<p>Do you choose your major based on what you are naturally good at or what you want to do/try?</p>
<p>I'm naturally good at singing and acting but am interested in things that involve math, which i am bad at.</p>
<p>But I dont necessarily want to pursue singing/acting as a major...see my dilemma? </p>
<p>===
More info:
I have not been in any honors math classes..the highest math I will have is pre-calc this year (senior). But I want to do something with Science or Technology (which both involve math..). My chances to getting into good technology schools is probably severely lowered because of this.</p>
<p>I dont want to end up at a school that isnt that great because of the major I want to pursue conflicts with my natural skills.</p>
<p>Precalc in senior year isn’t behind in math; it just isn’t ahead in math. It’s possible that, given the right teacher, etc., you could become good at math. You may never win a Nobel prize in math, but there are thousands of mathy jobs that need to be done, and you could probably do most of them. Conveniently, what you like coincides with what might put you in an easier-to-find-work career field. I’d recommend a school with both, and try to find math-and-science things you can love and be good at.
There are hundreds of very good schools in the US. It is not necessary for your neighbor to have heard of a school to make it worth going to. Maybe you’ll find a school that is a good fit for you and will show you how you fit with math.</p>
<p>Neither of the majors, math or music, are going to get you very far. Music is probably slightly worse as a liberal arts degree given it doesn’t show study skill or persistence. Math could also serve as a shaky foundation to a graduate degree in a more lucrative major but that’s about it. Choose whichever you please.</p>
<p>A more practical alternative to a math degree might be engineering.</p>
<p>Re engineering: I read an article recently (can’t remember source) which argued that engineering is not the golden ticket to a secure upper-middle-class life that people think it is. The gist was that engineering is an up-or-out profession; that 40-year-old engineers have to make the jump to management or become entrepreneurs, or they are simply replaced by younger, cheaper talent (the reason why, despite our need for engineers, there are not a few unemployed ones). Just a thought.</p>
<p>^^ Post 4 could be one of the more inane comments I’ve read on CC. Math can be used in any industry. It’s as wide open as any field of study can be.</p>
<p>31% of alumni responded. Nonresponse dictates that the well off students are more willing to reply.</p>
<p>Of those that replied, only 16% are employed! 28% are looking for work. 52% are in grad school.</p>
<p>What does this tell us? The prospects for a math major are dismal. Remember, because of nonresponse the real numbers are a LOT worse. The best thing that goes on for a math major is grad school.</p>
<p>Math majors are some of the highest paid people on Wall Street. They are also highly appreciated as actuaries, statisticians, engineers, and analysts in all fields.</p>
<p>Imho, singing/acting has a low percentage of success rate. Science or technology has a much higher rate of sucess. However, science and technology require high level of math, at least at the acadamic level. Since you are not good at math, will you consider Business as your college target. Lots of musically telented person succeeded in Business or computer programing.</p>
<p>Berkeley divides their career stats among applied math, pure math, and statistics. If you choose to major in pure math, you are probably looking to attend graduate school in mathematics and possibly become a research mathematician. OP is interested in math-related subjects in general, not necessarily pure math. At many schools, one department will offer different concentrations in app. math, pure math, and stats.</p>
<p>If you like math, you might consider going to a school that offers accounting as a major. Many accounting schools are not in the top 50 schools, and so will be a bit easier to get into - not so necessary to be advanced in math. Accounting is a great career for someone who likes number-crunching, but isn’t particularly a theoretical math type. Accountants start out with lower salaries than engineers and the first few years in public accounting can be very stressful, but the potential for high pay is there. There are many career options in industry, too, that have mid-range pay and less stress. One of the best schools for accounting is Univ of Texas. BYU also has a strong reputation. Most of the Catholic schools also offer it as a major.</p>
<p>Engineering or Math major is is going to be very tough if you don’t love mathematics. Not just pure arithmetic (there are calculators for that)… but true mathematical concepts. Your pre-calc class will start giving you an idea about your preferences, but really you may not know how you feel until you take calculus. </p>
<p>My concern about engineering (my college major, and same for husband and son) these days is that many engineering analysis tasks it can easily be offshored. But is a wonderful curriculum for learning to be a problem solver, especially collaborative problem solving emphasized in many engineering curriculums today. And that is a skill that can be applied to many jobs. </p>
<p>I often advise students that it is easier to drop out of engineering that to switch into it. The same would be true for math. But unless it really tempts to try it, perhaps consider starting as a liberal arts major at a school that offers your interests and many others. That could give you time to explore your options. </p>
<p>Whatever major you choose, try to pick up good computer skills along the way. Good luck!</p>