I wonder, do they require engineering majors to be proficient in grammar and spelling these days?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Best and worst majors
- Thread starter dukebound85
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
They should. It is appalling how bad writing has gotten these days (this poster included).
They should. It is appalling how bad writing has gotten these days (this poster included).
But that would require taking some economically unproductive classes, such as English Composition -- and that would be irresponsible.
I was even worse. My University had the audacity to require not only English, but also wanted me to learn such horrible things such as Government and History! I could have taken the AP credit, but I chose to take all the classes anyway.
I can't believe I was so naive - thinking it might be nice to be educated, even if it didn't relate to my career. Sigh...what a waste of my time and money.
last i checked, forums are not a professional venue and therefore, i dont treat them as such
except there is such a thing as university core classes that one must take to graduate
my issue is not with certain majors as long as they are sure thats what they want to do and have a plan but rather kids who pick relatively unpractical degrees when all things considered even and pick said majors without giving any thought on plans after graduation and just go to college because all their friends are doing it
I've found that my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley to be along the lines of "a theory based education" v. "a hands-on vocational tech education" now being offered at most colleges and universities. I feel this has better prepared me to work with my Tribe and its governing body, by understanding Native American culture, traditions, spirituality, language and identity. I don't feel that this is attainable at a college or university with a smaller, less diverse faculty and student body. Money or debt incurred has never been an issue for me; I'm one of the fortunate individuals benefiting from Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal scholarships, grants and fellowships... IMHO
So your lack of basic grammar, punctuation, and poor spelling when posting here are deliberate?
I'm not picking on you, and I really don't want to turn this into a thread about grammar (we get those from time-to-time anyway). But in these threads, I do hear quite often that the rules of grammar and spelling can be ignored when posting to a forum. I've never understood the principle at work here. If you know how to write and spell, what purpose is served by turning off those skills when posting to a forum? Are we supposed to be impressed by your informality?
Who are you to judge? People find their ways in life by different methods and by different paths, and education is supposed to be part of that process. You are reminding me painfully of the amount of "major macho" I heard expressed in college, which generally took the form of boasts like, "I'm learning something useful here, what are you doing?" Sadly, many professors were on board with this sort of thinking -- some were happy to tell us that they were teaching the good stuff, but that they could not vouch for the other subjects.
another engineering undergrad. The best thing about engineering is that you can do pretty much anything when you graduate. One of the best thing about going to a prestigious school is not just the name on the degree but the alumni network.
Engineers just like every other group run the gamut in regards to personality, but there is a disproportionate amount of "boring people"; They are only "boring" when measured against more traditional societal views of "boring".
Obviously there is no best and worst major it really based on what you want to do.
The op on the other hand is clearly suffering from chemical engineer envy lol jk. I was mechanical before I switched to the obviously superior chemical engineering.
Engineers just like every other group run the gamut in regards to personality, but there is a disproportionate amount of "boring people"; They are only "boring" when measured against more traditional societal views of "boring".
Obviously there is no best and worst major it really based on what you want to do.
The op on the other hand is clearly suffering from chemical engineer envy
lol jk. I was mechanical before I switched to the obviously superior chemical engineering.
Still, you have to be careful not to take it too far. A lot of programs aren't very good because for all intents and purposes they've been turned into a dumping ground for underperforming students (education and business where the two majors at the school I attended that acted as such, you could probably throw in something like environmental science at other institutions). Basically, the programs don't challenge the higher achieving students because they're catering to the lower end students. Kind of like how you don't see many brilliant academics going to community colleges. So while I wouldn't use the line about learning something useful, I would use the line at least I'm learning. Pretending to learn, only to skip class and not care about what you're doing is a serious problem in some programs. If someone wants to go to a technical school and be the best at whatever trade they choose, at least they're learning. If someone wants to go to clown college and try to be the funniest person they can be at least they're learning.
You don't think education requires real skill and intellect?
The program itself may not be as intensive, but the job itself requires a host of very important skills that not everyone (or likely even a majority) has.
<snide sarcasm ahead>
Yes, we've definitely been paying too much attention to the environment lately.
This is what the OP was trying to get at partially as well, somehow implying that one major requires more intelligence compared to another.
We all have our own talents and none of us will ever find one thing as easy as another.
As a political science major, I don't have to do long calculations or design prototypes as an engineer would, but I certainly do have to write a great deal about topics that most of the engineers here would find absolutely boring.
