Best College Majors???

[acri1]

There's no right answer, but if you're already in college you need to start deciding what you want to do for a living.

It's one thing if it's your first or second semester, but by the end of your sophomore year you should have a pretty good idea of what you want to do after you graduate and choose your major appropriately. Gotta make a decision at some point.

 

[Dr. Acula]

You're better off majoring in whatever interest you regardless of its ranking among majors. In the long run for your sanity it will pay off. There is no worse feeling than being stuck doing a job you dislike simply because it's your best way to get paid and having to pay student loans in said field.

Listen to this man. In fact, this is the reason I went back to school. To get out of a job that I hated and made me fatter, more depressed, and a mild alcoholic.

Don't do it. Reconsider.

 

[Dr. Acula]

Engineering

Speaking as an engineer, if money is your priority, nah. I mean its good but if I only cared about the money, given the amount of studying, time, and torture to get through that degree program, I would have went into medicine instead.

If you're down for hardwork and just care about getting paid, if you can do engineering, then do medicine instead. Engineering is arguably harder than Medicine.

 

[TeenTitansGo]

The lower level stuff was a complete breeze. I never "studied" and completely aced it. The Upper division (biostats) was a bit more challenging but still doable without putting in too much strenuous work. Everyone learns and processes information differently though.

With math, when I got the juice, I got it. I'll dismantle a problem within seconds. With that said, I learned to be process driven with math. Meaning I enjoy the hurdles and the process of figuring the sequences of calculation out, rather then the getting the answer right.



I didn't know you were so young. The good thing is that you're still at a stage in your academic career, that if you got stuck on something, a lot of us here can help in some way. Once you get past linear alegbreh you're on your own though.


My advice would be not to get too comfortable at a CC. Get out of there asap, but go make sure to transfer to go to a state school(cheaper) or look for a full time scholarship. I'm sure there's quite a few scholarships out there for minority stem majors.

Just stay focused,persistent , and keep your grades up as best you can. Also learn to develop good study habits and routines early on.

Wow you sound like your just naturally mathematically inclined , I swear I hate ppl like yall lol. I can't do mental math at all, I need a sheet of paper to work it out first. Were you always like this??

I read that analytic skills like what you got are really valued among employers too.

Im trying to get my AA first then transfer to save money. My cc is pretty established and agreements with local state college so the credits do transfer. Thanks for all the advice man.
Im studying so hard because I never really learned any of this stuff in high school its sucks but its what it lol.

 

[TeenTitansGo]

Speaking as an engineer, if money is your priority, nah. I mean its good but if I only cared about the money, given the amount of studying, time, and torture to get through that degree program, I would have went into medicine instead.

If you're down for hardwork and just care about getting paid, if you can do engineering, then do medicine instead. Engineering is arguably harder than Medicine.

I was thinking about becoming a chemical engineer but Im in intro chem now and its hell lol. Plus I cant see myself doing Calc III and physics.

Which engineering did you major in?

 

[Dr. Acula]

I was thinking about becoming a chemical engineer but Im in intro chem now and its hell lol. Plus I cant see myself doing Calc III and physics.

Which engineering did you major in?

Computer Engineering which is like Comp Sci/Electrical engineering in one. Also Calc 3 is not too bad. Its actually easier than Calc 2 and physics isn't a big deal and I find it easier than chemistry. All you have to do is practice problem after problem and you can do it with relative ease. Read the material for physics for an understanding of the concepts, and then just practice problems over and over because any non-concept problems on tests and homework are usually just equation manipulations to find an unknown variable.

Usually with engineering, those are the easy classes. Its the Junior year, major specific classes that start to hurt. Signals and systems still gives me nightmares. Had to retake that class after failing it the first time and barely passed it the second. I really can't think of any class that stressed me out as much outside of some labs for my data structure class. I saw that class humble a lot of people and cause a few people to even switch majors. shyt had a pass rate of 1/3. I'm sure Chemical engineering has its own class that causes the same pain.

 

[TeenTitansGo]

@Jesus
Calc I-III? Which one out of those was the hardest for you?
I never end heard of Topology before omg.
Yall going to have pray for me man lol.


Wow really? I didn't even know coli brehs were connected like that lol.
Im in Texas.

