They have to first have any kind of experience to point to, even if the only way to get it is to offer their services for free.

Nobody has a blank resume in the US these days. Even teenagers mow lawns or work at MacDonald's in the summer or part-time during the school year. All of that goes into the good old resume.

[Cannot think of a name]

It is still a good idea for a person with a blank resume, because chances are- no one is going to hire them for a paying job anyways. They have to first have any kind of experience to point to, even if the only way to get it is to offer their services for free.

Nobody has a blank resume in the US these days. Even teenagers mow lawns or work at MacDonald's in the summer or part-time during the school year. All of that goes into the good old resume.

"Tell me, how has your lawn mowing experience prepared you for the position of on sight structural integrity management in deep surface drilling?"

"Well...um...if the grass was, like, greener...there might have been something underneath it or something?"

[Saiwania]

Nobody has a blank resume in the US these days. Even teenagers mow lawns or work at MacDonald's in the summer or part-time during the school year. All of that goes into the good old resume.

Tons of NEETs have blank resumes. I have a blank resume for the most part. Chris Chan is said to have quite a poor work history. It's a 21st century phenonenon that there are adult children that don't move out after High School or College to the dismay of their long suffering parents and family and there is lots of anguish over how far they've failed.

I can go on, but people get the point now? It's apparently present in other rich countries as well such as Japan, although maybe to a more limited extent.

[Cannot think of a name]

Nobody has a blank resume in the US these days. Even teenagers mow lawns or work at MacDonald's in the summer or part-time during the school year. All of that goes into the good old resume.

Tons of NEETs have blank resumes. I have a blank resume for the most part. Chris Chan is said to have quite a poor work history. It's a 21st century phenonenon that there are adult children that don't move out after High School or College to the dismay of their long suffering parents and family and there is lots of anguish over how far they've failed.

I can go on, but people get the point now? It's aparently present in other rich countries as well such as Japan, although maybe to a more limited extent.

That shit started in the 90s.

[Saiwania]

That shit started in the 90s.

Well whatever the cause, it is bad. Most western societies are failing to transition all young people into successfully launching a career. Most people seem to be doing fine enough, even if it might be at lower pay than they want, if they're starting out. But some people do slip through the cracks and get left behind.

I'd say it was a combination of not knowing how everything works ahead of time, and my own shortcomings and laziness. I'm just not the ambitious sort. In my view, I should've just listened to HR people early in life; as opposed to thinking college would make me any better off. That's a lie that K-12 sells people, the notion that you have to have some fancy degree to eventually get to a good income and have access to a good lifestyle.

It is not at all like the 1950s anymore, where nearly everyone who wanted to work, could more easily find work and move forward on a normal life progression.

[Earthbound Immortal Squad]

That shit started in the 90s.

Well whatever the cause, it is bad. Most western societies are failing to transition all young people into successfully launching a career. Most people seem to be doing fine enough, even if it might be at lower pay than they want, if they're starting out. But some people do slip through the cracks and get left behind.

I'd say it was a combination of not knowing how everything works ahead of time, and my own shortcomings and laziness. I'm just not the ambitious sort. In my view, I should've just listened to HR people early in life; as opposed to thinking college would make me any better off. That's a lie that K-12 sells people, the notion that you have to have some fancy degree to eventually get to a good income and have access to a good lifestyle.

It is also heavily dependent on what degree you get and a lot of them are meaningless especially when degrees are becoming more common.

[Novas Arcanum]

Choose a major that's practical and will be in demand by the time you graduate.

EDIT:That's my advice do whatever you want.

[Erythrean Thebes]

The overblown wizardry in this department is remarkable. Just do what you're willing to do; if you're not willing to overlook the bells and whistles of what's going to make you financially lucrative in the job market, then don't overlook it! If it's really not important to you then own up to that and accept whatever circumstances you want to put yourself in. Don't be manipulated by some imaginary leash of concerns and factors you aren't sure if matter or not. They either matter to you or not, and you need to figure that out

[Cetacea]

College/University are primarily research centers where academics gather, so if you are interested in academic theories and learning that process then go to college, the skills you learn can be adapted as you move forward but probably wont contribute directly to career outcomes
If you want a Career go to a Technical College (that includes Medicine, Engineering, Architecture and Law) especially one directly linked to industry so that you are learning what real employers actually want and use.

my advice is to do both if you can, get a career focussed technical skill and go and study something for pleasure too - if you're innovative and lucky you might get to combine the two...

[Vashty]

Can someone explain American degrees to me? I can't fathom why you'd want someone to get tested in more than one subject area for a single subject degree. Speaking as a Brit with a BA Hons History with Politics.

[Cannot think of a name]

Can someone explain American degrees to me? I can't fathom why you'd want someone to get tested in more than one subject area for a single subject degree. Speaking as a Brit with a BA Hons History with Politics.

Not sure what you're asking. Are you looking for the difference between an AA, BA, BS, MA, MS, PhD and minors? Or just minors? Or the existence of general education requirements? I'm guessing it's not the first one, they seem more or less the same.

[Xmara]

Also, if I wasn’t majoring in biology and criminal justice, I would probably be majoring in astronomy or an astronomy-related field and gone to work for NASA.

And if it wasn’t that, then probably theatre or communications or something related and I would have gone into acting.

[Liriena]

I’m double majoring in biology and criminal justice and minoring in chemistry. I’m going into forensics.

Whatever you do, don’t choose Lesbian Dance Theory as you undergrad major. They don’t teach you how to use Quicken and I wasn’t able to get any internships at accounting firms.

Wait is that a real major? If it is, what would you even use it for?

Pim Fortuyn is regurgitating a stale four year old meme that wasn't even on point back then