<p>Hi, I'm leaning towards CS right now as my major and although I've take AP Computer Science (5 on ap test), I'm not really sure if I'd enjoy a career in it. I'm really a math/science kind of guy with a love for all math and physics/chemistry. I got really interested in theoretical physics one summer and started reading a ton of it. I've thought about majoring in physics/chemistry/math but I don't think the job prospects are looking very good. I think only options are like research or teaching? Plus I'm not sure if I can handle the theoretical nature of both majors although I would say I'm pretty good at all three subjects. 5's on AP Calc BC and AP Chem and currently taking AP physics. I've thought about maybe Chemical Engineering or an Econ Major (possibly lead into more math-related fields?). Any feedback/input on any of these majors?</p>
<p>Physics, contrary to popular belief, actually experiences a better job market than for most of the other sciences. Since it can easy be applied to a wide variety of jobs, I think the average salary of a starting physics major is something like $51,000, where as something like biology would be $38,000. While it is ideal to have a graduate degree, it’s not completely useless as four years. However, there are differences between applied and theoretical physics, but you can mix it up. There will always be jobs for math majors. Chemistry, I don’t think that’s as wide of a range as other majors, jobs are very limited. Any engineering field is great, you can get a great salary with a chem E degree. </p>
<p>As for economics, I’m not really sure, don’t know much about business-related degrees. But I’d assume it’s decent at the minimum.</p>
<p>Don’t feel like you need to decide yet. Just go to a school that offers engineering or a 3-2 engineering program. Most schools will offer physics/chem/math/compsci/econ, so just pick a college you like and take some courses in all of the subjects and go from there.</p>
<p>Another thing you could do is contact career services/professors for schools you are interested in and see what their math/physics/chem students are doing after graduation. You could also try to job shadow professionals in your area that majored in these subjects.</p>
<p>Here you can get an idea of how students in various majors find the job market at graduation: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-5.html#post15975553[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys-5.html#post15975553</a></p>
<p>You may want to check the more detailed ones with job titles and employer names at schools like Berkeley, Cal Poly, CMU, MIT, Virginia Tech. Be careful of comparing between schools (as opposed to different majors at the same school) due to differences in survey and reporting methodology. Also, differences between schools may reflect regional differences or student demographics (tendency of students to go to graduate school instead of employment, etc.).</p>
<p>if you are thinking of engineering, at many publics the programs are impacted and it is difficult to switch into engineering from other majors. It is usually relatively easy to go the other way. It is unfortunate that you would need to decide so early, but I recommend you talk with some actual Chemical Engineers to get a better feel for the career and to figure out if it is really something you could see yourself doing. Like I said you could always switch out, you’re not making a permanent committment, but if you don’t start as that major it might be difficult to later enter it.</p>
<p>As for 3:2 programs, never heard good things about them. Great on paper, but few if any students ever actually complete the programs via transferring to finish up their engineering degree.</p>