<p>I'm really confused and split between what I should major in and with it already being my 3rd semester...feels like I'm running out of time. Hope I can get some feedback =)</p>
<p>So right now I'm taking some courses in psychology and business and while my interest lies in psychology, I know that employment wise, psychology BA isn't going to get me anywhere. I'm interested in the behaviour of people at work and theories of business, but I am not an extroverted go getter person, and I think as a shy introvert I would be stressed out in this business environment. But....for psych, I am not sure if I want to go to grad school, and was wondering if I am better off just getting a bachelors in business in say, human resources or management, and find better employment this way?</p>
<p>I know the goal of a degree isn't just to get a job - education, personal fulfillment, networking, etc - but I just don't want to be another BA student who graduates and has to go back to working at mcdonalds because I can't find a job..and for internships/co op wise, it seems that business would have more opportunities than psychology</p>
<p>I'm split between doing:</p>
<p>-joint major with psychology with business
-major in psych minor in business
-or abandon psychology and just go with business</p>
<p>see [Careers</a> Options With a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology](<a href=“http://psychology.about.com/od/careersinpsychology/a/careersbach.htm]Careers”>Bachelor's in Psychology Jobs: Career Options With a Psychology Degree)
With unemployment rates among recent college grads at 20% or more, I would suggest you consider the information available at career counseling to see what jobs recent grads have been getting in each field and go for the major that best qualifies you for the positions available. Pay particular attention to the job descriptions and compensation as entry level opportunities are rarely about the things you learn in college and employers have a lot of bargaining power these days. You can always pursue your interests, but paying back student loans and earning a living wage are practical realities that make “getting paid for what you love” a rarity these days</p>
<p>While interested in human behavior and how the mind works, I ended up switching from management to accounting in my junior year and never regretted the decision (I am also not an extrvert/go getter). Since that time, I spent 6 years at a public accounting firm, got an MBA, worked as a business manager at a law firm for 9 years and now work as an independent consultant which offers great opprotunity to work with like minded people on interesting projects. Your interest in the subject matter is much less relevant after you graduate. If you are fortunate enough to get a job in your chosen field, the organizational priorities (not your interests) will dictate your job responsibilities so make sure to talk to recent grads to see what the opportunities are really like</p>
<p>Unless you are prepared to successfuly compete (and pay) for graduate study now, you can stay involved with the psych studies as a minor or concentration and be of interest to a broader range of potential employers if you have a solid understanding of business and finance (especially if you can stomach a concentration in accounting). Your chances of getting into grad school are better (and student loan debt lower) after a few years of work experience. You are in no way limiting opportunities in your field of interest by making a safer bet on employability during your “entry level” years. </p>
<p>I laughed at the professor who first suggested I should become an accounting major, but now feel it was the best decision I ever made.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your reply! Very helpful.</p>
<p>What you said about “as entry level opportunities are rarely about the things you learn in college” made me think back to what my career advisor said - he told me that I should just get A Degree (in any field, won’t matter since I have a bachelors anyway) and the fact that I had one would already make me employable, and he said 90% of grads get jobs unrelated to their major. </p>
<p>With this in mind, should I just go ahead and do a major in psychology (just get the BA over with) and then go from there? I’ve done research and things like therapist, school counsellor or advisor are things I could see myself doing. However, you also stated the whole “student debt” thing and thats the that’s making me reconsider doing a psych major. It’s just conflicting to me because on one hand, my advisor said it won’t matter what I major in you’ll still get hired, but on the other hand, how come unemplotyablity rates of new grads are climbing to all time highs?</p>
<p>That’s really awesome to hear, I am glad to hear it worked out for you!</p>
<p>The funny thing is, I actually thought about doing accounting (lots of my friends switched to accounting and found jobs that way because job prospects are so good for it) and now I am actually taking an accounting course…BUT. I hate it! lol :(</p>
<p>I am not an organizational, neat person at all, and even though accounting is relatively easy in terms of math, I suck at inspecting numbers (I am quite clumsy and impatient)</p>
<p>Do you like accounting? How did you end up choosing it?</p>
<p>I know accounting isn’t the most “interesting” subject matter but I just think that I’m not very good at it thats why I don’t like it, lol.</p>
<p>See if you can talk to recent grads with psych majors to see what kind of jobs they got–“A job” could be low paying and not useful experience to advance beyond entry level and there are many college grads that end up back at the parents house or ski bums after they quit the dead end job and figure out how to pay back thousands of dollars in debt. Principles of accounting (intermediate, tax, cost etc) are not fun classes but they are more about learning a new language with lots of new words and concepts. I found that once I graduated the work was much less about the details, numbers and neatness than applying accounting concepts to get “behind the numbers” and understand/communicate how a business is doing (solve problems, identify opportunities, improve efficiency etc). </p>
<p>Even if you don’t end up with a CPA, the languages and concepts will be useful wherever you go. I think you will find that accounting majors have significantly better earning potential than almost any other undergrad degree so it is worth a try–all of the classes will have transferable skills/concepts and you can decide about the major after you have tried some more advanced classes (pass/fail or until add/drop date?). Also, make sure you reach out to the good teachers–there are many bean counters who personify the stereotype so ask about the conceptual framwork (FAS Concept series) and take classes from professors who can explain things to non-accountants.</p>
<p>Spend some time at [Welcome</a> to Salary.com - Salary.com](<a href=“http://www.salary.com/]Welcome”>http://www.salary.com/) and I think you will agree that “A Job” is not what you are looking for and once you get beyond the basics, a proficiency in accounting will help in any field you end up pursuing and your loans will be paid off a lot sooner.</p>
<p>The above post is good advice. It does seem like Psychology seems to be a go-to “Oh well” degree for people who don’t know what they want to do, but if you truly do love it, then you can make a career out of it. It takes dedication, however.</p>
Very helpful.</p>