Picking a Major for College

[Blake]

I need to pick a major for college, but there are so many different kinds I have no idea what to do. The three areas I would probably be interested in is computers, business/management, and medical. That is still really broad though. I'm not sure EXACTLY what I want to do for a job when I grow up. With a degree in any are of those 3 fields, I don't really know what kind of jobs I would be doing. I do want to make a pretty fair amount of money, and I think I will like any of the jobs in those fields. If I dont like the job but it pays great, I wont do it.

 

 

 

So I guess what Im asking is to suggest some majors or jobs to me. I am pretty open to anything and will consider everything. Thanks :

[Nadril]

I think a better idea would be to look at colleges you are interested in and see what majors they offer. It's hard to try and advise a major since we both don't know much about you nor do we know about what the majors of where you are are like.

 

 

 

Like when you say you are interested in computers, does that mean programming? Tech support? There is a lot of options out there.

[Blake]

I am starting at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities this semester. I am only taking 3 classes required to just graduate right now, so I could think about what Majors I wanted. About the computers, im not really sure. I know there are a lot of options, thats why Im not sure. Right now I am kind of leaning twords buisiness or management or something like that. My step dad is the vice president of marketing of a huge company, and he makes over $250k a year without bonuses and stuff. He doesn't even have a college degree, he just started off as a bagger at a grocery store and worked his way up. I like business and things like that, so I think that would be a good choice for me. My uncle lives in Japan and has Masters in some sort of business, the japanese language, and a law degree. Thats somewhat what I am thinking about now, but I am still considering computers or medical too.

[stevepole]

When I was applying for colleges I thought I wanted to major in chemistry and after I sent off my applications I ended up changing my major soon after I got accept to Arizona State University to Film and Media Studies because in the long run I would enjoy it more. What I'd do is what Nadril said because every college offers different majors. Another thing is don't worry about how much money you want to make because if your good at what you do, your going to make money. Medical degrees are good ones. Family doctors are in a big demand right now, they make like 100k a year I think I read.

[Blake]

If I did something medical, I wouldnt be able to do any gorey stuff like surgery cause that makes me :-# Im also not doing it all for money, I first picked the fields I could go into and then I am looking at jobs and money, to make sure I have a job that I like and earns money. I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

[Dexek]

If I did something medical, I wouldnt be able to do any gorey stuff like surgery cause that makes me :-# Im also not doing it all for money, I first picked the fields I could go into and then I am looking at jobs and money, to make sure I have a job that I like and earns money. I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

 

 

 

There are medical venues that don't require any surgical procedures. A lot of rural family doctors wouldn't require such a thing. Just the same, you could look into massage therapy, physiotherapy, etc..

 

 

 

Is there anything in particular that you're interested in?

[Adam007]

If I did something medical, I wouldnt be able to do any gorey stuff like surgery cause that makes me :-# Im also not doing it all for money, I first picked the fields I could go into and then I am looking at jobs and money, to make sure I have a job that I like and earns money. I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

 

Wow, congrats on the scholarship. If you want to go pre-med you can major in anything as long as you take the required classes. As for the gore, you'll see a lot of it in med school but if you can endure a few years of it you can become a type of doctor that doesn't have to deal with it.

 

You've got some time. Take classes you're interested in that still fulfill various requirements and do some shadowing of different careers you're interested in. If you do want to go pre-med or pre-business though, talk to an advisor because you will want to take the right classes due to time constraints. You've still got plenty of time now though, so for now just explore your options without worrying too much.

[ElkNight]

I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

 

How the hell?

[Blake]

If I did something medical, I wouldnt be able to do any gorey stuff like surgery cause that makes me :-# Im also not doing it all for money, I first picked the fields I could go into and then I am looking at jobs and money, to make sure I have a job that I like and earns money. I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

 

 

 

There are medical venues that don't require any surgical procedures. A lot of rural family doctors wouldn't require such a thing. Just the same, you could look into massage therapy, physiotherapy, etc..

 

 

 

Is there anything in particular that you're interested in?

