How do you choose what to study in college?

[davebarnes]

I was conceived in Troy, NY while my father was completing his engineering degree at RPI.
I have a BS and a MS in Engineering from RPI.
"DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME! DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME!"

I loved almost every class.

[dazeddude8]

Originally Posted by fellowjoe

Ideally, you should study what you truly love.

Reality? Most people either study whichever gives them the best job/money or follow the crowd just because they don't know what to do in life.

I personally study what I'm studying now because I'm intellectually interested in these classes. Though sometimes s*** happens when you are required to take courses to fulfill prerequisites that don't interest you at all.

I think college is similar to this. For most student the struggle will be between "doing what you love" and "doing what actually gets you a job"- the students I envy are the ones who where able to find a course of study, a mindset of thinking, a determination that incorporates doing what you love and still finding work.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by Cheektowaga_Chester

Whatever you do, don't major in English - or history - or sociology - or any other softology that won't get you a job.

Pick something that you can get a job with like engineering, nursing, business, STEM.

You can always play around with your "passions" on weekends and in the evenings.

People do have jobs who have degrees in English and in History. My degree is in History, and I've worked in advertising, film, and banking. Obviously people who work in history or english teach history or english, become professors, etc. Historians often learn other languages so you can work for the state department, do translation, etc.

I completely don't regret not studying engineer, I don't want to deal with sick people so medicine is out, and I am not just that interested in the hard sciences.

Study what you are interested in and what you are good at. In order to ADVANCE in a field and graduate, particularly at the top programs, you need to be far better than the average person at the subject.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by Scottay

You can get a job in those fields but you usually need a masters degree or PhD. I doubt there are any Archeologists, Museum Curators (History) that have just a bachelors.

English might be the exception. Lots of English majors end up as paralegals, journalists or writing proposals for large companies and I dont think you necessarily need a masters for those jobs.

A lot of people with history degrees also end up as paralegals, journalists, or writing proposals for big companies. But to work in museums, think tanks, NGOs, and in for various government agencies you'll often need a masters or a phd and/or foreign language skills.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by Scottay

You can get a job in those fields but you usually need a masters degree or PhD. I doubt there are any Archeologists, Museum Curators (History) that have just a bachelors.

English might be the exception. Lots of English majors end up as paralegals, journalists or writing proposals for large companies and I dont think you necessarily need a masters for those jobs.

Or a lot of people with bachelors degrees in History or English go to law school or MBA school. Among these graduates are our top politicians and CEOs.

[Linda_d]

Originally Posted by timberline742

A word of warning. I was a non people person that went into a natural resource science (think forestry, fisheries, zoology, etc). Every profession is a people profession. You're dealing with people all the time, even when you're out there bird banding, electroshocking, or doing a check up on an owl with a broken wing. I found that out the hard way

This is very true. I took a non-traditional route into IT, and a big plus for me getting started was that I could talk in front of a group in an era where social skills among computer nerds were limited and sometimes non-existent. That was almost 30 years ago, though, and today, IT professionals are expected to have people skills not just engineering/programming skills.

The good news is that people can improve their people skills if they work at it. With counseling and effort, people can even overcome their social anxiety problems to the point where they can function in many careers.

[zombocom]

Originally Posted by mallary

Do you take random classes until you find something you like? Or go after what makes the most $$$? It looks way to expensive to be aimless in school even if I plan on going to community college in 2014.'

I went after what I like - it was a disaster.

My recommendation is to double major.

Anecdotally, I got a B.A, my wife got a B.S - guess which one of us was getting job offers before even graduating?

[zombocom]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

Or a lot of people with bachelors degrees in History or English go to law school or MBA school. Among these graduates are our top politicians and CEOs.

Just remember that law school is a losing proposition these days for a great many law students. Those politicians and CEOs went to Stanford and Yale, not Cooley and Whittier.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by zombocom

Just remember that law school is a losing proposition these days for a great many law students. Those politicians and CEOs went to Stanford and Yale, not Cooley and Whittier.

Very true about law school. So its probably mainly worth it if you're going to go to the top law schools. The problem is when the economy collapsed there was a surplus of lawyers.

Make a Venn diagram.

- Things that pay a decent wage
- Things you like doing
- Things that have jobs in places you want to live
- Things you're good at

Pick whatever is in every ellipse.