<p>So, I've been good at English since forever, but I've been dead set against majoring in anything literature-related since high school. My teachers (including those that taught me the subjects that I was considering majoring in, geogeaphy and economics) and my mother were always trying to convince me to pursue a literature degree, but I wanted a job. I'm quite good at the social sciences (it's the critical thinking element, methinks) and I can do well at math when I work hard, but it doesn't come to me as naturally as literature, and I enjoy it maybe a smithering less. I always thought I'd do something geography-related as a major and dabble in books on the side, and then I arrived at college.</p>
<p>One of my professors has been pressing me to declare a Comp Lit major, and I did last week. I still plan to double major, only I now realize that it's a lot of reading and effort, and perhaps I should hold out and just take comp lit classes while majoring in something useful. On the other hand, if I'm so damned good, is it perhaps worth taking the risk?</p>
<p>I'm a freshman at an LAC on the east coast, and my school's OK, but I don't think OK enough that I can major in ass-scratching and become a CEO. On the other hand, there's no specific major that leads to being a CEO. Any advice would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>About a hundred years ago, I majored in Comp Lit. I did so because, though I actually wanted to major in Biology (wha . . . ?), I thought it was too hard for me. (It required Calculus and Physics in college, and I went to a college that had a large technical school filled with aspiring engineers. I didn’t do well in Calc and was afraid of the other hard sciences.) </p>
<p>So I majored in Comp Lit. It was easy: I got to spend four years reading some good books and writing some not-too-bad papers.</p>
<p>I was able to get a job as an editor after college, because my father was a printer and he had connections. So what I did had some relation to what I had majored in.</p>
<p>After 10 years of not earning very much money, I also realized I was not creative enough to be a great editor. By that point I also wanted to learn about business and use the other side of my brain. So I got an MBA, went to work in corporations, and earned more money.</p>
<p>In retrospect, I should have stayed with Biology, sucked it up, gotten tutors, and done what I really wanted to do. Comp Lit was pleasant, but I don’t think I really learned much by majoring in it. If I had it to do over again, I’d major in something that lead to a career.</p>
<p>Wait, so would you major in something you enjoyed or something that lead to a career? Because I kind of got a sense of the former from your story.</p>
<p>Obviously I would major in something I enjoyed if it lead to a career. My life would be settled and done/:</p>
<p>I learn languages pretty quickly. I also have good analytical skills. I love reading, whether it’s graphic novels, plays or novels. I’m not too shabby a writer either. In fact, I love writing and I often imagine myself sitting in a beat down apartment in NYC writing. [Yes, I may be a little too influenced by the might Hank Moody] Is that a valid reason to major in literature though? Maybe.</p>
<p>It’s not for me though. I have this voice in my head which is constantly telling me to major in something quantitative. I know for a fact that it will bring me greater intellectual satisfaction. I find it highly enjoyable trying to solve (new!!) complicated problems, even if I fail to solve them. I like the build up which leads to the final result. If there is no final result, that’s fine too. I’ll start again. Maybe it’s just one of my personality traits but I think majoring in say, economics or math would be more sensible for me. I’ll still take as many classes as I can in history, philosophy, literature and politics though. </p>