 

 

 

I know there are some like that, thats why I didn't completely take it off the list. As for anything Im interested in, basically the 3 fields I chose haha :

If I did something medical, I wouldnt be able to do any gorey stuff like surgery cause that makes me :-# Im also not doing it all for money, I first picked the fields I could go into and then I am looking at jobs and money, to make sure I have a job that I like and earns money. I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

 

Wow, congrats on the scholarship. If you want to go pre-med you can major in anything as long as you take the required classes. As for the gore, you'll see a lot of it in med school but if you can endure a few years of it you can become a type of doctor that doesn't have to deal with it.

 

You've got some time. Take classes you're interested in that still fulfill various requirements and do some shadowing of different careers you're interested in. If you do want to go pre-med or pre-business though, talk to an advisor because you will want to take the right classes due to time constraints. You've still got plenty of time now though, so for now just explore your options without worrying too much.

 

K, Thanks for the advice :D

[das]

I'm A CIS Major it's a Buisness Admin / networking/programming hybrid degree .

[Dexek]

[hide=]

If I did something medical, I wouldnt be able to do any gorey stuff like surgery cause that makes me :-# Im also not doing it all for money, I first picked the fields I could go into and then I am looking at jobs and money, to make sure I have a job that I like and earns money. I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

 

 

 

There are medical venues that don't require any surgical procedures. A lot of rural family doctors wouldn't require such a thing. Just the same, you could look into massage therapy, physiotherapy, etc..

 

 

 

Is there anything in particular that you're interested in?

 

 

 

I know there are some like that, thats why I didn't completely take it off the list. As for anything Im interested in, basically the 3 fields I chose haha :

[/hide]

 

 

 

I had meant anything more specific, but I suppose not. :lol:

[Blake]

[hide=]

If I did something medical, I wouldnt be able to do any gorey stuff like surgery cause that makes me :-# Im also not doing it all for money, I first picked the fields I could go into and then I am looking at jobs and money, to make sure I have a job that I like and earns money. I am staying at the U of M, because I got a scholarship to skip the last two years of high school and go to college completely free for two years (I'm 16 atm \ ).

 

 

 

There are medical venues that don't require any surgical procedures. A lot of rural family doctors wouldn't require such a thing. Just the same, you could look into massage therapy, physiotherapy, etc..

 

 

 

Is there anything in particular that you're interested in?

 

 

 

I know there are some like that, thats why I didn't completely take it off the list. As for anything Im interested in, basically the 3 fields I chose haha :

 

 

 

I had meant anything more specific, but I suppose not. :lol:

[/hide]

 

 

 

Its hard to go more specific, because there are so many different things and I don't know even half of them probably :? That's why I was looking for suggestions, to find out more about it. Sorry I cant go more specific :(

[mlclm]

Just so you know, a degree in management is pretty much the philosophy degree of business.

[Makoto_the_Phoenix]

I'm actually doing a degree in Computer Science, which covers not only programming and networking, but the theory and study of computation. Some things are fun; others very difficult. If you're interested in "computers", then you'd better narrow your focus in a heartbeat - do you want to program, network, or do sys-admin stuff?

 

 

 

Congrats on the scholarship by the way, and good luck with whatever you decide to pursue.

[stonewall337]

What do you like to do? For example, I analyze things often, and such, so I am planning on an engineering science major with a rhetoric and public address minor. Find people who have that major or a job in a field you are interested in, and talk to them.

[Lenticular_J]

If you like computers a lot, do something with computer science. Bidness is booming there. A minor or something in business could help you out should you want to open up your own IT business or something (although it would be mighty difficult). Medical, well, you are starting young, but are you sure you can handle another eight years of school? Very hard school at that. You probably shouldn't expect to have any fun for about 12 years if you want to be a doctor. All that school, plus internships and all that ...

 

 

 

That scholarship is interesting. I'd have to go to college when I was 16. You couldn't do anything, it'd be so hard to make friends. I mean, you could barely drive around to see them. But, to each his own, you know?

 

 

 

For my two cents, I intend to go to the Radio-Television-Film part of University of Texas' College of Communications. Or, if I get some sort of scholarship to another school, maybe I'll just do some communications and go to a dedicated film school after that. Who knows, I'm only a sophomore.

[PhatEddie]

You can always go to business school or med school after you graduate and it won't matter what your major was.

 

 

 

I started out with Political Science thinking I was going to be a lawyer (like my uncle). After one class I hated it and switched to Accounting since I always liked that in high school and I was pretty good at it. Business majors are fairly broad. Especially accounting. It's not for many people but it does give you a lot of options in the business world.

