<p>Before I write this I don't want people telling me "Only you can decide what you want to do". The whole reason I'm writing this question is because I can't. With that aside (sorry that sounded really blunt and annoying), I don't know what to do with my life.</p>
<p>It must be known that I really love money. I know money can't buy happiness but it can give opportunities to give someone happiness with things like vacations and whatnot. I am kind of obsessed with the thought of being rich and not having to worry about what I can and cannot buy/do. </p>
<p>I am heading off to Rutgers in about a week and I am in the school of arts and sciences. I didn't get into the business school but my first semester of classes are aimed at me fulfilling the business school prerequisites. Right now my plan is probably going to be to get into the business school come end of Sophomore year and then decide a major. I really have no idea what i'd choose but maybe finance? The problem is, is that I don't really excel in math. I don't do horribly, but it's not my favorite subject and I do much better in other areas such as english and history. The reason I say finance is because I feel like it would bring good job opportunities and a good salary. </p>
<p>I have recently (past 24 hours) become very interested in psychology. I have had an interest in this on and off for years but never really seriously thought about it. I would eventually want to become a clinical psychologist and be self employed in NYC but there are so many cons to this. First, I feel like everyone majors in psychology. Also, the time it takes to complete everything needed to be licensed is so long. Do I really want to be consumed with school work until my late 20's and get in so much debt? I don't knowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I would love having that job but it's not going to make me super rich or anything and I feel like i'd just be "settling" in a sense. </p>
<p>I could also see myself becoming a nyc real estate broker even though that is a hard field to break into. I love real estate and I'm very knowledgable about the subject. This isn't something you really go to school for so I figure some business degree for it would be beneficial. Also, I could imagine myself running an internet business somehow, someway, and traveling the world (this sounds very unrealistic but it's not completely unreachable- affiliated marketing(?)).</p>
<p>My thoughts are everywhere right now and I'm confused where to turn. I just need advice. Should I double major in finance and psychology and choose my route after graduating with a BS (i.e. grad school???)</p>
<p>Are you going to be a freshman?
I would suggest talking to a couple different professors in the different fields you’re interested. They can give you more information on those fields as well as possibly hooking you up with external professionals who are doing jobs you might be interested in. From my experience, people are generally willing to talk to a college student to give them a better idea of what a career will be like.
Also, even if you want to get an MBA eventually (would not suggest applying without five or so years of work experience), or work in business, you don’t necessarily need to get a degree from the business school. Managers/CEOs at many companies LOVE psychology courses/grads, particularly those with experience in Industrial or Organizational Psychology – that could be something you could look into. Quite a few people in senior management in my company have degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, actually.
I would suggest talking to people who are in the fields that you are interested in, and setting up some sort of job shadowing or internship program with a couple of them, if possible.
The good thing is that you have time to explore – you don’t HAVE to choose the career path for the rest of your life right now, and even after you get your first job, you can change that path! However, use the time you have now productively and wisely to narrow down what you are and are not interested in.
I hope that helps a little bit.</p>
<p>If you want to make a ton of money then you probably want to look at finance or accounting (if you stick it out long enough at a Big 4 firm you can eventually make partner which pays very handsomely). And of course, entrepreneurship can make you one of the richest people in the world if you make the next Microsoft.</p>
<p>You can also make quite a bit of money as a psychiatrist, which involves going to medical school. I saw a shrink in high school for a bit and I think sessions were like $200 each before insurance. No, you won’t be on a Forbes list of top-earners but you’ll definitely be able to live an extremely comfortable life.</p>
<p>If you are only looking for the money aspect I think accounting would be your best bet. Make sure you get your CPA (however, 'm pretty sure you’ll need more credit hours to sit for exam). As for psychology, are you trying to do psychologist or psychiatrist? These are different. Psychiatrists are basically doctors so they do make pretty good money. However, unless you are blessed with rich parents you will also have a pretty hefty student loan debt.</p>
<p>I think i’d be interested in either being a psychiatrist or a psychologist although probably more so being a psychologist because I’d have a better chance of being self employed. Je ne sais pas</p>
