<p>I'm currently studying to become a civil engineer but i hate it.What i really want to study is biology.So i decided to do just that.My parents though don't think that it's a good idea.They want me to become a civil engineer because of the job prospects and the high salary.Everyone(apart from my sisters) think i'm crazy.i AM going to study biology but i'm worried how this will affect the way my parents see me.I was always a great student, but not as good as my sisters and now i'm in a school that is equally prestigious as theirs.While my parents are now always bragging that their eldest daughter is in medicine, the other is a mechanical engineer and the youngest a civil engineer, i don't think they will be doing the same once i start studying biology.I don't think they will be as proud of me as before.Instead they will be worried about my future as a biologist.Has any of you had the same experience with your children?What do you think of them now?Do you admire their courage or you still believe they should have followed your advice?Did you experience the same things with your parents?It would mean a lot to me if you shared your experience!THank you all in advance.</p>
<p>In the era of biotech and declining infrastructure construction there may be better job prospects in biology than in civil engineering. Why don’t you share with your parents a view of all of the wonderful things you could do with a bio major?</p>
<p>naturewise, have you considered biomedical engineering? You could marry engineering and bio that way. Or, how about an undergrad degree in biology, then a PhD in molecular biology? Pharmaceutical companies would grab you, since there is a big push now toward personalized medicine. And they pay very well!</p>
<p>You might not be able to do much with an undergrad bio degree other than work in a lab on a campus somewhere, or maybe in a pharma company. But if you went on and got an advanced degree (esp a PhD), the world would be your oyster.</p>
<p>Follow your passion! Good luck!</p>
<p>I think for undergrad- that it is most advantageous to keep your education toward the broader side- biology over specializing in say- marine biology- and if you hate civil engineering there is little way that would make you feel successful.</p>
<p>Is there anything you like about civil engineering? What about environmental engineering?
Fields will overlap in 10-20 years that we are only vaguely able to imagine now. An undergrad bio degree could serve you very well- but I do imagine that a graduate degree will be required for employability & the pay will not necessarily be high- but the job satisfaction could be.</p>
<p>[Considering</a> Civil & Environmental Engineering?](<a href=“http://cee.stanford.edu/prospective/undergrad/consideringCEE.html]Considering”>http://cee.stanford.edu/prospective/undergrad/consideringCEE.html)</p>
<p>Screw your parents. They should know better than to guilt you into studying a mojor that you won’t be happy with. And if they can’t understand that, that is their problem, and shame on them. You can tell them I said that.</p>
<p>You might find it helpful to drop by the career services office of your college and get their input. I don’t view biology as a dead-end choice!
You are going to be the most successful studying something that interests you.</p>
<p>You could tell your parents you might get a master’s degree in engineering after your bachelor’s degree in biology. You never know - you might.</p>
<p>naturewise, stick to your plans. The suggestions of bio-medical engineering are great, I would also bring your parents concrete examples (check with your career center for information) of what you can do with a biology degree, and the possibility of going for an advance degree. Honestly though, even if you were to teach high school biology, what would be wrong with that? If you are passionate about that subject matter and you’re not planning on having your parents subsidize your life down the road than it should be YOUR choice. There are too many people in the world who have made professional choices to please someone else and they are miserable for it. Don’t make that mistake!</p>
<p>Please note that biomedical engineering is still very much an engineering curriculum with all of the usual engineering and math courses plus a few life sciences courses.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>“Students take five social science and humanities courses; one undergraduate writing course; two introductory courses each in physics and chemistry; two life-science courses; five mathematics courses; one statistics course; one computational methods course. The numbers of required and elective courses in BME as well as unrestricted electives depend on the choice of majors (e.g., single BME major or BME/EE dual major). For details, please download the Undergraduate Program Handbook.” </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bme.duke.edu/undergrads/curriculum.php[/url]”>http://www.bme.duke.edu/undergrads/curriculum.php</a></p>
<p>For my kids we hope they find a passion in college and will support them in their interest … a career is REALLY long … it is much too big a part of you life to not being doing what interests you if possible. So I obviously vote go with Biology … however, the is one HUGE caveat. Do you believe your parents will pull financial support if you choose Biology? If they do what will you do … would you consider transfering to State U so you can affort a Biology degree without your parents financial support (or with limited support)</p>
<p>Hopefully your parent’s opinion of you goes far deeper than your choice of a college major. I can tell you from experience that choosing a major solely for future job prospects is a terrible way to pick a career. College is your one opportunity to follow your interests and passion. Never choose a major because you think you will be employable in the future, you will surely end up dissatisfied. This is your experience, not your parents and while it is often difficult to stand back and watch our children make life choices that we may not necessarily make, it is our responsiblity as parents to try and support these choices. Please yourself. Don’t fret about how this choice will influence your parents opinion of you. What in the world is wrong with a child who chooses to be a biologist? Sorry, but something sounds a little strange to me here.</p>
<p>You say your sister is in ‘medicine’. If so then she received some undergrad degree before going to med school. What undergrad degree did she get? It seems that the majority of those going to med school pursued bio as an undergrad degree (not all, but it seems to be the most common). For all your parents know you might decide to head into medicine after your bio undergrad degree. Of course, you might decide on something else to but no one can determine that at this point.</p>
<p>Sorry for the genralization but is this a cultural thing - i.e. parents from Asia or India, some of whom think that there are only two acceptable degrees - MD and Engineering?</p>
<p>You should pursue what you want and certainly not something you hate. Check with career counseling so you understand the future prospects of the major and perhaps arm yourself with some facts to go back to your parents with.</p>
<p>nice call ucsd-ucla-dad. There really isn’t such a thing as a premed or pre law degree, although there may be schools that call it that- but you can apply to either med schools or law schools with basically any degree ( within reason- you probably wouldn’t apply to Yale med school with a " focus" in Orissian dance from TESC and expect to be successful)</p>
<p>What year are you in college? For any science degree you need to start freshman year with some idea of what direction you are going in, will changing to biology make your course of study longer?</p>
<p>My daughter has a biology degree and is now in grad school for her teaching credential.
