Hello All,
I’m a junior in high school, about to wrap up my classes here with the last quarter and then head into senior year. I have a high GPA and 31 ACT-- I’ve been pushing myself in a lot of AP’s this year and will be next year as well before I apply for my preferred colleges. My problem isn’t performance; I’m satisfied with myself and my accomplishments. My problem is my interests don’t line up.
I’ve always done well in math and science, ever since I can remember in middle school. Science especially I’ve always loved, but recently I’ve discovered that I really enjoy using mathematics application skills to solve real life problems, such as titrations and such in AP Chemistry. I like the idea of engineering because it is very objective and factual based-- I can set a goal, devise a plan and use math and scientific reasoning to get a solution.
Due to these interests, and the attractive salary of engineers, for the past year or so I’ve been writing down “Chemical Engineering” as my major of choice on all those silly college surveys and on the ACT and SAT pre-test paperwork.
But, that’s not the whole story. I also really enjoy working in business situations, particularly ones that pertain to personal finance, which is making me consider being a Finance major or even getting and MBA or BBA with a minor in finance. I really enjoy working with money and applying the principles to real world situations. Plus, though it would not be as extensive as engineering, I could still apply mathematics to the job in certain situations. I’m a member of a business competition organization known as DECA, and won and award at nationals last year (state is this friday and saturday, wish me luck! [-O< ). I really enjoy helping my friends with money, and discussing investing or insurance or anything really-- I like to talk about money a lot. I’ve also come to understand that just like engineering is planning and solving problems, so can be a job in finance and business, maybe just in a less scientific or analytical way.
My business teacher obviously really wants me to go into business. My science and math teachers haven’t expressed their opinions, but I have not inquired of them either. I did look up statistics on both Chemical Engineers and Personal Financial Advisors on BLS.gov and I noticed a slight $10,000 difference in average pay, the lesser being the financial advisor, but I don’t think that is really that big of a deal considering I’m smart enough to save and invest my money starting as soon as I get a solid job, and will have the time value of money on my side. Also, I noticed that financial advisors job growth is expected to balloon up by 30% in the next 10 years, while Chemical Engineering has growth outlook of only 2%, that’s one 15th of the growth. I think both have pros and cons, but it’s hard to compare them in a way because of their differences in nature-- I feel like I’m trying to compare apples and oranges here.
TLDR;
So, given the factors I’ve stated, what are some additional factors that could affect this choice? What advice could you give me to help make my decision, given which colleges I apply to in the fall will be greatly impacted by what general major I choose to pursue? What are the pros and cons of each?
All comments are appreciated-- thank you in advance!! 