Torn between choices

[SilverLight]

I am curently a Bio major but im switching to liberal arts with a history minor.

I love history and all parts of it and with the minor I could work at a national park like Gettysburg and that would be awesome for me. I also would love to work at a museum because I also love paleontolgy (study of dinosaurs and prehistoric life). I would love to do both but thats hard so what should I do?

 

[1ke]

I would love to do both but thats hard so what should I do?

You really think random people on the internet have the answer to the question of what you should do with your life?

I can recommend a book: What Does God Want? by Michael Scanlan, T.O.R.

 

[SilverLight]

You really think random people on the internet have the answer to the question of what you should do with your life?

I can recommend a book: What Does God Want? by Michael Scanlan, T.O.R.

I do not think they have the answer im just simply asking.

 

[Cat]

I am curently a Bio major but im switching to liberal arts with a history minor.

I love history and all parts of it and with the minor I could work at a national park like Gettysburg and that would be awesome for me. I also would love to work at a museum because I also love paleontolgy (study of dinosaurs and prehistoric life). I would love to do both but thats hard so what should I do?

I think that if you pursue this course of study, you will have a very difficult time finding a job that provides you with a living wage…

…unless you already have a connection to someone or some company through family or very close friends. Are your parents or other close relatives or friends museum or National park curators? Or are they on the Board of a museum or National Park? Do you have some other connection that might net you a real job in the fields that you are interested in (e.g., the main industry in your town is portraying history, e.g., Colonial Williamsburg).

If you can honestly answer yes to those questions, then go for the course of study that you are interested in, since you are assured of getting a good job when you are finished.

There is nothing wrong and much good in pursuing knowledge for the sheer sake of the pure knowledge.

But you also have to be practical.

If you do not have the connections, then you will, in all likelihood, not get a job in liberal arts, paleontology, history, etc., other than teaching.

So…unless you are from a wealthy family and you do not have to work for a living, you must provide yourself with the training that will acquire you a viable job earning a wage sufficient to support yourself and possibly other people if you ever have a family.

I don’t wish to sound harsh but I (and most others) do not wish to support you through our taxes because you made an impractical decision back when you were young. Please make a wise decision.

Here’s my take. If you’re wealthy, go for the liberal arts and history and paleontology and have fun and perhaps someday you’ll publish some great books, create excellent exhibits at museums, dig up some cool fossils, or produce a thought-provoking documentary for National Geographic.

But if you’re not wealthy, then FIRST go to a technical or trade school and get educated and licensed a in a good trade. There are plenty of trades with a shortage of qualified people; e.g., welding, dental hygiene, etc. Talk to a job counselor about this, and perhaps you can take one of the evaluations that will determine what trade you are best suited for.

After you learn your trade and start working and earning a wage, THEN you can pay your own way through college and earn your degrees in whatever subject interests you.

Good luck to you.

 

[taye]

Have you considered calling these places to find out if they have any volunteer opportunities available? It would give you a chance to try out these jobs and perhaps help make your decision. The worst that can come from it is that you decide that job isn’t for you. But at least then you’ll have volunteer experience to add to your resume.

 

[HouseArrest]

I should be more practical in that I am a mother of kids getting ready to go to college, but I am not. I do think it is wise to choose a major while keeping your eye on what is available job wise out of college. I tend to think, though, that if you have something that you really love to study, that you will be successful simply because of your interest. What is better, a half hearted biology m

 

[HouseArrest]

First of all, I don’t think a Biology major is in great demand right out of college. It’s not like you are changing from computer science where the jobs are plentiful.

Second of all, I think if you have found something you love to do, you should do it. There are so many college students who just don’t know what they want. They should pick the majors with great job prospects. I strongly believe that you will find a job if it is something you are going to put your whole heart and mind into.

That being said, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to double major, or at least minor, in something that will make you more marketable or for you to fall back on.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

First of all, I don’t think a Biology major is in great demand right out of college. It’s not like you are changing from computer science where the jobs are plentiful.

Second of all, I think if you have found something you love to do, you should do it. There are so many college students who just don’t know what they want. They should pick the majors with great job prospects. I strongly believe that you will find a job if it is something you are going to put your whole heart and mind into.

That being said, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to double major, or at least minor, in something that will make you more marketable or for you to fall back on.

You can put your whole heart and mind into a career you love, but if the jobs aren’t there, they aren’t there, period.

