College majoring

[SadakoMoose]

I'm probably going to end doing history for 4, or so, years.
Talk about non-job oriented education though, cause I'll be training to be a pro wrestler whenever the school schedule has calmed down or I have time.
Thank god my college has a great gym.

 

[hopeneverdies]

Don't decide on a major right now, and definitely don't go for scholarships for specific majors. Most college students change majors at least once, if not three times by their fourth year. Just start with liberal arts and go from there.

But if you really are that passionate about those majors, who am I, an anonymous voice on the Internet, to stop you?

 

[wolf92]

Do what ever you want
Thats the whole point of college, to see what interests you

 

[Lord Legion]

I'm kinda in your same position, though I just started my first year of college. I guess I'm leaning towards computer programming, but you never know...

I've been told I have a special knack for writing and editing, so maybe an editor's job. who knows.

bottom line is to basically find something you can stand for a while, and make enough beans to do whatever the hell you want on the side.

maybe that helps you...doesn't really help me. I probably will never know what I wanna do.

 

[thylasos]

Don't decide on a major right now, and definitely don't go for scholarships for specific majors. Most college students change majors at least once, if not three times by their fourth year. Just start with liberal arts and go from there.

Really?

I mean it's a different system in the UK, where we (generally) specialise much more in our degree courses, but changing what... well, what presumably your degree is in, during your course, three times? WHAT?

 

[zHellas]

I'll probably major in one of these: Computer Engineering/Sciences/Programming; Psychology; Creative Writing; Political Science.

 

[Dr.A]

I was in the same boat as you in the English thing. My old English teacher said it'd be a shame if I didn't get a job as a journalist.
Trouble is, I wasn't interested in writing. I wanted to be an astronomer. Sure, I didn't know much about astronomy, and I was certainly a better writer than scientist, but that's what college is for. It's for learning. It doesn't matter if you're a better writer, because if you were already a great historian, you wouldn't be going to college in the first place.
Pick the career that would feel like a dream, and go for that.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

It really depends on where you want to go in life. While it's important to do what you love, if you are shooting for a certain kind of lifestyle, you may want to consider changing.

English-- Outside of teaching, an English degree is pretty limiting. You can work as an editor at a publishing house, or possibly as a tech writer if you have the skills for it.

Want to be a writer? Great. Fill up your Humanities courses with creative writing credits. You don't need a degree to get published. And from what I've seen, publishers don't give a shit. It's all about what you write. Unless you're trying to get hired as a screenwriter, playwright or game writer, it really doesn't matter (and even then, they will still be more interested in your writing.)

If you want to narrow down to Journalism, then you have more (and more lucrative) career options.


History-- Teaching, or working at a museum. Again, very little money to be made, unless you're lucky and can score something with a larger museum or on TV.


Archeology-- Teaching, and of course working digs. Not sure about pay, but you will likely be out of the country a lot, and not in first-world areas usually.


Poli-Sci -- A lot more you could do here. Lots of campaigns that you can be a part of on all levels of government, and tends to be reasonably lucrative. Travel is limited to around the country for the most part, unless you specifically seek an area overseas.


Sociology -- Some interesting career fields depending on your emphasis. Lots of freedom in what you do, and the types of people you work with, as well as how lucrative of a job you get.


It's important to do what you enjoy, yes. But you need to think things out completely. Money and the rest are important too.

Do you plan on getting married? Having a family? If yes, what kind of life do you want to lead? Are you ok raising your kids in a poorer neighborhood to chase your dreams (perfectly ok if you do, good parenting can happen anywhere) or would you rather be able to afford a more suburban lifestyle? Do you want to be able to support said family completely on your own salary so your spouse has the option to stay home with the kids if they choose? Do you want more flexible hours so you can be home more with them? Are you ok being in a position where a great deal of travel and/or moving is involved, or do you want to be able to have your family put down roots in one area (even if you move around town a little bit).

There is no right or wrong answer to these. Choosing the more "standard" options (suburban, rooted lifestyle) doesn't make you a better person than choosing differently. But, your answers will have a large impact on your choices. (If you want to be home with the fam a lot, maybe getting pulled out to archeology digs in Peru for a couple months at a time isn't the way to go.)

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

I'm in your exact same position, sans the same majors.
Just do what'll make you happy. That's what I'm doing.

I mean if you'll like history better, then major in that instead of English.

 

[zen5887]

Its all about the money man. I chose money over passion and have never looked back. You tell me you love what you do when you can't make rent and just ran out of ramen.

You can tell me its all about the money just before the put that noose around your neck.

I'm kidding!!

Its a valid point and it really comes down to the person. Some people are driven by money, and others by passion. I'm almost finished my music degree, and next year I'll be doing a teaching degree. I have no intention of going straight into a school, I want to try the music thing for awhile. If it doesn't work then that's okay, teaching wont be that bad and it'll give me some spare time to do music stuff.

Do something that you enjoy and then try to make a living from it.

Except for one small problem---unless Mom and Dad gave you a hell of a college fund you're going to be financing your education with student debt. And that means you'd damn well better major in something that pays enough to make that college education worthwhile.

This is why I'm a creative writer who's majoring in accounting rather than creative writing or journalism. In the words of Laurence Olivier, "Money, dear boy."

I'm well aware of the ol' collage debt. The music degree I mentioned before is costing me around $36k, and this is in Australia where the average degree is around $12k. I'm also aware that the odds of me getting a stable income from purely music is pretty slim. But I don't really mind, I've spend 3 years doing something I love. Plus its not like there are zero employment opportunity out there. Short sighted? Perhaps, but I think I'll be alright.

