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What should I major in??

What should I major in?

  • Biomedical

    Votes: 18 40.0%
  • Criminal Justice

    Votes: 2 4.4%
  • Psychology

    Votes: 2 4.4%
  • Sociology

    Votes: 1 2.2%
  • Bacon

    Votes: 12 26.7%
  • Loco sucks

    Votes: 10 22.2%

  • Total voters
    45

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,836
8,436
Nowhere Man!
you're a murse
If it ends this dryspell. I'll be one all day long.... I do however have an aversion to poop. So I might have a problem following that career path. That and I want to have a couple of years sobriety in before I get the keys to the medicine cabinet. I just love Morphine and most opiates to the point of recklessness....
 

sneakysnake

Monkey
Apr 2, 2006
875
1
NC
Coming into school I picked the major that I most enjoyed doing. That has made my major classes a lot of fun, however with the end of that degree rapidly approaching I have recently discovered that I love emergency medicine. So once this degree is finished I'm hoping the hospital will hire me as a CNA. Yes, I'll be wiping ass, but the hospital will pay for my RN....I'll wipe ass for free school.


Really, the point of the blabbering about me is that you should do what makes you happy, also you've got to be able to earn a living that keeps beer in the fridge and toys in the garage.

I vote medicine.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
If you want to go into law, consider majoring in math or philosophy - those majors generally do quite well on the LSAT. Philosophy will also set you up quite well to go to medical school. For each, undergraduate isn't the most important thing, but you should choose your major carefully. You don't have to declare right away usually so you should be able to take a few classes and figure it out.
 

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
If you're into the chemistry side of science and are considering the medical field why not pharmacy? Not all of them side behind the counter at Walgreens. I have a friend who works right with docs and nurses at the hospital. He gets the medical job security, doesn't have to be called a murse but doesn't have to do all the residency crap the docs do (another 3-5 years depending on the field). It is a 4 year program after undergrad though so you're still looking at a lot of school.

Have you taken a few more chem classes beyond the basics? I went to WI and heard nightmares from the chem engineers about organic and physical chemistry, WI used it as a weed out course. This was from guys who thought regular chemistry was easy too.
 

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
If you're into the chemistry side of science and are considering the medical field why not pharmacy? Not all of them side behind the counter at Walgreens. I have a friend who works right with docs and nurses at the hospital. He gets the medical job security, doesn't have to be called a murse but doesn't have to do all the residency crap the docs do (another 3-5 years depending on the field). It is a 4 year program after undergrad though so you're still looking at a lot of school.

Have you taken a few more chem classes beyond the basics? I went to WI and heard nightmares from the chem engineers about organic and physical chemistry, WI used it as a weed out course. This was from guys who thought regular chemistry was easy too.

I thought O-Chem and P-Chem were easy. O is all visual. I heard it was a big weeder class, but I did really well in it. I think you literally do 5 calculations all semester. P-Chem was all math and boring as hell, but wasn't too bad.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,924
24,499
media blackout
I thought O-Chem and P-Chem were easy. O is all visual. I heard it was a big weeder class, but I did really well in it. I think you literally do 5 calculations all semester. P-Chem was all math and boring as hell, but wasn't too bad.
depends on the professor. o-chem kicked my ass. and it was VERY equation/calculation intensive
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
Toughest classes I've had to date:

Limnology (study of lakes): But really it's a physics of water class...much math and headscratching.

Experimental Design: SAS programming and learning how to apply it.

Genetics: Holy **** how did I get a B in there?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,072
5,983
borcester rhymes
If you're into the chemistry side of science and are considering the medical field why not pharmacy? Not all of them side behind the counter at Walgreens. I have a friend who works right with docs and nurses at the hospital. He gets the medical job security, doesn't have to be called a murse but doesn't have to do all the residency crap the docs do (another 3-5 years depending on the field). It is a 4 year program after undergrad though so you're still looking at a lot of school.

Have you taken a few more chem classes beyond the basics? I went to WI and heard nightmares from the chem engineers about organic and physical chemistry, WI used it as a weed out course. This was from guys who thought regular chemistry was easy too.
If I had to choose again, pharmacy would be a strong consideration. You get tons of money, don't have much in the way of job requirements, get all your schooling done in six years, and if you get bored as a counter rep you can get more intense in a hospital. I guess the actual job can be very boring, but honestly, all jobs get boring and a six figure paycheck a few years out of school is healthy.

If you're serious about nursing, I would look into the cost vs. benefits of going to college vs. just entering the field. From what I understand, the differences between with degree and without in that field are pretty low. Might be worth it to save yourself 100grand and just get er did if that's what you're feeling.

