What should I major in if Science is a useless degree/career?

College Majors Science Majors
1

<p>I am currently a sophomore and a Biology major/psych minor on the pre med track. I am worried about what I am going to do if I don't get into medical school because a Biology degree is worthless as is an MS or PhD in Biology. If I pursue a Bio degree, I'll have more science classes that I can take to boost my sGPA for medical school.</p>

<p>I am set on the fact that I want to go to medical school, but I must decide if I want to graduate with a useless degree that might help me to a certain extent to increase my sGPA or graduate with a useful degree that I can use to fall back on in case I do not get admitted to any medical schools.</p>

<p>I go to a liberal arts college, so engineering is out of the question. Here are some combinations I've thought about doing. BTW my school requires a minor or double major instead of a minor.</p>

<p>Bio major/Psych minor -</p>

<p>I'm already 3 classes away from completing my minor. The Bio major is straightforward and I've completed most of the requirements for it as well. My problem with this combination is that I won't stick out when it comes to applying to med schools because there are so many Bio majors out there. I know med schools don't care what you major in, but you have to consider the fact that being a Bio major doesn't do anything to separate me from the rest of the med school applicants.</p>

<p>Also, job prospects are very poor. Even if I pursue a PhD, the likelihood of finding a job is slim to none.</p>

<p>Neuroscience major/ Philosophy minor -</p>

<p>I am actually very interested in neuroscience. The problem is I would have to take 3 extra courses that I wouldn't have to take as a Bio major. Also, my school won't let me minor in psychology along with a major in Neuroscience since there are a few classes that overlap. The reason I would choose to minor in philosophy is because it would help me gain some analytical and thinking skills for the mcats and make me look well rounded to medical schools. I also have an interest in philosophy as well.</p>

<p>I would love to do Neuroscience research, but neuroscience is pretty much a dead field. With a BS, I would be lucky to find a temp job. An MS in neuroscience is as useful as a BS in neuroscience. If I were to pursue a PhD, i would have the same job prospects as a Bio major. </p>

<p>Neuroscience major/Philosophy major- </p>

<p>I was also considering this because I would only have to take 6 classes in philosophy to complete a double major. The only problem is, I would have to do a comp that incorporates both neuroscience and philosophy. If i can't do that, then I would have to do two separate comps and this would just create more work for myself.</p>

<p>I also would have to make sure the timing of the classes I take is perfect so I have taken majority of the philosophy classes before comping my senior year.</p>

<p>Managerial Economics major/Biology minor-</p>

<p>If i were to do this option, I would have to take 3 summer school courses, which I do not mind. I feel like economics is the only major that has good job security and that's why I am considering going into economics. If I don't make it to medical school, I could work for Wall Street or have an office job, which is why I think economics is for me.</p>

<p>I am also 2 classes away from completing a Biology minor if I decide to switch my major to Economics. My comp would also be a lot easier. The only problem is that I would have less science classes to take, which would give me less opportunities to boost my science gpa. I would also stand out from all of the other Bio pre meds that I am competing against and I would have a legitimate backup career.</p>

<p>What should I do? Are there any other major/minor combinations I should try out? I'm just afraid to graduate with a useless degree that won't get me anywhere if I don't get into medical school.</p>

2

<p>I would say apply to some grad schools in biomedical engineering along with med school as a back up because either way you will find a job.</p>

3

<p>what do I major/minor in then if I want to consider BME an option for grad school? I don’t see how a science major would open up that option considering it lacks a lot of math. I’ve only taken calc 1, calc 2, and a stats course. </p>

<p>And would I be able to complete 1 year and then get my masters in BME?</p>

4

<p>I don’t agree with the underlying premise of your question----that getting a degree in bio is worthless unless you get into medical school.</p>

<p>You don’t have to be a doctor to make use of a degree in bio.</p>

5

<p>Oh really?</p>

6

<p>Im not even that interested in Biology and even if I got my PhD, my chances of finding a job relative to my degree would be very, very slim. The degree doesn’t really teach you any skills. Memorization is something you either do or don’t do, that’s what Biology basically is.</p>

7

<p>My number one goal right now is to get into medical school. But at the same time, I have to make sure I have a back up plan. I’m interested in doing Neuroscience research, but why pursue a career that has no demand or future? There is no job security. That’s why I am trying to consider other degrees outside of the sciences so I will be provided with a good back up plan such as economics. </p>

<p>I know someone who graduated 3 years ago from my college with an economics degree, got a job for Wall Steet, and he’s now making 75k a year. I know 3 or 4 Biology/ Biochem majors that graduated 2 years ago and they’re still looking for jobs. This just shows how underappreciated the sciences are and how there are no job prospects for them.</p>

8

<p>To do any kind of Engineering degree you will have to take at least one more semester of Calculus unless you took a two semester sequence for Life Sciences majors, in which case you would have to do a three semester Calculus series for Math, Physical Science and Engineering majors. You would also need a semester of Differential Equations and three semesters of Calculus based Physics for Physical Science and Engineering majors.</p>

<p>As for sciences, Geology seems to have good prospects these days but will require the Calculus and Physics courses mentioned above. Physics majors seem to do better than Biology majors but that would also require a lot of very mathematical courses.</p>

