Choosing path of study

College Majors
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<p>A little background about myself:</p>

<p>I graduated high school in 2008 with considerably good grades and SAT scores. Like many people in my position I was unable to decide a career path immediately after graduating. I started taking liberal arts classes at a local community college for three semesters before deciding to transfer to a SUNY school into the Entrepreneurship program. I put in two semesters before withdrawing, and I am now on my third semester without attending college. My reasons for withdrawing are in retrospect rather simple, and immature. I was arrested in late October 2011 for DWI, and became very depressed, and stopped going to classes altogether. </p>

<p>I began to think that perhaps college just wasn't for me. I realized that I had never felt proud or even comfortable when explaining my studies and career plans. I began to think: "How could I possibly be happy with myself if I don't even wan't to explain to people what I am doing". If one is ashamed of something, isn't that an obvious clue it isn't the right path? I've always toyed with the idea of opening my own business, of being my own boss in some respect, but haven't ever developed any serious plans. I suppose I suffer to some degree from a lack of self confidence. I am very quick to shut myself down, and have often been criticized as being overly negative. I found business studies to be terribly boring. How can one possibly force themselves to become a doctor of economics? of finance?</p>

<p>A little more about myself: I was in a snowboard accident in 2008 which resulted in severe neck and spine injury. Despite this I consider myself in pretty amazing condition, as I am able to function almost normally. I experience chronic lower back pain as well on a daily basis. The reason I felt it necessary to include this information about my health is to help illustrate why I feel a career path involving intense physical labor to be out of the question.</p>

<p>Sorry for the wall of text, getting to the purpose of the thread:</p>

<p>Given my neck/back/spine problems, I don't think becoming a tradesman (Construction,etc) is a solid career choice in terms of longevity. The armed forces are out of the question. I have serious doubts in myself when it comes to the thought of launching my own business ventures, and the thought of pursuing business education only to become corporate drone scares the life out of me. I would hate to work in a cubicle crunching numbers for someone else business.</p>

<p>I want to pursue something on the more intellectual side. I always thought most of my business classes to be devoid of anything intellectually stimulating. I've always been intrigued by history, even as a child. I enjoy learning about societies and cultures, and reading about new discoveries and theories of how and why things are the way they are.
Studying something along the lines of Anthropology, History, and Photojournalism is intriguing. I am troubled with what the possibilities are for employment in this path. I understand a common choice is graduate school, which I am not necessarily opposed to. I like the idea of photojournalism because I think it would be amazing to be able to travel, documenting experiences and discoveries professionally. In my mind anthropology and photojournalism make a good pair.</p>

<p>I am very ready to grow up and take education seriously, I've had plenty of time off to realize that it is not something to be taken for granted. I sincerely wish I would have had a real drive when I first went into school, had some end goal, taken the whole thing seriously. I suppose it is difficult to really try at something when your heart isn't in it.</p>

<p>I guess the purpose of this thread is to take in any input that might help me in the decision making process. I wan't to get back into school for the fall semester, and need to make some serious decisions about what path to take. At one point I was kicking around the idea of IT simply because the job market is promising, but my heart is not in that at all. I can't really picture pushing myself through coursework I'm not remotely interested in simply for the potential of earning a better salary.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any replies, I look forward to reading any input.</p>

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<p>Tl; dr</p>

<p>10 char</p>

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<p>laying those two side by side, what have you just learned about yourself?</p>

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<p>I suppose that I shouldn’t pursue business education because it seems a more employable route than something in a field I may be more interested in?</p>

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<p>probably.</p>

<p>though i was more suggesting that you have no idea about what you want, or what the fields you are offhandedly rejecting entail. please don’t conflate a semester at a middling business school with a phd in economics. and i think you need an LAC.</p>

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<p>People should not “force” themselves to be anything. Not only will the journey (schooling) be unfulfilling, but too will the career itself.</p>

<p>It sounds to me like you already know exactly what you don’t want (dry courses where you’re taught a specific method and to do as they do), and what you do want (freedom to explore, take charge, think deeply, and influence others). </p>

<p>Your ideas for photojournalism are interesting. I always ask - will you be paying for college primarily with loans or are your costs mostly covered another way? Freelancing and working for yourself are great experiences, but if you are bogged down with student loans and other financial obligations, it becomes very difficult to make a living this way. If you’re serious about pursuing those options, do it in the cheapest way that you can. If you have to put off college another year or two to work and save up money for tuition, then do it. You will have far more freedom to chase your dream job after college if you do not have the financial burden of loans on your shoulders. </p>

