<p>I'm a senior in high school right now and am having lots of trouble finding a suitable major. So far I've narrowed down my choices to:</p>
<p>Electrical Engineering
Information Technology
Computer Sciences
Biotech and Life Sciences
Economics</p>
<p>Can someone give me the pros and cons of each. Any and all ideas would be great! For instance, the future of each major, etc.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Out of those 5 majors, IT/CS gives you the most versatility in terms of career field.</p>
<p>seriously IT/CS is bad choice right now...go for EE way more versatile...</p>
<p>It helps to know what your grand plan is. Are you planning to persue a grad degree?</p>
<p>major in underwater basketweaving. u know u want to</p>
<p>Funny comment but that wasn't on the list and anybody considering EE wouldn't need to resort to basketweaving..</p>
<p>CS maybe a bad choice right now, but who knows what will happen in another 5 years when u graduate? thats a pretty long time and things will change
and the next CS job wave is predicted to happen in 2012</p>
<p>To get an idea going around: we're going to create Quantum Computers. Computers that are able to make calculations at mind-blowing speeds, much faster than anything thought to be possible right now. Through the knowledge of quantum mechanics, we will create these computers. Then, we will need computer programmers who will be able to create methods for us to examine/analyze anything in this universe, using this technology. </p>
<p>(I can't even begin to guess when this will happen, hah!)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Funny comment but that wasn't on the list and anybody considering EE wouldn't need to resort to basketweaving..
[/quote]
<em>cough</em>i know the OP personally<em>cough</em></p>
<p>So you are suggesting that EE was never a realistic option? Is that it?</p>
<p>The Majoirty of IT jobs, will require a CE or EE degree. Stay away from IT degress. They are alot easier but wont get you a job,</p>
<p>They are easier and that is precisely why they won't get you a job.....too many higher qualified folks to take the job away.</p>
<p>A CE Degree is the best for IT</p>
<p>f**k em all....Accounting is the way to go!!</p>
<p>lol...on a more serious note i am a a sophomore at UIUC and practically in the same situation as you are in right now. Currently i am in CS and lemme tell u that it is freaking INTENSE. You will basically be spending more time on that one CS class you will be taking ur fresh/ soph year than the other 3-4 classes combined. God knows whats gonna happen to me my junior or senior year when i have to take more than one CS class a semester!. So its basically upto you to decide if its worth putting all that effort into it. Every single day makes me that much closer to switching outta CS to maybe something in business. Also as someone mentioned before, my decison is also going to be influenced by the fact that i plan on getting a MBA shortly after graduation. Regarding other majors, from what i have heard, EE is as hard as CS. Majoring in economics basically means taking like 6-7 Econ classes and the rest electives.In other words- its easy to double major/minor in it.</p>
<p>I was also in CS but I couldn't handle it. I switched to mechanical engineering. I'm almost done with school, but if I could start over I would try to get a minor in electrical engineering since there seems to be a lot of growth in that field. </p>
<p>I knew a guy who graduated in May with degrees in computer science and economics. He chose to go the business/finance route because he didn't want the life that computer science offered. I wouldn't want to be stuck in front of computer writing code all day either.</p>
<p>well this really depends. i think the only people who should even get mixed up in comp sci are people who already geniunely interested in computers and have already had good experience coding. </p>
<p>fresh year my roomie didn't even look at his books for CS and 4.00'ed it second sem. i'm in EE (conc. BME) and although its difficult, i dont feel terribly overwhelmed. i can def tell you that EE is the best degree overall in that field, but its def gonna require some effort</p>
<p>Um mechanial engineering is the hardest one of all.</p>
<p>Sorry to just jump in here, but something set off a red flag and I wanted to clarify:</p>
<p>IT is not CS is not IT.</p>
<p>You'll hear about both being outsourced right now, but IT at a much faster pace as it's much easier to do. If you enjoy computer programming (or think you might) and you can cope with the CS curriculum, it can be very rewarding. I did and I love my job.</p>
<p>But don't lump CS in with "the IT industry" when you're reading in the paper or taking other people's evaluations of job markets. They're related, but dissimilar fields.</p>
<p>Many folks don't understand the distinction btwn software and hardware in CS either. I find this amusing but sad. As for IT.....as you point out not the same breed/color/animal. These folks talking EE are one breed and software is another breed.</p>
<p>Good point, yourself.</p>
<p>As a computer programmer, I know the <em>concepts</em> of what's going on in the hardware... setting registers, mapping memory, pipelining processor instructions... but there's no way in hell I could actually <em>design</em> one, physically.</p>
<p>I'm comfortable knowing how to assemble a computer from components and how to write software to use them. Hopefully anyone considering going into these fields will do enough research to know what each does and does not cover.</p>