If this is really how you feel, you have a vastly limited worldview and need to get your head out of the science and engineering world for a while.
That is so true. I see it in law school. The boredom kills first year students and people mistaken boredom for easiness. There is this one student who is an engineer who thinks because there is no math or science in law school, that it should be easy. He bombed the midterm. Law school tests require very short answers and all the engineering and math skills in the world won't help him, and it didn't in his case.
One of the more successful law student prototypes is the history student, notably due to their usually high tolerance for rote memorization. ie) What was the Teapot dome scandal? Who was involved? How much money was involved? When? Who was found liable? etc. But my study partner in law school graduated from one of the best history programs in the country and now he's struggling with law school.
Actually the best student we have has a very hard time with English since it's not her native language and nobody would have guessed. She didn't do that well in undergrad. I know about the same amount of rudimentary German as she does English, but I could never imagine myself doing well in law school in a German speaking country. But oddly enough, there is this lady from the same country as the top student, and with a graduate degree already, and she is struggling with law school.
Many people don't know what they are good at until they actually go into a major and see how they do, and sometimes not until they hit the job market in that field. I studied personnel mgt./business/labor & employment law for my undergrad and I was terrible in the field. You have to practically be a master telephone salesperson and I could picture advertising majors doing really well in the personnel/HR law field. If I have to write about collective bargaining or mediation, that's one thing for a good grade on a paper, but when I have to try and convince businesses to hire national guardsmen/women, then it's close to impossible.
Different programs for different people, thats why they exist. You are very lucky to have funding like that, I can only wish for that.
dukebound85 said:
Thats pure laziness right there, not a professional venue? So what, the least you can do is capitalize and punctuate somewhat properly. Its more about helping your fellow posters to more easily decipher whatever you are trying to say, not whether the venue is a professional one. I wonder how you treat your non-professional relationships. If you enjoy looking like you are a 16 year old that can't properly type or spell then keep doing what you're doing. Proper grammar, spelling, and typing can only make people take you more seriously. I hope you capitalize and punctuate in the non-professional venue of email. Hit that spelling and grammar check button, it only takes a second.
Now I don't claim to have proper spelling and grammar all the time, but at least I make and effort to.
Whoa quite a lot of judgment right there.
We must not forget that some people actually go to college not just to get a piece of paper that will land them a job, but to learn about such worthless and boring things as literature, philosophy, psychology, anthropology and history.
For some, being able to visualize our existence in the social-cultural context of human history is far more valuable than landing a $90k/yr cube-job right out of college. For others... it's all bullsht. You decide.
It's great that we have all majors out there. For instance, my favorite channel is the History Channel. Starting with the history majors, philosophy majors, architecture majors, forensics experts who may include medical doctors, and then you may need astronomy majors, sociology majors, psychology majors, and legal majors including criminal justice and the JD, and from that pool of talent, we get some of the hosts and experts on the show. Some may not have a degree and some may hold more than one graduate degree.
I love to read about the shows online so somebody had to be a web designer to make the pages. In order to keep their computers running, and most tv show productions have a few, you need programmers and computer technicians. Somebody has to finance the shows being made so there you have business majors. In order to film the shows, there need to be technicians in those fields, who I can imagine some may have an engineering degree and somebody who directs the show probably was a film major. There is advertising so there may be a marketing major.
Some shows include sensitive current topics, so the History Channel has to probably use lawyers and paralegals.
You can order material from the show in their fancy packages so they certainly employ or outsource top graphic designers. Art majors are employed throughout the process most likely from beginning to end.
So imagine any decently sized production and the many disciplines to make it all happen.
maybe a little judgmental sure
i guess ones background needs to be considered as well. for instance, i cant afford to just go to school for fun to learn about literature and such forth as my major. dont get me wrong, i took many classes in the majors i had classified "not as useful" as tech elects as i do find the topics interesting
however, im coming from a background where my family is not well off and needs financial assistance from my brothers and i so yes, i happen to place the thought of choosing a major that results in many job offers that pay well pretty high on the list of why i went to college. do i find engineering interesting, sure, but a large part of why i went into it was so i could land a job that pays well as that is why i went to college, to better market myself employment wise. trust me, its not fun being poor and having your parents asking you for substantial funds when i am getting further in debt myself with school loans lol. that was my motivating reason to doing well in school as i dont want to live paycheck to paycheck when i am older
many do not have the luxury to go to school to learn about theatre or photography as the job prospects simply dont compare to say buisness, science or engineering jobs upon graduation. do i find photography interesting? of course i think its great but i had to make a wise decision for myself and go into a field that is easier to find a job that pays well. wrong motivation? perhaps but i dont have the backing of relatives to take chances so to speak. i will say that i did enjoy my engineering classes topic wise so im grateful for that. this isnt to say i wont pursue photography as a hobby by any means but to base my career off that is too much of a risk
so yes, i may be judgmental about others choosing majors that i deem harder to find employment in after graduation as careless imo but i just speak from my perspective about why i went to college in the first place
and clearly from this thread, there are many others who have different backgrounds which enable them to view the purpose of college differently than i and hence why we have different opinions on the matter and i have come to respect that.
