<p>Hey college confidential,
I'm looking for some advice on my major.
I'm a high-school senior in Washington State. I've taken alot of AP classes in high school and last year I took half my classes at the community college through running start. Next year Im taking all of my classes at the community college for both college and high school credit. As of now, I have 45 college credits. I am a strong student with a 3.8 GPA. During the spring I took the SAT and ACT for the first time without any prior studying. My scores were 32/2070 (740 Math, 670 Writing, 660 Reading). Ive studied some this summer and I hope to improve my scores this fall.
My strongest subject is easily math. Ive taken Algebra, Trig, PreCalc, Calc AB, and Statistics with almost all straight As. Most of the concepts in math have come to me very easily.
Ive done fairly well in science. Ive taken Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Physics was my favorite and Biology was my least favorite.
English is my least favorite subject. I really do not like creative writing or fictional reading. On the other hand I actually enjoy non-fiction reading.
Ive liked history although Im not very good at it. History and English are the subjects pulling my GPA down.</p>
<p>The Majors that have interested me so far have been:
Engineering I have fixed over 30 iPods and electronics in the last couple years and sold them for decent profits. I like learning how things work and taking stuff apart. My dad is a successful mechanical engineer and I think a lot like him.
Economics/Finance I am an eBay top rated seller and powerseller. I have earned between $1000 and $5000 on Ebay and Amazon each year since 6th grade (sadly Ive spent most of it). I love buying and selling and money as a whole. Economics and interest have made sense to me very easily for as long as I can remember.
Computer Science I took an entry level programming class last year at the community college and I found it very easy. I didnt really like the class (probably because of the teacher) but I earned a 3.9 when half of the class dropped out. I even quit coming to class the last month and I learned the material by myself. I enjoyed programming when I was actually doing it rather then learning the history of computers.</p>
<p>I intend on going to an affordable university for four years and then going on to earn at least my masters degree. Im really looking for any sort of advice on my major. It would be helpful for me to choose or at least narrow down my major right now because Ill be taking my classes at the community college this year. Any sort of advice, other majors, or reading materials would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>As far as where you go that is affordable, University of Washington is a strong academic school. </p>
<p>One thing that did strike me is that you like how things work. That would be a reason to go into engineering as opposed to the other disciplines you mentioned. And looking at the UW EE program and it seems like there are concentrations that fit you. Also, I understand your interest in finance and economics, however you seem to have a natural entrepreneurial bent which they really don’t teach in econ or finance. Since you want to get a master’s, you might also consider an EE and eventually get an MBA.</p>
<p>One other thing to consider if you are unsure is this. If you started one track but didn’t like it what would be easier to transfer to without losing time. With that in mind, it would be more diffifult to change from econ/finance to EE rather than vice versa.</p>
<p>As for liking…do you think you like your father or do you think you like engineering…j/k.</p>
<p>But since you mentioned your father, what advice has he given you?</p>
<p>The “perfect” job for each of those majors is a little different. If you do Econ/Finance the “perfect” job is investment banking, which very competitive, stressful, and requires a lot of hours, but pays (after the first couple years) far better than anything else. If you do CS, the “perfect” job would be software engineering at one of these big name firms (Facebook, Google, Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, few others) which requires fewer hours (than investment banking), still pays well, and has a relaxed environment. I’m not sure what the “perfect” job for the different engineering disciplines would be, but the goal of many is the good stable 40-hr week job which pays well enough to raise a family and with low enough stress to enjoy time with them. </p>
<p>Now, obviously people go end up doing different things than I mentioned also, but maybe that would influence your decision.</p>
<p>^^
UW is appealing to me and I have a lot of friends who have their hearts set on going there. Although it would seem to be the most affordable option because it is instate, I think I can get cheap tuition at other state universities. I still like the idea of going somewhere far from home with a little bit less rain and grey, as lame as it may sound. Montana State University has a $60000 scholarship for students who either score a 33 on the ACT or 2140 on SAT (hopefully I will be able to score that high). Also I went to Lake Tahoe last winter and visited UNR. Although it doesn’t have the best reputation, it does have a lot of new engineering facilities and they said based on my test scores I could go there for approximately $2000 tuition per year. Lake Tahoe seems like an awesome place to go to school too.
Why do you think electrical engineering would be the best fit for me? I forgot to mention in my first post that I also like to build stuff and I’ve always liked messing around with gears and mechanical stuff and I’ve also liked making my own fireworks and explosives with chemicals (I know, not the smartest). In other words, if I were to go into engineering I don’t think I’d know what kind of engineering would be best. Petroleum engineering sounded interesting because it would be a more outdoorsy kind of career.
The part you said about having an entrepreneurial bent seems to make perfect sense to me though.
Haha whenever I talk to my dad about college he always get sidetracked and pushes for me to go WSU. He went to WSU 30 years ago and thinks its the best school around. The closest mountains to WSU are 3 hours.</p>
<p>^
Although those “perfect job” descriptions are helpful, they don’t really steer me in one direction. I do work well under pressure, I’ve done alot of my best work at 2 am the night before something is due. On the other hand I am a fairly laid back person and I enjoy the freedom that computer science could offer. I have no interest in starting my own family right now (what 18 year old does?) but I’m sure at some point in my life I will.</p>
<p>Thanks alot, both posts were helpful.</p>
<p>alheperson, I mentioned EE because you mentioned working with electronics (and I thought you said EE - my mistake). More generally, if you like to know how things work, engineering makes sense. And with further clarification, I can understand exploring the different engineering disciplines.</p>
<p>As far as schools go, I can certainly understand why you would want to get away, so no, it isn’t lame. But I would say, in general, it makes sense to go to the best school you possibly can.</p>
<p>Finance and Economics is a really cut-throat and competitive field. Networking and communications are just as, if not more important, than your merit and accomplishments. </p>
<p>To be honest, selling products on eBay isn’t that closely related to what economics is. You’ll be dealing with complex differential equations to figure trends and risks of investing money or micro/macro economics that deals with trends (more math). </p>
<p>I don’t mean to be discouraging, only to put into perspective on how to approach your decision. The business majors, although very rewarding, is extremely competitive. If you see yourself as a leader, and can see yourself climbing the corporate ladder and can manage long hours and willing to take initiative to stand out from the crowd - then business is for you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. And you weren’t being discouraging at all, I realize right now is the best time for me to hear the truth about each major, rather than the typical “oh that could be a good fit for you” that so many counselors give. The part about networking and communications is making more and more sense to me and it is actually leading me away from finances and economics. It sounds to me like finances and economics are based almost entirely on competition, and being the laid back person that I am, I don’t think I would fit in well in such a “cut-throat and competitive field”.
Engineering, on the other hand, is looking more and more appealing. I’ve read alot about engineering and the different types of engineering in the last couple of days. Chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering sound almost equally appealing to me. What would you suggest that I read or do to help decide which is the best fit?</p>
<p>alhepearson, I would start by doing a google for each field. Generally, the first entry is from wikipedia and the articles have some pretty good overview info about each discipline and links to related fields.</p>