<p>Also - do you even need a bachelor’s degree to do what you described, or would a few specialized courses, a certificate program, or associates degree accomplish the same thing? Perhaps job shadowing, interning, or just finding a mentor in a job that interests you will help put some of this into perspective. College is not always the way to go now that we are inflated with over-qualified and under-employed individuals.</p>

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<p>Also, you described a lack of confidence. Maybe try a small, low-risk business adventure. Offer a small service that is needed in your community, or produce a product with low start-up costs. See how well you manage something on a small scale to slowly boost confidence.</p>

<p>Get in contact with local business people you admire and ask them if they’d be willing to have lunch with you and discuss how they got to where they are, and any advice they have for someone in your position. As I mentioned in my previous post, everyone should have strong, trustworthy mentors to guide them in life and share their experiences and lessons learned. </p>

<p>Most successful business people in my community do not have business degrees. In fact, many do not have degrees, or they have degrees in fields unrelated to what they’re doing now. Business classes do not always make better business people. Some skills you just can’t teach (leadership, good decision-making, social skills, etc.).</p>

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<p>I know that I am terrified of higher level mathematics and have zero desire to work in a “Wall Street” environment. Working in an office building to further the profits of other individuals is something I’ve always found very unsettling. Mathematical incompetence has pushed me away from technical fields, engineering, etc. You’re right, I know little about what I actually want, and understand even less about the way the real world works, it seems. </p>

<p>It is becoming evident to me though that I need to take some action, formulate some plan to pursue something in my life, or else become like quite a few people around me with no goals simply stuck in a lifestyle of monotonous labor. </p>

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<p>I suppose my problem is I don’t have any real solid ideas for a business at this point. Skipping school to start a business is a great idea for people that actually have something in mind - a unique idea that will be profitable. I guess these things don’t just come to you overnight. I’ve always thought a bit about trying to start a business that would keep me involved in the things I love most: Live music and the ski/snowboard industry, but have no idea where to begin…</p>

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<p>so, um, you are serious about education, but the things you love most are snowboarding and live music?</p>

<p>man, take some hard classes in philosophy and history and literature and all those fascinating useless things, and maybe expand your horizons? like, maybe then you won’t conflate economics, wall street, and this hazy idea of morality that you have, and then you won’t insult economists and bankers alike?</p>

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<p>The idea was to start something <em>small</em> and not a full-blown business - every big idea started very small in comparison to what it is now. Something as basic as getting a small photography gig taking pictures of a band play live at a local club or bar. It doesn’t seem like much, but the feeling of getting compensation for something you produced and enjoy, and the experience you get working with that client for a short amount of time will give you something in the realm of confidence - unless it turned out to be a disaster, at which point you would need to reflect on why it turned out badly and what to do differently in the future. Never walk away from a bad experience without lessons learned.</p>

<p>I don’t remember if you mentioned this, but what have you been doing since you withdrew from college? Have you been working full-time, and if so, in what industry? I think you need a little more real world experience to gain some focus. Going back to school yet again with no clear path isn’t going to help you. You need to learn a little more about yourself, how things work in industries you’re interested in, and what options you have to get where you want to go (but you need to know where that is, first).</p>

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<p>If you want something stimulating that has to do with learning about world cultures I’d suggest a double degree in international relations and an area studies. It’s a mixture of all the social sciences plus humanities focused on one world region. Plus if you want to have that entrepreneurial spirit knowing about the world can help alot.</p>

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<p>Working in (big surprise, food industry). I feel an absolute need to transition into something else, mostly because with my back problems working in a kitchen just isn’t feasible in the long term.</p>

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<p>Is it shocking that the two things I love most aren’t things to be studied in college? I’m well aware I need to focus on something much more realistic. I mostly mentioned those things in a sort of “in a dream world” kinda deal. I have a hard time naming things that really get me excited that are of the academic nature. I’ve noticed in my past college experience I was more motivated to do a decent job on classes Sociology of War & Peace, US History, etc vs Economics/management. I guess I didn’t mind my international business class…</p>

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<p>I don’t see how anything I’ve said is insulting economists or bankers, I’ve just said I know that kind of work is not for me, and I cannot picture myself in that role. I admit I don’t understand much about the realm, but what are you suggesting? That I delve into the field despite initial repulsion?</p>

<p>Also a bit unsure where morality comes in to this…</p>