Trying to choose between three different majors, help?

College Majors
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<p>So I have very mixed feelings about what major i should be choosing, and its really difficult to choose because they're all so different.</p>

<p>The three majors I want to choose from are:
Political Science
Engineering
Business</p>

<p>I'm torn between the three. My biggest interest actually lies in Psychology, its the most interesting subject I've ever come across and I've been interested since freshman year. The only problem with it is that my parents dont want me to take that as a major because they heard that its a bad majors for jobs, etc etc, so if I choose it I'm pretty much disowned. That's why I decided to go into Political Science, because its similar to Psychology in the sense that it analyzes political figures, the workings of the governments, etc. I have no interest in a government job, however.</p>

<p>Engineering is one of my options because math is pretty much the subject I'm best at, and I feel like if I'm to go into engineering it will probably be something along computer engineering or aerospace engineering. Something related to computers or physics. My math grades aren't exactly the best, which may hold me back, but I am taking the advanced math courses in my high school and do understand everything the teacher is teaching me. Its just that I tend to understand after the tests, lol. Accounting is kind of in my interest range as well.</p>

<p>The reason for Business is simply because I find Business/Economy to be something mandatory for me to learn in life, and its my goal to definitely learn more about them in detail in the future regardless of what I major in. </p>

<p>I'm honestly having the most difficult time trying to choose between the three, and if there is anything that would make one more appealing than the other is 1) what the chances of me getting into UCs and CSUs with these majors are, and 2) what my chances of getting a good job out of college with these majors will be. </p>

<p>To anyone and everyone that read this, thanks, honestly, and please help me choose one of the three! I'd love to hear opinions from those who are taking these majors themselves, and would appreciate comments before the 30th when most application deadlines are due. Thanks again!</p>

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<p>Maybe this applies to me more than you but if I had to choose it would be what I feel like is the most interesting and what would make me happy doing the rest of my life. Go with your gut, go with your dream. Ask yourself: Is it worth not even trying to do what interests me the most? (Psychology!) </p>

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<p>You like psych. You are interested in computers. Look into a double major - comp sci and pscyh. The combo can take you into areas such as cognitive science, human factors, and human-computer interaction. Then if you find the right employer, they may have a tuition reimbursement program that can pay for an MBA program if you want to pursue.</p>

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<p>I know a guidance counselor and a grad school Psych student. Trust me when I say that you need a masters in psych for jobs in psych the vast majority of the time. You can not even be an elementary school guidance counselor without a Masters. And how many of them do schools have? Most have 1 or 2. And the one at the grade school I went to growing up still works there and it’s been like 12 years. So, there’s not a lot of openings. It’s easy for people to say, “do what you love!” But are they gonna pay your student loans? If you want to minor in it- go ahead. But minors can be extra time, money. I’m sure you can take a few classes as electives in Psych. There’s little purpose in a PolSci major if you dont’ wanna work for the govt. or private sector because that’s pretty much what the career options are for that degree. Now, there are countless jobs that like people to have a college degree and don’t really give a sh*t about what it’s in. I heard a story where someone was a communications major, makes $80k as a manager or head person at a phone company store. The AP History Teacher/ Department head at my high school and also my biggest mentor has a degree in History and a Masters in Curriculum Planning. She helps plan the History curriculum for the district. She told me her husband works at Acme and makes more money than her but this is what she loves. And they have money to go on vacations and enjoy themselves and support themselves. For marketability, I say study computers because that’s in demand and it sounds like you’re interested in them. Good luck.</p>

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Psychology is not a bad major for jobs - I pointed out in another thread that the unemployment rate for psychology majors is actually slightly lower than that of engineering majors. It’s actually lower than political science, too, so I’m confused about why they would let you pick poli sci and not psychology. But the truth of the matter is that unemployment rates are pretty low for all bachelor’s degree holders. The chances are that if you finish a BA, you will find a job. Those chances go up if you do internships and learn useful skills (like statistics or a programming language, which you can do from any major).

So what are you most interested in? If you are interested in psychology and you think you can convince your parents to let you major in it, I would select that. If not, but they’ll let you do political science and that is your next best interest, then do that.

I really like the suggestion of computer science and psychology as a double major! HCI is really big right now, as is user experience research at tech firms. If you learn a lot of statistics you can also help build apps and tweak social media algorithms that display recommendations on the basis of people’s preferences.

No, you don’t. You need a graduate degree if you want to do certain kinds of jobs that involve providing psychological counseling or therapy, like as a counselor or therapist. But if you just want an entry-level corporate job in a variety of fields you can certainly major in psychology and get one. I know plenty of psychology majors with just a BA who are gainfully employed across fields.

The mistake in the above (and also statements like “There’s little purpose in a PolSci major if you dont’ wanna work for the govt. or private sector because that’s pretty much what the career options are for that degree”, which is also completely untrue) is the idea that your major perfectly maps onto a set of related jobs, and only that set of related jobs. But that’s simply untrue. I know a philosophy major who manages a business, a psychology major in a marketing firm, another psychology major who went to a finance corporate firm, a third psychology major who works at a digital marketing company, an English major who works at Forbes (and I don’t think she writes there), a French major who worked for a large food industry employer before studying dietetics…and those are just the students I advised. That’s not including all the friends and colleagues I have from a variety of major backgrounds who went on to do (sometimes surprising) things.

There are some fields in which a major is necessary - like nursing or engineering. But the vast majority of jobs out there don’t require a specific major; they require a skill set or some knowledge, much of which is actually acquired on the job. They just want you to have a basis of knowledge that is acquired across many BA majors.