 

[TeenTitansGo]

Computer Engineering which is like Comp Sci/Electrical engineering in one. Also Calc 3 is not too bad. Its actually easier than Calc 2 and physics isn't a big deal and I find it easier than chemistry. All you have to do is practice problem after problem and you can do it with relative ease. Read the material for physics for an understanding of the concepts, and then just practice problems over and over because any non-concept problems on tests and homework are usually just equation manipulations to find an unknown variable.

Usually with engineering, those are the easy classes. Its the Junior year, major specific classes that start to hurt. Signals and systems still gives me nightmares. Had to retake that class after failing it the first time and barely passed it the second. I really can't think of any class that stressed me out as much outside of some labs for my data structure class. I saw that class humble a lot of people and cause a few people to even switch majors. shyt had a pass rate of 1/3. I'm sure Chemical engineering has its own class that causes the same pain.

Yikes lol that sounds stressful as hell. I see what your saying.
Ill stick with the math major and see how that turns out.

What did you go back to school for? I keep hearing nursing but Im not interested being around blood and all that.

Engineering must have been really bad for you cause I know they make bank. Glad you made the right chose for your health tho despite the money.

 

[DrBanneker]

I co-sign what has been said here. If you are interested in certifications, one of the great things about being at school is your school library probably has the certification study books saving you a lot of $$$. If they don't, interlibrary loan is your friend. I studied a supply chain certification for free except for the tests by just borrowing a bunch of books via ILL and studying. Also, speaking of someone who has been in the work world for almost 20 years, you will NEVER have as much free time to study well on certs as you do in school. Take advantage of it.

As far as doing what you like as a major, I would advise a practical major (CS, engineering, applied math) with a second major or minor in another discipline you have fun. Getting a job is priority and the world is just getting tougher. I know mad English, History, Drama, and AA/womens studies majors who wished they had come out with more credentials for the job market even though they loved what they studied.

 

[Dr. Acula]

Yikes lol that sounds stressful as hell. I see what your saying.
Ill stick with the math major and see how that turns out.

What did you go back to school for? I keep hearing nursing but Im not interested being around blood and all that.

Engineering must have been really bad for you cause I know they make bank. Glad you made the right chose for your health tho despite the money.

Nah, I went back to school for engineering. I like my job. I was in IT before that and was in a managerial position before I left. That is the shyt that stressed me out. It was more the environment and people though. I will never be a manager I think anytime soon though because of that job.

Going to school for Engineering was stressful but as long as you an commit to staying on top of shyt you'll be fine. Don't ever think you're not too smart to do it. Just focus on dedicating your time and energy to it, because falling behind is what will get you more than just the difficulty of understanding the material. While folks are out drinking and partying, you will have to stay at home a lot of time and study and do homework.

I was just saying though, if money is all you care about, and it shouldnt be, then medicine would be a better investment of energy than engineering. The money is nice but you're not making doctors money lol.

By the way, I imagine, at least for me majoring in math would be harder lol. I imagine the tail end of that degree would have you doing a bunch of abstract and math theory shyt. I hated the little bit of that I was exposed to in my engineering courses. I can solve problems and plug and chug and manipulate equations all day. Asking me to write proofs and solve problems in a way that is simply not plugging a number in and working through an equation, I zoned out.

 

[TeenTitansGo]

Nah, I went back to school for engineering. I like my job. I was in IT before that and was in a managerial position before I left. That is the shyt that stressed me out. It was more the environment and people though. I will never be a manager I think anytime soon though because of that job.

Going to school for Engineering was stressful but as long as you an commit to staying on top of shyt you'll be fine. Don't ever think you're not too smart to do it. Just focus on dedicating your time and energy to it, because falling behind is what will get you more than just the difficulty of understanding the material. While folks are out drinking and partying, you will have to stay at home a lot of time and study and do homework.

I was just saying though, if money is all you care about, and it shouldnt be, then medicine would be a better investment of energy than engineering. The money is nice but you're not making doctors money lol.

By the way, I imagine, at least for me majoring in math would be harder lol. I imagine the tail end of that degree would have you doing a bunch of abstract and math theory shyt. I hated the little bit of that I was exposed to in my engineering courses. I can solve problems and plug and chug and manipulate equations all day. Asking me to write proofs and solve problems in a way that is simply not plugging a number in and working through an equation, I zoned out.

