Choosing a college major

[SMZ]

Ever since last year's summer, I've been thinking about college majors, and what should I choose (I'm a senior high school student). Some things I liked (i.e. Biology and English), after doing some searching and asking, found out that they had very limited jobs here(that I don't want/like). Add to that, my parents have been pressuring me (without them realizing it) to choose a major, saying it "shouldn't be that hard", but it's not a candy you pick out of the candy store, is it? Recently, I've been thinking about choosing human resources, as it's one of the few things that seem acceptable/likable for me, but even for that I'm not 100% sure. What adds to the pressure, is that I'm finishing high school pretty soon hopefully (have my last final on 1st of June).

So, do/did you fellow Smogoners have problems with choosing a college major?

 

[Arkeis]

I didn't have any trouble at all. If you know there's a "thing" that you enjoy AND are good at, then that's your answer right there. For me, it was art so that's why I went to art school. In particular, I majored in Illustration because that's a specific area of art where I fit in best.

I graduate from college tomorrow morning so I have 4 years worth of advice to give you.

Basically, it's not wrong to follow your heart. If you like Biology or English, you chose them for specific reasons over other majors like Business or Economics. So think about why you like about those fields.

But even if you haven't decided now, don't worry. You're not even done with high school yet and most colleges don't force you to declare a major until second semester. So you have a full summer ahead of you as well as your first semester of real college experience. A lot could happen to you by then and a decision you make now could very well change in the future.

 

[mf]

I didn't have any trouble either. I was pretty certain I wanted to learn more about programming, and eventually get a job in the industry - the choice of CS was clear.

If you're having trouble deciding, most schools have a Careers Advisor who can help you out in that area.

 

[SMZ]

I didn't have any trouble at all. If you know there's a "thing" that you enjoy AND are good at, then that's your answer right there. For me, it was art so that's why I went to art school. In particular, I majored in Illustration because that's a specific area of art where I fit in best.

I graduate from college tomorrow morning so I have 4 years worth of advice to give you.

Basically, it's not wrong to follow your heart. If you like Biology or English, you chose them for specific reasons over other majors like Business or Economics. So think about why you like about those fields.

But even if you haven't decided now, don't worry. You're not even done with high school yet and most colleges don't force you to declare a major until second semester. So you have a full summer ahead of you as well as your first semester of real college experience. A lot could happen to you by then and a decision you make now could very well change in the future.

Thanks for the advice, and I know what you mean, but the reason I left out Biology and English, because a teacher is probably the job I'm getting out of those (while I don't mind teaching itself, I mind the salary and the lack of bonuses). I know I seem to think too much about the job result rather than the major, but I want something I like and make good salary out of it. Nevertheless, it's good to know that I still enough time to decide.

I didn't have any trouble either. I was pretty certain I wanted to learn more about programming, and eventually get a job in the industry - the choice of CS was clear.

If you're having trouble deciding, most schools have a Careers Advisor who can help you out in that area.

I don't think we have a Careers' Adviser in our school, but I think I can [hopefully] decide with in-depth search about major, and the help of family/friends.

 

[King_leroy_xiv]

Most schools don't make you pick a major until junior year. Take your time. It's a big decision. I meet people everyday that have jobs that have absolutely nothing to do with their major. I don't wanna be that person, and I don't think you want to either. I'm still not 100% sure of what i want to do but I'm just a freshman in college. That's what the first couple of years of college is about. Try new things, and do your research. You should find something that fits you. If I were you I'd tell my parents that my major is gonna effect my life down the line and the only thing they should pressure you about is doing well in school even if your major is undecided.

 

[Cathy]

At first I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted to do pure math or mathematical physics but I decided it didn't actually matter that much. I don't like lab work, but I do like natural science, but I decided that my dislike of lab work was basically irrational so I went with math physics. I can still do a graduate programme in pure math if I choose to after I get my undergraduate degree in a couple years.

I haven't considered my future career at all in deciding what to do in university. Although this may be unwise, it does make it easier to make decisions. The main thing is I didn't want to take any classes I strongly disliked, like we had to in high school (e.g. biology, languages, etc.). I also didn't want to take classes in what I study on my own time, which is part of the reason I didn't do computer science and probably will not take any computer science classes.

 

[Trax]

Rule #1: If a particular major is being pushed as the next big career option, the market for that job will be flooded with people when you graduate.

 

[Caelum]

I wouldn't say Biology has limited career options. In fact, I'd say Biology has quite a few career options (assuming you don't stop at an undergraduate bio degree and continue on to grad or med school). You don't have to pick a major your freshman year also. You don't really get into overly specialized classes until your sophomore year, so if you don't pick one or even if you do pick a major you ultimately decide to change it won't matter that much.

Just experiment your first year and figure it out, that's honestly the best way. That's all I can really say. I'm majoring in physics; but I often regret not going into music (and often considering switching).

