Which is generally a better route? I’m fascinated by all, but there can only be one decision.
“Better” is a relative term, and it will be different for each person. Business is wonderful for those suited to it. STEM is wonderful for those suited to it (though STEM encompasses such a vast breadth of study and career opportunities that each individual area will be right for some and wrong for others). For students whose interests and talents lie in humanities or the arts, both business and STEM could be a disaster. Why does there have to be one decision? There’s plenty of overlap between business and STEM if you love both. Plenty of scientists and engineers also have MBAs and craft careers that combine STEM and business. Secretary of State designate Rex Tillerson started out as a civil engineer in the oil business; his business acumen combined with his STEM education got him to be CEO of one of the world’s largest companies.
I can tell you in STEM, there is a lot of gatekeeping and weeding people out. There are many classes which are designed to determine if students can compete academically. How they do decides if they advance. There’s a reason why a lot of people go into STEM in college, and after the first year change their major because they realize math or chemistry isn’t their strong suit. Many students have been interested in it, and perhaps had a lifelong interest but when it comes to hacking it academically, it’s a different story.
@trefoil how hard do you think the math or chemistry is? Is it really that difficult?
@PharmacyStudent, I majored in chemical engineering so had plenty of both math and chemistry. For the people who are suited, the classes are fine. I had no trouble keeping up. For people who don’t have both the aptitude and work ethic, they are not fine. Many thousands of students successfully graduate from STEM majors every year. At the same time many thousands start out in one STEM major that they were passionate about in high school, find they actually hate it or are bad at it, and switch to a different STEM major or out of STEM entirely. People change majors all the time and the world doesn’t end. You are allowed to be undecided in your major and use freshman year to take a broad range of courses before settling down in one major. Try speaking with your guidance counselor, doing job shadowing, or making contacts with university professors or advisors who can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, and help guide you to majors that might be a fit for your post-college goals.
ETA: since you seem very undecided, you might consider staying away from colleges that require freshman entry into competitive majors so that you are not locked in too soon. UT Austin comes to mind; it’s possible to start as an undecided but could be difficult to get into the competitive majors after freshman year.