<p>I've always loved performing and listening and helping people with their problems/academic-related dilemmas, but this is something I can't seem to help myself on...</p>
<p>I attend University of Hawaii at Manoa (currently a freshman, picked this school because I did not get a full ride to any mainland school which was my parent's prereq for leaving home). Anyways,
If I wanted to perform seriously theatre then I would be a Theatre Major with a minor in Music and Dance (as my school does not have a MT curriculum...)
If I wanted to be a counselor then I would major in Social Work which will basically turn spring sophomore and junior/senior year into purely Social Work.</p>
<p>I can't imagine giving up performing since that is what I dedicate all my time to, but counseling would better ensure me a practical, bill-paying(?) job that my parents would also enjoy. Counseling would probably be one of the only day-jobs I would be able to handle for years without going insane (as long as I can perform on the side, that is).</p>
<p>I mean there are other inbetween majors I could pick, which do not take up my schedule as much as Social Work would. I considered Communications for a while, and Psychology sort of relates to Counseling but I heard it only really counts if you get a Masters/PhD in it. (I was formerly planning on getting my bachelors and then taking time to perform/get more training Musical theatre-wise, but now I'm just not sure...)</p>
<p>And switching universities is sort of out of the option since I already told my parents I would stay here.
One option I might be given is to just major in Social Work and do Theatre outside of school, but if I do that I will most likely have to give up Theatre because of the commitment to Social Work (getting into the Social Work college, and the amount of Social work-related classes and research required for the major).</p>
<p>I posted this in the Musical Theatre section because this section is the only one that understands the passion one might have in performing.</p>
<p>I told my D when she was going through the audition process and sweating out MT acceptance that the only thing she didn’t know is whether she’d be doing theater for a living or for a hobby. If you are convinced you have to do it for a living them major in theater. If not major in social work and minor in theater.</p>
<p>The thing is that social work takes up so much of my schedule (majoring in SW only leaves like ~12 elective credits in things outside of SW and your liberal cores).</p>
<p>I do want to do theatre for a living, but if it doesn’t work out then counseling is probably the only thing I could imagine doing (and I guess teaching theatre in schools, which is a new option I would consider).</p>
<p>In that case, can you do a minor in education?</p>
<p>Either way, I’ve realized that a lot of people delay their graduation by a semester or two or take tons of summer classes if they double major or minor. Maybe you should take this into consideration and talk to a counselor and plan out your next few years, schedule-wise. </p>
<p>If you can’t imagine doing anything but theatre, I imagine youll feel a bit empty once you graduate college. But what exactly is your “dream job” with a theatre degree? Could you just do dancing/theatre as an extracurricular and do social work as a major? I know some careers don’t require a degree in college and I feel like theatre may be one of them depending on your situation.</p>
<p>If I did social work as a major and did theatre on the side, I would most likely have to give up theatre one day (as social work in my university is very demanding in order to get a BSW). My school doesn’t have a minor in Education.</p>
<p>All this thinking about social work is getting me sick, haha.</p>
<p>Y’know I feel like all this thinking isn’t worth it. I only plan to get a bachelors degree and then I plan to move out in order to pursue more training and my theatre/acting career…</p>
<p>Hatsukoi, if it helps to know, my daughter did theater as a major (in a liberal arts BA program) and had no problem being accepted to graduate school in counseling. She wasn’t a performer in college but spent a LOT of hours in the design studio and scene shop and working backstage, and was involved at a high level with the student-run theater group. She did take a couple of psych classes (two or three total, I forget) and had a minor in religious studies. However, the graduate programs her would have let her make up any missing credits while doing her master’s. If you pour yourself into theater now, while you don’t have to worry about whether you’re earning a living (!), you can certainly go back to grad school if you discover later on that your true direction is in counseling. You’re the only one who can decide how you want to focus your college years!</p>
<p>Have you asked yourself, and researched, to find out if “social work” is actually any better of a job prospect than theatre? I have heard that social workers are way at the bottom of the list for average salaries. Are you trading in your passion and dream and true love for a truly well paid, secure career in which it is not hard at all to find a job? Or are you leaving your real love untried, for something that’s barely any more secure or well paid anyway, that you do NOT love? </p>
<p>I don’t know the answer but I think you should find out what it is before you make that deal.</p>
<p>And also look at the many threads about what other kinds of jobs that a theatre degree makes you a good candidate for. Many parents are unaware that a theatre degree doesn’t limit you to theatre - I know you said you can’t imagine any other job than social work, but there could be lots of cool things to do out there that you aren’t even aware of yet.</p>
<p>My opinion as a parent is no way would I pay for a “BA in English” (because “what can you do” with it right? haha!) but I would and AM paying for a theatre degree!</p>
<p>Hey. Don’t knock that BA in English. Mine has served me quite well through a varied and enriching set of careers!! And to keep this on topic… I can’t tell you how many professionals have looked my D in the eye and said “if you can imagine yourself doing anything else… Do it.” She cannot. Thus, why I am here.</p>
<p>I am encouraged to hear that, kategrizz! I have heard so many negative things about job prospects for English and History and various other social studies types of majors (as opposed to the almighty holy and royal STEM fields) that I really don’t assume there are a lot of jobs specific to those particular degrees to be had. Not these days anyway. I have several friends with degrees in those fields: some are working retail with me, and one went on to get an accounting degree because she couldn’t find a job relating to her degree in English.</p>
<p>Has it served you because of the specific nature of it, or was it just that you had a good liberal arts education in which you learned to think, reason, research, and communicate?</p>
<p>At any rate if you LOVE English or History I think that’s a good reason to go out into the world armed with a degree in it and fight for those jobs - but I think that just picking one of those not for any particular liking but as a back up because of an assumption that jobs for graduates in those fields are a piece of cake compared to theater, is a mistake! I mean if you are going to do something you don’t especially like but just for the money - there are probably choices that are closer to the mark, like those STEMS (though not necessarily all the time either) and also since you can just as easily get the kind of job that only cares that you have a degree and not so much in what with a theatre degree as any other, well, why not just get the theatre degree in that case if it’s what you love?</p>
<p>My degree in English is indeed because I found it to be my passion. I also majored in Communications. (Double). And yes, it’s the strong liberal arts, not so much the English degree per se which has led me to be successful (although learning to write well has been appreciated in every career I have had.) Don’t judge my writing by these posts. I am fighting autocorrect on my phone!</p>
<p>(And I probably laughed the hardest at that line the first time I saw Ave Q.)</p>
<p>Ah, I was an English major too–American literature, actually–and now I’m a photography teacher. One of my students, when she found out about my academic background, said “Omigod, did you used to be SMART?”! True story…There’s sort of an assumption that if you work or teach in the arts, you must not have been able to do academic work. </p>
<p>My older son is a religious studies major, and people keep asking if he’s going into the ministry–!! No! It’s…COLLEGE. He’s learning to read critically, write and think analytically, defend his thoughts with evidence, and understand how people tick. And my theater-major kids will have learned the same thing, with the bonus of doing the hands-on work they love. College is a unique time in your life when you can explore new ideas and learn a subject in depth, so make the most of it, Hatsukoi. :)</p>
<p>Right! In many cases, it’s not the specific liberal arts specialization but the degree itself that is useful so switching from theater to English in order to have better jobs prospects doesn’t really make a lot of sense.</p>
<p>If you want to be sure of a job go to nursing school (that’s the current wisdom) if you adore English get an English degree, but if you love theater and not nursing and not English then just get the theater degree. I think that is what most parents on this forum agree with.</p>