Advice on possible major/career paths?

Alright, so I have a couple majors/career paths in mind and if anyone has any advice regarding them that would be greatly appreciated :slight_smile:

My main choice over the years has been the medical field. I’ve always considered becoming a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. I like that it is a job where you are on your feet interacting with and helping others. I am also willing to put the extra years into graduate school and can deal with blood and the like.

Another career on the opposite of the spectrum is Interior Designing. Yes, I know this major isn’t the best in terms of prospective careers but I thought of combining it with a business major. Perhaps international business and maybe minoring in a language. (I am learning Italian in school and I love it so I would probably continue with Italian) Not entirely sure how that would pan out but I feel like I could do something interesting with it.

Well, it’s about the (virtually) guaranteed vs. the less sure, and the different aspects of the two jobs. There’s no objective right answer - it’s really up to you.

Healthcare is a booming field and one that has always been, and will continue to be, potentially lucrative. You can’t outsource medical care, and mid-level providers like NPs and PAs will become more and more in-demand as more people gain access to healthcare. There’s a relatively low cost to entry (4 years BA + 2 years master’s) and high salaries in relation to that. In both fields there’s a lot of flexibility once you have experience - different work settings, the opportunity to teach or do research, etc. And if you are a decently good NP or PA, you can find work pretty much anywhere in the U.S. It’s not a guaranteed job, but probably the closest thing to it.

Interior design is an art field and a service that only the relatively wealthy can afford. That already adds an obstacle - you have to live and work in areas where there’s a market for that (New York or Boston yes; Newark or rural Oklahoma, probably not). Interior designers also usually go into business for themselves, which means that you need to have an entrepreneurial streak - not only do you have to be a designer; you have to be a successful business person who can manage your finances and marketing well. (Some IDs may work for firms, but because the firm will take a cut of your profits, you might make less this way). It’s a much more uncertain field. The pay off is that if you really love art and design, you’ll be enacting your passion every day in your work.

I’m not sure that international business and Italian would provide much career benefit to ID. I still think you should study them if you are interested, because college is as much about cultivating interests and exploring new things as it is about career prep (or more, I would argue). Still, I think it’s good for you to understand that knowing Italian probably won’t significantly increase your career opportunities in the U.S.

thank you so much! I think I am leaning more towards the health care field