<p>I guess it is a little bit early for me to be worrying about this, considering I haven't even started college yet, but I am already paranoid that everything I am interested in is going to be "useless" in life. As a student, I am very strong in the humanities. I would by no means consider myself "bad" at math and science, but I am pretty sure I do not have the sort of skill (or interest) in those fields to become extremely competitive in them, not to mention I came from a high school that was extremely weak at both. </p>
<p>I do not have to declare a major until junior year, but everything that pops into my mind (i.e. creative writing, theater, philosophy, etc.) are all stereotypically considered paths to a dead-end future. Making oodles of money is not an absolute priority in my life - my main priority right now is to get the best education I can and become more worldly. However, I would really like to be able to pay my family back for college eventually, and hopefully find a job that will allow me to make a difference in the lives of others instead of reveling in my own sense of intellectual superiority while having no income and reinforcing the negative stereotypes surrounding liberal arts graduates.</p>
<p>I do intend to pursue postgraduate studies immediately after college (subject to change of course, but whatev), and my parents have often suggested that I go to law school. I feel like I could be a very good lawyer, but I'm told even the type of lawyer I would want to be (activist) is not a very lucrative job! (is this true?)</p>
<p>Anyway, I can always hope that my interests will change over the next few years or that I will discover some sort of latent math gene lodged deep within my DNA. Or I can pursue my dreams in the hopes of winning a Pulitzer or an Oscar, or getting a cushy job at a university, where I can spawn the next generation of useless philosophers. But until then, judging from my description of myself, are there any majors I could start looking into now that would simultaneously secure both my interest and my future?</p>
<p>Every description of yourself resembles me and where I was 2 years ago, but on my thread below yours I have decided to double major in International Studies and English/Linguistics and minor in Chinese. Then go on and get my Masters in International Studies.</p>
<p>After JUST recently figuring out all the crap with doing NGO work… Which was my plan, I have decided to travel abroad and teach English at Universities in Asia then come back and teach International Studies classes in the USA.</p>
<p>So basically what I’m saying, you could always travel abroad and teach English and you save up money while doing it. (Not much, but it adds up if you do it for years) But you get the benefit of living all over the world. Sounds like a sound plan to me with how much I love traveling and new cultures and I oddly find culture shock amusing… 0.o Oh, and you’re helping others achieve success in Business knowing how much of a status boost English is in booming Asia! And you’ll work at Universities, that’s a nice intellectual bragging right I think.</p>
<p>But why am I giving you ideas. ):< I don’t want to compete with more people! Hrmph.</p>
<p>If you want to be more worldly, board a plane and go travel. Everything else is just second hand experience, spoon fed from a professor and amplified by other students who probably aren’t “worldly”, but think they are because they went to Cancun for spring break.</p>
<p>As far as your major, you need to figure out what you want to do in life, then figure what major is best. What you need to do is pick a major that provides real skills that can be taken into the workplace. You can’t go wrong with Computer Science and MIS, or any hard science and engineering disciplines.</p>
<p>I know tons of people with humanities majors that do just fine. The ones who make a lot of money tend to go on to get law degrees or MBAs. Fields where you can support yourself without getting rich include teaching at the pre-college level, human resources, nonprofit administration, etc. </p>
<p>If you’re worried about getting a job, maybe major in a humanities discipline and take some business courses along with your major. Even in your last two years, your major only takes up about half your time–there is plenty of time to double major or minor in something completely different.</p>
<p>You can also major in a humanities field while taking pre-med requirements (2 years of chemistry, 1 biology, 1 calculus, 1 physics) then go to medical school.</p>
<p>Computer science and engineering are excellent fields for people who are good at them and enjoy them. However, not everybody likes or has aptitude for these disciplines. If you don’t like math in high school, you’re not likely to excel in an engineering program at college.</p>
<p>Plus, any typical economics program will require classes on theory, and if you decide to pursue a BA in economics, usually you’ll be required to take a course on economic history, and you’ll be able to critique various economic perspectives. Now, you said math isn’t a huge weakness of yours basically, so you’d be fine in an economics undergrad program. Econ is a good suggestion for somebody who wants to be practical, but also engage in a liberal arts education.</p>
<p>If you are considering to continue your education beyond a BA or BS, I recommend you study what you are passionate about and love and forget about “practicality.” Quite simply, your last degree is the one that matters. So if you get a masters or a doctorate (yes that includes law school) your undergradute degree will not matter. Now why you should study what you are passionate about is because you will likely get the best grades in those clases. Also, you will be more driven to make connections with professors and write better papers. These are all needed to apply to graduate school (strong GPA, recommendations and writing sample[s]).</p>
<p>“Anyway, I can always hope that my interests will change over the next few years or that I will discover some sort of latent math gene lodged deep within my DNA. Or I can pursue my dreams in the hopes of winning a Pulitzer or an Oscar, or getting a cushy job at a university, where I can spawn the next generation of useless philosophers.”</p>
<p>Hahah I found this comment to be extremely amusing, because I find myself with the exact same thoughts. </p>
<p>I’m currently preparing for a major in Anthropology, but am caught trying to pair it with another major that may round out my undergrad education, making it a bit more “practical”.</p>
<p>I come from a family where specialization is looked upon as the key to success (my father is a civil engineer). The problem I find is that I feel I could study any subject and be passionate about it but, like yourself, have not the mathmatical fortitude to pull myself through a degree in say physics. I am considering minoring in a science like biology or physics, but how helpful could a minor in either of those possibly be?</p>
<p>Any major is useless if you have no clue what you want to do with it.</p>
<p>Any major can be definitely worthwhile if you have a good idea of what you want to do with it.</p>
<p>Meaning, it’s perfectly possible for someone to major in philosophy and have fantastic ideas for what they want to do in life. Don’t let these majors scare you off just because you might have to get creative with career ideas.</p>
<p>The most useful non-math oriented majors straight out of college are no doubt Nursing, Chemistry, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Business Economics.</p>
<p>If you can stand math, then go for Computers or Engineering.</p>
<p>Everything else, I don’t know… its your call.</p>