Hi. I really have no clue what to do with my major. My parents really want me to major in something with good job prospects as they are investing their money in my education. The problem is I really don’t think I should major in enginerring because I’m struggling a lot in honors physics right now. I like math a lot but I’m not amazing at it as I have solid B’s in AB calculus. I really want to do something in my life where I feel like I’m helping people, but my strong subjects are all in things like humanities economics and so on. Should I just study something like economics/finance or political science where I know I can accel or major in something like chemical or biomedical enginerring whete I could make products that help people’s lives even though I would be stuggling deeply to stay afloat. Also medicine seems like it’s not my best bet as physics is a pre req and on the mcat so I’ll probably be struggling a lot with that too. Please help!! Should I let my parents down, stuggle in college or sacrifice the prospect of helping people for the ability to make money. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I’m extremely stressed since my parents bother me about this daily
Who says majoring in economics/finance or political science can’t help others? You can start your own business selling medical devices that can improve people’s lives; you can start a non-profit to help those who can’t afford medical care. You can use a political science degree and become a lobbyist to advocate for causes you feel strongly about. You can use a poli science degree and enter into a law program and become a human rights lawyer, public defender, etc etc. You don’t need to be an innovator to help people. It’s not the degree you get; it’s what you do with the degree.
Thanks. That helps me feel a little better. While law and finance are both very interesting to me, I hear most of the jobs in these fields are pretty corrupt and about big business which makes me kind of anxious. As well my deepest passion is in stuff like neuroscience and molecular biolgy and finding cures for diseases. Is there anyway to get involved in that kind of stuff without going to medical school?
It doesn’t sound like you have a lot of interest or aptitude for this area.
Your parents seem well-meaning but unfortunately they are probably hurting as much as helping. A lot of kids your age struggle to figure out what to do. And why shouldn’t they? How many job areas do HS kids really know about? For example you wrote “Also medicine seems like it’s not my best bet as physics is a pre req and on the mcat so I’ll probably be struggling a lot with that too.” Yet med school is far from the only career in medicine! There are people in nursing, physical therapy, x-ray technician, etc. This is an example of the narrow focus that may leave plenty of interesting opportunities undiscovered.
I say take the positive spin on your parents pressure. They probably don’t want you to decide today what your career should be, but they want to see that you are taking steps to decide. So start by talking with them about the path to make a tentative decision. If they expect a final decision now or soon they are just being unrealistic. You should probably start by getting books for college-age kids on career exploration, there are tons out there. You can find resources online from colleges by doing a web search. As you start to find areas then you ought to explore them by reading more about them, talking to people in the field (often in college alums will talk with current students about their careers), and thru internships or volunteer work. This all isn’t going to happen this week or this month, so if that’s what your parents want then you are up a creek.
Many people use college (especially at LACs) as a way to figure out what they want to do with their life; it is part of the process. I realize that your parents are probably footing the bill so they somehow feel entitled to push you around, but eventually you and they will have to realize that this is your life, not theirs, and you will decide what to do with it. Best wishes.
I second @snarlatron
It’s difficult to know the careers that a major will lead you to. You’d be surprised. Do more detailed research into career paths associated with the majors you’re considering. There are many professional organizations that have web pages devoted to this. Read descriptions of various careers. You can even find short videos on youtube. Take career tests. Talk to professionals in careers you’re considering. Take your time, be thorough.
Lots of ways to help people with just about any major your can think of.
“my deepest passion is in stuff like neuroscience and molecular biolgy and finding cures for diseases. Is there anyway to get involved in that kind of stuff without going to medical school?”
Definitely. My brother is a neuroscientist who recently started his own company processing brain signals, and he never went to med school. He got his BS in computer science and his PhD in computational neuroscience.
You can study molecular engineering and yes, there’s some physics, but it’s mostly focused on chemistry and biology. Of course it does involve a lot of math. Look at things like this: https://ime.uchicago.edu/themes/immuno_engineering_and_cancer/
Biochemistry is another related major with a path towards your passion that’s not engineering (and therefore less physics).
Maybe someone can chime in but I remember my son taking a test in HS to narrow down interests and aptitudes. Some schools you apply as undecided so check some of those out as well. I’d say many don’t know what they want to do in life just after graduating HS.
Thanks to everyone for the responses. Do any of you guys know if computational biolgy or computational neuroscience would be a employable major. I really like biolgy/neuroscience and math is really fun for me even though I’m not exactly the greatest at it. Is this a major where I could have good well paying job prospects?
You don’t really major in computational biology/neuroscience at the undergraduate level. You would major in biology or neuroscience, and then pair it with a double major or minor or some coursework in math, statistics, and/or computer science. (Or you could do it the other way around - major in computer science, take heavy math classes, minor in biology or neuroscience or take relevant coursework.) Then you would study computational neuroscience on the graduate level - it’s more of a graduate specialty than anything else.
But yes, you can get a job with a major in biology or neuroscience, particularly if you have solid training in computer science and math. There are plenty of biotech firms that would hire someone with facility in bio/NS and CS/math.
Thanks for all the helpful reponses everyone. I think I will major in molecular biology/ genetics and then try for a jd/mph or jd/phd program to kinda get a best of both worlds and get involved with bioethics and the sort
Molecular biology and genetics are also too narrow for undergrad school. You need to think more general - biology would be the major you would get at most places, or neuroscience at many places. I do think there are a few undergrad schools that have molecular biology majors or microbiology but most don’t.
My schools that I am waiting between all have molecular biology, however a lot of them have pretty heavy physics requirements. I’m considering just doing bme or biomoleculer engineering at the ones with heavy physics requirements for molecular bio cause it seems like a might as well situation haha