OP, if you decide to go liberal arts, go ahead and get your teaching certificate because you will need something to support yourself with. Liberal arts degrees abound behind the counter at Starbucks.

 

[chevalier]

Good luck whichever way you go. I’m one of the guys who are like you: different fields, not very compatible or consistent at first sight. Been through many interests, including your current ones, and I don’t work in the field I graduated in, at least not formally (while in reality the substantive connection is actually bigger than in most jobs formally belonging there). Don’t let the harsh reality bring you down but make sure you have the ability to obtain a job that pays at least at your minimal comfort level. The world needs dedicated people in all sorts of jobs, requiring various types of education, not everybody needs to overcrowd the standard “prestigious” fields that produce high unemployment rates. It’s sad how accountancy or law or medicine or engineering (well, not exactly sad about medicine getting respect, in fact the opposite of it, but you get my point) gets the respect but history or liberal arts does not.

 

[SilverLight]

Good luck whichever way you go. I’m one of the guys who are like you: different fields, not very compatible or consistent at first sight. Been through many interests, including your current ones, and I don’t work in the field I graduated in, at least not formally (while in reality the substantive connection is actually bigger than in most jobs formally belonging there). Don’t let the harsh reality bring you down but make sure you have the ability to obtain a job that pays at least at your minimal comfort level. The world needs dedicated people in all sorts of jobs, requiring various types of education, not everybody needs to overcrowd the standard “prestigious” fields that produce high unemployment rates. It’s sad how accountancy or law or medicine or engineering (well, not exactly sad about medicine getting respect, in fact the opposite of it, but you get my point) gets the respect but history or liberal arts does not.

Interesting but almost everyone who knows me can see me doing almost anything and I have already surpassed alot of things.

 

[chevalier]

Interesting but almost everyone who knows me can see me doing almost anything and I have already surpassed alot of things.

Unfortunately, we no longer have kings in need of all-round sound advisors.

 

[Em_in_FL]

I am curently a Bio major but im switching to liberal arts with a history minor.

I love history and all parts of it and with the minor I could work at a national park like Gettysburg and that would be awesome for me. I also would love to work at a museum because I also love paleontolgy (study of dinosaurs and prehistoric life). I would love to do both but thats hard so what should I do?

Find something you love and figure out a way to make money doing it.

In the choices you mentioned above you’re going to have a hard time making a decent salary without going “all the way”… ie, you probably want to plan on getting your PHD and becoming a college professor, which isn’t always a huge salary, but at least a decent one… and at least you’ll become an expert in your field of interest.

OR you could have a regular “job” and have fun on the side. I’ve known far too many bright people who decided to make other choices just for the sake of having a decent income to fund their “fun”… in other words, there’s nothing wrong with selling insurance to make some money and enjoying hobbies on the side.

Eh… but this is coming from an engineer… take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

[djforce888]

First of all I think you should do what you are most passionate about. Secondly, as a B.S. in history major myself I would say it is worth it and you will learn more in the big picture scheme of things. Compared to techie classes were you focus on a specific topic, history can cover any subject and the thought process it teaches is something our country needs more than producing masses of unimaginative STEM majors.

 

[SilverLight]

First of all I think you should do what you are most passionate about. Secondly, as a B.S. in history major myself I would say it is worth it and you will learn more in the big picture scheme of things. Compared to techie classes were you focus on a specific topic, history can cover any subject and the thought process it teaches is something our country needs more than producing masses of unimaginative STEM majors.

I agree

 

[hurting]

Find something you love and figure out a way to make money doing it.

In the choices you mentioned above you’re going to have a hard time making a decent salary without going “all the way”… ie, you probably want to plan on getting your PHD and becoming a college professor, which isn’t always a huge salary, but at least a decent one… and at least you’ll become an expert in your field of interest.

OR you could have a regular “job” and have fun on the side. I’ve known far too many bright people who decided to make other choices just for the sake of having a decent income to fund their “fun”… in other words, there’s nothing wrong with selling insurance to make some money and enjoying hobbies on the side.

Eh… but this is coming from an engineer… take my advice with a grain of salt.

Choose the second option. The market for tenure track faculty across the nation is glutted. Get a job that pays the bills and take up the other stuff on the side.

 

[HouseArrest]

You can put your whole heart and mind into a career you love, but if the jobs aren’t there, they aren’t there, period.

OP, if you decide to go liberal arts, go ahead and get your teaching certificate because you will need something to support yourself with. Liberal arts degrees abound behind the counter at Starbucks.