 

[Gaborik]

You have a lot of time in your freshman year to decide. We didn't have to declare until our junior year (I'm going into my senior year - but I still need a fifth year of graduate school for the 150 accounting credits), but I was lucky enough to already know my major from my junior year of high school. Colleges do a good job of requiring you to take a diverse range of classes for liberal education requirements. It helps you get a feel for what classes you like and are successful at.

Though, you have to be careful about some classes when you consider them. Biology is highly competitive with a limited number of resources available to the major at my university. Almost every freshman is required to take it and the professor's made the class extremely difficult to discourage many people from liking the major as they just don't have much room there. On the other hand, Geology and its related fields never have enough students for there building and classes. They made the intro class easy to try and lure kids into the major. Just make sure you pick something you enjoy and comes naturally.

I liked the business courses going into my junior year of high school. I wasn't really sure if any area fit me best, but when I took accounting it became really obvious. I liked the subject and it was easy to me. You don't need a major picked before going into college - but if you don't have one be on the lookout for fliers to information sessions about certain majors that might interest you and gauge the material from your classes to decide if you like them or not. I had a couple friends who didn't declare until the end of sophomore year. They didn't invest any time into themselves and what kind of major they should choose and ended out going into a wasted year of classes in a major they switched out of. Hopefully you have my luck and it just kind of strikes you that a certain subject is easy, fun, and you are willing to learn more about it.

 

[Jawshua]

As someone who has changed majors several times over the course of their college career, I can sympathize with what you're going through. Most of the comments you have gotten already have been helpful, especially Trax's comment on the flooded job market. If you don't have, per se, a career advisor at your high school, I would suggest talking to a guidance counciler. If you don't have a guidance counciler, try talking to a teacher that you're close with.

You and I have different priorities as far as choosing a major is concerned, since I wasn't so concerned with salary when I chose mine. I wouldn't, however, just choose to do something that you're good at in high school. A lot of things change in the transition period from high school to college, including your interests and priorites. In high school, I was a prominent Spanish student, and I thought that Spanish was the obvious way to go. However, when I got there I found that I had lost interest in the subject, and this fact affected my first year in college in a very negative way.

In the end, I suggest that you start college undecided, take as many classes that seem interesting to you as you can, and pursue what you like at that particular time. Like everyone has said, if you end up not liking what you've chosen at first, you'll have plenty of time to change your mind in the first two years of your career. Good luck, hope I helped!

 

[Firestorm]

I, like a lot of people here, didn't have that much trouble choosing my major. I actually picked my school due to it being the only university to offer the program I'm in. Of course, I still changed two years later because of new developments =) I went from a major to a joint major.

I would personally recommend you go with what you like. Biology is definitely not a "all I can do is teach" job. Think hard about the opportunities in the field both away from home as well. You don't have to stay in the area you were born unless you absolutely have to. I'd love to stay here in Vancouver, but I've come to terms with the fact that I might have to move.

Er, English on the other hand... all I can see it being useful for is a teacher >_>;

 

[TAY]

I just want to reiterate what some people have said: there is no pressure to lock yourself into your major now. Something like 70% of students make changes to their major at some point during college, so knowing what you want to do isn't really a big deal. I myself applied undeclared (which in retrospect may have been a poor choice for admissions), and tried out psychology, physics, and electrical engineering before deciding that they were all garbage and settling with structural engineering.

Additionally, jobs in biology are not limited at all. Maybe I'm just biased because I go to UC San Diego (bio-related stuff is the only thing we're known for), but things like biology, human biology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, etc are all very popular down here, and the area is packed with biotechnology firms. I have quite a few bio-major friends, and most of them expect to or already have gotten an internship while still at school; most of them also expect to have a job straight out of college.

 

[Imran]

I would say just do what you enjoy and are succesful at, the two generally go hand in hand. As people have already mentioned, you can change quite easily between a lot of courses these days (Americans have said that you can, and I know most Universities in England are flexible) especially if your courses are resonably well linked. (My choice was between Pure and Applied Maths or Physics with Theoretical Physics, which are easy to change bewteen)

 

[ivar]

I would seriously recommend that you do not consider a job in Human Resources, unless you enjoy crushing the souls of employees by firing them. It's a shitty job and I wouldn't say that the pay is spectacular, either.

But yeah, I think everyone has covered it up--discuss with some counselor of sorts about potential majors and try not to fret too much, as majors are often changed. I, for one, assumed I would for sure take a math and computer science double major, but I ended up with a computer science and philosophy double major. I took philosophy as a distribution requirement and it ended up intriguing me (I also kept computer science so I can pursue it in graduate school and be employable after university--that, or go to Law school).

I do suggest you refrain from pure humanities oriented majors if you are concerned with being employable. In fact, I recommend anyone at least take some employable major alongside a humanity major they may be interested in, in order to minimize the risk of financial hardship post-education.

