How, Why Did You Choose Your College Major?


Bartram

Bartram

Brand HBCUbian
Because it's always what you wanted to be?

For the money?

Family pressure/suggestions?

Seems easy to get you through college while having the time of your life?

Was not really sure going into college and just got into it and liked it?



And for those of you who are out of college and working, are you directly in the field you majored in and involved directly in what you went to school for? Are you enjoying it or are you going to make a career change to something you have always wanted to do?

Lastly, would you VOLUNTEER in the major that you are in if their were no paying jobs available between jobs until you could get one; totally on your own time and at your own expense?

:)
 
I majored in Criminal Justice. It's always what I wanted to do.

I am working directly in that field now. I am enjoying it. I would do it volunteerily in between jobs if need be. I do plenty of it volunteerily when I'm not on the clock too. Somebody always calls or stops me to talk about their baby cousin's stepsister's Dad's third cousin on their Momma's side.

I always advise young adults to get a degree in something you would do for free and would actually look forward to doing everyday without being forced to.
 

I basically needed one class to become a full time student. I went
to the registration table and decided to take Intro to Sociology. The instructor was an attorney and an officer of the court and that impressed me. The way that the class was taught made me think and I looked in the catalog and was interested in the classes in the major, so I majored in Sociology with the intent of going into law enforcement. Things happened after I graduated ffrom college that prevented me from working in law enforcement, but I work in Social Services and the direction that I will go in is broad
SU don't know?
Click to expand...
 
I did research on the job market and the way the technology field was moving. I thought the computer field was innovative.
 
I majored in Electrical Engineering because I knew it would pay me. I also learned that I had the aptitude, so why not. Also, it opens doors to various other fields and careers.

If I were to go with my heart, I would be a musician or a teacher. When money no longer matters, I will probably get the opportunity to realize the teacher in me.
 
Originally posted by JagsPride
I majored in Electrical Engineering because I knew it would pay me. I also learned that I had the aptitude, so why not. Also, it opens doors to various other fields and careers.

If I were to go with my heart, I would be a musician or a teacher. When money no longer matters, I will probably get the opportunity to realize the teacher in me.
Click to expand...

What JP said 1000%! I'm looking forward to the after career life (post corp) in terms of teaching. This is indeed one field that has many doors of opportunity associated w/ it. The advent of the computing/technical areas created that opportunity.
 
Originally posted by JagsPride

If I were to go with my heart, I would be a musician or a teacher. When money no longer matters, I will probably get the opportunity to realize the teacher in me.
Click to expand...
Originally posted by Panthro

! I'm looking forward to the after career life (post corp) in terms of teaching. This is indeed one field that has many doors of opportunity associated w/ it. The advent of the computing/technical areas created that opportunity.
Click to expand...
Teaching English is my post corporate career...
 
I chose my major, Electrical Engineering because I love math.
Plus my father reconstructed our house when I was in high school and I used to help him wire the circuitry for the lights, phone jacks, and plugs and I loved it!
When I researched the field I saw that EE allowed ventures in many diverse fields.
I also wanted to go into teaching at some point in my life when I'm tired of working in the corporate world and would like longer vacations and EE permits a migration into teaching mathematics.
 
I'm in the wrong profession.

When I was a kid I used to tinker with radios, TVs, the little 150-in-one electronics kit, CB radios (you youngsters probably wondering what a CB radio is:D ), walkie-talkies,, etc. The concensus was, "son, you need to be an engineer!". So I majored in electrical engineering.

WROOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!!! I absolutely would not do this crap for free under any circumstances. Work is an absolute chore and a psychological dread that hangs like a cloud starting Sunday morning. Besides, I despise math; that's why the major was so brewtal for me.

Now maybe I should have been a technician, but as far as electrical engineering goes, no.

If I would have followed my heart, I would have been a band director or I would have gotten degrees in urban/regional planning. NOW THAT i would do for free all day long! As far as technical majors, the only engineering I would even remotely do for free would be civil engineering. Other than that, Meteorology; I would research weather, be a storm chaser, etc for free all day long. Anything having to do with the outdoors like forestry or geology would be ok.

As someone said though, engineering (electrical) is an excellent springboard to other careers I would readily agree.
 
I chose chemistry. My mom reminds me that I always said (at an early age) that I wanted to a scientist, so I suppose science was always within me. I grew fond of engineering also, which is the reason I focused in materials science and engineering in grad school. Everything is made of materials, therefore I felt this could be a prosperous/versatile route. Currently, my job focuses on exactly what my major entails.

In the future, I would like to sit on my @$$.
 
I like what I do

I've been blessed to do what I do, but I wish I had majored in journalism and/or public relations. My major was marketing and I chose it because I knew I wanted to work in business and everything else (accounting, management, etc.) seemed boring. Because I'm a people person and I like meeting new people and creating things, marketing seemed a natural fit.