Yeah I know, I am impractical like that. And coming from an engineer, it’s hard to take.

I just think that if there are thousands of jobs in a field that you aren’t interested in, you can probably land one, and get by. But if there is one job in a field you are passionate about, you’ll get it. OR you’ll make it for yourself.

By the way, you can always add a practical second major. Teaching is a good choice. That way you’re covered so that you can still support yourself while working on the dream job.

I also know of a lot of people who had majors in which the jobs were scarce. They started working on the floor in department stores (better than nothing!) and because they had a 4 year degree, were able to move up.

 

[SilverLight]

Yeah I know, I am impractical like that. And coming from an engineer, it’s hard to take.

I just think that if there are thousands of jobs in a field that you aren’t interested in, you can probably land one, and get by. But if there is one job in a field you are passionate about, you’ll get it. OR you’ll make it for yourself.

By the way, you can always add a practical second major. Teaching is a good choice. That way you’re covered so that you can still support yourself while working on the dream job.

I also know of a lot of people who had majors in which the jobs were scarce. They started working on the floor in department stores (better than nothing!) and because they had a 4 year degree, were able to move up.

well psych is a good one to

 

[TheRealJuliane]

Yeah I know, I am impractical like that. And coming from an engineer, it’s hard to take.

I just think that if there are thousands of jobs in a field that you aren’t interested in, you can probably land one, and get by. But if there is one job in a field you are passionate about, you’ll get it. OR you’ll make it for yourself.

By the way, you can always add a practical second major. Teaching is a good choice. That way you’re covered so that you can still support yourself while working on the dream job.

I also know of a lot of people who had majors in which the jobs were scarce. They started working on the floor in department stores (better than nothing!) and because they had a 4 year degree, were able to move up.

Well from the perspective of a mom with one kid in college and one about to go in the fall, I do not want them getting the romantic idea that if they dream about something enough, they can make up a career…I want them to understand that maybe you don’t have to be doing your exact dream job when you come out of college…That you should get some SKILLS of some kind in college. That’s why we are telling our younger son, who is quite a good musician, that he doesn’t need a music degree - he can do his music on the side, and get his degree in something at least a little bit practical. He’s no engineer, but he has an interest in biology.

If I were a young person right now, I’d be sure that whatever major I picked, the department placement people could show me industries that would hire me right out of college. Isn’t that what the Occupy kids were protesting? That they had degrees yet couldn’t get a job?

 

[hurting]

Well from the perspective of a mom with one kid in college and one about to go in the fall, I do not want them getting the romantic idea that if they dream about something enough, they can make up a career…I want them to understand that maybe you don’t have to be doing your exact dream job when you come out of college…That you should get some SKILLS of some kind in college. That’s why we are telling our younger son, who is quite a good musician, that he doesn’t need a music degree - he can do his music on the side, and get his degree in something at least a little bit practical. He’s no engineer, but he has an interest in biology.

If I were a young person right now, I’d be sure that whatever major I picked, the department placement people could show me industries that would hire me right out of college. Isn’t that what the Occupy kids were protesting? That they had degrees yet couldn’t get a job?

This is excellent advice, especially considering the very high cost of choosing a college major that will result in little to no gain in marketable skills. There are plenty of ways to learn and develop personally that free a person from the need to study them at college. Yes, while it is true that employers do look to any degree as a signal that the potential employee has a decent work ethic, ability to stick to a plan, etc., some degrees are truly far more valuable than others.

 

[HouseArrest]

Well from the perspective of a mom with one kid in college and one about to go in the fall, I do not want them getting the romantic idea that if they dream about something enough, they can make up a career…I want them to understand that maybe you don’t have to be doing your exact dream job when you come out of college…That you should get some SKILLS of some kind in college. That’s why we are telling our younger son, who is quite a good musician, that he doesn’t need a music degree - he can do his music on the side, and get his degree in something at least a little bit practical. He’s no engineer, but he has an interest in biology.

If I were a young person right now, I’d be sure that whatever major I picked, the department placement people could show me industries that would hire me right out of college. Isn’t that what the Occupy kids were protesting? That they had degrees yet couldn’t get a job?

I would definitely encourage a student who wanted to pursue music to double major.

I think it also wise to talk to the student interested in music and determine if he/she is interested in a career in music or interested in becoming a pop star. A career in music is entirely possible. There are a lot of careers that can keep one close to music - it doesn’t need to be in performance. A student who is only interested in performing probably doesn’t really love music enough to pursue it.