Majors Majors Majors

College Life
1

<p>Theres that horrible question of what to major in for all of us seniors and college kids. no one wants to study a subject they hate but everyone wants to get a good job and make money....am i right? a huge part of me wants to study psychology and possibly philosophy, the stuff just fascinates me! but then theres the other and more realistic part of me (+parents + college counselor + friends) thats considering the ever so popular business/marketing major..........WHAT TO DO WHAT TO DO???? Im a worry wart and I want to be secure and have a well paying job when Im out of college/grad but i dont want a job that doesnt "fit" me well. Im sure there are millions that feel the way I do right now.....any suggestions/input??</p>

<p>thanks in advance</p>

2

<p>Your question harkens back to the question of what is higher education for? Its really still a question of some debate. On one side you have the vocational camp, on the other those advocating the "life of the mind". For the former, think nursing, engineering, journalism, accounting, etc. These majors are just a step or two removed from the days of apprenticeship. To the vocational school of thought, college prepares you for a job, a better job than you get out of HS. </p>

<p>Just as earnest, on the other side of the debate, are those that argue that college should prepare you for precisely nothing! Well, they don't put it exactly that way, but thats mostly the intent. In years not so far removed when college was largely the province of the rich, one went off to college to enrich the mind or to become a clergyman (most old US colleges were founded as divinity schools). </p>

<p>These days, of course, the world has changed. Vocational-oriented students are required to take take liberal-arts courses. And while the liberal-arts curriculum has not changed in goal all that much (although you don't study the Trivium and then the Quadrivium), colleges these days tout it for its preparation of the mind. Liberal-arts majors are not generally intended to prepare you for a specific career. You learn to analyze, to argue, you are exposed to many points of view (well, on some campuses anyway), and to reason. </p>

<p>What you emerge with to sell to employers is potential. This is where the game gets a bit unfair. Employers don't assess the potential of every student the same. The more reputable your school, the more likely employers are to have some interest. Hence the obsession you see with Ivy, top LAC, and similar colleges isn't entirely unfounded. </p>

<p>Almost ANY career field is open to the liberal-arts grad outside of the ones that require specific training (engineering, nursing, etc), and for almost all of these you could go to grad school anyway if you really wanted. That's why books like "jobs for the english major" are too limiting; you can do almost anything but the question is how to get there? </p>

<p>Fortunately there are things a student can do to become more attractive to potential employers. I've already mentioned go to a school that has a good reputation. After that the things to do are get a good GPA, the second is to take some business-related classes, lets not forget networking with family and friends, but the most important is internships. First off, its better to take a peek at what its like in a law firm/accounting/marketing/etc. rather than start your career and find out you don't like it. And even if an internship is in field A you will encounter people at work doing B or C, things you maybe didn't even know about, and find you like them even more. Internships help open a student's eyes to all the possibities that are out there in a way that grabbing a handful of brochures from the career center can never do. In effect once you're "in the door", even temporarily, you get a longitudinal glimpse of people at various stages in their careers, from people in their 20's to mid-career people in their 40's, to senior people in their 50's & 60's. You get to see a broad range of possibilities for where you can go.</p>

<p>BTW an excellent book that talks about how college students explore careers and parlayed internships into great jobs is called "Major in Success" by Combs. I really can't recommend this book highly enough, it lays out the whole process of using the years in college to discover fields you would enjoy and how to prepare for getting a job after graduation.</p>

<p>So my advice has 2 parts. The first is pick a major that you love. College is the last time of your life when you spend full-time learning about things that intrigue you. The second is spend time from frosh year on preparing for your working future. Get internships, join clubs, and follow the advice in Combs' book where this is all mapped out.</p>

3

<p>thanks so much mikemac, ill definitely look for that book</p>

4

<p>Pick a major called "Economics" or "Business." If you don't, you'll end suffering at a 30K job with a baggage of useless knowledge you thought you "loved." Take my word for it or pay the price later.</p>

5

<p>thats untrue and thats why I am re considering a business major. Ive talked to many of my friend's parents, teachers and read in many places that these days a liberal arts major is more appealing to the top grad schools. In fact, a business major has been said to be useless in a sense. as much as i want to make money, thats not why im considering business as a major. its so called "safe" but its also a field in which im interested in, just not as much as like a psychology or philosophy major where unfortunately a job seems harder to find.....</p>

6

<p>double major??</p>

7

<p>Minor in what you love, major in something you wouldn't mind doing and feel you could make a decent living afterward.</p>

8

<p>Yeah, major in something that you wouldn't mind doing (or like doing) and minor in things that you love. i'm a business major with minors in IS, viscom, photography...</p>

9

<p>Kapone writes
[quote]
Pick a major called "Economics" or "Business." If you don't, you'll end suffering at a 30K job with a baggage of useless knowledge you thought you "loved." Take my word for it or pay the price later.

[/quote]
This is undoubtedly true for many liberal-arts majors. But these are the ones who thought that simply graduating with a degree was going to get them a job. The degree is important, but to use the phrase from mathmatical proofs, it is a "necessary but not sufficient condition".</p>

<p>The key to standing out from the crowd is going to a reputable school that has a good career center, getting good grades, being involved in activities, and most importantly internships. From an employer's point of view internships jump out from your resume. Why? Imagine you are an employer interviewing 2 college grads for a marketing position. Same liberal arts major, same grades. One tells you he thinks he would like working in marketing and assures you he is a hard worker. He doesn't seem too familiar with what the job actually entails, though. The other tells you of her experiences during her internship actually working in a marketing department and gives concrete examples of tasks marketers perform and why she finds them interesting. She also assures you that she is a hard worker, but in addition mentions that you can call her boss from her internship for a recommendation. Who is the stronger candidate?</p>

<p>And employers prefer to hire their former interns and coop students because they know them better. An intern has spend weeks if not months at the job. Contrast this with an interviewee who they've met for an hour at the on-campus interview and a few hours on the site visit, and who they've never seen actually at work. The intern is a safer bet, which is why it so often leads to a job offer after graduation.</p>

10

<p>so what are "bad" things to major in, things that won't get you money?? Is comunications, journalism, or international relations a bad idea?? Is it possible to minor in something "practical" and major in something that interests you?</p>

11

<p>Reading this thread, I had never realized majoring in psychology would not bring you any money. I always thought if someone ended up being a psychologist and getting their doctor's degree, you'd end up having a well payed career. Am I wrong?</p>

<p>Also why don't you just major in Psychology/Philosophy for Undergrad and get your MBA at grad school.</p>

<p>I'm sorry but I'm a firm believer that if you're not studying what you love, you won't perform as good as if you were doing something you love. It won't come natural to you, and you'll end up unhappy and wishing you could go back and study what you love. Worry about your career later, and study what you enjoy at the moment. Just because you major in Business won't guarantee you a job by the end of graduation.</p>

12

<p>see i wanna major in interior design, something i'm really interested in, but my parents are like major in biology. they're afraid that i'll be a starving artist. i hope they're wrong. if i go to an accredited, top 10 ranked, good school, get good grades, take business courses, join clubs and make connections, get internships, i should be okay right? </p>

<p>well, that's what i tell myself. lol. if my plan doesn't work i guess i'll go to medical school and become a doctor or something. i'll figure something out hopefully.</p>