Help Me Decide My College Major

power_bulker · October 3, 2011, 8:36pm

Physics is a decent field to get into but depending on your speciality the paths are quite different. Theoretical physics will require more time spent in school and eventually a PhD.

However if you are interested in finding employment after a 4 year physics degree you could specialize in things like geophysics, mathematical physics, or engineering physics. All 3 are in demand and you can work in a wide range of industries like petroleum (geophys) or even nanotechnology.

It will be a long and hard road either way.

I have a BSc in Math and work in IT right now. I will probably be going back to school for a second bachelors in geophysics co-op stream. Just need to save some $$$

Iron_Dwarf · October 3, 2011, 9:23pm

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.

jasmincar · October 3, 2011, 10:01pm

Hey guys,

I am tired of society, school(workforce factory) and the city. I don’t see the point of all of this and I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I think I am gonna buy a farm and do survival agriculture alone for the rest of my life. What do you think about that?

system · October 3, 2011, 10:45pm

[quote]jasmincar wrote:
Hey guys,

I am tired of society, school(workforce factory) and the city. I don’t see the point of all of this and I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I think I am gonna buy a farm and do survival agriculture alone for the rest of my life. What do you think about that?[/quote]

At one point in my life I wanted the same thing. Tehn I realized how shitty a life that would actually be.

system · October 3, 2011, 10:50pm

Don’t bother with anthropology. There’s no use for it in this economy. My sister has a degree in it and hasn’t gotten jack shit out of it.

engerland66 · October 3, 2011, 11:33pm

Healthcare. Doesn’t have to be medical school. Nursing school or physician’s assistant. Physician Assistants make >100k/yr for ~40 hr/week. Or, become a nurse, work your way up so you can become a CRNA (they give anesthesia) and you’ll earn ~150k/yr for ~40hr/week.

These are guaranteed jobs for life with great pay for the # hrs/week. A lot of these people work 3 -12hr shifts/week for >$100k. If you want to work more, you earn more, simple as that. They will also be in much higher demand in the future (and they are already in huge demand) since they can do a lot of things MDs but for less money.

PA – 4 yr bachelor’s degree, 3 yr PA school – you will have debt. You will also have a job for life where the more hours you work, the more money you earn. Med school you’ll make more money, but that’s a whole other discussion…

CRNA – I’m not too familiar with the pathway. They can top out at ~$200k from what I’ve heard.

SteelyD · October 4, 2011, 12:06am

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

I totally went to school for what was a childhood passion/hobby.

xXSeraphimXx · October 4, 2011, 12:41am

Air Traffic Control. 2 year degree starting pay 45-60K after 3 years 100-120K.

SkyzykS · October 4, 2011, 2:28am

[quote]Ratchet wrote:

[quote]waldo21212 wrote:
If you are trying to minimize the cost of college, .[/quote]

if you dont know what you want to do before going, get an associates from a community college. its cheap, lets you get the BS classes out the way and gives you time to figure life out…

Also, dont forget technical degrees like auto / plumbing. Master mechanics make more then most people with bachelors degrees and only need 2 years of class.[/quote]

This is what I’ve been doing.

Ideally, I will become a mechanical engineer, but currently a few credits away from an AAS in welding technology. Having become employed a few weeks ago is going to make it a little harder, but I’ve been doing a bit by bit thing and it is starting to add up.

Derek542 · October 4, 2011, 2:23pm

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

hahahahahahahaahahahahahaahahahahahaaha

Can you say STFU young one. hahahahahahahahaahahahahaha

Derek542 · October 4, 2011, 2:25pm

[quote]engerland66 wrote:
Healthcare. Doesn’t have to be medical school. Nursing school or physician’s assistant. Physician Assistants make >100k/yr for ~40 hr/week. Or, become a nurse, work your way up so you can become a CRNA (they give anesthesia) and you’ll earn ~150k/yr for ~40hr/week.

These are guaranteed jobs for life with great pay for the # hrs/week. A lot of these people work 3 -12hr shifts/week for >$100k. If you want to work more, you earn more, simple as that. They will also be in much higher demand in the future (and they are already in huge demand) since they can do a lot of things MDs but for less money.

