Majors

[Bottom_Line]

I would like to offer one word of caution when choosing your major. Do you remember the last time the economy was bad? Neither do I. There have been ups and downs, but for the most part the economy has been strong since many of us were inelementary or middle school. Eventually all good things will end and this is when your decision will hold the most importance. I will be getting a degree in Mechanical Engineering in the spring (one more year to party) and fully plan on taking some risks while the economy is strong. Sales offers excellent opportunities to earn big money in commissions if your dedicated. Make no mistake, the engineering curriculum is one of the hardest, most intense undergraduate degree's available ( I envy the amount of free time that my friends in the buisness school have). The advantage is that you do not need to enroll in grad school. Engineers of all sorts are in such high demand that 4 year undergrads even with low GPA's are still getting decient starting offers ($50K + benifits). I highly recomend Engineering but it certainly isn't the easy way out.

[Queencece]

I HAVENT DECLARED A MAJOR YET AND IM A FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE. I HAVE UNTIL THE END O SOPHOMORE YEAR TO DECLARE. MY MAJOR OF CHOICE IS CALLED ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE OR ADJ. ITS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND GOING TO THE DEA, CIA, FBI OR BECOMING A POLICE OFFICER. AND THOUGH I WOULD MINOR IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ALSO IF POSSIBLE MINOR IN GOVERNMENT TO BACK UP MY MAJOR. THE CAREER PATH THAT I HAVE CHOSEN IS TO BE AN FBI AGENT IN THE MISSING PERSONS UNIT...SO THATS MY $19.81 CENTS ON THIS ISSUE.
PEACE AND ONE
QUEENCECE

[This message has been edited by Queencece (edited August 04, 2000).]

[Alumnus who cares]

I majored in sociology in undergrad and it was a waste of time and money. Sure, it was kind of interesting and the course work was not too difficult or overwhelming. But there was one little fact that I overlooked when I chose my major, which was not having a job, much less a career, when I graduated. I really didn't put any thought into choosing to major in sociology; it was just a subject that I was kind of interested in. I'm sure you've heard various versions of the following joke:

The engineering major asks, "How does it work?"
The science major asks, "Why does it work?"
The accounting major asks, "How much will it cost?"
The sociology major asks, "You want fries with that?"

Can you detect just a little bit of self-pity on my part? Well, I didn't work at McDonald's after I graduated, but I did work in a bank for 3 1/2 years, which is not much better. I'm currently working on my MBA, which means I'm finally getting the kind of degree I SHOULD have gotten 4 years ago.

So my advice would be, choose a major that is interesting to you, but make sure it's a major that will at least help you get a job so you can put food on your table.

[etienneSAI]

i'm the only music major so far! i'm a double major with a minor. flute performance and music education with a minor in classical opera. talk about using your degree for a placemat...but it' what i want to do and i know i'll make it. see you in carnegie hall!

etienne

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"red is the color of music and has been since the very earliest of times. the caps of faeries and musicians are well-nigh always red."~*~w.b.yeats

"I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time instead of being a lying little fuck." - Tori Amos

[tickledpink]

Etiennesai, I admire your passion. Here's my saga. I started as a music major also because I love music. However, during my freshman year I found there was not alot of money there, so music quickly became a hobby. Now, I do have a Communications degree, and while I communicate on a daily basis for a telephone company, I hardly think that's what the Communications department had in mind. I found that to start, there isn't that much money in it, but not to worry Asia2000, as Eclipse said, if you are willing to sacrifice for a while, you can make $$ in this field. While I went for the $$ rather than sacrifice for the major, you must follow your heart.

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>>>"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised... Proverbs 31:29-30

[Eli]

tickledpink you hit it right on target when you said, "you must follow your heart."

How many people here want to get a job for fun, rather than money? (I see many people here are only concerned with monetary gain). Life is about having fun, life is simply a game.... Not to sound hateful, its especially scary that some people want to be doctors because they make money... you must love your patients, not the money.

My Major is business administration... however I feel i may take a double major and go into architecture too. I spend hundreds of hours each month just reading about various points of architecture; I LOVE designing houses!!

Easy E

[This message has been edited by Eli (edited August 04, 2000).]

[etienneSAI]

i think i can truly, honestly say that i'm not in my career for the money. i always tell myself that i'll stop music when it stops being fun, when i stop enjoying it. music is the exhalation of the soul and that is something that should always be fun and always be enjoyed. when that is taken away, it loses its passion and that's when it stops being part of you. my music is so important to me, that it will hopefully never reach that point. besides, if you don't love what you do, how could you do it whole-heartedly?

etienne
sigma alpha iota

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"red is the color of music and has been since the very earliest of times. the caps of faeries and musicians are well-nigh always red."~*~w.b.yeats

"I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time instead of being a lying little fuck." - Tori Amos

[Asia2000]

I know the story about doing what you love, not for the money. If I wanted to do what I love, I wouldn't be in college. I dont' need college do learn about photography, ride horses, things like that.