I have a bio BS and work in bio/pharmaceutical industries. I would also have considered something in the business side of things. Seems a lot easier and higher reward than actually having to use my noodle and figure hard things out.
 

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
depends on the professor. o-chem kicked my ass. and it was VERY equation/calculation intensive
I had a good Prof. He could be a real dick, but you knew exactly what he expected of you. If you went to class and payed attention, he covered all the important stuff and that is what he tested on. There was math and equations, but at the school I went to, more of the physics aspects of chemistry were covered in P where everything was calculus-based, which I hated. Second semester calc is probably the only class in my entire school career where I truly struggled. I hated it more than anything.

If I had to choose again, pharmacy would be a strong consideration. You get tons of money, don't have much in the way of job requirements, get all your schooling done in six years, and if you get bored as a counter rep you can get more intense in a hospital. I guess the actual job can be very boring, but honestly, all jobs get boring and a six figure paycheck a few years out of school is healthy.

If you're serious about nursing, I would look into the cost vs. benefits of going to college vs. just entering the field. From what I understand, the differences between with degree and without in that field are pretty low. Might be worth it to save yourself 100grand and just get er did if that's what you're feeling.

I have a bio BS and work in bio/pharmaceutical industries. I would also have considered something in the business side of things. Seems a lot easier and higher reward than actually having to use my noodle and figure hard things out.
'round these parts, you won't get a nursing job without a degree. I have some friends that are nurses and some that went to pharm school. Both are good paths, it just depends on the work/time you want to put in and what you want out. Pharm is definitely not on the exciting end of the scale.
 

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
kazlx said:
Second semester calc is probably the only class in my entire school career where I truly struggled. I hated it more than anything.
Everyone has their Achilles' heel. For me all calc classes were easy but I hated linear algebra. I always got anything larger than a 3x3 set of differential equations mixed up, I could never get the columns or rows right.
 

kazlx

Patches O'Houlihan
Aug 7, 2006
6,985
1,957
Tustin, CA
If you want to make a ridiculous amount of money go to Med School and specialize in plastic surgery. By the time you get done with residency there will be a huge demand for earlobe reconstruction. All the hipsters with giant plugs are going to be wishing they didn't have ears that looked like a geriatric porn stars nether region.
Of course there's always making women's dreams come true one boob job at a time too...

Everyone has their Achilles' heel. For me all calc classes were easy but I hated linear algebra. I always got anything larger than a 3x3 set of differential equations mixed up, I could never get the columns or rows right.
True dat. For me, if I started doing worse in a class, it was because it was boring. I hated calc. To me, it was (and still is) pointless and was just a requirement for my major and something I would never, ever use again.
 
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CrabJoe StretchPants

Reincarnated Crab Walking Head Spinning Bruce Dick
Nov 30, 2003
14,163
2,484
Groton, MA
Everyone has their Achilles' heel. For me all calc classes were easy but I hated linear algebra. I always got anything larger than a 3x3 set of differential equations mixed up, I could never get the columns or rows right.
:stupid: Linear algebra is the tool of the devil.
Good, glad I'm not the only one. I thought maybe I was retarded when I took it.
 

stumpjump

Monkey
Sep 14, 2007
673
0
DC
The only thing about pursuing a biomedical degree is that you are most likely going to have to take additional school after you get your bachelors degree. I got mine in Cell Biology and Molecular genetics and did very well but still didn't make the curve for medical school or pharmacy school. While I am employed right now (working in antibody research and production) I dont make that hot of a salary and would frankly rather do something else, but jobs are hard to come by because they get specialized really fast.

I would reccommend looking into engineering or if you want to do science chemical engineering. If you can get through O-chem and P-chem you will be just fine with really anything. If you are going to go science I would go for something healthcare related because thats where the money is and will remain for a while.
 

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
Good, glad I'm not the only one. I thought maybe I was retarded when I took it.
I worked with this other grad student (we are both engineers) who took a graduate level math class. I'll say I'm good at math, I can skip steps with calculus/diff equations. He was better, he skipped multiple steps; it almost looked like he was cheating because he did so much in his head. So he was showing me his homework from this math class. Wholly crap. He was having a hard time with some of it. Maybe its because engineers stop taking math at the differential equation/linear algebra level and this was kinda like jumping into the deep end but I'm not sure.

If you meet anyone with a PhD in math they must be a genius on default.
 

