<p>So I'm curious. Did you guys choose your major in where your interests lie in? Or did you choose your major based on the job market and salary?</p>
<p>My issue is that I have a love for History and Political Science. But unfortunately, I've heard the job market for those areas are terrible. My father advises me that I choose something like Accounting or something so I can have a decent salary and find a job easier.</p>
<p>I still haven't decided :(</p>
<p>You can always get a “practical” graduate degree. MPA, MPU, MUP, law school, medical school…</p>
<p>Scary as to how this is almost identical to what was my situation at the beginning of my college career. </p>
<p>I too have a love for history. I’ve chosen to major in it, as well as anthropology. My father however had other plans. My father absolutely hated those fields, seeing them as “stupid” and a complete waste of time seeing as how I won’t get a job yada yada…the usual parental talk. However I made the mistake of actually considering a scientific and more practical major. Who knew one calculus class could screw you over so bad? Combined with my honors courses and other workload, I ended up failing calculus, as well as lowering my other grades of the semester. And so for two semesters my grades were much lower than what they would have been had I not taken that class, which I now had to retake and did not even need (of course I take full responsibility for failing the class, but I feel cheated in a way). </p>
<p>This caused me much pain and depression for a very long time, as my gpa had plummeted below a 3.0, FAR below a 3.0. I’ve barely brought it up to a 3.1 now, but now have to claw at a chance for UCLA acceptance as an anthro major. </p>
<p>Sorry if I’ve rambled on for too long, but this is something I am passionate about. Moral of the story, choose and take your own path, do what you love. You will excel.</p>
<p>I am choosing to major in Anthropology because I love the subject. Yeah, the job market isn’t as good as other majors but I am too interested in the material to not major in it. Hopefully it wont screw me over in the long run. But for now, I’m enjoying school as an anthro major. I can’t wait for my upper division anthro courses when I transfer.</p>
<p>Korean parents -___-</p>
<p>Political Science majors can make tons of money and there are so many openings for them, too. Most people who think political science think of lawyers, politics, government, but it branches out to many more opportunities. If you’re interested in being a lawyer at all though, both history and polisci are good majors.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m majoring in things that I know won’t find me a job easily. But I love the subject - it’s interesting. In my opinion, I’d rather make less money doing something I love than make a bit more doing something I hate (cliche, I know I know).</p>
<p>galbi tang is ****ing delicious.</p>
<p>but the thing is there is truth to the fact when my dad says there aren’t much jobs for history and stuff. i still haven’t decided and probably won’t decide until i do some more research. </p>
<p>@edelyn: are you sure about that? i should do some more research… meh… are you korean?</p>
<p>political science > crunching numbers</p>
<p>hey erikuh, you go to SMC?!</p>
<p>@Levonid: but the thing is that even if one does get a history major, i’ve heard its a difficult to actually find a job PERTAINING to history. for example, i read that someone with a history degree worked as a driving instructor because he could not find a place to put his history degree to use. i do not want to be a driving instructor. :C</p>
<p>do you seriously think everyone is happy with their jobs? i mean some jobs do pay more, but you have to dedicate a lot of hours and you have to take crap from bosses. there are downsides to everything, but as long as you do something you enjoy and are good at, then you shouldn’t worry about the rest. there’s only so much you can control about your future. if you want to satisfy your parents needs then take whatever courses, and if you take it honestly, don’t think they suck because your parents said you’ll be a failure if you don’t take it, and try to learn and you find it interesting, then all the better, but if not, then just move on and find something you do find interesting</p>
<p>to Levonid, it sounds like you just want to go to a good university instead of majoring in whatever</p>
<p>I picked Sociology because it’s interesting as well as something I heard wasn’t absolutely impossible to pursue. Yet, I honestly don’t think that in this current job market one can really get that high up on the pole without a masters or some degree that is higher, law/phd, etc. With that, I’ll be attending law school after obtaining my bachelors.</p>
<p>galbitang: Well there are always museum jobs, working abroad, or academia. I personally love the feel of academia, especially when standing in the middle of a campus (since I volunteer at the UCLA Fowler museum of anthropology, I always get that good vibe of knowledge around me). There’s always work to be found in any field. Hey, you can always be a lawyer! hahaha</p>
<p>therealist: Did it really come off sounding like that? Not my intent at all haha. Naturally I’d like to attend a good university (with UCLA being what I’m aiming for), but I’ve always loved history and anthropology and it’s what I was originally going for until my father introduced doubt into my mind. I’ve realized it’s just not my thing to be a maths person and that I should have followed the path I had originally set myself to follow. Most certainly doing what you love comes before the institution you wish to attend, but hey, a guy can dream of attaining both can’t he?? haha</p>
<p>If you’re passionate about a subject, I’d say go for it. Your time is limited as a student and make the most of it. Just have realistic expectations when you graduate. A college degree doesn’t entitle you to a six figure income.</p>
<p>Get your BA in something you find interesting. Something you enjoy. So you have a better chance at a high graduating GPA.</p>
<p>Then enter the work force, or go to Grad school. You can go to grad school for almost anything with any BA.</p>
<p>@galbitang, there are millions of people on here that attend SMC. And yes, I’m Korean. And another yes, I’m sure. My political science teacher (Schultz - she’s amazing if you have or want to take PoliSci1 at SMC) told us about all things Political Science. Haha. I was actually surprised and was thinking about switching my major because it seemed so interesting. But, of course, she would be biased. </p>
<p>What do you ultimately want to do? Because it doesn’t really matter what field you got your undergrad degree in.</p>
<p>Just major in what you want to, be your own man/woman.</p>
<p>@edelyn: we should do an SMC meetup or something sometime. i moved out here and i have no friends. :C</p>
<p>i understand when people say that i should do something that i enjoy. but there is truth to the fact that social sciences tend to have lesser salaries in comparison to majors such as accounting, business, blah blah blah. </p>
<p>money isn’t everything but it will sure ease a lot of burdens in the future.</p>
<p>i would make more of an argument for the belief that i should choose my major more practically but i’m too tired. </p>
<p>just to condense it as simply as i can: there’s both sides to it and both have valid arguments</p>
<p>meh.</p>
<p>Aw, you’ll meet new friends during the school year! I’ll send you a PM, go check your message box.</p>
<p>Also, it’s true but in the end people do what they do because they love it. Doing what you don’t like is going to bite you in the ass (in the future) namsayin?</p>
<p>I used to major in Computer Science because I work in that field. I switched to English because that is my passion. In the job market, if you got the skills (for example computer skills etc) they will hire you. In the game of life though, you can only be happy doing what you want to do; Doing what you enjoy doing. Besides, if you have a graduate degree it dont matter what your major is. They eat that crap right up.</p>