Whatever you choose, choose what you like and NOT simply what you think will make the most cash right out of school. You'll find that fewer people than you would think end up with a career in a field that they studied in college. There are a large percentage that do, of course, but nearly as many don't. So many doors will be opened to you simply because you have a degree.
If you do business, go finance or accounting. Marketing, Management and Entrepreneurship are all careers you can do without a degree, or any real learned skills. Stay away from oil. I work in oil. It blows. No matter how much you think you'll triumphantly conquer the shark tank, and even if you do, they'll sell you for parts in a second. True in a lot of industries, but my father and I both have only worked in oil, and are very lucky to have had the careers we have. Law rocks. Even if you don't want go to law school, law careers abound, and if you find a good firm, practice, or corporation, and they like you, they usually take care of you.
Go with the area that interests you the most and is compatible with your "natural" aptitudes. Don't go into pre-med if you hate sick people. Don't go into engineering if you are terrible at math. Go with the flow.
Major or minor in Economics if you're going the business route. At A&M, Economics majors are sort of confined to west campus, separate from the Business majors over at Mays. With Economics, its a wider perspective of concepts taught in business. In particular, somebody with an Economics degree could get work in statistical analytics, market analysis, etc. If I could start college fresh, I'd major in Economics with a double minor in Computer Science and Business Administration.
I majored in Dramatic Writing at NYU, in a program that combined playwriting and screenwriting (I was studying playwriting), so that's not too far off. I also know a ton of people that were creative writing majors, including my girlfriend who went on to get her MFA in acting from Yale. She went to Pitt for undergrad but I know people that have been creative writing majors at Yale, Iowa and Houston - all great programs - and have talked with them each extensively about their experiences. Any questions?
Thanks! I am considering it because it seems like a major that would give me the opportunity to persue my dream career, and yet it is still very practical If I just need a job. I would like to get into film, video games or perhaps sports journalism at some point. Not quite sure yet, but I feel like my most natural skill is writing. At worst I can be an English teacher/basketball coach, right?
It's not typically the most lucrative of majors, but money can't buy you love. If you love doing it, I think you should give it serious consideration.
Take it personal experience from a slacker, bio isn't a major to **** around with and if you do **** around and get mediocre grades, the jobs available aren't as cool as other careers. IT, engineering, and accounting are solid majors that offer a solid stream of job ops, which some would consider the industries underemployed. How you use them is a different thing. Like this consulting job I stumbled on. Man if I was only 5 years younger I'd be living up the travel and drinking. I used to work at a video game company and to rise, you need to work a LOT and get upwards 20-40% less pay for similar type of work you do elsewhere. People are great and the experience is different. Nothing beats seeing your name in the credits though. Many start out at the bottom like me at the QA level while taking classes in design, art, or programming. Then again, there were people in their 30s still doing manual QA work. The better paying "services" industries like assistant physician, lab tech, or resident nurse will also offer a good and cushy living while not requiring a hardcore physical science degree. I would jump on that asap before the washouts get word of it and start filling up supply. I'd assume our baseline workforce can meet up to the demands and challenges posed by those jobs, but maybe I'm being too optimistic.
i graduated with that. im homeless b/c i dont have a job and i need a mailing address in order to get a job. ive written some poems about being unemployed though. do you wanna read one? neither did dr. kroll but dr. whitbread loved my writing. seriously though. if ur motivated, then do editing and ur own writing or pursue a PhD and go into education (lots of time for writing). otherwise, i recommend not majoring in Creative Writing. spend ur time reading writers you like and formulate ur style from there.
Become a pharmacist. You get paid 100K, and it is not as hard as you think it will be. 5-6 years it takes I believe.
Accounting, Engineering, IT, or something Health care related. I would suggest engineering if you have analytical skills, its one career where if you graduate from a decent university you can be employed anywhere. Accounting is a career where you will probably always be employed but your career trajectory may be a flat line.
If you want to work in public policy, ideally economics then law (but law only if you can get into a top tier school, below that it isn't worth the cost). If you want to work in private enterprise, ideally engineering then MBA. From order of highest to lowest I recommend... Med Law (at a T-14 or first tier school) Econ (but i be biased on this one) Physics Engineering Finance Pure Math Actuarial Math Computer Science/IT Accounting Pure Sciences (but you're probably going to be in for a PHD) Maybe marketing? er...PoliSci? Yes, self-empowerment is great and all that, but I can tell you that private companies and public groups are often looking for analytical/mathematical people. Western society has a glut of liberal arts "thinkers", and not a particular demand for them either. If you want to have fun, and do your own thing, don't bother with my advice. Honestly though, that kind of person doesn't start this thread, so I guess I can say honestly and frankly, that if you want to be a well-rounded person who wants to be paid, look to the above. You can always take a minor in a Liberal Arts kind of deal. In my opinion, however, there's nothing in a Liberal Arts course that you can't learn at home by yourself, and certainly being taught by someone who got a PHD in the field and probably saw that the options were a) busboy at the local watering hole or b) professor, isn't great shakes either.
I wholeheartedly agree! The degree is the most important thing. That tells employers that you can set goals and follow through. The degree should be in some field that you care about. If you care about something, you'll investigate it further & gain more knowledge. The more knowledge and expierence you have the more you are able to do - for yourself & you're employer or both in the case of the self-employed. In the cases of those that wind up in fields they didn't degree in, they simply recognised an oppertunity and took advantage of it.
