So I dislike math and science and really don’t want to major in anything like engineering or chem/bio. Its hard to find a major that will make me some money when i graduate because i’m not interested in science or math. What majors are there that make good money that don’t necessarily focus on these things? Please mention something that will make money and at least a good salary.
P.S. Don’t mention art… if id major in art i might as well be homeless.
Business, accounting, communications, marketing, philosophy… maybe even CS.
Business, accounting, marketing, and computer science all require math.
They are good choices for people who dislike science but have no problem with math, but for a person who dislikes both math and science, they’re not the best choices.
You told us what you don’t like – now tell us what you do.
Remember, many fields that offer good salaries require grad school.
Philosophy to Law School? Competitive but if that fits your skillset very well then you should consider it.
What classes have you taken in HS thatyou like? English? History? Psychology? Economics?
Have you asked your GC if they have any tests that help you figure out what jobs you would be good for?
Also try some of the online “major finder” sites that will help you get an idea, e.g.,
http://www.slu.edu/beabilliken/quiz-college-majors
http://www.luc.edu/undergrad/academiclife/whatsmymajorquiz/
How good a salary? Son majored in IR and is earning what is typical for kids straight out of school working for NGOs. It would be a good salary if he wasn’t also in NYC!
Most people I knew who were not in the science or math just majored in whatever they liked best. Those who didn’t go on to be academics are usually doing things like human resources, politics, city administration, events and development work, lawyering (obviously requires grad school), arts administration. The ones who have had the most struggles financially are those who became priests or ministers - shrinking congregations have meant shrinking positions.
Studying business with a plan to eventually go into sales can make tons of money. Commissioned sales people can make a tremendous amount of money. I knew several people who sold oil. Others sold expensive machinery or software packages. Selling is something that can be learned. It involves a lot of emotional intelligence. Psychology might also take you in this direction, but probably a business focus is better. Sure there is some math in a business degree, but at many schools you can get away with statistics as the most advanced quantitative thing you do.
Ok. I’ll bite and mention art. Animation industrial design and graphic design can be well paying if you’re good. My friend’s kid is making a fortune as a fashion photographer. Consider interior design or event planning or medical illustration. Sales can be very lucrative as well. It’s a big world out there with lots of jobs that don’t require a specific major.
Maybe you should take a gap year, go get a job, find out more what you like, then go back to school and study that.
If you go now you could end up majoring in something you don’t like or drop out and in debt.
Philosophy and law require logical thinking skills similar to how one thinks about math. Also, the law job market is not so great, except perhaps for those graduating from elite law schools.
This is one of my pet peeves. A major does make make you some money. YOU make the money. If you are not majoring in business at a top undergrad business school or majoring in engineering just about anywhere, it doesn’t much matter what you major in. YOU make your career.
Here’s an example; I have a friend that went to a middle-tier state university in a small state and majored in sociology. This is the only degree she has. Most people on this board might think she would be poverty stricken. Upon graduation she got an entry-level job in marketing at a small bank. Then she moved on to marketing for Internet companies. Then she moved into operations of those companies. Fast forward, she now works for a venture capital company that specializes in Internet start-ups and she is doing very, very, very well financially. That’s how it works. Start thinking generally about career fields that interest you. Get some internships. Get that first job. Excel at your job, get along well with others. From there you have to seek new opportunities to grow.
Man, I came here to say what @brantly said.
Your major doesn’t make money. Your job and your career is what makes you money. I read a story about an English major who learned how to code and went to be a software engineer for some big Silicon Valley company; I’m sure she’s making a lot of money. I’m equally sure that somewhere out there there’s an engineering major who discovered he hated it and is working as a social worker or a math teacher. (Actually, I know that engineering major: he was my high school calculus teacher.)
Your major doesn’t determine your life’s course; it’s really something that you study for 4-6 years to give you a little bit of depth and a jump-start into something. But beyond that, most jobs are pretty major-free. Even technical jobs like software development or data science don’t really care about your major so much as they care about your skills: a philosophy major who knows how to code, knows machine learning and knows a lot of math and stats can go into data science regardless of how he learned it.
Often your major may pan out in ways you never expected; you don’t have to think about a straight line between related jobs. I know some folks who are doing things that aren’t related to their undergrad majors at all; I know some who are doing things that are only tangentially related to their undergrad major. The other thing is that there’s a whole world of careers out there that you probably don’t know about. I had no idea my career existed in college. One of the careers you have might not even exist yet - think of all the people working in social media!
There are some fields that require pre-professional college-level preparation - like engineering or nursing. But you’d know if you wanted to do one of those. And even those aren’t closed to you later if you’re willing to return to school to get qualified to do them.
So pick something you’re interested in, and spend some time developing skills that are broadly useful across fields (writing, presentation, coding, research, statistics, etc.)
My IR major son has been the Excel expert of every office he’s worked in so far. Self-taught at a summer job when he decided the reservations system he was working with was too cumbersome. He is so not a computer kid.
This is what the career counseling center at your college is for. The professionals who work there can (hopefully) steer you in the direction you are looking to go. Start with some Meyers Briggs type testing. Figure out what you are good at that someone might pay you for. There are lots of well-paid jobs that require only basic math - but excellent interpersonal, organizational, writing and/or planning skills. Once you know what those jobs are, you can do informational interviews with the professionals in that field (often alums from your college will agree to do this) and find out what kind of training you need to get - and what major will help you get there.
And realize that you are not alone in not knowing what you want (but being clear on what you don’t want). That’s why you don’t have to declare a major until you’ve been in college for two years.
Lastly, you will need to define for yourself what ‘some money’ means to you. What kind of lifestyle are you hoping to support?
Exactly. Right now you’re just feeling mopey. You want to make money but you can’t imagine how. Go to college, take a diverse bunch of classes and see what you like. Almost every college won’t make you declare a major until the end of your 2nd year.
If you come from a non-intellectual or uneducated family background, it’s really hard to see how a liberal arts education can be parlayed into money. After 3 years one of my relatives was still unable to see it. It’s not that it isn’t true, it just requires imagination that hungry teens who are not crazy about school in the first place have trouble seeing.
At least a business major teaches you marketable skills right off the bat. Most people work in a business. This is a very viable path for you to follow.
I do come from an uneducated family background and i’m just going into college blind with no advice… I would love to make music for a living but that’s just not realistic in this society where Art is not as appreciated as math/science. I’m just trying to look for ways to make a living to be able to sustain myself.
I highly recommend working 10 or so hours a week during the school year. It will give you some experience for your resume so that when you go looking for summer work or internships you will have some experience.
If you like music you can work in the music industry. Think about these professions:
public relations/promotions for music companies or musical acts
entertainment lawyer
working in any capacity for a music recording company
recording engineer
working for a theater or arts center
teaching music in school
Join the concert committee that brings concerts to your campus. That will get you in touch with others who share your interest.