College students?

[x512dev]

Any other college students here? I know alot of us are around that age.

I'm starting my second year at Santa Fe College, which is a former community college (2-year) here in Gainesville, and I'm working on my AA degree and hoping to transfer to one of the universities here in Florida, preferably UF, although that's an increasingly hard school to get into or even transfer to. Failing that, UNF or UCF.

I'm majoring in Political Science. And to tell you the truth, I'm a little scared. I love politics and government, and international relations in particular. I was even in the Model UN organization in high school and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've just lately been getting a little scared reading some things that it's a useless degree, or that all non-science/engineering degrees are relatively useless unless you want to teach or go to law school. So I'm a little worried about what I'll do after I get my bachelors. I know there's some other jobs out there for political science majors, like campaign workers, or analysts, or foreign service officers, etc., but they're not terribly common and I'm not sure how flexible the degree is to other fields.

I haven't ruled out law school, although I don't really like the idea of being an attorney and never really wanted to be. Teaching I've considered before (and I actually want to do JET after university, but that's something else) and I would do it, although that ideally requires a master's degree to do it seems.

Funny thing is I was originally going to do computer science or engineering, as I've always been into technology, but I've never been a strong math student, and those degrees required HUGE amounts of advanced mathematics courses like analytical geometry and advanced calculus and the like. Thoroughly scared me off of it. I just don't think I could do it, or that I would thoroughly struggle through it. I wouldn't be opposed to be getting a couple of certs (MCSE, A+, etc.) to fall back on in case the politics things works though, but technology and programming has always been more of a hobby anyway (aside from, you know, anime).

I still do feel kinda like I let myself down or my parents by not trying it, even though I know it's not something I'm strong in, since it does sort of lead to a direct career after college. My parents were the ones who thought I should be an engineer or similar because they've known I've been into technology. So now I'm a little scared about what I'll do post-college. Like I said, I like the field of study I'm in now, I'm just a little nervous about employment prospects and such, being a "useless" liberal arts major, as so many people seem to say.

Ah well. I know it's a few years off anyway, but I'm the type of person that freaks out and worries a lot about uncertain things (and yet I'm spontaneous when it comes to the little things sometimes, weird) Anyone in a similar predicament?

So anyway, what's your major, what school are you at, and what career are you trying to get into (if you know)?

[Ascaloth]

Wow. I thought only Chinese or possibly Jewish people consider things the way you do.

I'll keep this short for the time being; I'm currently a 3rd-year Sociology major just embarking on a school term, and what little I'm gonna say is; employment prospects? F*** that. I'm pretty damn well going to do what I know I can be decently good at AND enjoy doing, instead of putting myself through hell attempting to study a topic I knew I never had any aptitude in. The fact that I've seen quite a few former Science/Engineering students who switched to the Arts because they suffered in vain in their former subjects merely supports my attitude to this.

And really, there's less cause for worry about job prospects in the liberal arts than people will have you believe. Take Political Science for example; it's not actually the case that such a degree can only lead you to jobs with a political or educational aspect. There are positions out there which could use a liberal arts degree perfectly fine, regardless of the major. Really, job prospects for liberal arts degrees are much wider than you'd think; the only thing is that they aren't as defined as say science, engineering or law degrees, thus they take a little more effort to justify to nosy, prospects-concerned elders.

[Samari]

Well I'm in my fifth year here at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. And honestly, I've learned a decent amount, but probably not as much as I could have. That is in part due to my own laziness at times and also being uneducated about certain things in college. I'm an Illustration major, so it's important that my skills become sharp one I leave school so I'll have a better chance at getting some kind of job. And I'm kind of on a strict time limit since I'm up to my neck in loans. I mean I could defer them for a couple of years, but I better have a decent job lined up then or I'll be in big trouble.

My two biggest things I would recommend for people that are just starting out with college is first and foremost don't be pressured into making any big decisions without doing EXTENSIVE research. That goes for things like loans, the college you are going to, or the major you want to pursue. Most people I've run into still aren't sure what they want to do several years into their college. Even if a person has been majoring in the same major for a few years...sometimes it seems like a lot of young people are sometimes at college just because they're "supposed" to be there. Because everyone says get the education, degree, etc. And that is all fine and dandy of course, but in my opinion sometimes young people are rushed/pressured into getting into the big name school just for the prestige, or some other dumb reason.

