thanks :P

Some pre-college students tend to think in terms of employability and base it on bad assumptions. Most of these students have never looked inside the Occupational Outlook Handbook; essentially, their comfort in choosing, say, a business degree for employability is a false one.

I was exclusively talking about the people who go pre-med from an employability mindset.

Yes, a career in business can be challenging (and exciting). I hope I wasn't implying otherwise. A good friend of mine, who was a fellow physics major, went off to grad school in business. We talked about business (as big as the subject is) often, and I've given thought to going to a business school myself. :)

Double Post:
cool
Point me to where I claimed otherwise. There isn't a single field of study without students passionately pursuing it for the sake of their own knowledge and interest. Did you honestly get the opposite impression from my post?
People recommend lots of things.
I don't think that a business degree guarantees a job. But so many people do...
Yes I have seen those people. I'm confused at what you're trying to prove.
[/quote]There's so much more required of students to do then you know, just study.[/quote]
Nothing's really required of a student, except for money to attend the college.
Thanks, detective.
How enlightening. I didn't know that.
I know. :eyebrow:
I won't say that.
I wouldn't say quantum mechanics is a basic concept.

So you tried to prove to me that business is a difficult subject. Well, first, at most schools, it simply isn't. It can be challenging, especially if you do your part to load up on upper level courses and overload classes each semester. But at a typical American school, an undergraduate business degree is hardly difficult. On average, this is true, but I'm not making a generalization.
Actually, many students hate school. They go because they feel like they have to. They hate classes, they hate homework, etc.

Some students don't hate school, but they're hardly passionate about what they're learning. I have nothing against any of these people; they live how they want to.

And yes, some students, regardless of their concentration, are passionate about academics. I wasn't refering to people in this category in my original post.
Ok, wow... your generalization detector needs work.

I know a few students that go to college because they actually want to learn, but these are the students that major in things such as Women's Studies, African American Studies, Peace Study, etc. Frankly, if I could get a good job within my area of interest without a college degree I would never have went to college. As someone said earlier, a degree isn't the only thing you need in order to get hired.

In today's society, getting a job is a lot harder than it was back in earlier days. With outsourcing and technology--coupled with greedy billionaires looking to cut corners any way they can--it's only a matter of time before we start to suffer even greater bouts of McJobdom. There are doctorates who are having a horrible time trying to find a job. Supposedly, a Bachelor's Degree in today's society is like a high school degree about a decade or two ago.

Hahaha, wtf?????

Maybe some people, like me, absolutely love computer sciences in the way you love physics?

Seriously, dont' make assumption like that.

Reading comprehension 101:

EmmDoubleEw, do you fall into this category?
Notice how I started with "these people," refering to the people I described in the previous sentence. If you answered "yes" to the above question, then I'm talking about you. If you answered "no," then I'm not talking about you.

Obviously, you love computer science (as do I) and are pursuing it for reasons of interest and passion.

If you passed my reading comprehension 101 course, you should now be able to deduce that I wasn't saying all computer science majors go into computer science because it has a clear-cut career path. Rather, I was claiming that some students pick degrees such as business or computer science because they assume that a history/math/physics/art/music degree can't easily get them a good job. For people who think like that, this is probably the case. But creative and proactive people tend to rise above this aforementioned crowd and find their own ways to be successful in life.

Well you came off really arrogant on your first post, as if just because you're a physics major, you're living your life to the fullest, while other majors (engineering, computer science, business, doctors) don't. I originally thought you were trying to say that if employment was one of your reasons for picking your major, despite the fact that you have a passion for it, you were some phony or something.

I see where I misread your post.


But XSO, please do yourself a favor and don't become a business major if you know you're going to hate it. What you can do is take a general business class (though they tend to be very watered down and you won't learn much), and see if you like it or not.

Employment tends to be determined a lot on networking too. So if you have a vast network, you don't necessarily have to be a business student to land a good job. There are many non-business students who start up successful companies or end up as CEOs and such. So start networking. A reason why there are many business students besides the money is that it gives them flexibility the quickest. Business is a very broad category. Good business schools prepares its students so they can branch off into any industry they want like entertainment, sports, graphics design, etc.