Al C. Oholic

Monkey
Feb 11, 2010
407
0
FoCo
take one of each and see which one you like
yup, don't even decide until after your freshman year. just get shlt like your basic math and english credits out of the way, and take a couple classes from each field. changing your major can be a pain in the a$$ and if you go balls deep in one and then change, there's a whole semester wasted on credit hours that won't get you anywhere anymore.
so just take a bit to think on it. i'm so glad i didn't declare one my freshman year.
 

sstalder5

Turbo Monkey
Aug 20, 2008
1,942
20
Beech Mtn Definitely NOT Boulder
yup, don't even decide until after your freshman year. just get shlt like your basic math and english credits out of the way, and take a couple classes from each field. changing your major can be a pain in the a$$ and if you go balls deep in one and then change, there's a whole semester wasted on credit hours that won't get you anywhere anymore.
so just take a bit to think on it. i'm so glad i didn't declare one my freshman year.
The thing is, I'm going into freshman year with a bunch of basic level credits from AP exams. So far I have basic psych, chem, history, and english and I should be getting another history and english and a bio this year. So that doesn't leave too many bs classes before I have to decide what I want to focus on.. I'm pretty sure a science degree would be my best bet, and it'll probably end up being something in biology. The AP chemistry class was a good introduction to higher level chem. I'm ok at the math and pretty good at O-chem. I actually have a pretty sturdy background in science compared to most high school students, I've taken just about every science class offered at my school except for physics.
 

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
^^^then take a physics class. If you've never had it you may like it.

Or take another chem class to work on a possible minor. Typical letters and science degrees at WI only required 30-40 credits in that specific area out of 120 or so to graduate, which is why lots of folks double majored. Kinda crazy compared to engineering or business that had 3-4 times that many required credits.

There were lots of engineers who added a math minor. It was only 2-3 more classes.

*But that depends on the school you're going to I suppose.
 
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gsweet

Monkey
Dec 20, 2001
733
4
Minnesota
Play around with the potentials at your school. Basically, if it sounds interesting, take it! Also, a lot of departments have some pretty sweet opportunities that you can take advantage of. For example, my geology department heavily subsidized winter break trips to all over the world to look at geology/biology/paleontology/etc. Those trips alone (along with really getting to know the profs) pretty much cemented my major...
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,611
7,263
Colorado
Biomedical - With the generation shift, healthcare tech will become more and more important. ALso, it's a skill that is transferable vs psych or soc which are a joke. I'd hire an engineer for almost anythign over a psych/soc major.
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
You don't need to know any numbers past ~6,000.
Zing! No, really though, I don't have to deal with numbers beyond, say, about three.

But I did have to take on math class in undergrad for my geography major (stats, so barely even math). I got an A on the first test and a D- on the second. WHOOPS. Really don't know how I took (let alone got As in) calculus in high school. I don't even know what calculus is.
 

sstalder5

Turbo Monkey
Aug 20, 2008
1,942
20
Beech Mtn Definitely NOT Boulder
Zing! No, really though, I don't have to deal with numbers beyond, say, about three.

But I did have to take on math class in undergrad for my geography major (stats, so barely even math). I got an A on the first test and a D- on the second. WHOOPS. Really don't know how I took (let alone got As in) calculus in high school. I don't even know what calculus is.
What exactly do people do with geography degrees? :confused:

My mom has one and shes a real estate agent...
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
I got an A on the first test and a D- on the second. WHOOPS. Really don't know how I took (let alone got As in) calculus in high school. I don't even know what calculus is.
I'm in the same boat. Got A's in High School calc, a 5 on the AP, and a C in college entry-level calc I was going to take to "brush up" on my math...
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
What exactly do people do with geography degrees? :confused:

My mom has one and shes a real estate agent...
Hell if I know. I got out of that racket so I could get some of that sweet sweet theology money.

Well, more seriously, there's probably no one definite career path especially seeing as it's a bit of a marginal(ized) discipline and programs vary. What people will do with the degree depends a lot on the type of geography program they were enrolled in. Since I had done some decent work in GIS and cartography, I probably would have gone in that direction if I pursued it.

A more general comment about the OP's question: of course you need to pick something you like in a field you can see yourself working in. But remember that it might actually not matter that much what your degree is in. Lots of companies are flexible in that department. Lots of people don't get/don't want jobs in their field. My dad went to school to be a civil engineer...did it for maybe 2 years or less before going somewhere else. None of his friends (all trained as various kinds of engineers) are doing what they went to school for, except in a loose sense.

Lots of people I know that are younger don't end up using their degrees in the sense that they end up getting the kind of job they thought their degrees would get them. My best friend from high school has a degree in mechanical engineering but now works as a consultant for company that installs radio/tv broadcast equipment. Another friend was a civil engineer and is going back to school to be an elementary school teacher. My cousin got her law degree, passed the bar and now works as an administrator in a private school for kids with behavioral and developmental problems. Another cousin got a degree in CJ but makes a pretty good living working for Verizon.

Not saying majors aren't important (lots of people do work their whole lives in a single field, doing what they thought they would). But it's important to remember that you don't know what you like and what you can do until you do it in the real world.