I mean I have a bunch of friends that have majored in certain fields, but how many are going to have a job lined up when they graduate? Those dudes that go to places like ITT Tech or DeVry University are more likely to get a decent paying job once they're out...since places like those are designed for that...getting people jobs and teaching people skills that are useful in the real world on a consistent basis. Not only that, but they save major money as well and aren't up their necks in loans.

And the second thing would be to reside as close to your college as possible. For the first three years I was not close to my college at all and I really missed out on the social scene. And I didn't have very many friends. Now that I've moved into the city things are a little harder money-wise, but the camaraderie is a huge bonus. And I learned to hang around the right people (students) that would really help me make the right decisions or where to go for help at school, who to talk to, and how to plan your goals. The fellow students have helped me out just as much as my teachers.

Oh yeah one last thing. If you are broke and are considering payments for your school, THINK VERY CAREFULLY. That goes for especially loans. During this terrible economy it's important to make all of the right choices. Know what you're doing. Research a lot. Talk to other people fairly close to your age that have had loans. Especially in your field of study. See how they've dealt with it. And try to take advantage of every grant and free money support you can find. There are tons out there.

[jonli]

I'm in college too

Graduating this year, gona find a job in this shitty economy

[Hs Vi Germania]

I'm at college (here in Germany: Gymnasium) too.

I am not really sure about the fact what I will do after this year.
Probably I go to university and study German studies, philology or linguistics or I will do a dual education (bank clerk or something like this) or I will directly enter the economy as business economist or something completely different.

I can't decide.

[x512dev]

Originally Posted by Hs Vi Germania

I'm at college (here in Germany: Gymnasium) too.

I am not really sure about the fact what I will do after this year.
Probably I go to university and study German studies, philology or linguistics or I will do a dual education (bank clerk or something like this) or I will directly enter the economy as business economist or something completely different.

I can't decide.

You want to enter the workforce as an economist without going to college first?
Here that's the sort of thing you need a degree for. It's becoming increasingly impossible to get a decent job without the right degree here in the US. Hence my career worries.

Ascaloth: Nice generalization, but I'm Italian. And don't get me wrong, I'm not primarily worried about money, I am doing something I enjoy and I'm interested in, but I'd like to be able to at least put a roof over my head and repay my loans when I get out of college. (a couple of trips to Japan wouldn't hurt either, lol)

[Chami-sensei]

I'll be going to university in a couple of months to do a mathematics course but don't really know what I'm going to do afterwards. My original plan was to accounting at uni but I got bored of it after doing it 2 years at A-level and found out I would need to do a bunch of other exams afterwards anyway so I dropped that idea. I do enjoy maths but I don't really know what options it opens afterwards and since I didn't do physics my options are more limited. I haven’t decided which aspect to focus on yet but I choose them over the course so it’s not that big a deal yet.

[Nosauz]

Studying for Mcats, junior math major, but yea overall im dying because i have very few extracurriculars. Man i better score 40+ on that stupid test.

[chikorita157]

I'm still in my Freshman year since I am still missing 3 credits, but after the fall semester ends, I will have enough credits to be a sophomore. Also, I transferred to a new university this semester and now attending Rutgers University as a accounting major, but as a result of transferring, my GPA pretty much reset.... I still have 4 more years of college to complete until I graduate... and afterwards, I'm planning to get my masters which will take another two more years.

Believe me, College is alot better than High School...

[Shii]

Originally Posted by Nosauz

Studying for Mcats, junior math major, but yea overall im dying because i have very few extracurriculars. Man i better score 40+ on that stupid test.

My friend aimed for MCATS and then his entire life became absorbed by it and he didnt have time to talk to me anymore

i'm a religion major.

[Theowne]

I'm going into my second year of a Computer Engineering degree. I guess I'm in a better position than some, but there are a ton of Comp Eng graduates these days, sometimes I wish I had gone for one with a smaller pool.

I enjoy other fields, like Japanese Studies or music, and could have potentially chosen any of them, but I chose this field for the reasons you stated, job security, etc.

