How did you choose your major?

[KSUViolet06]

^^^True this. I can only think of MAYBE one or 2 fields where you can leave college and immediately have a shot at getting into the decently-paying/fulfilling jobs. I think nursing is one of them and to an extent education is, although with the advent of Highly Qualified Teacher status, I think it's becoming more difficult to get positions in a lot of school districts without a grad degree. Even if you do get the job, you can't reach your highest level of salary potential without it.

[GolfersLady]

I knew that my talents and interest were in marketing, public relations and advertising since high school.

In college, I was a marketing major but then took accounting and new the College of Business wasn't for me. So I switched to Communication/Public Relations because it would allow me to still graduate on time with similar coursework. I then landed a great graduate assistantship in community relations and marketing at the university so while I gained work experience I earned a Master of Public Administration degree for free (again, didn't want to deal with the math of a MBA!).

I worked in ad/PR agencies for six years and now have returned to higher education at a private university in admissions doing recruiting, events and special projects (wahoo!). Both of my degrees are relevant to the work I did and still do in marketing for non-profit, government and higher education.

[AlphaFrog]

Before I started college I wanted to be a music & psych double major. Then I heard about Music Therapy and it sounded perfect. After 3 years, including field work every semester, it became clear that it really wasn't what I thought it would be. Most of my clients were handicapped and I just don't have the patience to work with them as a career.

Seven years later, I now have a family and a good paying but boring as hell (to me - some people love the office work) desk job that I kinda lucked into....well, it also helped that I'm good at my job and have increased my salary mote than 50%. So, anyway, I've just recently jumped off the deep end and decided to accept a scholarship at the NY Film Academy's Musical Theatre Conservatory. I guess the music program didn't end up being a waste after all, because it's where I REALLY learned to sing (I started as a flute major). What really sealed this decision is that I spend 40+ hours a week at work, plus I sing with the Charlotte Symphony, church choir, and do community theatre and indie film projects. My husband kept telling me that I'm too talented to be doing all of this stuff for "free" AND working a full time job. So, that's why we're in process of moving to NYC.

I guess on topic of this thread...my story's not finished, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up (or, rather I do know, but it's a hard row to hoe).

[lovespink88]

I honestly don't know how I picked advertising as a major, LOL

I mean, I sorta do...I've always enjoyed writing, so going into college I thought I was going to major in journalism. I wasn't able to take my first journalism class until my first semester of sophomore year. When I finished, all I could think was "NOPE."

I took intro to advertising that semester as well and really liked it. I applied to the College of Media as undeclared so that I could explore a little more without fully committing. I totally thought I was going into creative but after taking the intro creative class I had another "NOPE." moment. Luckily, at the same time I was taking the intro public relations class and felt comfortable there. It was kind of like journalism but I felt a little bit more creative, which I liked. So I kinda just went for it (which is why I said, I'm not really sure how I ended up in advertising. I was never like "OMG yes, I love this." It was more like "ok, this works for me".)

Fast forward to now and I'm a media planner who deals with numbers all day. Go figure. On the bright side, at least I am in the advertising field. I do like my job, but I am thinking that I would eventually like to try to get into public relations, like the original plan.

[AZ-AlphaXi]

When I was in high school, my sister (waves to KL) made a chance remark about the new field of programming computers. I was always interested in math but knew I didn't have the patience for teaching so was like wow. At the time WKU didn't have a computer science major but did have a CS minor. So I started as a math major with a CS minor. Just before my junior year, the CS major was started and by switching which classes were counted where, I switched to the CS major. Loved programming from the start and that's all I ever worked at.

[AnotherKD]

I went in with an Anthropology major, with a concentration in Archaeology. When my parents found out, they flipped their lid and said I'd never find a good job, so they threatened to not pay for school. At that point, I was at an out-of-state school where I wasnr eligible for financial aid and was already in for a semester, so I changed my major to something friends of mine enjoyed, Poli Sci. I figured if they liked it, it wouldn't be too bad. I got lucky in getting internships in undergrad, getting into a good grad degree, and my jobs since, but I think my major was a soft skills one, or one that teaches you how to write well and also teach a bit of common sense, if you didn't have it already. I'm not sure I'd recommend that now, though. I also took most of my electives in archaeology as well, so i stayed stimulated.

[DubaiSis]

I still say major in what you like, but start working on those internships! I really wish I had been told that in college. I didn't seek out any internships and I think it really hurt my job search later on. But knowing what you want to do and working backwards is a good way of thinking about it. And presumably you'd end up majoring in something you like since it's what you want to do later on, as long as you're not just in love with the benjamins.

