College Majors Thread

Currently studying Economics. I think I'd have a better time studying Philosophy, and when deciding I was interested in both of those, along with Political Sciences, Statistics and Psychology, but I think I made the right decision seeing as how I'm enjoying myself, my grades aren't bad and the university is decent enough.

If I could choose any degree I would've gone with PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) but my grades in high school weren't nearly good enough to get into that program.

Well, that's sort of something I'm looking to try and do as well. Making a solid choice and making sure I am satisfied with it and that it has an impact, big or small. Problem is that I don't know what would be a solid choice for me. Volunteering sounds like a great idea to get some perspective on why I would want to make a good choice regarding a future career, but I already work part-time and don't really have much free time in my week anymore.

I want my job to be fulfilling and challenging, and I would be disappointed with myself if I ended up with a simple office job and just spent years going on with watching sports, paying taxes, etc. I want to have a job that has some sort of benefit, something I can do everyday and say ''Yeah, this is what I like doing!''. But like I said, my options for university programs are vast, and my ways to narrow down my options are rather non-existant at the moment. So I'm stuck, for now.

@BranKetra Yep, astronautical engineering is the field I'm most interested in for the moment, but I do love the aeronautical side as well (the major is actually designated as Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering).

It's a bitch to be able to get co-op or intern experience in though.

I've thought about what going into CSE would be like as well, since I've really enjoyed the programming classes I've had to take as requirements for the aero major (obviously, that's not all CSE students do, but it's about the only insight into actual computer stuff we get). I just don't know if I could deal with the frustration that comes with working with computers all the time.

Was going to do Computer Engineering but I've now decided to major in the science field where I had always excelled at, mainly biology. I want to do biochemistry as a BS to major in medical research.

I'm also good with marketing so that's always an option.

I studied English literature when I received my A.A.; I studied English (with a focus on Victorian literature) with a minor in Philosophy for my B.A.

I'm currently a graduate student gunning for an M.A. in British and American literature. I'll more than likely be finished by the end of next year or by the spring of 2017.

I've had a genuine love of literature ever since I was a child, and writing 15-20 page research papers excites me. I didn't expect an immediate job when I got out of college (I'm a dog walker), but I would like to eventually pursue a doctorate in lit, with my specialization in 20th century American literature, despite how bad the job market is for those in the humanities, especially in Academia (or so professors have liked to tell me for the past six years.

Thank you all for the honest responses. This thread gives some perspective of the community which I take part in with all of you.

@CountBleck12: Nice picture. The video game industry is very profitable, though it does not have stability for those new to the American industry and new to game development (by contrast, Japanese graduates are scouted for life-long company careers). There is certainly career potential in this industry, though.

@genius2365: A positive part of your situation is the very fact that you have options.

@LZ71: From what I have learned so far about computers is that there is quite a bit of trial and error. If you are willing to work with that type of process then you could do well with it. I have reason to believe that astronautical engineering can greatly increase in relevance in this century. If and when we establish a colony on Mars, I expect the interest in extra-planetary activities to increase even more than how much people cared about the space race between the United States of America and the former United Soviet Socialist Republics. NASA already expressed interest in developing a colony in the upper atmosphere of Venus where the air of that planet is a viable setting for man-made floating environments, so one can imagine what shall transpire once we succeed on Mars.

You probably want to get your CCNP then. Or you could join the 20,000 people in the world who have a CCIE, but that is extremely difficult. If you obtain your CCIE, you could easily be making $150,000-$200,000/year.

Philosophy is one of the most useless majors (along with History, Anthropology, Literature, Sociology, Art History, etc) if you want to find a well-paying job after college. Psychology isn't terribly useful either, unless you plan to get a graduate's degree. Stick with Econ. If you change to Finance, which isn't terribly divergent from Econ, you can make good money after school.

A lot of those History and *ology subjects are quite fascinating, but they're not terribly lucrative.

I have a masters in philosophy. I chose that because it's interesting and, although I can't strut into some cookie cutter job right now, I'm more than satisfied with my decision. It taught me to think, bro. It's like turning god mode on.

You just in it for the money, bro? Dat's nasty. Anyway, if you're good at philosophy, you can get into many well paying jobs since, clearly, you're not a 'tard. The so-called good degrees teach dullards the necessary skills to satisfy employers. The reason many would (and do) fail with a philosophy degree is because they've got nothing to else to offer.

I was a Law major and took a Biomedical Engineering minor my final year. I work in a health care branch of government.

I have a bachelor of science in film/video emphasis on post production. I was one of those rare folk who knew what they wanted to do since early in high school and have been working on it ever since. The reason is a pretty long story but in the end I'm happy with where my time/money went and am now trying to make it work out there in the real word.

How are you liking it?

I work with 90% women and dated one before she left for a different job.

what do you think :P

My parents are both philosophers with PhDs and I gotta say they're pretty good at what they do, they're happy and they make plenty. They're also the ones who told me to be careful with what I chose :P

Here in Spain the way philosophy is taught is lamentable, they take on way too many students and make the degree far too easy. Here I don't think it would've been wise to study it honestly. Still though, everything my parents have explained to me (mostly about logic and philosophy of science) has fascinated me.

At the same time though, I'm glad I chose econ; like I said I enjoy what I'm studying. Oh and I'm steering clear of finance, what I like is mostly macroeconomics and game theory.

BS in Mechanical Engineering

It's a damn challenging field , chose it cuz it has such an incredible diversity and u never get bored or sick of it ....

When you're investing $80k+ into a college degree, you'd should definitely be better off in the long run, financially, than had you only gotten a high school diploma.

I didn't study Information Systems and Finance because they're fun, that's for sure.

Speak for yourself with the $50k+ thing. My degree will cost me €6,000 by the end of.

The point, however, is a good one, I'm not gonna spend money on a degree where the expected gains are negative :P

I paid next to nothing for my education. Mine was employer sponsored, but our experiences are hardly the norm...outside of Europe at least.

@bforrester420: In the U.S., public schools are an option usually with fewer expenses than private schools. There is also Western Governor's University which is a private, nonprofit school which costs about $6000 a year. Combine that President Obama's proposal to make community college free for two years for everyone who makes acceptable grades and going through this academic route would cost about $15K, at most.

Even if that is not the chosen option, grants and many, many scholarships are available. It is possible to graduate with low debt or debt-free.

Well, I'm smarter now, which is nice.

You can buy a bunch of college textbooks, study them, save yourself about $40k, and be smarter...but you don't have that piece of paper that most employers covet.

Bachelor in Math and Economics. Will finish this semester. Next education I will become a Java developer. Or BI developer. Or something along those lines.

You could. But I don't think I'm that driven. I've been learning Mandarin in my spare time lately and I'm hardly blazing trails despite putting in a lot of effort. I've had to make myself sit exams at a university to keep from slacking.

Currently taking first year music courses, majoring in piano, secondary on guitar. I am hoping to be accepted into the music therapy program.

@BranKetra: I love threads like this, I like when gs gets personal.

I am psychology/communications double major. I picked psych when I first started college because I always liked the field. I switched to business for a short while when I bought into the whole, hey you wont get a job with psych hype. After some time I realized you can not put a price or time limit on happiness and I switched back to psychology. I transferred to a new university in spring 2015 when I realized I needed to make myself more competitive for grad school, and that a bigger uni will help me. I just started this semester and I decided I will do more research(that is the kicker for grad school). I picked up communications because I am interested in it(the social interactions part) and I can get good jobs while in grad school with it.

I plan to get right into a phd program for either clinical or social psych upon graduation.

Nice, do you plan to go into a masters program first or right into PHD?

Please do not revive threads from a month ago.