<p>My classes are:
Chem 103
Math 222
Psych 202</p>
<p>I felt pressured into engineering but at the last minute went with "undecided major." What I hate about Engineering is the jobs I see my brothers and father doing. They sit at computers and fix heating systems and run diagnostics on cars. It doesn't sound fulfilling or fun. I would love to work on cutting edge technology, but it seems like it would take years and years of grunt work to get to that kind of position.</p>
<p>Psychology has interested me for a while, but I didn't take the class in high school and I can't honestly say I understand what a Psychology career would entail. What makes me good at math is logical reasoning - something I hope is incorporated in Psychology (but a little more abstractly). Strangely, I am also a strong art student, but I don't think I would like to make a full blown career out of it. </p>
<p>I tested out of all requirements and my AP score took me into Math 222. However, I only have 12 credits. My father, a UW alumnus, said the courses I am taking are challenging enough to compensate for the low credit #. I want a challenge in college, but since I have no clue as far as what to major in, I don't want to pigeonhole myself into an academic area.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post. I feel desperate to perfect my schedule and be satisfied with it.</p>
<p>You seem to want reassurance that your 12 credit/16 hour week is okay. You have the acceptance from your father who knows both you and UW- that is more important than any advice from us strangers on CC. </p>
<p>Do you feel you will have enough to do to occupy your weekdays? If you want a heavy load consider taking a course in an art field in addition to these very academic fields as a way of stress relief in something you enjoy. You could change to pass/fail or drop the course if things don’t work out. You feel some doubts about your schedule since you bothered to post here, therefore my suggestion. Also- there is never a perfect schedule, nor ever any perfect anytime of your life. There is always a compromise, your decision is which choice to make to optimize your first semester. Whatever you end up doing, never look back with regrets. You will have learned about life and yourself no matter what you do. Remember college is all about you and what you want to get out of it, sometimes the learning comes from outside of the classroom. Good luck.</p>
<p>Q- What is the difference between a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist?
A- Becoming a psychiatrist requires completion of medical school with an internship and a residency. You can be licensed to prescribe drugs. Clinical psychologists have spent approx 6 years earning a Ph.D., done an internship and are trained to do research. Both professions deal with a gamut of mental health problems and practice in a variety of settings.</p>
<p>Q- My friends and my parents ask what can I do with a BA/BS in psychology?
A- Actually, a lot. You won’t be a licensed professional or a college professor. You can work as a para-professional in a variety of educational and treatment facilities. Corporations and businesses will value your statistics and research background for management training, retailing and marketing jobs. The Careers for Psychology Students will be coming soon-check it out once it’s up and running! You may also want to make an appointment with the Exploration Center, located in Ingraham Hall or Career Services, located in the Middleton Building to explore some of your options.</p>
<p>Q- Psych grad school, Ph.D. research - what if I don’t want any of that?
A- That depends on your goals. If you want to “help people” allied fields like Counseling, Social, Work, etc. are happy with psych major applicants. The same is true of law schools and business schools if those professions are appealing to you.</p>
<p>My argument for 12 credits the first semester is it gives you time to fill what extra time you have (if any) with other activities. It takes time to figure out what you want to do on campus for extra curriculars, so having the option to try out a few things the first semester is nice. If you’re interested in learning more about psych, they have a really well developed psych club with lots of great activities, people and resources.</p>
<p>Another idea: sign up for four classes and then after a week or two drop the one you know you are least interested in. That way you can say you explored two possible academic interests.</p>
<p>I know what you mean, you don’t have to rush into it Engg if you aren’t sure. I was taken into the College of Engineering during my SOAR because I was sure I wanted to do Engg but not sure which major (a secret: I actually wasn’t sure if I wanted to go into Engg or not, I just went in because no other school interested me). </p>
<p>I have the same Math and Chem classes as you (along with an Intro to Eng class of course). My advice is to wait a semester and see how this works out for you. Take it from me: Its not about what job you’ll be doing in the future, its about how much you’ll like studying it during these four years.
Just because your relatives happen to be doing those kind of jobs doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll end up the same way too. You might strike up better job opportunities…you never know what will happen. </p>
<p>I’ll be glad to help you/give advice/tell you how engg is if you want. I’ll be a freshman in Engg (undecided in Engg) this fall as well.</p>