But, my love for sports was so overwhelming, that I deviated from my path just slightly. All of my jobs have been in sports publicity and I really wish I had listened to my mom and majored journalism because I've always loved to write. And, what did I end up doing? Getting jobs that required a writing background.
I wouldn't change my major though because my first job was in sports marketing and it was a blast.

Unfortunately, the public relations staff of any organization is always at the bottom of the totem pole and if you don't have the title of VP of Public or Corporate Affairs or Communications, you aren't really making the BIG $$$$. We're always the last know something, but we're the first ones people come to when there's a problem and they need to know what to say.

But, I would do what I do now for free because a job in sports is cooler than the other side of the pillow. But, I also like working with students, especially other black females, who aspire to have careers in sports. Deep down inside I enjoy helping people discover their potential and I remember what it was like not having any black or female role models who work in sports. With that said, I am continually reaching back and helping students with their resumes and providing them with the connections to meet other people who could hire them. The sports industry is a tough business and black folks need all the help we can get.
 
A confused mind...

Man, why did I have to run up on this topic....

(sigh)

Well, I'm kinda at a crossroads. See, it goes like this for me. Ever since I was a child, I've always had an interest in science. On my free time, I would always pull out my mom's biology textbooks from college and read through them. Even thoughout grade school and high school, I was always ahead of the rest in things like biology and some chemistry. Well, because I liked biology so much, I decided to go ahead and get a degree in it. But at the same time, I knew that I wanted much more education than that and to be comfortable financially. There are really no careers in biology (outside of academia) that pay above 40K unless you are a mad scientist. Well, I loved biology, but I didn't love it that much to the point that I wanted to be confined to a laboratory doing research 24/7. I wanted to work with people in the medical profession. My first choice was to become a physician, but I quickly realized that the money they made was not worth the time allocated to the profession. So, I did a little research and decided to become a pharmacist. So, here I am today, graduating in May with a doctorate in pharmacy. Sounds, decent huh? Not really. Don't get me wrong, the pharmacy profession is gonna pay me rather well, but there is still something missing. There was a tug-of-war going on in my mind since I was about 5 years old. Presently, I have discovered that it isn't science that keeps me sane. It's music. I know..I know..call me crazy. I've always known in the back of my mind that music was my heart, but I was too afraid to step out and go for it. In addition, I just didn't have the faith that I would succeed in that profession, and it didn't pay enough for me. I've always had the natural gift of singing, and I've been at it since age 5. People have always hinted that I should be in the music profession doing something, but I always brushed it off. I just didn't wanna hear it. Trust me, I do enjoy assisting people with alleviating their ailments, but I wouldn't volunteer most of my free time to that. However, if you say somethin' about sangin'....I'm right there whether it's for free or pay. I used to say...

Plan A - pharmacy
Plan B - biology
Plan C - music

But now..it's

Plan A - pharmacy (for now)
Plan B - music
Plan C - biology

I really should have gotten a degree in Music Performance (vocal emphasis). Strangely, I'm getting invitations as of now to form groups and sing back up for people. Also, people are asking me why haven't I considered pursuing a career in singing. Sad to say, I was more flattered to hear that than the fact that I'm about to be a successful pharmacist. I never thought I'd think this way, but growth and maturity has proven me wrong. It's not even about the money anymore. I just wanna love what I do to the fullest. In a couple years, I know I'm gonna be singing on the side of my pharmacy profession. I just love it too much to not use it.

I tell ya...life is somethin' else.
 
Long Story

Ok When I first started school, I was a Marketing Major. My family would tell me when I was a little girl that I could sell water to a drowning man( I talk fast ) so that was my ticket for 3 years then I had to sit out a year because my mother got sick, so while I was out I took a marketing intern with I HATEDDDDDDDDDDDDD. So I looked over my grades which were not that good and I checked out the classed that I really like and the greats I got in them and there was a pattern "A" in my afro-history classes and political sci classes... so when I got back into school I changed my major completely.....

From Marketing to a Double major in African-American Studies/Political Sci with focus on policy.

Now you may ask what plan on doing with that I want to be a professor
 
College the time to experiment, change.

Sexy~, that's what college is all about now that I look back on it. This is it. You are establishing the early part of your life. You can still make changes on the fly with relatively little consequences that you can't control.

man Truthteller, you're killing me, YOU'RE KILLING ME!:emlaugh: I could have easily gone into music. meteorology is a big interest that I would do for free along with anything having to do with the outdoors/nature. Economic development/urban planning I would do for free. Any of those I know in my heart I should have gone into and I feel I would really be enjoying work. I just straight-up don't enjoy engineering. It's like FREAKING school to me! It is really "work" and I sure as lleh would not do it for free!:mad:

Jag-Tig, if you can stick to what you REALLY want to do, I honestly believe you will be better for it over the long haul. It's a worn out cliche, but you gotta do what's best for you. That's easier said than done though. That's partly why I posed the original thread. I would suggest, in hine-sight, if at all possible, go with what you purely enjoy doing.
 

Man...