I am going to college, so I can get a job and make money so that I don't have to struggle for the rest of my life.

Yeah, my comm major does have huge potential. But, no immediate pay offs -- which worries me a lot. I am thinking about getting my MBA as well. I don't want my comm degree to head in the road of Barbara Walters though. That's not the industry I wanted to go into. More into publicity, PR, behind the scenes things. I actually love the fashion/cosmetic industry.

Anybody in this field, going into this field, send me an email. I'd be curious to chat.

[mwedzi]

Asia2000, I totally agree with you. The real reason most go to college is so you can get a job and actually buy a house and car and not live with your parents forever.

Problem is, I think if I have to do anything related to engineering or economics 8 hours a day for the rest of my life, I might very well lose my mind. And for the past year, I've really had my heart set on going to grad school in applied linguistics so I can teach English to adults. It has neither huge immediate financial pay-offs nor many prospects for big pay down the road. But it will be enough for me to live reasonably comfortably (I think), have some free time, not be under constant stress, and have abundant travel opportunities (I think there are more jobs for ESL teachers outside of the states than in them). Those things are really important to me, so I had to compromise on the money aspect a little. I guess very few things in this life are perfect.

[Honeybee]

asia, i completely agree w/ you about being in college for a good job to make money. i think eli has it wrong when she says that it's scary that people are just interested in earning money. news flash:that's the whole point of college-noone would be there if you could magically get a great job. some of us would like to live comfortably and not have to worry about when our next paycheck is coming.

[SilverTurtle]

I started off as a Music Performance major (TUBA!!). And it did kind of stop being fun.. I was spending way too much time 'learning' about things that weren't beneficial to my performance. So, I eventually switched majors to Communications (speech, radio, tv, film...) (although I did keep a Music Minor, and music became a lot of fun again for me). I'm planning on going to grad school next fall (if all goes as planned ) for gender + pop culture studies . My ultimate goal is to teach undergrad communications courses.

But I'm not in a super hurry to get there. It is nice to get a break from school after 17 years of it. I have a job that's sort of related to my major if you can stretch your imagination, although there's lots of potential to move up and i can stay w/ the company @ any of my choices for graduate school.

Anyways, do something you at least enjoy a little bit. Doing it ONLY for the money is really only hurting you in the long run. But go for something that you can survive doing.

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SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity
Phi chapter

[equeen]

Oooh, I will be completely biased when I say go for engineering! Chemical engineering is extrememly versatile, you can work in a variety of industries and in a variety of capacities. A good amount of $$ in it! Computer engineering automatically gets you big bucks. Of course, there's that tiny detail of going to school and working your tail off for a few years (v. few opportunities to party till dawn, unless you're extremely brilliant, and don't have to study into the wee hours of the morning.)

Now that I think about it, it's a wonder that I've done anything at all besides school. Where did I get the time??

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equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

[mwedzi]

That's it. To hell with grad school in linguistics! I need a job!

But equeen, here's the really, really, really important question for me. What is job satisfaction like for those who go into engineering, computer engineering, and computer science (if you know anything about the last)? I mean, working your butt off for a few years is one thing. That can be done. But what about the rest of your life?

I know you will be biased because it's your major so I guess you will be expecting happiness from it. But anyway . . . And anyone else who has heard anything (especially if you know where I can find stats on job satisfaction), let me know.

[Dewgirl]

i started off as a music major too. My official major was Music Theory, but they made me choose a performing area, too, so I chose voice (i had had like a year of choir but that was it). That is what pushed me out of it....I didn't want to be a musician, I wanted to STUDY MUSIC!!!!! The dept. didn't seem to understand that. So now I'm a history major...would you like fries with that?

As for the original person who was trying to decide their major though...don't worry about it too much...you can always choose something kind of generic, like communications, or business, and then later on change it to something more specific (ie. journalism, or economics) ALSO...if you're considering grad school...believe it or not it doesn't always really matter what your B.whatever is in... I know a girl who was an English major who is now in grad school for Poly Sci! Good luck!

[Tiara98]

Undeclared:

Our prez is a CIS major. If I was undecided, I might do that. Big money there! (I'm a Nursing major....HARD WORK!)

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Amanda M.
Secretary/Social Chair
Theta Sigma Alpha,Towson University