PA – 4 yr bachelor’s degree, 3 yr PA school – you will have debt. You will also have a job for life where the more hours you work, the more money you earn. Med school you’ll make more money, but that’s a whole other discussion…

CRNA – I’m not too familiar with the pathway. They can top out at ~$200k from what I’ve heard.[/quote]

FNP-- Is a family nurse practitioner masters level nurse, pay is according to what speciality you go into and what part of the country. = to a PA (I am one so I know)

Ratchet · October 4, 2011, 4:11pm

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:

[quote]Ratchet wrote:

[quote]waldo21212 wrote:
If you are trying to minimize the cost of college, .[/quote]

if you dont know what you want to do before going, get an associates from a community college. its cheap, lets you get the BS classes out the way and gives you time to figure life out…

Also, dont forget technical degrees like auto / plumbing. Master mechanics make more then most people with bachelors degrees and only need 2 years of class.[/quote]

This is what I’ve been doing.

Ideally, I will become a mechanical engineer, but currently a few credits away from an AAS in welding technology. Having become employed a few weeks ago is going to make it a little harder, but I’ve been doing a bit by bit thing and it is starting to add up.
[/quote]

If i could do it over again, instead of the phd in materials science and metallurgy Id have gone after a master tech for automotive repair, they will make the same money and only need 2 years of school and time on the job versus the 10-11 years of school i’ll have when i am done… only hope for me is to shoot for a dean / provost position at a school eventually as they make a lot more…

Iron_Dwarf · October 4, 2011, 4:13pm

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

I totally went to school for what was a childhood passion/hobby.[/quote]

I love hearing this from people. It’s a shame so many kids are pushed away from such “nonsensical dreams” to pursue a “practical” career.

overstand · October 4, 2011, 4:44pm

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

I totally went to school for what was a childhood passion/hobby.[/quote]

I love hearing this from people. It’s a shame so many kids are pushed away from such “nonsensical dreams” to pursue a “practical” career.
[/quote]

Let’s be real here, you are the exception, not the rule. All power to you for what you’ve accomplished in your field, but advising someone to pick a bunk degree because 1 out 1000 actually make it is not sound advice.

Derek542 · October 4, 2011, 4:56pm

[quote]overstand wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

I totally went to school for what was a childhood passion/hobby.[/quote]

I love hearing this from people. It’s a shame so many kids are pushed away from such “nonsensical dreams” to pursue a “practical” career.
[/quote]

Let’s be real here, you are the exception, not the rule. All power to you for what you’ve accomplished in your field, but advising someone to pick a bunk degree because 1 out 1000 actually make it is not sound advice. [/quote]

Same could be said for Physical Therapy or Med school.

lewhitehurst · October 4, 2011, 5:17pm

[quote]overstand wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

I totally went to school for what was a childhood passion/hobby.[/quote]

I love hearing this from people. It’s a shame so many kids are pushed away from such “nonsensical dreams” to pursue a “practical” career.
[/quote]

Let’s be real here, you are the exception, not the rule. All power to you for what you’ve accomplished in your field, but advising someone to pick a bunk degree because 1 out 1000 actually make it is not sound advice. [/quote]

Let’s flip your bullshit reasoning. How do you know that the one who chooses that different path isn’t the one who is the “exception”? IMO, it’s much more important to be happy and fulfilled than to worry about what the majority of uninspired, non-dreaming “practical” people say because they have stacked the odds in their favor of not being exceptional because they have accepted being average. Average people don’t impact the world and make things better for others. Exceptional people do. My 7 year old has already decided he wants to be a film director when he grows up and you can believe I am going to make DAMN sure I support and encourage him every step of the way in any way that I can.

SteelyD · October 4, 2011, 5:30pm

[quote]overstand wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

I totally went to school for what was a childhood passion/hobby.[/quote]

I love hearing this from people. It’s a shame so many kids are pushed away from such “nonsensical dreams” to pursue a “practical” career.
[/quote]

Let’s be real here, you are the exception, not the rule. All power to you for what you’ve accomplished in your field, but advising someone to pick a bunk degree because 1 out 1000 actually make it is not sound advice. [/quote]

No, not really. Engineering majors generally enjoy problems/puzzles involving numbers. Computer Science majors generally enjoy…computers (and technology). Science majors generally enjoy…you guessed it-- SCIENCE.

