<p>Im currently in my freshmen year at UCI and i came in as an undecided/undeclared major. I'm interested in nursing and business admin but both are supposedly the hardest majors to get into here. Also, since I didn't take nursing prereqs this quarter and because they're consecutive courses, I'm going to have to spend the summer taking classes. Is it worth getting into? I took AP bio in high school and absolutely despised it and thats mostly whats holding me back from following through with the nursing program. I like business too, but I'm not very passionate about it. Then again, I'm not sure if nursing is the way to go either. Any advice would be great. Anyone who is in business/nursing...can you tell me what the pros and cons are?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know the true stats on business vs nursing salaries? </p>
<p>Nursing major is very small - there are like 30 something people in my class right now. If you’re interested in transferring, go to Berk Hall and talk to one of the counselors there because they’re extremely helpful. You apply for the program in your sophomore year, but most people will send out applications to many nursing schools, simply because they’re so selective.</p>
<p>You do need to take 3 quarters of GChem at UCI. Lucky for you, we don’t take any Bio classes our first year, but we do take Bio 97/98/M122/E109 sophomore year (and then Bio 112L and M118L that summer). </p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, being a nursing major is really weird the first two years because you don’t get to take any nursing classes until Anatomy (NurSci 100/100L) at the end of your sophomore year, so you feel really disconnected from the program.</p>
<p>Since you’re still a freshman and still unsure, I would try to visit any nursing & business-related clubs out there. Meet the upperclassmen and see what they have to say.</p>
<p>Nursing is definitely harder to get into than business admin.</p>
<p>And as for salaries… business is very broad so an average starting salary would not be too indicative… you have to be more specific.</p>
<p>Within the business major, you also have to specialize in a certain area- whether its management, accounting, marketing, or finance (new I believe). So explore those areas as well and try to discover what fits you.</p>
<p>As for nursing, I have 2 RN’s in my family, and salaries can range from 35k-60k/yr starting out. 12 hour shifts are the norm, but you do not work 5 days/wk. Graveyard shifts can really mess you up, but they pay more.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for nursing but I can for business.</p>
<p>If you go the “business” route, your major doesn’t matter as much as your GPA and work experience. If you graduate at the top(3.5+ GPA, 3.7 preferred) of your class with 3 or 4 internships at good firms and you’re willing to network aggressively you can get pretty dang far. Social skills matter here and part of that is being able to interview well. Business majors and people going for similar type jobs are held to a higher standard during interviews.</p>
<p>Here’s the path I took.
Math-Econ major with minors in Statistics and Accounting, sold electronics at an F500 retailer, advised a small business, VP in a business club, interned at a small technology company, interned at a boutique mergers and acquisitions firm, interned at an F500 wealth management firm, interned at an F500 telecommunications firm in the engineering department as a business analyst and was offered a full time position where I’m doing a mix of internal consulting, finance and engineering type work.</p>
<p>Have a skill set that you can contribute and experience to back it up. Have a story to tell. My story is that I’m bright, hardworking, well rounded and that I love technology. I could back up all of those things with past experiences.</p>