[Neku]

I'm a second year Psychology student.
Haven't figured out what field I really want yet, but it's probably Social Psychology.

Anyone else taking Psychology or subjects related to Psychology too?

[Kylaran]

Originally Posted by x512dev

I still do feel kinda like I let myself down or my parents by not trying it, even though I know it's not something I'm strong in, since it does sort of lead to a direct career after college. My parents were the ones who thought I should be an engineer or similar because they've known I've been into technology. So now I'm a little scared about what I'll do post-college. Like I said, I like the field of study I'm in now, I'm just a little nervous about employment prospects and such, being a "useless" liberal arts major, as so many people seem to say.

You're starting your second year (same as me!), so you still have time to squeeze in a computer science class or two to really see how you like them and if they're the path for you. There's nothing wrong with staying an extra quarter before graduating.

I know at my school (University of California San Diego), they allow you to take summer courses and still graduate the spring before that summer on the assumption that you'll pass the summer courses. That's always an option if you're dead set on graduating on time. Or you can considering taking an extra class on quarter if you're not willing to graduate late.

Now, coming from someone with a double major in the overly general and often quite useless major of psychology, as well as an even more "useless" major in philosophy, I still think that making your college experience as good as it can be is the best way to go. Sticking with a major you may be unhappy or not do well in will further dampen your career opportunities (you may find yourself struggling to do just half as well as your classmates), and you're simply adding stress to your life if you aren't enjoying yourself by worrying too much about future job prospects. If you're into technology, give it a shot, but don't sweat it otherwise. A lot of jobs provide on-site training, much of which you can never learn at school, so the important thing is to show how your passion for your major gives employers just another reason to hire you. Let your major help define you; not the other way around.

[Edit]

I'm a second year Psychology student.
Haven't figured out what field I really want yet, but it's probably Social Psychology.

Anyone else taking Psychology or subjects related to Psychology too?

Nice to meet you. My emphasis so far has been in developmental psychology and psycholinguistics. Social psych is pretty cool though.

[Clarste]

I'm graduating this coming spring, philosophy major. Yeah, I've thought a lot about how "useless" this degree is, but from what I've heard from everyone I've talked to (including my parents) most jobs really don't care what your major was unless it's something extremely technical. And even for the technical stuff, most of it comes from post-graduate education (med school, law school etc). What's really important is just having good grades for whatever major you chose, which shows that you have the motivation to follow through on your commitments. No one actually expects college students to have any particular skills right after graduation, what's important is that you have the ability to learn well.

[Cipher]

Originally Posted by x512dev

Any other college students here? I know alot of us are around that age.
So anyway, what's your major, what school are you at, and what career are you trying to get into (if you know)?

I'm obviously just an annoying dumb little high schooler with no proper secondary education by virtue of my remissness. With clarification over, I appraise your choices.

I'm majoring in Political Science. And to tell you the truth, I'm a little scared. I love politics and government, and international relations in particular. I was even in the Model UN organization in high school and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've just lately been getting a little scared reading some things that it's a useless degree, or that all non-science/engineering degrees are relatively useless unless you want to teach or go to law school. So I'm a little worried about what I'll do after I get my bachelors. I know there's some other jobs out there for political science majors, like campaign workers, or analysts, or foreign service officers, etc., but they're not terribly common and I'm not sure how flexible the degree is to other fields. I haven't ruled out law school, although I don't really like the idea of being an attorney and never really wanted to be. Teaching I've considered before (and I actually want to do JET after university, but that's something else) and I would do it, although that ideally requires a master's degree to do it seems.

...if you could only experience every branch of education even once. Why don't you just take everything and get a really good stronghold of a foundation? Then once your influence and monetary issues are established, run! (politically that is )

Funny thing is I was originally going to do computer science or engineering, as I've always been into technology, but I've never been a strong math student, and those degrees required HUGE amounts of advanced mathematics courses like analytical geometry and advanced calculus and the like. Thoroughly scared me off of it. I just don't think I could do it, or that I would thoroughly struggle through it. I wouldn't be opposed to be getting a couple of certs (MCSE, A+, etc.) to fall back on in case the politics things works though, but technology and programming has always been more of a hobby anyway (aside from, you know, anime).

