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Help on a college major

P

phas3

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 5, 2008
1,131
22
hey guys, well this is my problem, for the past 3 years straight out of high school I've been in the Marine Corps...this coming september 09, my contract is done and my freedom is restored haha, and I'm planning to go to college using my gi bill and have my education paid 100%. I'm having trouble deciding what I want to major in, I'd like to make money and also enjoy my job. I was thinking Business Management, I'd like to run my own business one day like a bar or club. I do like studio arts, I am also thinking of making that my minor.

If you guys can just give me any type of advice with college and everything that would be great..I really don't know what I'm asking for here but I just dont want to go to college and spend all the time and effort and end up not liking a major i choose. I'd like to have some options of majors you think would work for me.

Something about me...I didn't take highschool seriously because I knew I was going into the military..now that's biting me in the ass cause I know my transcripts aren't exactly up to par. But I can safely say that if I am dedicated to something I can asure you that I can get straight As. I like to make money...yes I'm a money person who isnt. I hate math...maybe its because I haven't done it in 3 years. I like history, I hate anything with science and also like history.
 
If you honestly don't know and want to be creative go to a liberal arts university. There you can mess around in a lot of different fields and find something you like, or not. And don't worry about having no clue, no one does.

PS: Science at a university level is much more fulfilling than science at the high school level so don't discount it. You may like it.
 
I'd just go in with an open mind your first two years. If you like history, then double major in history and business, or just major in history and take on some internships.

Your best resource is the school you attend; you can speak to academic advisers and dept heads and have guidance on where a major can lead you, plus your school's career center can also help you in showing how your resume and experience are selling points to an employer, regardless of your choice of major.
 
Business and engineering are both really marketable degrees. Both give you direct path to making money if you choose not to continue past a bachelors degree. However, if you decide you don't like what you're doing after you're done, you can go on to law or medical school. You can't lose...
 
Study something that interests you would be my advice, something that you might be able to turn into a career; if you like what you are doing, you are more likely to stay the course. Conversely, I'd also suggest perhaps that you study what interests you at undergrad, and take something more vocational - maybe law - at postgrad level.

Cheers and good luck
 
After two posts suggesting law school, I have to chime in. Don't go to law school!

Law school is like a sex change operation. Don't go through with it unless you're completely sure.

I suggest studying business with a minor in history. Anything worth doing will have cr*pwork. If you go into a major believing it will be enjoyable, you'll become disappointed. You usually do things you don't enjoy 90% of the time to be able to do the enjoyable 10%.
 
If you want to run your own business, go get a liberal arts education.

Take the chance to broaden your horizons, if you run a business you won't have the time to do much else for ten-ish years (if it is successful).
 
do what's interesting, not what's practical

To echo ph0rk above, you don't need a business degree to run a successful business, you need a well-rounded education that teaches you to think critically and be creative. If you plan to go into business for yourself, it doesn't matter one tiny bit what your undergraduate degree is in. You get to hire yourself! Study whatever is interesting to you, what makes you happy.

I'm now a PhD student in Education after getting my Masters in Design after getting my BS in Computer Science. That's three different disciplines! because I'm not afraid to pursue what's interesting and be happy doing it.

You suggested studio arts right off the bat. That sounds like a latent passion/hobby hiding in there... You draw a lot? It sounds cliche but always follow things you are passionate about, i.e. the things that you do naturally because they come easily and you find intrinsic joy in them. Not the things you do because you think you're supposed to, because it's the practical thing.
 
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