<p>I need to decide what to major in. I'm a high school junior, but I'm also dual enrolled at a community college, and I need to meet prerequisites for my intended major. I called UCF (the college I'm currently thinking about), and the counselor said that I can go in with just a general AA degree, but it's still advisable to take some pre-reqs as electives at the community college. BUT IDK WHAT TO MAJOR IN. I'm going to go to college with 2 years already done, so I'm likely to stay at the university for 2-3 years. I thought I was gonna do pre-med, but I've changed my mind. I don't want to give healthcare to patients all day and work all the time with high stress.
Anyways, my interests are health sciences, computer science, psychology, and foreign languages. Honestly, I really like foreign language the best, but I think that it would just serve as a great supplement to another career. Please help and give me advice. I want my job to be intellectually satisfying. I want a job with decent hours (40 hrs/week would be great) and decent pay (maybe 70-80k+). I want a non-stressful and non-boring job, and it would be great if I could start out with only a bachelor's degree. I've also considered something businessy like economics and accounting, which isn't a really strong interest for me, but I would do it. Also, I don't think I'd like to sit down at a desk all day, I'm too restless. Advice?</p>
<p>Hmmm, about the only realistic parts of your requirements are the 40 hours a week and the bachelor’s degree. So… here’s my advice, based on 36 years as a software engineer with a Classics degree, putting my wife through Nursing school and getting a son through college:</p>
<p>1) Major in something you genuinely enjoy, maybe even love. Do not get suckered into the mindset that your major must directly prepare you for some sort of career and if it doesn’t you’ll be flipping burgers. (There’s a lot of that here on CC.)</p>
<p>2) Explore professional possibilities (e.g. software development, econ, and so forth) as minors or certificates. Combining something like high level language proficiency with technical skills will position you well for that first job out of college.</p>
<p>3) Know it is very unlikely that your first job will become your career. After your second job, what you did in college will pretty much be a check mark on your job applications, i.e. “Bachelors Degree: Y”. What you’ve done since graduation will become vastly more important.</p>
<p>4) Be ready to go anywhere for that first job - it’s the kids who can’t bear to leave their hometown who are flipping burgers.</p>
<p>Now to get a little more specific… there are lots of health related jobs that don’t involve delivery of services. Google “public health jobs” for example. Good language skills will be a plus in that field, anything from Spanish to Hmong. Pay is fairly decent - you’re looking at low $60Ks after 4 or 5 years. And some of those jobs will get you out of the office too. </p>
<p>You might also consider teaching at the secondary level. You can major in something you love while combining that with enough course work in a language or other subject area to meet your state’s certification requirements. Then spend another year or two getting your MEd and meeting your state’s licensure requirements. Some schools allow you to combine your senior year with the first part of their MEd program so you end up with a BA/BS and the MEd in the equivalent of 5 academic years. Starting salaries tend to be low, but job security is excellent, you have summers off (though you will have to meet continuing education requirements), and point #4 above will be important. Multiple certifications are key to scoring your first job and to advancement.</p>
<p>One last possibility - major in something you absolutely love, get top grades, then apply to one of the military services as an officer candidate your junior year (or enlisted if you don’t want the added responsibilities right away). Pay is not so hot at first, but you’ll definitely get out of the office, job security is good, and if you do make a career of it, the retirement benefits are exceptional. There’s one fun benefit too: when you travel, many airlines will offer you a spot in first class if one is available. (Full disclosure: my son was a Journalism major and is now an enlisted Navy Nuke - he absolutely loves the military lifestyle.)</p>
<p>Anyway… Good Luck!</p>
<p>^nicee postt!!!</p>
<p>engineering</p>
<p>Wow, really detailled and helpful post. Thanks. I’m still kind of unsure what to declare as a major, escpecially because most people switch majors (I think) during their time taking gen ed. classes, and when I get to a university, I’m likely to be there for maybe 2 years like most people who go to community college. Like by the time that I want to switch my major, it might be too late. I’ll like “public health jobs” like you suggested. Thanks for taking the time for such an informative post!</p>
<p>I majored in philosophy and classics, and I believe the education I got is why I am where I am now… which is an entirely different field from phil and classics. I agree 100% with William C. It won’t be too late when you want to do your major. You can always take more pre-reqs at university. Good luck–your interests will no doubt drive you further than you ever expected. (And in addition to the military, there’s always the Peace Corps, a great place if you love languages.)</p>
<p>I agree with WilliamC’s post!</p>
<p>Realize, too, that in most cases, you don’t need to declare a major right away, and that one reason you’re confused is that you don’t yet have the relevant data for making a decision. Fortunately, the first couple of years of college are generally spent fulfilling “distribution requirements” across the curriculum. Choose these wisely to maximize your future choices. For instance, if you need to take a year of science anyhow, and you think you might be even a little bit interested in health sciences/premed, then take chemistry in your freshman year. If you do well and like it, you can take the rest of the health sciences prerequisites as you go along; if you hate it, well, at least you’ve got your science distribution requirement out of the way. Keep working on your foreign language–you won’t be reasonably conversant until you’ve taken about three years at the college level–and take an intro to computer programming and and intro psych course as well. More likely than not, you’ll find that one or two of these courses really grabs your interest, and that you’re less interested in, or lousier at, some other subjects. That will simplify your decision-making.</p>
<p>Early in your college career, check into internships and summer job or volunteer opportunities, which can also give you useful information about which careers you’re best suited for. Almost all colleges have career services departments that can help you clarify your career goals and steer you to internships and jobs in fields that interest you.</p>