Of course, there are exceptions. History buffs may major in History. They’re likely to become teachers. Nothing wrong with that. Anthropologists are actually in demand (relative term) in business/marketing analysis circles (or behind the counter at Starbucks).

I collected rocks and fossils and maps as a kid (and generally a science geek). I gravitated toward Land Surveying (pre and during college)-- making maps professionally.

Majored in Geology. Guess what I did? Looked at rocks and fossils and made maps – and did “science” in the form of biology (vertebrate/invertebrate anatomy, anatomical analogs, environments, etc), physics (electrical, seismic, mechanics, etc), chemistry (organic for petrochem and inorganic for rock/water geochemistry), and on and on.

I graduated and never looked at a rock again. Why? Because during that time I was forced to teach myself to write computer programs to do the analyses I needed to do (same while land surveying).

So, by majoring in something I had a passion for, I applied myself out of sheer enjoyment and curiosity for the subject matter. In doing so, I set myself up to move into a tangentially related field and make a pretty damn good living.

I could have very easily gone to work for Exxon as a geomorphologist/geophysicist at the time (Exxon (pre-Mobile) financed my thesis). I’d probably be making more money, but I’m not really a ‘corporate guy’.

I started out taking classes in Business/Finance. While I’d probably be a lot wealthier right now, I’d probably be miserable.

Follow your interests, but have a plan. Ask I.D.-- if you’re going to major in Art, fucking do art. Make money doing art. If you’re going to major in Music, fucking get paid to make music.

Know what you’re getting into and why. If you have to ask yourself “why did I pick this major” then you’ve picked the wrong major.

SteelyD · October 4, 2011, 5:34pm

[quote]lewhitehurst wrote:
Average people don’t impact the world and make things better for others. Exceptional people do. My 7 year old has already decided he wants to be a film director when he grows up and you can believe I am going to make DAMN sure I support and encourage him every step of the way in any way that I can. [/quote]

I have a 10 year old “Architect”. She’s been making elaborate palaces (no shit) out of toy blocks (thing lego) for years. I’ve got her set up with (kid oriented) graphics software and she draws out plans for her dream houses. She plays internet games where she designs rooms and makes her own games.

She always tells me how boring my job must be, but she’s got a notebook full of game storyboards that she’s made up!

You’re goddammed right I’m going to encourage her!!!

Now, when she was 5, she wanted to drive the garbage truck. I told her “I’ll buy you your first truck if you promise to be the best garbage truck driver you can be”. Deal.

Rodimus_Black · October 4, 2011, 5:34pm

[quote]lewhitehurst wrote:

[quote]overstand wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Don’t major in a hobby (music, weight training, art etc)

[/quote]

True. You might end up in a successful career illustrating features for MuscleMag.
[/quote]

I totally went to school for what was a childhood passion/hobby.[/quote]

I love hearing this from people. It’s a shame so many kids are pushed away from such “nonsensical dreams” to pursue a “practical” career.
[/quote]

Let’s be real here, you are the exception, not the rule. All power to you for what you’ve accomplished in your field, but advising someone to pick a bunk degree because 1 out 1000 actually make it is not sound advice. [/quote]

Let’s flip your bullshit reasoning. How do you know that the one who chooses that different path isn’t the one who is the “exception”? IMO, it’s much more important to be happy and fulfilled than to worry about what the majority of uninspired, non-dreaming “practical” people say because they have stacked the odds in their favor of not being exceptional because they have accepted being average. Average people don’t impact the world and make things better for others. Exceptional people do. My 7 year old has already decided he wants to be a film director when he grows up and you can believe I am going to make DAMN sure I support and encourage him every step of the way in any way that I can. [/quote]

Word. I will have wasted 15 years of my life in a job-field I damn sure hate, but everyone else thinks of as noble and a great career. I’m getting out to pursue a field(s) that I actually love and enjoy doing. Helping people/kids. No clue how things will turn out, but I’m pretty damned optimistic. Better than staying with the current gig.

Derek542 · October 4, 2011, 5:35pm