<p>Hi, a little background about my situation. Right now I'm finishing up my 4th semester at my community college in Northwest Arkansas and will get both Associate of Arts and Science degrees next semester. My current GPA is 3.1 When I first started I thought I'd Major in broadcast journalism and transfer to the University of Arkansas. I'd always enjoyed journalism but I really loved film and photography...however because of what I'd heard from people with film degrees and advisers I was told that even with a degree making a living with film was pretty iffy. </p>
<p>So I decided on journalism so I could build different sets of skills and have a solid well paying job. 1 year ago I started at my local new station 40/29 TV as a camera and audio operator making minimum wage (still am). Starting my 3rd semester I joined the college newspaper and have been working as a writer, photojournalist and page designer using programs like Photoshop and adobe Illustrator and In-design. </p>
<p>But recently I've been questioning whether I want to be a journalist. I see what they have to go through everyday behind the scenes and while I kind of enjoy it they pay does not justify that amount of work. Most starting journalist make around 20,000 a year starting and aren't expected to earn much throughout their carriers unless they can move out of small local markets and into larger more markets with a lot of competition. Plus jobs in the industry are plummeting. News and production departments are seeing huge cuts in-order for their companies to show growing profits which makes it even more competitive and some new journalists are finding it difficult to get a job because of this. </p>
<p>So now I'm at a point in my life where I don't know where to go anymore. I have heavily considered engineering because of the high demand on new engineering graduates but I've still got to take 4 semesters of calculus and a year of advanced college physics. I've made a C in College Algebra (didn't do much homework) and a B in College finite. So I'm not sure if I'm cut out for engineering either.</p>
<p>I need advice on what my next move should be. I've thought about just dropping out for a year to figure out my life. There is huge pressure on me to be successful. My dad had to do it 3 times in his life. 2 ex-wives cheated and left him with nothing and he’s had to start over each time. Now he runs his own very successful lawn-care business with plenty of employees but I'm not sure if I want to run his business. </p>
<p>I'm at the end of my rope and don't know what to do anymore. If any of you have any advice for me or options that you think I should consider I would very much appreciate it and thank you. I'm 19 and about to be 20 so I need to figure out what I'm going to do soon. Thank you very much for reading my lengthy story. </p>
<p>You could always get a degree in business or accounting. Math may not be your strong suit but that doesn’t mean that all jobs involving some level of math are as hard as engineering.</p>
<p>That’s an option. Though business degrees just seem so common now I’m not sure how far it would take me. </p>
<p>Have you checked out industrial engineering or Materials engineering? They are still demanding but less demanding say, mechanical or electrical. In addition, you will gain more knowledge about the tools of your trade that relates to Film production as well.
However, if you are considering Engineering, just know that you might need 3 years instead of 2 to meet their requirements, since most of your sophomore courses were not offered there at the community college. Which leads to the next point of how getting the AA/AS is important to you, With that, you can transfer to the University this fall and double major in Industrial engineering and Film, and start with calculus 1, intro to engineering, and continue with a course or two in film.
This can be a way of still pursuing your love, but also have a day job to pay your bills till you are able to make it in film.
Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Actually my community college offers Cal 1-3 and differential equations. Plus Intro to engineering. Along side those Next semester I’m taking Digital photography with an award winning photographer, Chem 1, Intro to engineering, and Trig to learn the basics for Calculus.</p>
<p>I would advise against engineering if you struggled in junior college math classes. The STEM job availability is exaggerated as well so I wouldn’t advise engineering just to try to get a job especially if math isn’t a strong point for you.</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought about Industrial or Materials before either. Thank you! I’ll look into it. If anyone else has suggestions I’m open to all! </p>
<p>I agree with @Vlklngboy11, if you had problems in Algebra you shouldn’t even consider engineering. Accounting is a good option. It’s not a generic business degree and businesses always need accountants.</p>
<p>First let us look at the positives:
- As a student of journalism in community college, perhaps you have developed good communication skills (written & verbal) & a familiarity with (or some level of expertise in) mass communications (TV, Web, radio etc.)
- Self-awareness: Instead of spending 4 years, and finding that you may not like the career that you trained for, you now understand the limitations of certain careers, and the need to search for alternatives.
- Youth: have lots of years ahead of you
- Limited investment: Did not invest too much in skills (college, time & money). –>Lower sunk costs; can change course.
Negatives:
- In community college struggled with mathematics - the foundation of engineering & physical sciences.
- B average in community college setting; note that college courses are more rigorous, and will require better study habits.
Unknowns:
- Whether you have a solid foundation in high school mathematics and biology
- Career Aptitudes
- Interests
- Values</p>
<p>Normally, a career path transition from journalism to marketing may be a natural one. </p>
<p>However, before you make a final decision, you need to investigate if there is a career center around your area that would administer career aptitudes, values tests and assess an inventory of your interests. Ask if the career center has a trained psychologist/career counselor to interpret the results. If not, contact the University of Arkansas, and investigate if they will help you make the transition to a future career. If both fail, there are some career advising companies which administer on-line tests; they provide you with telephone consultation to interpret the results and advice you regarding future career possibilities. One such company is Career Vision, and I think they provide their services to students at Northwestern University. Note there is a charge for their services.
<a href=“http://www.careervision.org/about/index.htm”>http://www.careervision.org/about/index.htm</a>
Please investigate other firms around the country; but in any case, take these tests, and in conjunction with your inner values and interests, you may discover your true potential. Good luck. </p>
<p>I was thinking that if you focused on marketing and communcations side of a busincess degree, you could incorporate your previous courses into a major and then graduate with a more ‘specialized’ business degree. Look around for schools that will use the courses you alreadyhave toward a business/ communications or marketing bachelor’ s degree. You could then try out some of your marketing/communcation skills to ‘help’ your father grow his business. Even if you ultimately choose not to continue with him in his business, then you will have a practical 4 year degree with ‘experience’ to help you find another job.</p>