First post, exciting! Anyway, I’m a grade 11 student with good grades and a work ethic. At the same time, I don’t really have any scope on what I should do in college. I don’t want to spend my life pushing paper. I have a compulsive urge to fix things and act decisively, but I also hate myself. I want a demanding, meaningful job that will give me as little free time as possible, so that I don’t have to focus on my own life. Any suggestions on a major?
You sound motivated enough to pursue an intense but rewarding career – I would recommend pre-med and becoming a doctor, or perhaps a lawyer or even a politician. It depends if you want an office job or something that “gives back” to the community, etc. What are your stronger academic subjects? That could play a big role.
“compulsive urge to fix things and act decisively”
Are you talking about fixing things with your hands, or with your head? If it is with your hands, you should look into technical programs - automechanics, a plumbing/pipefitter/steamfitter apprenticeship, etc. Precious little paper-pushing in any of those careers, and the chance to be decisive for sure!
However, since you currently hate yourself, you might want to start by strolling into your guidance counselor’s office and getting a bit of direction on finding the best therapeutic options. At the end of the day, you still will be going home to your own life. Until that is in better shape, nothing else is going to work as well as it should.
Maybe look into construction management.
You do NOT need to know what you want to do in 11th grade. Go to college (hopefully one that allows you to explore majors) with an open mind, explore classes in a bunch of different departments, and declare a major once you figure out what you like. There are so many majors out there, most of which you’ve probably never heard of or considered, so don’t try to lock yourself into something now!
Some ideas on picking majors:
- Go to your college’s career center or HS Guidance Office and talk to them. They may have tests/tools that help you figure out what career (and therefore major) is best for you)
- What classes do you prefer? Science/Math? English/History?
- Read this article: What problem do you want to solve?
https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/pulse/20140804104444-17000124-let-s-kill-the-college-major - Take an online quiz…there are many
http://www.luc.edu/undergrad/academiclife/whatsmymajorquiz/
http://www.slu.edu/beabilliken/quiz-college-majors
https://www.123test.com/career-test/ - Talk to the professor/teacher in your favorite class and see what they think
- Pre-med/sociology/public health/psychology are majors where you want to help people directly.
Business/engineering/comp sci are majors where you want to solve technical/organizational problems.
Which is more appealing to you?
An employer’s dream, LOL!
Just kidding.
Seriously, why do you hate yourself? It doesn’t sound healthy.
Perhaps you need to speak to a therapist to help change yourself to someone that you will like better.