 

 

 

Also look at job markets and what skills/jobs will be needed when you graduate.

[Pinkbullet3]

My dad thinks that energy efficient housing will be the 'big thing' of the future, and so he wants me to do something in Civil Engineering. I think it sounds reasonable, and I do enjoy putting things together/creating new ideas, esp. ones that might have to do with energy efficiency.

 

 

 

I also like organizing things, and so I was planning on getting either a major or minor in Business Management (like OP).

 

 

 

Will these two work out? Especially the first one? I will be applying to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this month, along with Carnegie Mellon University and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

[Lenticular_J]

My dad thinks that energy efficient housing will be the 'big thing' of the future, and so he wants me to do something in Civil Engineering. I think it sounds reasonable, and I do enjoy putting things together/creating new ideas, esp. ones that might have to do with energy efficiency.

 

 

 

I also like organizing things, and so I was planning on getting either a major or minor in Business Management (like OP).

 

 

 

Will these two work out? Especially the first one? I will be applying to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this month, along with Carnegie Mellon University and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

 

Engineering is an incredible job. You'll have to go to school for a while, but my brother-in-law is an engineer for Exxon now, and his starting salary was 84,000K a year, plus he had a whole bunch of [cabbage] they gave him at the beginning. BUT. If you plan on doing something like that, keep your grades pretty good, but make ABSOLUTELY SURE you have great work experience. Exxon is actually starting to go more towards alternative energy as well, so who knows.

 

 

 

So that would really be a great idea. You'll have to like a lot of math, though. You wouldn't really need a minor in business management if you became an engineer, it would take a lot of extra work. But, hey, I can't tell you what to do. Maybe you'll start the biggest alternative energy company in the world in 2020.

[magekillr]

I wanted to be an astronaut ever since I was 7. That changed when I got to 7th grade because I needed glasses (slight corrective lenses). Then I wanted to just work on planes, with the thought of being a pilot and/or astronaut in the background.

 

 

 

So....here I am, a senior in college, majoring in Aerospace Engineering. I'm also minoring in math and computer science because: a.) math minor only requires one extra math class with my major and b.) CS because all the job people ask if I can program and I always say no.

 

 

 

Hint: grades matter, but only for internships and scholarships. Most jobs couldn't give a damn if you had a 4.0 or a 2.0, just the piece of paper. Hell, applying online with a perfect resume will probably return you with nothing, whereas if you give a crap resume to the right person you'll be interviewed the next day.

[Huta]

I would be leary about a computer major. Jobs are starting to dry up in that field, and there are literally thousands of computer majors being pumped out of unversities each semester, it's the new "it" major.

 

 

 

Medicine, I would wait to see what happens with the healthcare bill, especially if you're planning on a specialty practice, which will be hurt by government health care if Canada is any example.

[trapical]

Medicine is a great field. It's salary, meaningfulness, and prestige are all but unmatched in the job market.

 

 

 

However, it is excruciatingly difficult to get into medical school. I went to a college that had 720 students in the "pre-medical" program, meaning all of these college freashmen wanted to get into medical school when they graduated.

 

 

 

8 people made it, 700+ had to find other jobs in the science field.

[Rebdragon]

Medicine is a great field. It's salary, meaningfulness, and prestige are all but unmatched in the job market.

 

 

 

However, it is excruciatingly difficult to get into medical school. I went to a college that had 720 students in the "pre-medical" program, meaning all of these college freashmen wanted to get into medical school when they graduated.

 

 

 

8 people made it, 700+ had to find other jobs in the science field.

 

Don't forget that's it's a horrendously difficult and stressful lifestyle being a doctor, and that's only after you make it through twelve years of hell. And then your starting salary still sucks anyways.

 

 

 

If you want to be a doctor, know what hell you plan to get into. If there's an antonym for cake walk, it's premed and medicine.

[xSxqPowerx]

Yeah picking what to do is tough.

 

I've always been good in math and science, so I'm going into engineering.

 

 

 

First year is a general program... which I am starting on monday. I still need to make the decision of which field of engineering interests me the most and I honestly have no idea.

[Rebdragon]

Why the [bleep] is everyone here an engineer. It's pissing me off.