9

<p>I heard Geology is useless as well. So are you saying I should major in Physics and minor in Economics? Or should I major in Neuroscience, minor in philosophy and take a couple of math and CS courses? Or should I major in Biology and minor in psychology? Or should I major in Economics and minor in biology? Or should I double major in Neuroscience and Philosophy? </p>

<p>The only thing I’m afraid of is the Physics comp. The comp is going to be a terrible experience if I’m not actually interested in my major.</p>

10

<p>Also why not Managerial Economics? A senior comp for economics would be considerably easy and it would make a good back up career (75k working for wall street or some office desk job that pays around 50k). The material would also be easy and the switch from a science major to an econ major would be fairly simple as well because the courses I take are more rigorous.</p>

11

<p>How come you think that neuroscience has no future? I don’t really know, but it seems to me i see something in the news just about every day about some new finding about the brain. To me it seems like neuroscience is going to be a very important branch in the coming years…</p>

12

<p>If you don’t get into med school, try DO school. </p>

<p>Switch to pharmacy/dental/optometry/podiatry/PA/nursing if you don’t get in. </p>

<p>Still nothing then try Caribbeans.</p>

<p>You can also improve your application until you get into one of those.</p>

<p>If nothing works out then go back and get something like a MS in accounting/finance.</p>

<p>Bio degree is not that bad. It still better than a degree in something like art history.</p>

13

<p>You are wise to be asking this question. My observations are the same as yours. Biology and Chemistry = no job or crap temp jobs for $15 an hour without benefits. Perhaps take some finance and economics courses on the side and if you don’t get into med or any of the other professional schools mentioned get an MS in economics, accounting, or finance. However, you are correct that perusing a career in science will only result in misery and poverty.</p>

<p>I’d argue that the bios degree is as bad as art history. The Bios degree is more work than AH and is nearly as worthless.</p>

14

<p>Don’t do physics. It is as bad as bio and chem, but less people major in it, so you don’t hear about it as much. Also, if you aren’t interested in it, you will do horrible. Major in economics, it has very good job prospects.</p>

15

<p>Economics, Finance, Accounting, areas like those. They are easily transferrable to the real world. It’s better to major in something that will get you started off in a good career, rather than majoring in something like Bio, only to find out it’s useless, then going to grad school, and changing direction. That’s wasted time and money.This country continually slashes research jobs due to stringent regulations, and toxic amounts of taxes. I’m currently a Economics major, approaching my senior year, and already receiving offers from banks like JP Morgan, BoA, and some boutiques.</p>

16

<p>It really depends on what you are interested in. You can go to med school with lots of different majors, not just biology. Take a bit of time and think now, in your Sophomore year about what really interests you and go for that. maybe the job prospects are not wonderful but if you study something you don’t particularly like AND don’t get into medical school, you have pretty much wasted your time. If you study something you like and take a minor in pre-med courses, then you open the option to go to graduate school in an interesting field (for you).</p>

<p>One important point, if you have a strong math background, you will potentially open doors to jobs in the financial sector. Don’t hide from the math courses!</p>

17

<p>I actually loved Calc I and Calc II. I got As in both of them without much effort. All my friends were ticked off when they would study hard for the exams and get Bs or Cs while I would wait until the last minute and get an A on every exam.</p>

<p>The problem with Econ is that I took AP Macroeconomics as a junior in high school over the summer and the class sucked because it was 2 hours and 50 minutes long every day and I had a job that I would go to and work for 8 hours. So I ended up being tired everyday and hating my life because Macro was hard and confusing.</p>

<p>I took the exam a year later only because my dad forced me to and I just walked in and took it. I ended up getting a 1 on it lol… But ever since I got to college, Ive heard from all my friends who have taken the intro econ classes and they said that they are really easy.</p>

<p>But I feel like if I go to the Econ route, I will learn priceless skills that I won’t get from being a Bio major. And I will have a useful degree that can be applied to all sorts of fields.</p>

18

<p>Strangely enough, I’m taking Calc BC(equivalent to Calc II) and it’s kind of kicking my a$$. But I also took AP Macro in high school and found it to be a joke. Got 4 on the AP exam, but I knew was close to 5 since it was mainly one free response question on a topic our teacher barely taught us about.</p>

19

<p>I’m majoring in a sub-category of Biology so hopefully I can help you out :)</p>

<p>My degree is honours Health Sciences, which is basically a cross between Kinesiology and Cellular/Molecular Biology. My original goal was medical school as well, so I obtained all my prerequisites in the first two years.<br>
I think a common mistake most new majors make is not knowing how many careers they can obtain with a biology degree. There is the obvious three: medical school, pharmacy, and dentistry. However, there is also physical therapy, physician assistant, occupational therapy, and athletic therapy, as other ‘medical fields.’
There is countless areas of MSc/PhD research areas, from biomedical technology, to cardiopulmonary science, to community health, to cancer biology, and etcetera. You can also branch off entirely to law school, business, psychology, education, theology, and the list goes on.
You just need a back-up ‘goal’ and to make sure you complete the prerequisites. My expertise only covers medical careers, however there are countless options out there. I also have not seen anyone graduate with a PhD and not find an appropriate job. It all comes down to your passion and what you can offer to the field, that’s what gets you jobs.</p>

20

<p>Wow how come science majors (Chemistry and Biology) are useless?</p>