<p>I will be going to the University of Michigan (LSA) next year and I am still undecided. I'd like to choose my major or, at least decide what I want to study, before selecting my classes.</p>
<p>I really love foreign languages. I speak Italian, Spanish and French and I always like to learn more. I like culture and linguistics, but not so much reading books. So, I definitely want to study languages in college. But, I don't really know what I would do with a language major (or with a major in Romance languages) besides being a teacher/professor (while I think I would enjoy these jobs, they are rather low-paying) or a translator (I don't really want to travel away from my family for a job). I don't know what I'd do with a linguistics major either.</p>
<p>Also, I'm good at math. I am taking calculus 4 at a local college and I have an A in the class. While I do not see myself doing engineering (I don't even know exactly what it is), I think I would enjoy computer science. I am very pro-technology and I think it will be indispensable in our future lives. Still, I fear it will bore me. Computational linguistics (Siri-like stuff) sounds interesting but I don't know what major it would be or whether I would be able to get a job in this field.</p>
<p>It is also worth mentioning that I’m interested in design. Although I’m good at drawing and such things, I have not been that much involved into art, but I just like esthetics as a whole.</p>
<p>Applied math is the best major by far. The drawback is that only a very small percentage of college freshman have the talent and the preparation to succeed at this major. From your background it sounds like you are one of the lucky few. That drawback for others may be a natural advantage for you because it will limit the number of students competing with you.</p>
<p>An applied math major will require you to take several in-depth classes in a particular field of study other than math, where you will apply math when you start your career. That other field could be physics, biology, economics, finance, computer science or lots of other fields where statistics, modeling and other math-based research tools are used by the best minds in the field.</p>
<p>I spoke recently with a client who is a software engineer and who graduated from college 30 years ago as an applied math major. He said that an applied math background was highly unusual in his field when he started but it is now the most sought after background. He also attributes his success to the fact that he really enjoys math while for many of his less successful competitors math has not been so enjoyable.</p>
<p>Bottom line, anybody who enjoys math should do math.</p>
<p>I’ll second the math major suggestion. Majoring in math will allow you to go into almost anything – law, medicine, computer science, finance, economics, social sciences, etc. Employers in all fields love math majors.</p>
<p>If you also love languages, then study that too. You’ll have enough flexibility in college to do both. You’re right, the job prospects aren’t very good, but foreign languages are a useful skill to have and if you enjoy it then it’s worth it. Keep in mind, you do NOT need to major in it to study it. Just take some classes and/or do a study abroad while majoring in something else.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in computer science, you should try some programming. Take an intro to programming class your first semester (this will be extremely helpful regardless of what you end up doing) and see if you like it. You could also try learning some programming on your own. Most CS students have dabbled in programming before starting college.</p>
<p>Computational linguistics is a very exciting field to go into these days. If you want to pursue it, a math major is definitely a great way to get there. A computer science major would also be helpful. Majoring in foreign language won’t help you at all.</p>