Follow your mother fuckin' dreams OP!!

 

[secondcircle]

As someone completing an English major with a history minor, it doesn't matter if you're a better writer than historian because English skills are so transferable into history that as long as you're willing to put in the time to do a lot of research you'll succeed.
A lot of professors in history don't actually have very high expectations for how well student write, so if you can write well and do a lot of research your professors will pretty much love you forever.

 

[muckinscavitch]

pfffft. Study something exciting like Organic Chemistry Absolutely the best subject ever. I could spend my free time working on Orgo Chem it is so much fun

 

[Doctor VonSexMachine]

pfffft. Study something exciting like Organic Chemistry Absolutely the best subject ever. I could spend my free time working on Orgo Chem it is so much fun

Whenever I hear someone say this I always wonder if they have taken it in University. For the most part, doing it at a higher level will kill all your enthusiasm.

Why not try engineering? It's fun! It's useful! It will put you way ahead of the game in becoming a bitter old man!

 

[muckinscavitch]

pfffft. Study something exciting like Organic Chemistry Absolutely the best subject ever. I could spend my free time working on Orgo Chem it is so much fun

Whenever I hear someone say this I always wonder if they have taken it in University. For the most part, doing it at a higher level will kill all your enthusiasm.

Why not try engineering? It's fun! It's useful! It will put you way ahead of the game in becoming a bitter old man!

In case you are curious, I am doing an honours degree in biochemistry, with my "electives" (which have to be from chemistry or microbiology) being all possible organic courses offered at my university. So yes, I am doing it at a high level and enjoying it like there is no tomorrow. :-D

 

[Doctor VonSexMachine]

In case you are curious, I am doing an honours degree in biochemistry, with my "electives" (which have to be from chemistry or microbiology) being all possible organic courses offered at my university. So yes, I am doing it at a high level and enjoying it like there is no tomorrow. :-D

I had to do Orgo I and II for my chem eng degree and I've never been so unhappy. Not even in vector calculus.

 

[Hiraeth]

I'm in my final year of a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Archaeology and Anthropology and I love it. The best parts of my Archaeology course so far? In December of last year I went to Greece, Turkey and Italy with one of my subjects, we had a lecturer take us around to a bunch of really significant ancient sites, and we learned heaps. I also went to Israel in July with another lecturer, and although it didn't count towards my course, I learned heaps, and actually got three weeks experience working on a dig. I can't stress how much of an awesome time I've had through this course, it's been really amazing. If I had the grades I'd probably do honours, but at this point I'm looking forward to finishing so I can earn some money and go travel.

Except for one small problem---unless Mom and Dad gave you a hell of a college fund you're going to be financing your education with student debt. And that means you'd damn well better major in something that pays enough to make that college education worthwhile.

If he's already decided he's going to the UK, then he's most likely going to be paying a shit-tonne of money upfront anyway. I'm assuming it's somewhat like Australia, where how much you have to charge local students is controlled by the government, but you can charge internationals pretty much anything.

As a good writer, without enthusiasm for literature (which I somewhat picked up, possily erroneously from your OP), I'd definitely recommend history. And Sheffield, simply because it's a fantastic city. And I've known some supremely intelligent and interesting history students here.

I worked with some Sheffield University students on the dig in Israel, I think they were doing bible/religious studies or something though. They were a really awesome group.

 

[Spinozaad]

Hows about you major in something that you can get money in. All those majors are great if you want to be a teacher. Go to a trade school. Historians can't weld but I bet welders know history.

Lol!

Completely wrong, though. On both accounts. Most welders don't know anything about history, and historians can make money in politics, government and middle-management/consultation, and by being historians.

Anyway. I might be biased as a historian, but I'd say history. Because archeology is only a sub-science of the noble pursuit of history, and it is the culmination and integration of all the other social sciences.

Yes. History is just that awesome.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Steps to choosing a college major:

1) Figure out the types of things that interest you. I really like Systems (of any sort. I like modeling things). That could mean Engineering (of most sorts), Pure Mathematics, Computer Science, Political Science and a few others.

2) Find a specific application of that sort of thing that interests you. Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Game Theory (which can be applied to Political Science).

3) Figure out, in general, how you want to apply what you've learned later in life. In my case, a strong understanding of mathematics and computer science theory could be applied to various research endeavors or very specific software development.

4) Identify a sort of job that deals, very generally, with everything you've discovered so far. Research the requirements for that sort of job. This will often focus your degree from a general area to a specific degree.

One can, at least in the US, generally attend a University for around 2 years before they MUST make a decision regarding a major. The classes you take early on, along with the experiences provided (often free of charge) by the university, help with the process. The bottom line is you have plenty of time to figure it out before you need to make a decision without wasting time and/or money.

 

[Luftwaffles]

In case you are curious, I am doing an honours degree in biochemistry, with my "electives" (which have to be from chemistry or microbiology) being all possible organic courses offered at my university. So yes, I am doing it at a high level and enjoying it like there is no tomorrow. :-D

I had to do Orgo I and II for my chem eng degree and I've never been so unhappy. Not even in vector calculus.

Pah you guys, im doing foodscience and had to take chemeng AND org chem. Chemeng takes the cake for being the most soul wearing though. Org chem is kinda fun sometimes.

 

[TeeBs]

Do what you love, if you spend 8 hours a day at work 8 hours asleep and 8 hours free, its more important that you enjoy your job, then how much money you make.