<p>Hello, I'm going to college and I'm not quite sure what I want to major in yet. I know I want to major in a subject that sounds impressive to ppl. In other words, I want to major in a subject that shows others that I'm smart. Since I don't know what I want to do with my life, I might as well major in something that looks good on a resume and impresses people. Right now I'm kinda all over the spectrum but I'm considering the following majors:</p>
<p>Sociology
History
Economics
Biology
Structural/Civil Engineering
Communication Studies
Geology
Elctrical Engineering
Business
Psychology</p>
<p>So from the above list, which major is the most prestigious and intellectual (in your opinion, of course)?? Any opinion is welcomed.</p>
<p>You are kidding right? You want to choose a major just because it sounds impressive. That is really not how you should choose anything. You should be more concerned about doing something you love and are competent at too. You also want to look at the job market, which can change, but you want something where you can have better odds at landing a job once you graduate. You are going to work for probably 40+ years, yes you can always change careers but you want your major to be something you will at least sort of enjoy and one where you can find a job. Every career path has its good and bad points. Look at the want ads in the paper, what sort of job appeals to you? Don’t worry about what others think of you.</p>
<p>MLDWoody, HarryJones, marcdvl: Thanks for the quick replies! Also, thanks for the career advise. Yes, business might land me a job but most ppl I talk to do not seem to be to impressed by business majors.</p>
<p>MLDWoody and lemmb66: I understand this might not the the best way to choose a major but I’m using it as a starting point. Feel free to judge. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with picking a major because it sounds impressive to others.</p>
<p>The problem with it is that it’s an unimportant criterion. Since most people don’t care what you majored in, your wasting an opportunity to decide a lot about what you want out of your future life, you’re getting almost nothing in return. If you don’t know what you want to do in life, why are you going to college?</p>
<p>Why am I going to college? Because my parents are going to pay for most of it and I graduated a highschool that averages a 99 to 100 percent college attendance rate. So, I’d stick out a bit ha. But lets not drift from the topic - I’m going to college and that’s that. </p>
<p>I think we can now all agree that I don’t have a profound reason for going to college nor do I have a passion for a specific field of study (although I find many intriguing - the list I originally presented). Clearly a lot of you disagree with the criterion I established. Nevertheless I’d like to continue to hear your opinions on which of the majors you have the highest opinion on and view as the “smart” majors. All opinions are welcomed.</p>
<p>I think impressiveness is a good criterion for choosing a major, provided that you are already interested in the subject anyway. Your major is part of your identity, and you want it to reflect who you are what you are capable of mastering.</p>
<p>I would say that any career that involves the most math will be the most impressive, because most people find math boring and difficult, and will admire someone who is good at it. Plus those majors tend to result in high-paying careers, and income is another status symbol. </p>
<p>With that in mind, I would say that any sort of engineering is the most impressive, followed by economics or geology. Keep in mind though that there are other stereotypes associated with those majors that are more complicated than just impressiveness. Engineers are assumed to be socially awkward, people majoring in economics are assumed to be capitalists who hate high taxes and minimum wage, and geologists are assumed to be rugged outdoorsy people. (As a side note, some people might regard geology as an unimpressive major due to introductory geology courses being notoriously easy, but actually majoring in it is a whole different story. Most people don’t realize how rigorous the math and physics prereqs are, compared to say, prereqs for Bio majors.)</p>
<p>Biology has pretty easy math and physics requirements so I wouldn’t consider that impressive. It’s mostly just being able to memorize a lot of details and processes, which is really easy for anyone who pays attention and studies. Biology is an extremely popular major because people think of it as an easy way to way to obtain the prestige associated with being a science major. However, if you go on to become premed with that biology major then that would be prestigious. </p>
<p>Nothing else on your list would be considered impressive. Sociology, communications, and business have a reputation for being easy majors for slackers who would much rather party and get drunk. History would probably be a little bit better in the sense that people will at least assume that you have an intellectual curiosity in history.</p>
<p>But what do you want to do with your life for 40+ hours per week, 40+ years of your life. I will say it again, do something you love. At your age it is hard to figure something like this out, and you can always change majors later on, but you don’t want to waste your time or your parents money, honestly. You don’t want to be in a drudge job, just because the major sounded impressive at this point.</p>
<p>If you don’t know what you want to do, you can always go into college without a declared major. It’s sometimes tough choosing a college that has all of the majors you might be interested in, but the fact of the matter is that the majority of college students don’t stick with the same major for all four years. </p>
<p>If I were you, I would go into my first year undeclared and take a bunch of classes in the various fields I was interested in and see what really stuck. </p>
<p>Another potential logic you could follow is that engineering is probably the toughest major among those to graduate on time in if you don’t start off in it from the beginning. So you could also begin by majoring in engineering and then take courses in some of the other fields as an elective to see if there’s something that you like better.</p>
<p>Also, this typically costs some amount of money, but you could take the Strong Interest Inventory to see if it indicates a particular field to you. You might be surprised to find that you are leaning further toward one thing in particular than you thought. Or you could have the opposite situation and have the test tell you that you’re equally suited to a number of different professions. </p>
<p>Just bear in mind that some of the majors you’re selecting based on prestige might be more challenging than you’re anticipating. I’m very good at math and science and I chose engineering as my second major because I thought I would get far in life. I got burned out quick and changed majors. My first semester I had a 4.0, and then my second semester I got a B- in calc II (barely) and withdrew from calc-based physics. If you’re passionate about it, a challenging courseload can be great, but if you’re not really that into it, then it’s a recipe for disaster even if you think you are a really disciplined student.</p>
<p>Don’t go into college with your major already picked. That’s why we have a Liberal Arts education in this country. Go in, take classes that sound interesting and major in something you’re passionate about, or at least see good prospects in it.</p>
<p>These are really the only reasons why you’re going to college? Most people go to college because they want to learn or for the better career prospects, but I would say you have a good chance of dropping out if you are not interested in either of these 2 reasons.</p>