No not high paying necessarily- but still a pretty good career, with good benefits and stable although it took her four years after college graduation ( from Reed College- her work experience during college was more related to education than research- so it wasn’t a surprise ), until she decided to do it.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that your parents are under ZERO obligation to help you with college or housing, especially after you deliberately defy them and go behind their back to change from a real major into a liberal arts subject like biology. They are also under no obligation to fund grad school, which is what is required to make a major like biology. If you want to thumb your nose at your parents’ reasonable requests, that’s fine, but don’t expect to do it on their dime.</p>
<p>Screw your parents, study what you want. If they don’t want to fund you because you would rather study biology than civil engineering then they are poor and immature parents and you shouldn’t be listening to them in the first place. Asking you to live a lie and study something you don’t enjoy for 4 years is not a reasonable request, its an ignorant demand. If they are so hurt that they want to financially spite you because you wanted to seek your own path in life then honestly you are better off without them. “A coward dies a thousand dies, the brave die but once.”</p>
<p>You’re too worried about what your parents think. You have to do what is right for you, and you know best what that is.</p>
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<p>What happens is people can’t remember the advice they gave last week, they’re too busy giving new advice that they will also forget giving. Especially if what they advised you to do turns out badly, then they really won’t remember.</p>
<p>I think this situation requires more deliberate thought and action than that described in #15.</p>
<p>And the quote is: “Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar</p>
<p>I smell immigrant parents here. If that is the case, you do indeed have a challenge facing you. The cultural rules governing parental influence on career choices are not the same in the US and in other parts of the world.</p>
<p>That said, you should change your major unless staying in your current major is the only way you can have their cooperation with helping you pay for your education. You will learn more, and you will get better grades if you are in the major field that you like best. As others have written above, bio. tech. is a booming field of employment right now. If you are interested in that aspect of biology (biochem., biophysics, etc.) you have every chance of decent employment in the future. Prospects aren’t quite as bright for people interested in field biology, but they aren’t likely to starve to death either.</p>
<p>Biology isn’t a liberal arts subject. (Not that there is anything wrong with liberal arts anyway.) There’s nothing unreasonable about wanting to major in something you love rather than something you hate. The best engineers are the ones who love engineering, not the ones dragging themselves through the major hating every minute of it. Do think about what you want to do with a biology degree. You may have to pursue more education to get the job you want, depending on what you want to do with your life.</p>
<p>Parents may have preferences about what they want their kids to do (doctor, lawyer, and engineer seem to turn up a lot on parental wishlists), but most parents will be proud if their kid turns out to be a broadway actor, a biologist, an auto technician, or a teacher. The parents who do feel their kids have “let them down” by not going into the career they, the parents, want them to . . . well, they make me sad. They’re missing an opportunity to get to know the great kid they have by obsessing about the imaginary kid they want. </p>
<p>But a lot of parents are just afraid for their kids–afraid they’ll end up with a low-paying job, or no job. Afraid that their kid won’t be happy without an income of $XXX,XXX or a very prestigious job. So they try to steer them towards the sure money and the in-demand jobs. But most, if they realize that their kid would never be happy doing Job XYZ, will take a deep breath, let go, and respect that.</p>
<p>i applaud you for choosing your own field. it’s your life- not your parents. besides, it’s much harder to become successful at a job if you hate it.</p>