 

[Firestorm]

Yeah, like DaBossMan, it was a course I took in university that really opened my eyes to a different major. I went int with thoughts of graduating as a Interactive Arts & Technology student with maybe a Publishing minor. I took a first year Communications course with an awesome prof and found the subject fascinating. Now I'm doing a joint major between the two that the university developed near the end of my second year.

 

[Chronos]

I actually had a hard time picking a major. I was accepted as an "Undecided" major and then decided to go CS because my dad is in CIS.

Don't feel pressured to stick with a major though. Getting your gen eds done the first year is a good idea. Then you'll have a better idea of what you want.

 

[Force Majeure]

Regardless of what you choose, remember that it's going to be increasingly difficult to get a job without a masters degree/doctorate. Just pick something that you like, and if that is a limited field, you'll probably have to take a smaller salaried job to build up your resume.

 

[animenagai]

I wouldn't say all English is good for is teaching. Many businesses are sick of employees that cannot express themselves in writing. They need reports that are clear, proposals that sound attractive etc. Being any sort of language or arts major does help you that way.

I think at the end of the day you have to look beyond what you're like at school. What kind of thinking process do you have in everyday life? Are you a practical minded person? If yes then maybe you should be thinking more about job opportunities. If you're more of a head in the clouds type then something like a writer or academic shouldn't be out of the question.

At the end of the day a job becomes a huge part of your identity, so whatever you do needs to somewhat fit your personality. I think the best thing you can do is try and understand what makes you click. here, take the MBTI personality test. The questions are simple but if you're honest, the results are usually quite accurate, and you'll be surprised by just how much it can tell you.

http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/

 

[Kikuichimonji]

I'm going to be attending university this fall (as a freshman) and I already know that I'll be majoring in mechanical engineering.

Some kids, when they're little, dream of being an astronaut, or a baseball player. I'm almost tempted to say that I dreamed of being an engineer, but that's not entirely accurate: I was an engineer ever since age 2, when I got my first LEGO set. I was a LEGO fanatic as a kid, practically every spare dollar I could earn was spent on LEGOs. I eventually joined FIRST LEGO League in middle school (in fact, I was the one who garnered the interested needed to start a team). I eventually outgrew LEGO and moved on to the next big thing: Vex. I just finished up the 2009 Vex robotics competition not more than a month ago (I was fortunate enough to make it to worlds).

Basically every essay I wrote for college application that had an open prompt was about how I loved LEGOs as a kid and turned into a roboticist in middle and high school. I was fortunate enough to get into a school that has an awesome engineering program (and some generous financial aid, too).

 

[Morm]

I knew from the time I was 4 that I would end up in palaeontology.

My degree, on the other hand?

I dropped the palaeo major my school offered to do what I wanted. I ended up with a double major in geology and biology, with the geology consisting mostly of palaeontology. Things kind of fall into place in university; my ex switched majors like 8 times and finally ended up sorting soil samples for 12 bucks an hour, right where she belongs!

Naw but seriously you'll be surprised. Start with something general, something like bachelor of science with some major you like and just try it out. Try various options that you are interested in and see where it takes you.

One more piece of advice: make friends with your profs, T.A.'s and classmates. It makes things that much better and you may get a reference out of it!

 

[ClockworkOrange]

Don't do something because there's an opening in the job market for it, do something because it genuinely interests you. This is one of the few oppurtunities in life in which you get you pursue and investigate the area that intrigues you. Plus it's going to be a pretty big part of your life for the next 3/4 (don't actually know how long americans are at college for..) so it will make life a hell of a lot easier if you want to stay up till 3am cramming the night before.

 

[akuchi]

Fuck doing what's going to get you the most obvious job, do it for love of your subject.

 

[SynysterCola]

I was always iffy about what I wanted to do for college.

My mom was all about me being a doctor. Sounded cool, but I just wasn't interested.

I took my first programming course in high school and hated it. But once I begun taking the AP programming courses, I began to develop interest and decided to stick with CS

I got an internship at a time when I was questionable about sticking with the major. However, the internship re-ignited my interest in CS again and as such I am sticking with it.

Point being: Do what you love! I love CS, stars and writing poetry. As such I take CS courses, Astronomy courses and English courses!

 

[sasami]

I wouldn't worry about picking a major just yet, start off by getting the core/general ed classes out of the way. Take courses that interest you and try new things--something will probably stick out :).

By the way, there are plenty of non-teaching jobs for a biology major (which is my major, by the way). If biology is what you like, go for it.

 

[kingdust]

Creative writing is what I love, but I realize how much luck I will need to make it anywhere with that. Computer science is also really interesting, but I DO NOT want to become a debugger that sits in a hot room and eats burritos all day (my cousin)

;)