Regarding non-profit work, I don't think there's any way out but to take that crappy job. Then get in there and kick ass and take names and you can move up. Same with politics. Young people seem to think they can have an undergrad in poli-sci and run somebody's campaign. Trust me when I say you start by making those horrendous phone calls and getting coffee.

[cheerfulgreek]

I had a double major in undergrad. Zoology/biology with a minor in chemistry. But, ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be an astrophysicist, so I made plans to make a career doing that until I got to high school. I was set to choose physics as my major with a minor in math, but I took plan B instead to become a veterinarian, which is what I am now. Although astronomy is my first love of interests, I decided against it because I just felt that since we didn't have enough technology to follow through with research, why bother. I'm one of those who likes to not only study about something, but I want to touch and see up close what I'm studying about. Animals are the next best thing.

eta: Oh, and I forgot to add that when I was accepted to my first choice of vet schools (Michigan State), I chose to go into small animal medicine. I thought about going into exotics, but I just love cats too much. Starting in January, I'm going to be doing a lot of studying and research in parasitology with my mentor, which is what I'm going to be specializing in. Another four years of headaches, I guess.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I really liked math and physics, so I picked engineering. At Illinois, you can (or could at the time, I think it's changed) graduate as a "general engineer". In the later years, I discovered that I liked IE, and took most of my upper-level electives in IE. My internship before senior year confirmed that was a good decision.

[knight_shadow]

I was initially a psychology major, but while taking some communications classes, I became interested in advertising. I switched to advertising, only to find that many of the firms I was interested were looking for business or marketing degrees. My last switch was to business (marketing concentration), and it's served me well so far

[southernbelle14]

Just take a wide variety of classes if possible. You will most likely find something you will fall in love with.
At least, that seems to have worked for me.

[Smile_Awhile]

I decided at about 15 years old that I was going to be an actress. So, picking a degree in Acting was the natural progression for that. Six years later, I'm still happy- maybe not as driven as I could be, but I love what I get to do everyday and the classes I get to take.

I'm getting a BFA versus a BA, so I feel that I've been given enough training to actually make it in the professional acting world. There are quite a few successful graduates from my program.

But, I also am self-aware that I can't handle the instability of acting long term. I set my sights on theatre administration, without knowing much about it. I got my first internship the summer after my sophomore year, and that company has continually hired me back- I've been working with them for over a year, and no longer have the title of intern. The odds are good that I might receive a full-time position after I graduate. I also landed an internship in Chicago last summer, and felt confident in that. I also added a minor in public relations to broaden my training, so I look like a better candidate for these jobs.

So many say that it's too expensive to get a degree in something that seems "out there" and with few job prospects. I would disagree. My acting training has made me an extremely self-aware individual, and an acute analyzer of people. We know how to market ourselves better than most degrees. Most importantly, I'm passionate about it. I have learned more about myself and human behavior in the past 4 years than I ever would have in another degree program. I've been stretched on both a personal and professional level, and isn't that what college is about?

Arts administration is also a fairly "new" field. Degree programs are out there, but there are also many others who are hired into these positions with only theatre or their specialization degrees. This will probably be changing in the foreseeable future, but for now, it's perfectly possible to get hired with only a bachelor's- but I do think you need the work experience or internship to back it up.

[ellebud]

Melinda: I went to college at a time and place when women went to college to meet their husbands. Most of my friends were/are from that era. And most of us (not me) got a teaching degree to tide us over until we married, or if God forbid, we "had" to work. I majored in theatre and history.

I worked as an actress for a short time. And I worked in the business. And then I got married and retired permanently. (Well...my daughter and I are exploring a venture together.)

My girls? One majored in Film..and works in the business. The other is a Comm major. She is a natural in styling. And she has worked as an actress/model. She thinks about going back to acting...but I don't know.

The fabulous thing about being young is that you can change your mind/reinvent yourself and explore who you are. And when one is as bright as your are...you will figure it out.

[flirt5721]

I knew since middle school I wanted to be an engineer. I wasn't sure what type but an engineer. I choose electrical engineering because it provided me a challenge and I would not get bored. Of course I had no life for about 5 years but I enjoyed my classmates, professors, and all the opportunities that came my way because of engineering. I did try to do a double major in EE and Spanish but got tired of school and did not want to stay one more semester for a Spanish class so I ended up with a degree in EE with specialization in Power Systems and Controls and a minor in Spanish.

[Benzgirl]

True story. I was a Poli Sci major going into my junior year. One night, I was at a TG (themed gathering) with a fraternity. There was a guy who was boasting that no girls could handle being an Econ major. I told him I was taking my third Econ class and thought it was easy, and he got pissy. I actually liked Econ so out of spite, I changed my major.

This turned out to be a good thing in the long run because it forced me to take more business classes, even though I was not in the business school. And when I went to grad school, I was able to get waivers on my Econ classes.