Another thing I had a passion for was Geography. I was always interested in maps. Sounds crazy, right? Hey, don't ask where that came from. I just was. That's all I know. I always read encyclopedias learning the capital to each state, the capital to each country, every country in each continent, their flags, population, ...you name it. I was on it. I know my parents were probably like....what kind of child is this? I was so obsessed with maps and population once that I wrote every county seat in the State of Mississippi. They all sent me maps. lol Hey, I know it's crazy, but I wanted to know about maps. I could have easily majored in Geography. I probably would have wanted to work with the Census people, since I'm so serious about people filling those things out. Or maybe I could have drawn maps like Rand McNally does and had my own atlas. I still do love maps.

I guess I just had to many things going on in my mind.
 
Well my story is like Truth's....

I never really knew what I wanted to be. All I knew is I wanted a job that would make some serious cash. And all my life people told me I was smart, and I should be a doctor. But math was always my best and favorite subject. Well my 1st semester of school I was a Comp Science major...did well in all the intro classes, but I was determined to be a doctor. So I jumped up, and chnged my major to biology. One problem......I lost interest in going into medicine. But it was the summer before my senior year and too late to try and change my major...so I just figured I would finsih w/ a bio degree and see what happens. But luckily I found the GSU Wildlife Biology Program. I grew up hunting, fishing, etc and this was a great fit for me. So I stayed in school a 5th year, worked for the wildlife program director and landed a job a few months after graduation. I absolutely love what I do, but the problem is that this isn't the most lucrative field. I know money isn't everything, but it is important, and that is why I am looking into making a career change. I have so much fun at work. I mean I have so many toys...4 wheeler, tractors, dodge 4X4, all terrain vehicles, bull dozers........and it is great learning how to drive all this stuff. But ultimatly the salary situation is going to drive me to another field.

I always think that maybe I should have stayed in Comp Sci.
 
Truth, I feel ya on that Geography tip. I'm the same way. I learned all the counties of Mississippi and the county seats on my own in about the fourth or fifth grade, so when I got into Junior High/High School and took Mississippi Studies, I had that subject down so good that I could have taught the class. LOL

My major here at Alcorn is Industrial Technology and I constantly wonder whether or not I made the correct decision about IT. I have always wanted a career in Science (probably Chemistry or Biology), but I completely psyched myself out of it. All I knew when I graduated high school is that I wanted to be a "Professional".

When I first got to Alcorn, I majored in Business Administration, but it didn't take long to realize that Business wasn't for me. So, I stood back and evaluated all my options here at Alcorn. After weeks of analyzing and thinking, I found Industrial Technology!

My father received his degree from Alcorn and majored in Industrial Arts, so I have been exposed to various concepts of IT all of my life. (The majority of IT is Construction and Manufacturing using computers and Robots) I have been going to work with him for as long as I can remember, so I know a little about it. Although Industrial Technology is much different than Industrial Arts, the concepts of it are still used.

Now I'm in my Junior year and I love IT, but I want to do more. I plan to go to Grad school, but the question is "What do I want to do now?!" There is so much to study. One of my advisors has even told me about a Masters Degree in Packaging at Indiana State University! So, that I my next goal...............to find out what and where to study for grad school.

So far, I have been formally introduced to Civil Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Atmospheric Science. I have so many schools in consideration, like Auburn (despite its problem, has an excellent College of Engineering), NCA&T, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and many more. But I my options are so open! I don't know which direction to go! I don't know what school! Its just a shame.........

But all I want to do is do something that I enjoy, get paid, and enjoy life... (but that's the American dream.......)
 
Truthteller, don't get me started on Geography, etc.

Let me tell you my friend, when I went to Tuskegee I thought I would never meet someone like me who knew ever county seat in Alabama, every river system in the state, all about the coal/iron ore/limestone and the steel industry that built Birmingham, the tallest mountain, the lowest point, the population of all the metro areas and many of the other primary population centers, kept up with all the new companies/high-rise buildings(such that they were at the time) in Birmingham/the state and the capitals of every state. One of my best friends to this day was exactly the same but he was an "expert" on Georgia. We hit it off and talk economic development, politics and geography to this day.

I love geography, economic development, demographics and meteorology. Anything having to do with the outdoors is my favorite. When I was a kid I used to beg Mom to slow down every time we came to a bridge/road construction. Had all the Tonka Toys and used to make small cities in the back yard with drainage systems (used tissue and napkin rolls as pipes) and cardboard boxes for buildings. would make bridges and everything.

How I got into electrical engineering,,,,, well,,,,, I thought because I also used to tinker with/repair relative's LAMPS (? now that I look back on it,,, GIVE ME A BREAK. :rolleyes:) radios, televisions, walkie-talkies and had a couple of them 120-n-1 electronics projects from Radio Shack,, heck, I should be an electrical engineer, so that's what I went into at Skegee, but man, let me tell you,,,,,,, no sooner than i got there for Preface in 82', I was getting BEAT DOWN, and been getting beat down every since. I have no idea how I got out of that crap. I literally hated it and still look upon it as "school",, something "dreadful" and agonizing,, not something fun that I love doing.:(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top