This is my first post on college confidential and it is about what I would major in college. Currently I am a junior in high school with a very rigorous schedule ( I should have 10 or more APs before I leave high school), am very involved (leadership positions) in a few ECs, am in multiple honor societies and already have experience as an intern in a tech company.
Now here is what I am having trouble with,
I have a major passion for STEM. I love all fields of engineering and computer science. However, I also want to study Economics to prepare myself for the real world, how money works, learning how markets work, and eventually how I can influence them the most with my engineering creations.
Recently, I have developed a very strong passion for brain computer interfaces, so much so that I created a research community dedicated to it. The issue is that brain computer interfacing is very multidisciplinary.
I want to learn as much as possible in all of these fields (I have a thirst for knowledge) but I don’t know how to go about it regarding majors. I even thought of having 3 majors. (Which I am pretty sure is crazy)
Well, first of all, economics doesn’t necessarily teach you those things or “prepare you for the real world” any more than any other major does. But secondly, you can learn some of those things without majoring in economics - you can just take some classes in it. And a lot of that stuff you can learn either by work experience or by going to business school after college - a lot of science and engineering majors get an MBA.
If your true interest is in brain-computer interfaces, you might be interested in a double major in computer science and neuroscience, or majoring in one and minoring in the other. Biology and/or psychology are acceptable too. Some colleges have a major in cognitive science, which also will touch on a lot of the things you want. And some colleges will have a specialization or major in human-computer interaction, or at least some classes in it, which may also give you some elements you want.
You can’t cover every base in undergrad. Double majoring in engineering is tough, so what lone eng discipline would be better than CS plus neuro/cogsci for your interests? Elec eng is applicable but probably too broad to interest you, and comp eng, I believe, would be more appropriate for robotics. You could pursue engineering/design stuff in grad school (get involved in research asap). CS (with plenty of math) and neuro/cogsci is a reasonable path in undergrad. Then do an MBA much later on, if necessary at all.