I am 19 years old and I’m currently in my second semester of community college (I took what would have been my first semester off). I’m hoping to transfer to my dream school in the spring, but I don’t know what I want to study. Actually, I know what I want to study, but it i don’t think i want to go into that field when I graduate.
I would like to study physics and philosophy, purely because I find it incredibly interesting, but it’s not something I can see myself doing for a living. I realize this is an issue, i don’t want to waste the next three years (maybe more) of my life and money on something that isn’t going to make me happy in the long run.
What i really want to do is travel the world and see different animals, cultures, and the beauty of our planet. But I can’t seem to find a job that I will enjoy while also doing those things. I can’t seem to enjoy anything I do as of right now, and its making figuring out my life very difficult and i’m getting unnecessarily stressed about it. I want so badly to go to college, but is there any use in going if I don’t know what to do? Wouldn’t that just be a waste? I don’t want to hold off going to college, I really don’t. I love school and I love learning and I want to have my college experience while im still young.
I just want to do what makes me happy and I feel that traveling the world will allow me to do that. But I also need to make money doing it.
I was also considering environmental science. I lean more towards physics because more i’m interested in the nature of the universe and reality more than anything. But I care very much about the state of our planet and just life in general and i would like to make a contribution to help the planet.
I think that life and science are beautiful and I want to learn more and more about these things for the rest of my life because there is so much to learn. If i could get paid to experience and learn, i would be set. But i don’t think thats something i can do. Any suggestions on how to get my life together?
You have to be realistic. Very few people are able to travel the world for work. Everybody wants one of those jobs unfortunately. What you have to try to do is find a field that will leave you well enough to allow you to do that on your own.
Have you considered a major in travel and tourism? That would at least set you up for the travel part of your bucket list. Check SUNY here- https://www.suny.edu/attend/find-a-suny-program/undergraduate/currfd_oas_main.cfm?searchType=currSearch&Term=42&StudType=Freshman&EOP=No°reeType=&currIDKey=&currID=681&CampusID=&CurrName=&searchCurrFdSubmit=Processing…&cct=1 - and look at Delhi, Morrisville, Buffalo State, Plattsburgh,
How about a photography major?
Consider getting in touch with someone at National Geographic.in NYC. See if there’s someone there who will speak to you about an education path that would enable you to eventually work with them.
Have you already traveled? I mean, you might be romanticizing a bit. If you have an opportunity to take a gap year and explore a bit more, it would be really beneficial. And I find your idea of taking environmental science as a major pretty good one. There is also an option to do freelance jobs after graduation (maybe write academic papers on the topic of your major?), that way you’ll be able to make a living and travel as well.
I would recommend pursuing physics and trying to land a job that pays well and give you a decent amount of vacation time so that you can travel. My dad had a job where you frequently needed to travel to Asia, Europe, and South America (on one occasion he had to go to africa too). He hated it because he never actually had time to genuinely explore and enjoy these places since he was there for business, and didn’t get to spend as much time with his family as he wanted. He later left his job for his current when, which pays well and gives him plenty of vacation time to go with us to wherever. Become an engineer, make money, get vacation time, and go travel.