What should I major in?

College Majors
1

Hello. Okay. I’m currently in my second year at community college and will likely get my A.A. next spring It’s a transfer degree and I will eventually go to another school. Right now I’m working with a vocational counselor who works for my state and works with people with intellectual and learning challenges. She helps them develop and career plan. My major concern is what to major in. My mom wants me to major in history and maybe religion. Deep down inside she want’s me to be a clergyman, but in my denomination, you can’t marry nor have children. There’s also a lot of controversy around my denomination right now about abusing young children and I want no part in that. I’m trying not to associate and just believe and think for myself. For years I had an interest in history and my high school history teacher, who basically became my mentor for about a year before I switched schools, got me interested in politics and history. During that time, the 2012 election was occurring. I liked learning about the Roman Empire, Greeks, and Egyptians. However, I’ve been warned by Temple Grandin, an animal scientist and advocate, and several other people, that history and political science might be a little dangerous to go into.

The main thing I want to do is get a job in research. Whether working for a think tank, university, or the government. I would prefer that latter two. I would also like to consider being a college academic. In addition, going to a great graduate school is on my mind. I am currently working with professors at my community college on honor’s projects and I also go accepted into the Phi Theta Kappa at my college. I’m not sure where I’m going to transfer too right now and I need to figure it out.

Back to the major. I am interested in something challenging and something that will get me hooked. Also, something that doesn’t involve stuff that will make me get a lot of anxiety. I have anxiety disorder and usually I go into sensory shut down. However, I never give up on a challenge and take in options as they come. I took math in high school and it was not my best subject. Now, I’m teaching myself college pre-algebra so I can re-take my compass math test to get a higher score and move into college level math such as statistics and college algebra. It’s going rather good. Even better than high school! I enjoy it, I get it 87% of the time. I’m teaching myself per the Texas A&M online tutorial. Now, I get that every major has some sort of level of anxiety. It’s not always easy and I get that. I also enjoy watching things about the universe and planets and the type of weather on those planets. Although I’m an Astronomy buff, I think it’s interesting. Overall, mathematics is starting to be enjoyable and astronomy has turned me on. I also enjoy learning about mental disorders. Like major depression and antisocial personality disorder/conduct disorder etc.

I don’t want to make this longer, but I need some advice. I did kind of talk about this in another thread, but I want other people’s perspective and more insight. I didn’t get a lot of my questions answered either. That being said, I get that I won’t get the right answer and I also want to say that I don’t know everything. Okay.

Thank,
Regards
Tyrone7991

2

What? Why is Temple Grandin warning people that history and political science are dangerous to go into? And why on earth is her word to be trusted on this issue anyway?

You can get a job in research in literally anything, although some fields are easier to find entree into and have more need at the government or think tank level. Think tanks tend to employ social scientists - so people with PhDs and MAs in economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science (and related professional fields like education, social work, public health, etc.) - to do research on social issues. Government agencies hire lots of kinds of researchers, but there are more positions for mathematicians, statisticians, economists, political scientists, physicists, etc. than there would be for, say, historians.

So really that just depends on your interests. What classes have grabbed your attention?

3

Well Temple said in her TedX speech and on her website that history and political science majors should be avoided. English also. Accounting, mathematics, statistics, film, and computer programming/software engineering is what she has said will get people jobs.

I’m currently doing a composition paper on behavioral economics and haven’t really started yet, but it seems interesting. I’ve taken classes in sociology, psychology (now), history, and art (photography). I’ve taken some applied courses like Human Relations in Managment, which was interesting. I haven’t really found anything that interests me. I would like to get better at mathematics and get into physics and astronomy. Astronomy is something that’s really beginning to turn me. Supernovas and gamma ray bursts. However, it mathematics that’s required for some of that. I’ve had a bad history with mathematics.

I used to be interested in politics, but it’s surrounded by so much negativity that I want nothing to really do with it. However, I like learning different forms of government. I’m overall interested in research, writing, and presenting my findings. That’s all. I’m not good with math, or have never been great. Science is interesting and I will be taking classes in science, however it’s mathematics that worries me. I could be wrong, I might take mathematics in college and do well, but right now, I’m worried.

Researching, writing, and presenting is what I would like to do. I don’t know what field, but some field.