<p>Psychiatrists can be self-employed, they start their own practices. IIRC, a psychologist studies the mind… they do research, studies, etc. A psychiatrist is often known as a psychotherapist, since they often do actual face-to-face therapy sessions. But the key difference is that psychiatrists are able to prescribe medication since they’re medical doctors.</p>
<p>That’s an absolute lie. And it has been scientifically proven that money can buy love and happiness.</p>
<p>And I can tell you myself, although I have a few problems that not even all the money in the world can solve, because I was born with them, I can’t do anything about it. I can definitely say my top 3 problems can all be solved with money.</p>
<p>I grew up in a pretty wealthy family, not vacation-at-cape-cod-every-summer wealthy but wealthy enough to live in a good neighborhood with two nice cars and wealthy enough to send me and my sister to an expensive private school for eight years. I was pretty ****ing miserable for most of my childhood. Hell even now I’m not that happy. And no I’m no ungrateful for the privileges I was born into, I count my lucky stars for it but it sure does NOT buy you happiness. Comfort? Sure. Happiness? No.</p>
<p>Meanwhile I’ve got a friend whose family has some money but doesn’t really help him out who works 10 hour days at a pizza parlor making a bit over minimum wage. He’s pretty damn happy with his life. Happier than I am with mine that’s for sure.</p>
<p>The only reason why a rich kid would be “miserable” with his life, is probably because he’s going through the hilariously funny “First-World Problems”.</p>
<p>Other than that, maybe they’re ugly? But then again, if they have the money they claim to have, they can even fix that.</p>
<p>If you come from money and having money is all you ever known, of course you won’t get true happiness from it. Think about it this way. When someone from a poor third world country that is known for violent murders and rapes in the country moves to some suburb in the US, you think they’ll be happy? Probably. </p>
<p>So imagine me coming from suburbia. Not the rich kind, the average kind. I don’t have my own car. I couldn’t go to my first choice college cause of money. And there were a few times where we were stressing about the possibility of my dad losing his job. If we won the lottery and all the problems that make us sad went away… I’ll be pretty damn happy. And I’ll have a decent car. :)</p>
<p>Only up to about $78,000 or so. After that, there’s no real gain in happiness. (Sorry, don’t have the citation available where I am.) You can make that kind of money in a lot of fields.</p>
<p>The Career Services office will have various diagnostic tests you can take to pinpoint your strengths/weaknesses (which you already seem to have a handle on) and potential careers associated with various majors.</p>
<p>@Kel lol, and your problems are somehow not “first world problems”? You don’t know **** about me or my life. Or most people’s lives for that matter. I guarantee you there are a billion kids out there that would kill to have what you or I have.</p>
<p>@PatrickJay I get what you mean. I just think that happiness still comes from within. Having money can make things less stressful, yeah. It can make life more comfortable for sure. I just don’t think it’ll truly buy you happiness. That comes from your friends, or family, or passions.</p>
<p>No they’re not first world problems. I don’t anything about you, you’re right, but you ARE here with a tone like “Well I only went to Harvard, and only had two Ferrari’s, but still, I lived a miserable life.”</p>
<p>Sounds more like you’re mocking the less fortunate. But that’s just me. Maybe I took it the wrong way. But that’s what your tone looks like.</p>
<p>Well I apologize if that’s how my tone came across, I wasn’t trying to do that. I was simply trying to illustrate my point that despite growing up with a lot of privilege I still wasn’t happy. Hell, even if I did go to Harvard and owned two Ferraris I’d probably still be unhappy (although I could at least take the Ferrari to the track to let off some steam) because I’d still have very few friends, no love life, and no direction in life. </p>
<p>All I’m saying is that the pursuit of wealth does not alone guarantee happiness. It can take away some of the stresses and problems in life so that you can focus on attaining happiness, but simply being in the top tax bracket isn’t gonna do it.</p>
<p>I figured that’s what you meant, afterward. I wasn’t sure if you were messing around or being serious.</p>
<p>I’m from a 3rd world country, my parents are poor, and when you tell some one from the Caribbean, or poor country what you just told me[the whole expensive private school for 8 years, 2 cars, etc], they too would just think you’re messing around with them. And I guarantee you they’d ask, let’s trade places. Hell, i’m poor for U.S. standards, and my poor relatives from overseas put my problems to shame.</p>
<p>You are right, a lot of people would give anything to have what I and others have in the US. I should not have been so quick to jump to conclusions myself.</p>
<p>To the OP: you don’t know what you want to do with your life, but you want to be wealthy… this is delusional, asinine thought at its finest. You list all these majors, yet you don’t seem to have the guts to pursue any one of them with certainty. Just choose one, and then work every single day. It doesn’t matter which major you choose if you do well in the major. Only by hard work every single day of your life, can you achieve success… wishing for money will not make it appear out of thin air dude. Focus on hard work, and then then money will follow.</p>