As much as this thread has diverged from the original poster's intent, the more I read your posts (and journal) the more it seems to me like you enjoy photography etc. as a hobby. Think to yourself whether or not you like it enough as a major. As one prof put it, just because you like computers doesn't mean you should get into computer science. So just think to yourself if it's a hobby you like art as or if you think you've got what it takes. But anyway, don't worry too much; there will be career advisors or academic advisors that are much better suited to help you than this motley forum.

Humm...I've noticed that the photography is more of a hobby than anything else. >_> Although I still am undecided about the others as of yet.

Also I've been looking up the closest I'll get to the multi-faceted style of US education that I can get in UK education, that is Combined Honours. >_> I need to research that a bit more but if I could find some sort of magical media+film joint with design (product design/graphic design/that sort of stuff) with a marketing/advertising edge then that would be good.

Perhaps I could take a module of business in with the combined studies shit I dunno.

Also what do you mean by the networking thing? >_>

(also Fatt's latest journal entry also is quite uncanny if I say so myself)

Haha okay, my misunderstanding, but looking back I still see how your wording was a little ambiguous, considering I probably expand 2 calories an hour when I sit here and read posts.

When I write on forums I never reread, review, or edit, which I do extensively in other situations. So I have a bad habit of putting down my thoughts as quickly as possible...

So you're right... there's a tendency for ambiguity :(

I remember having this argument with my dad a lot. He wanted me to go to college to ensure a job in the future, I wanted to go to learn. But what I've realized is that both philosophies are highly significant.

The truth is, for me atleast, that I cannot do something which I am not happy with. I absolutely NEED a job/future career/profession that I like. I don't want to commit suicide when I realize work becomes a sacrifice everyday and I'm just waiting to get home and play video games.

You have to grow up, and live passionately through the circumstances... the circumstances that YOU choose. Love what you do, love what you major in. Don't let anything be a sacrifice from this point on. In HS I made a shitload of sacrifices, taking as many AP courses as I could, taking as many SATII's as I could. I basically maxed out in every subject just because I could, regardless of my interest [but admittedly, I like... everything. So it ALL was pretty interesting to me.]

BUT the SAD truth of the matter is, unless my major course in studies will lead me to a stable profession that ensures a decent salary [6 figure atleast...hopefully I don't seem too elitist] I will not choose it.

My school currently costs about $45k a year. My family is not very wealthy. That explains my dad's view because he IS paying for it. If I come out, regardless of my passions, with a job that offers little tangible benefits... it pretty much disproves the whole screening process theory. All that education that he "bought" for me goes to "nought."

I'm sorry, but it's the truth. And it is sad. Because I'm all for education = learning, but in this country... the United States, college costs are fucking horribly expensive, and I need to get paid.

Luckily, I want to be a doctor. And luckily, they get paid well.

Priority One is putting bread on the table.
Priority Two is following your passions.

There are a lot of things I enjoy that I keep as hobbies, not careers. I enjoy trumpet performance, had more than a few people ask me if I was going to be a music major. Could I have survived and gotten a degree? Yes. But would it have been in my best interests? No. Performance jobs don't exist, teaching jobs are harder and harder to get, and if I was thrown at music 24/7 I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much. Same with Photography - I love it, but it's a hobby, and only a hobby. I'll stick to my Engineering Degree for a career.

You just describe my dad's position in his career to almost a T. He hasn't killed himself yet, but I do worry about his sanity b/c of all the "fix rate" credit cards raising their rates even though the rates are suppose to be "fixed". It's legal to do that in Delaware, which is why many of the companies that promise the fixed rates are in Delaware.

I have to pay for my own education, so I need to find a major that allows me to have as many options as possible to get a career. Granted, the retarded counselors and Upward Bound people forgot to tell me that Liberal Arts degrees are worth almost crap, but I'm trying to get a Communication degree in hopes that I could have a wider spectrum of jobs to choose from if I can't get into anything media-related.

It's going to be tougher though since I won't be able to get a Masters until I can find a stable career since I can't afford to pay off the loans six months after college if I don't have a job (not even the payments if I'm an unemployed Master's student). Therefore, I think it's important to have a major you like, but make sure you can get a good career.