i mean afterall, if everyone became engineers or accountants, the job prospects would be alot harder to come by as dictated by supply and demand lol
The truth is, some majors are better than others. And I respect people who say, "do something you enjoy," but that doesn't have to be your job/career. Yes, you want a career that u enjoy, but it's not always the case. Given that, allow me to give you the low-down on what I feel are the good and lame majors, in general.
Lame: Communications, Psychology, Sports Medicine, English/Literature
Good: Engineering, Business, Bio, Mathematics
Lame: Communications, Psychology, Sports Medicine, English/Literature
Good: Engineering, Business, Bio, Mathematics
This isn't relevant to me as I'm English, but the arguing in this thread is hilarious. Usefulness surely has more to do with what you'd like to become in life. If you want to become a writer; chemistry or computer science isn't going to be useful.
It's usefulness is surely determined by its relevancy to the individual and their goals, so what's the problem?
It's usefulness is surely determined by its relevancy to the individual and their goals, so what's the problem?
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans to quote John Lennon quoting somebody else, but the concept is sound.
I went to college to get a bachelor's in business to take over my parent's business, the oldest from my home town. It was almost a certain guarantee that it would still be there. Oddly, I studied business at a largely agricultural college, the third largest in the world (California Polytechnic State University) and all everyone ever talked about was plants, soil, fertilizers, organic gardening, compost, insects, etc. I got so tired of all the gardening talk and especially when they started getting into organic chemistry and botany. I guess I could say I was judgmental towards them.
My family's business sold what was then referred to as "oriental" antiques and gifts, mostly from Japan. But what happened after that was totally unexpected. The Japanese rise in their economy boosted the yen threefold and suddenly, after more than 30 years, our family business had to shut their doors as profits started to dwindle.
I had no secure lifetime job as I was promised, so I became a gardener and landscaper. The very majors who annoyed me, the ornamental horticulture majors and agriculture majors, would be the very people I would be competing against for the next 20 years. I had a lot of theory in my head about running a business, but mostly on a corporate level and while Cal Poly, and subsequent business education elsewhere helped, it was not "practical". How I wished then that I had studied about plants, insects, and drip systems. The Cal Poly and UC Davis aggies hit the ground running while I had to learn what the heck nitrogen was and how it related to the soil and how soil related to plants in very dynamic ways. Get a soil science bachelor's from Cal Poly or UC Davis and you will absolutely have a recession proof skill while the person who studied electronic engineering and have their bachelors will find that their job got shipped off to some third world country who happen to have hundreds of thousands of Harvard, Yale, MIT, Duke, University of Texas, NYU, SUNY, CUNY, Cal State, Michigan, Oxford, University of Paris, University of Tokyo, Waseda University, Princeton, University of London, Cal Tech, University of California (pick your campus) and Cambridge grads ready to work in their native countries for $8 dollars an hour.
A recent survey somewhere has put Maths degrees (BSc, MMath) as the ones with the best career prospects (in the UK); above engineering and even medicine.
So I'm on to a winner.
So I'm on to a winner.
A recent survey somewhere has put Maths degrees (BSc, MMath) as the ones with the best career prospects (in the UK); above engineering and even medicine.
So I'm on to a winner.
Well, you are if you enjoy maths
I would guess SLO, SLO (San Luis Obispo for those non-californias wonder what on earth SLO stands for) is well known for its Agriculture and Engineering programs, where as Pomona isn't quite so well known. Plus I think 63 is in norcal, so I'd guess SLO. Either way they're both good schools.
My guess was the opposite. I thought Pomona was the one with Kellogg farms so they must have the agricultural goods. Doesn't matter though. I'm not even sure why I asked.