Was the manager position stressful due to you being black or was it the workload? I read on here that the higher up black ppl move up the corporate world more cut throat it is.

I'll keep my mind mind open about engineering. I just hate that Chem 1 and 2 is required for it lol.


And Are proofs like Topology or Calculus?
Idk that theorical stuff sounds too advanced.

 

[TeenTitansGo]

I co-sign what has been said here. If you are interested in certifications, one of the great things about being at school is your school library probably has the certification study books saving you a lot of $$$. If they don't, interlibrary loan is your friend. I studied a supply chain certification for free except for the tests by just borrowing a bunch of books via ILL and studying. Also, speaking of someone who has been in the work world for almost 20 years, you will NEVER have as much free time to study well on certs as you do in school. Take advantage of it.

As far as doing what you like as a major, I would advise a practical major (CS, engineering, applied math) with a second major or minor in another discipline you have fun. Getting a job is priority and the world is just getting tougher. I know mad English, History, Drama, and AA/womens studies majors who wished they had come out with more credentials for the job market even though they loved what they studied.

Thanks for all the advice!
Yeah I'm probably going to go for Applied Math or maybe engineering, with a Cs minor.

What type of Certificates would recommend or the most profitable? I have some free time so I might start looking into starting studying for them now like you suggested.

 

[DrBanneker]

What type of Certificates would recommend or the most profitable? I have some free time so I might start looking into starting studying for them now like you suggested.

Depends on what field do you want to work in. Is it IT? Doing programming, networking, cybersecurity, etc

 

[TeenTitansGo]

Depends on what field do you want to work in. Is it IT? Doing programming, networking, cybersecurity, etc

I was thinking of becoming a data scientist, Quant, Risk and Analyst or something in the fiance or Economics.

I would like to learn how to code as well. I heard employer value that skill. Anything to really help me stand out from the rest of the college graduates. People are saying it's hard to find a job especially if you don't have any experience so I'm just trying to to see what I can do to help myself.

 

[Dr. Acula]

Was the manager position stressful due to you being black or was it the workload? I read on here that the higher up black ppl move up the corporate world more cut throat it is.

I'll keep my mind mind open about engineering. I just hate that Chem 1 and 2 is required for it lol.


And Are proofs like Topology or Calculus?
Idk that theorical stuff sounds too advanced.

It was the workload and work environment. In fact I had a black direct manager who was a real smart guy, and outside of discussing work was great. At work and meetings, he was a hard ass though but not in an unfair way just that he really wanted to succeed and he yelled a lot about this fact if we weren't performing to his standards. I got yelled at for 30 minutes straight on a conference call once for example. The shyt was toxic in that regard. In addition, the environment was changing in a bad way. It was a bank, and like many industries, and even more so for a financial institution, profit and bottom lines are top priority and one way to increase a bottom line is to cut people and push previous workload on a smaller amount of people. The constant living on edge of either drawing the ire of my manager who was no doubt getting yelled at by his manager, and just not only myself mentally getting drained but seeing people quitting left and right or just becoming dejected encouraged me to get the fukk out of there asap. Add on top of all the pressure coming from the top, I also had to manage people below me who had their own sets of issues and were being equally stressed by being asked to do more and more. You'd think well I can forget all that when I get home and decompress but we all had blackberrys so the work never stopped .

As far as proofs, I'm not familiar with what topology might be. Is that dealing with like graphs and sets and stuff? If it is, then yeah there might be a little bit of proof based stuff in that but not too difficult very manageable and understandable. Calc, not really. When you take Linear Algebra and in my major, the signals course I was talking about, then yeah you'll see a lot more of that. It makes you think of math in a new way which can be challenging. It's not just solving problems anymore. You have to show why an equation works. Not enough to just know the equation and plug values in.

Like I said, if you have at least confidence you're relatively smart, you can't worry about shyt being too difficult. Just focus on what in front of you and just stay on top of studying and work and you'll be fine. I would say the greatest obstacle for a lot of people for maybe not living up to their potential is thinking they can't do something, and therefore either create a self-fulfilling prophecy in how the approach challenges or don't even try. Got to put all those "that sounds hard" thoughts in the back of your mind and just grind.