Here's my unqualified and meek advice: Become politically ambitious and help solve the people's issues. You don't how much gratifying of an experience that would be. I would rank it #1 out of all the jobs in the world.

I still do feel kinda like I let myself down or my parents by not trying it, even though I know it's not something I'm strong in, since it does sort of lead to a direct career after college. My parents were the ones who thought I should be an engineer or similar because they've known I've been into technology. So now I'm a little scared about what I'll do post-college. Like I said, I like the field of study I'm in now, I'm just a little nervous about employment prospects and such, being a "useless" liberal arts major, as so many people seem to say.

If you only you have all the time in the world. It doesn't really have anything with your current abilities or natural talents. Hardwork can cover almost anything...although there's the time issue.

Ah well. I know it's a few years off anyway, but I'm the type of person that freaks out and worries a lot about uncertain things (and yet I'm spontaneous when it comes to the little things sometimes, weird) Anyone in a similar predicament?

I'm directly that type's opposite. "There are no certain futures". "Each day is filled with mystery". Beliefs like those give me the constant "worry when you're there" effect. (thus, I'm lazy). Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading your 1 out of 6.0707b example

[SaintessHeart]

@ Ascaloth - Lovely. I couldn't even qualify for uni in the first place. I believe it is the elders' mindset that built this bloody dogma that ran our society today. The government pumps too much money into the sectors you mentioned, thus pushing the paradigm shift towards the aspect. Opportunities would be defined more clearly if the country isn't just a mere 700+ sq km and everyone is more concerned about life passion than just mere survivability.

Certification is more important than knowledge itself, you can be a top notch amateur scripter, but if you don't have a programming degree, you are nothing. The paper chase is seen by idealists to be actually useless, but to start without it in the working world is akin to traversing the Amazon without GPS or maps.

[Neku]

Originally Posted by Kylaran

Nice to meet you. My emphasis so far has been in developmental psychology and psycholinguistics. Social psych is pretty cool though.

Hey there. Nice meeting you too
Now, now. Psychology isn't useless (we're gonna dominate the world! ) and philosophy. I would've taken it if there weren't so many words.

I haven't ventured much into psycholinguistics yet, but pretty much got the basics of developmental psych. It's kinda fascinating that whether it's nature or nurture.. it's still your parent's fault. XD

I'll stop kidding around.
It's just nice to hear another majoring Psychology

Originally Posted by Cipher

I'm directly that type's opposite. "There are no certain futures". "Each day is filled with mystery". Beliefs like those give me the constant "worry when you're there" effect. (thus, I'm lazy). Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading your 1 out of 6.0707m example

Yes man.
Let's worry when we're there.

People tend to ask me questions about my future.
When I tell them "I have no idea", they go

Then I give them a lesson about how I'm a go with the flow kind of person. I know the thing about, if you don't plan, you plan to fail. But for me, if I don't plan, I don't fail, because even if I don't plan, it doesn't mean I can't focus on something.

Not sure if anyone catches my drift here, I confuse myself sometimes too.
But to me.. that's life. I wanna enjoy it instead of worrying about how my plan would or wouldn't work. What's important to me, is now because if now's not even okay, then my future will never be okay.

Thank you for reading.

[Cipher]

Not sure if anyone catches my drift here, I confuse myself sometimes too.
But to me.. that's life. I wanna enjoy it instead of worrying about how my plan would or wouldn't work. What's important to me, is now because if now's not even okay, then my future will never be okay.

Bravo. A tear jerking speech there. . I've learned something new. Thanks(written here coz it seems like I've already given you reps b4).

[Neku]

Originally Posted by Cipher

Bravo. A tear jerking speech there. . I've learned something new. Thanks(written here coz it seems like I've already given you reps b4).

Wow, thanks.. and yes. You certainly did.
Thank you again fer it. Didn't expect that surprise neg rep, and a positive rep back in one day

[Thingle]

Yeah I'm in my senior year at a well known liberal arts college majoring in Philosophy and HR stuff. Got into college at 16 now I'm 19 and still plan to go on further studies. It's true college is better than High School. In College, people are too mature for cliques and are articulate enough for meaningful discussion other than fads or gossip. At least here, creativity/out-of the box thinking is rewarded.