Choosing a college major

<p>Hello CC community,</p>

<p>So I would like to start out by saying this is my second posting and I have found College Confidential to be a great resource. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of views and replies I had received. That being said, thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond. </p>

<p>My background; I am a 22, almost 23 year old male who has been out of school for about a year now. I currently work in at a telephone answering service that I have been at for about 8 months now and have been promoted to a Trainer. My freshman year in college I went to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with intentions of being an Architect. My sophomore year I was accepted into the competitive Architecture program and began studio. I received Sophomore honors with a GPA of 3.7. Well, I ended up dropping out of school my second semester sophomore year, or my first semester my Junior (I can't recall), for a multitude of reasons; I was pulling my hair out in studio (literally) and was not enjoying one bit of it. I was never overly proud or happy about any of my design work and the portfolio I had created. I think I had also realized that being an Architect is a life long dedication and a stressful job where you will always end up taking your work home with you. I am thinking I want to be on the other end of that "live to work vs. work to live" spectrum. </p>

<p>My intentions of taking the time off was to rethink the major I had jumped into. Ever since I could remember I loved playing with legos and thought I wanted to be an Architect. I never did one bit of research into it. After a year off I put in another semester at a tech college in the drafting program. I found it interesting, but most of all did not pursue due to the quality of the teachers. </p>

<p>I have to admit that my time away from school was no where near as productive as I had hoped. I did, however, manage to spend a day shadowing a Civil Engineer in my city and found it to be quite interesting. I liked the idea of being part in office and part in the field. I was quickly turned off to the idea of pursuing that based on the high number of comments I read from unemployed recent civil engineer graduates.</p>

<p>I am a bit unhappy with my low paying job and certainly don't intend to make a career out of it. What I am asking for is some advice, or perhaps a recommendation of a career or path I had maybe not previously thought of. Maybe something that overlaps a bit with design and building that isn't quite so reliant on the current state of the construction field? (is that even possible?) Any input would be appreciated. </p>

<p>Side notes of importance: I worked at a computer store for about 3 years doing repair and sales and I enjoyed it for the most part. I don't particularly enjoy math and science (I will use it as a tool if need be) and my brother was a graphic designer who does not at all recommend it in the lest.</p>

<p>My dad’s an architect, and architecture was always the only field he discourage me from (although it’s perfect for him… when he’s employed). It’s great that you figured out it wasn’t for you now, instead of ten years and thousands of dollars down the road. </p>

<p>Have you thought about urban planning and development?</p>

<p>I have taken a look at Urban Planning… even taken a hand full of classes while I was in architecture school. It seems to intertwined with politics for me. Politics is one thing I certainly don’t care for.</p>