CC has helped me immensely over the years when it came to prepping for my SAT’s and other standardized tests.
But I have recently encountered a new challenge: choosing my major.
I always had had a natural proficiency toward STEM classes in high school, so I thought for the longest of time I should major in engineering, civil especially. It seemed like a logical choice- a civil engineer seems like a financially stable job, my parents would approve (One of the Big 3- Asian represent :D/ ) and I wouldn’t completely suck at it (for lack of better words). However, as I read more threads on CC of “Why CivilE” I began to become concerned.
The job outlook hasn’t been great in this economy.
A major consensus says I should have an interest in what I’m doing. But if I have no idea what I want to do with my life (does any high school senior?) , shouldn’t I go for what I have demonstrated proficiency in? I am worried though, that I will hate it and have to change majors a lot (my cousin changed her major dozens of times).
Two things that I really like to do is learn languages and travel: I thought “why not major in international relations/international studies/international business” But according to the threads, those who major in these have an extremely difficult time finding jobs, and for IB it seems this is a “joke major.”
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you guys for taking the time to read this :x
The job outlook for civil engineers is fine. It’s not spectacular like computer science or whatnot, but it’s still fine.
Well, not necessarily, for a variety of reasons. High school seniors aren’t exposed to the vast majority of fields and careers out there in high school, so you simply may not have had the chance to demonstrate proficiency in something yet. You might be an ace art historian or actuary and not know it because you haven’t tried it. Secondly, you haven’t really been shown proficient in engineering - you’ve shown proficiency in some science and math classes. Those are the building blocks, but not the same. A proficiency in science and math could just as easily lead to you being a bioinformaticist, an epidemiologist, or a medical physicist as it does an engineer. Thirdly, just because you show the greatest proficiency in it doesn’t mean that’s what you want to do with your life. I’m an excellent writer but I don’t want to write fiction for a living, for a variety of reasons.
Ignore the threads. Or at least take them with a grain of salt. People here (and all over the internet) have called every major besides computer science and engineering “useless”. You can find a job with a major in IR or IS or IB. It depends on your skills and experience.
However, I will say that lots of people love languages and travel, including me - that doesn’t mean that you should make it your major OR a career. Do you want to travel for work or do you want to travel in your spare time? Do you relish the idea of using languages at work or would you rather use Rosetta Stone or take classes at the Japan Center in your nearby city?