I am currently in my freshman year of community college and majoring in biology, and frankly I am struggling. I know that you can major in anything you want for med school so I am thinking about changing my major to something else just so I have more options should I change my mind some time down the road. I am actually stronger in English/History than I am with math/science but the medical field interests me and it seems to be a very good option in terms of employment. So my question is, what are some good majors that can possibly interest a guy like me?
Well, that depends. What are your interests? What other careers might you like if you weren’t going to be a doctor? What classes have you enjoyed so far? Your major doesn’t necessarily determine your career, so you don’t need a “fall back major” - what you need are some other careers that you’ve explored and picked up some skills for. I knew some pre-med students who for whatever reason didn’t go to med school (or didn’t go right away); they had all kinds of majors and did all kinds of things post-college.
Well that’s the thing, I don’t really know what kind of a career I would be interested in apart from something in the medical field. I’m interested in history but I don’t really know what kinds of jobs are linked to that. I’m not a huge math wiz do anything like engineering or physics is out of the question. I guess I am also interested in crime and law but I heard there aren’t many opportunities in that field at the moment. I could be wrong though.
It’s too early to conclude that you can’t find an effective way to learn biology. However, if you can’t, a health profession such as physician is not indicated for you.
What is it about the health field that interests you aside from “a very good option in terms of employment” (if anything)?
Don’t you think it’s a bit early to be thinking of shifting into another course? I believe you have just studying biology right? How many months has it been? I’d suggest don’t give up on it yet. Constantly thinking about failing would probably lead you to actually failing.
There are lots of things in the medical field aside from being an MD.
Xray tech? PA? Physical Therapist? Anything in the Sports Medicine field?
The OP is not wrong to be concerned. The job market for an undergrad bio major isn’t good. OP, get a copy of the College Noard’s book of majors and spend time with it. You can try the career office if there is one at your CC to see what materials they have, too.
The unemployment rate for recent college graduates in biology (7.8%) is either lower than or not much different from the unemployment rate for mechanical engineering (8.1%), electrical and civil engineering (both 7.6%), computer science (8.7%), business management/administration (7.8%), and economics (10.4%) - majors that are usually touted here as more stable.
That’s because there’s not a job market for an undergrad biology major; there are job markets for specific careers/fields, multiple of which an undergrad biology major can enter. A biology major could go onto become a marketing manager (at a pharma agency - or a retail conglomerate), or a technical writer, or a consultant or banker, or a writer at a business magazine…or many other things. Majors aren’t always straight-line paths to jobs.
I agree that it’s a bit too early to conclusively decide to change - a freshman in college would’ve been there for, what, maybe a month? At this point, though, we’re edging closer to mid-semester and maybe it’s time to really consider whether or not you like biology and you want to switch.
As was already stated, the medical field is huge and varied and has lots of different jobs within it. There are clinical and allied health professions like physicians, dentists, nurses, and x-ray technicians, but there are also all the people who keep hospitals running - accountants, HR professionals, administrators, financial managers, and marketing personnel. There are also the sort of unseen non-clinical, but still medically-related, roles in a hospital - epidemiologists/infection control, research positions, social workers, rehabilitation counselors, healthcare risk managers, health informaticists, medical writers…hospitals are humongous places with many people who make it work. I suggest doing some Internet research to see what other positions there are in the medical field.
Also, there are other careers/fields that are quite stable besides medicine/health.
I am currently in my freshman year of community college and majoring in biology, and frankly I am struggling. I know that you can major in anything you want for med school so I am thinking about changing my major to something else just so I have more options should I change my mind some time down the road. I am actually stronger in English/History than I am with math/science but the medical field interests me and it seems to be a very good option in terms of employment. So my question is, what are some good majors that can possibly interest a guy like me?
True; however, you need to finish your prerequisites and do well: