<p>Hi, I am currently a high school senior who will be attending college next year. After thinking about what I want to major in for almost a year, I still don't have much of an idea of what I want to major in. My parents think I should go a science major route because that would provide me a reliable career that I could make a stable income from, etc. I am somewhat interested in certain biology related fields such as microbiology and genetics (yes I know it would probably be the most beneficial to get a PhD in these fields), but I am more interested in history related majors and majors such as ancient civilization, anthropology, or archaeology. I always hear people saying how it's much better to follow your passion even if the path to getting a successful job in that field is low. They all say things will eventually work out if you're truly passionate about that field. While I would like to believe that that's true, I know it's not and I know that it is very difficult to be successful in fields like anthropology and archaeology. </p>
<p>So my question is, would it be a better idea to major in something that I am very interested even though it has a bleak career outlook? Or would it be better to major in something that I am somewhat interested in that has a better job outlook?</p>
<p>I can tell you from first hand experience that working long hours at a job you somewhat dislike tends to make you bitter and angry. I would go for the field you are interested in and work your butt off to set yourself apart from you peers.</p>
<p>Though a lot of history majors go to grad school for more “practical” things.</p>
<p>But most definitely, pursue your passion. You’ve only got one life to live, and more money isn’t worth it if you hate (or even just don’t like) what you do five days a week.</p>
<p>Talked to a guy from Princeton who had the exact same thought process. He majored in Art History. He’s back in Princeton now to get his Medical degree, because its more practical, but he didn’t regret majoring in AH. Said it was extremely liberating and he totally enjoyed it; if he could do it all over, he would do the exact same thing.</p>
<p>Double major. Given the current economy, I firmly advise against majoring solely in a major that’s quite frankly not as employable as other fields. </p>
<p>You’ll need a PhD to do any sort of relevant work in the field of history or archaeology, and that’s a long road indeed. It’s getting virtually impossible to get into graduate school in the humanities these days due to slashed funding at even the very best schools (even subpar history departments have admit rates <10%, let alone archaeology), only around half of grad students finish, and most of those won’t find relevant jobs (a non-TT job at Dickinson recently attracted over 200 applicants). </p>
<p>A biology and anthropology combination is not a bad one…one could do any number of things, including public health, bioarchaeology, law, museology, etc. Explore your interests while keeping your employment options open.</p>
<p>colleges offer 2 kinds of degrees: vocational ones like nursing and engineering, and the liberal arts like history and biology. If you pursue one of the 2nd kind for the love of the learning, then in college you’ll also need to identify future career paths and take steps to become a strong candidate when you graduate. Internships are one of the best ways to do this. History and Archeology majors can enter just about any job field if they take the steps while in college to prepare.</p>
<p>Your college career center may give you help in identifying career(s) that you would like and understanding what it takes to become an attractive hire; unfortunately many are just waystations with little more than books and online access to job listings. So take this on your own shoulders; read the book “What Color is Your Parachute” to learn the basics, also I strongly recommend “Major in Success” since its about college students who teamed their activities in college with what they loved doing to put together a career.
Unfortunately your parents are going to be of little help if they give you “advice” like this. The union card to get any kind of good job in the sciences is a PhD; if you just have a BS in Bio or Chem, even though you worked your butt off to get it, your job prospects are going to be little more than glorified bottle washer. Its sad but true, and you really need to look into this on your own to convince yourself its accurate.</p>
<p>Unless you major in something pre-professional like engineering, your major has little to no impact on your career options. Seriously. What matters to future employers is your GPA (which is likely to be higher in something you actually like), your research (if relevant), and internships/jobs (and the interview, but that’s not relevant to your major). major in something that excites you and be aggressive about making career contacts throughout college.</p>