Undecided Major?

[blackdynamite]

Anybody like me? 20 yrs old and is really unsure of what path to take? I mean i just like to have fun, read, play basketball, and learn; but, for this career path im not sure yet, i mean i like economics and i know a degree will be more useful down the road. How did you guys choose your destined career? anybody like me still unsure?

 

[cj863]

Just gotta pick something and roll with it fam I'm 22 and I just figured out what I want to do
and even then I'm not truly sure if it's for me. You just have to seriously think about what it is that
you would be comfortable doing for many years. Shadowing a person with a job in your potential
field can do wonders too. Don't feel bad at all, plenty of people are in the same boat you're in.

 

[futuremd]

Anybody like me? 20 yrs old and is really unsure of what path to take? I mean i just like to have fun, read, play basketball, and learn; but, for this career path im not sure yet, i mean i like economics and i know a degree will be more useful down the road. How did you guys choose your destined career? anybody like me still unsure?

Sorry for all the edits

First of all, no one cares what your hobbies are. They care what you bring to the table as an employee. Harsh, but true. 

Don't like it? Start a business. *shrug* 

 You either work for yourself or for someone else.

You like Econ?  Consider double majoring in Math or Computer Science. Have you considered a joint major with your school's business school (if you have one)?. 

How did I choose? Well all I can tell people in school now is that the more time you waste, its on you. It doesn't bode well. Its real out here and jobs are hard to come by. They need people with skills that the general populace doesn't have and they need them now.

The more you can do to give yourself an edge in terms of SKILLS, the better you'll be. 

You know how to make annotated bibliographies, read books, and share your feelings? Wow. Go you. Thats not a skill.

Can you code? What exclusive software do you have experience with? What projects have you directly and significantly contributed to? Do you have experience interning in a real industry with real money and real and measurable consequences? Have you ever been in charge of something? 

No one cares about the clubs you belonged to if they didn't directly contribute to your professional development. 

And if you're not going to have any ECs your grades better be stellar. 

I usually recommend a STEM field because honestly unless you're going into a graduate school (WITH A PLAN) or professional school like medical or Law (which is looking like an increasingly bad investment for many mid-to-lower tier students) OR engineering, finance/accounting/consulting, teaching, or research jobs then you're gonna be out there floating for autonomy because you won't have any directly applicable skills. 

If you're going to do a STEM field in undergrad you NEED to pursue research AND internship opportunities. 

Theres a reason why people always get pissed at the (need 2 years experience) tab after graduation and you're stuck wondering how you're going to GET experience without having any. 

Are there jobs out there? Yes...if you consider the ones recent graduates think they're "overqualifed for"

Are there jobs out there that will let you use what you learned in your major? Probably not. Thats where your skills will come into play.

You won't get a "decent" job straight out of undergrad with a liberal arts bachelors degree. You just won't. If you're a chem major, suck it up and get the B.S., skip the B.A. If you REALLY love your degree in political science/anthropology/classics/english/womens studies then go to grad school. At least make yourself look like you have SOME sort of expertise in something. 

You're not really giving us a lot of info, but if you really want help TAKE HEED of the warning signs out here. Those doom and gloom stories are an understatement. 

School is a bubble from reality for most people. Don't get caught up in the university life without thinking about where you want to be and how you want to get there. 

I used to see how people get told "well you can wait until you're a sophomore etc"...I say thats BS. College shouldnt be taken lightly at all. Use it as a time to explore, but don't open your mind to the point where your brain falls out. Be smart about each class you take and each move you make. If its not pushing you towards your ultimate goal, drop it. 

What do I do? TL;DR: Research. 

 

[mojodmonky1]

Anybody like me? 20 yrs old and is really unsure of what path to take? I mean i just like to have fun, read, play basketball, and learn; but, for this career path im not sure yet, i mean i like economics and i know a degree will be more useful down the road. How did you guys choose your destined career? anybody like me still unsure?

First of all, no one cares what your hobbies are. They care what you bring to the table as an employee. Harsh, but true. 

Don't like it? Start a business. *shrug*   You either work for yourself or for someone else.

You like Econ?  Consider double majoring in Math or Computer Science. Have you considered a joint major with your school's business school (if you have one)?. 

How did I choose? Well all I can tell people in school now is that the more time you waste, its on you. It doesn't bode well. Its real out here and jobs are hard to come by. They need people with skills that the general populace doesn't have and they need them now.

The more you can do to give yourself an edge in terms of SKILLS, the better you'll be. 

I usually recommend a STEM field because honestly unless you're going into a graduate school (WITH A PLAN) or professional school like medical or Law (which is looking like an increasingly bad investment for many mid-to-lower tier students) OR engineering, finance/accounting/consulting, teaching, or research jobs then you're gonna be out there floating for autonomy because you won't have any directly applicable skills. 

Are there jobs out there? Yes...if you consider the ones recent graduates think they're "overqualifed for"


Are there jobs out there that will let you use what you learned in your major? Probably not. Thats where your skills will come into play.

You won't get a decent job with a liberal arts bachelors degree. You just won't. If you're a chem major, suck it up and get the B.S., skip the B.A. If you REALLY love your degree in political science/anthropology/classics/english/womens studies then go to grad school. At least make yourself look like you have SOME sort of expertise in something. 

You're not really giving us a lot of info, but if you really want help TAKE HEED of the warning signs out here. Those doom and gloom stories are an understatement. 

School is a bubble from reality for most people. Don't get caught up in the university life without thinking about where you want to be and how you want to get there. 

I used to see how people get told "well you can wait until you're a sophomore etc"...I say thats BS. College shouldnt be taken lightly at all. Use it as a time to explore, but don't open your mind to the point where your brain falls out. Be smart about each class you take and each move you make. If its not pushing you towards your ultimate goal, drop it. 

What do I do? TL;DR: Research. 

if people listened to this guy instead of being coddled, they would be better off for the future.

 

[bearclawd]

I'd pick something general and roll with it if you don't know what to major in.

 

[smurfysmurf821]

take a class of whatever major interest you and see what holds your interest...i changed my major like 3 times

 

[odog24]

i tell people im undecided because if i tell them my major theyll ask too many questions

 

[luckyp824]

Just look through the entire list of majors and see what seems appealing to you. Put the ones that made it down on a list, think about each one for a while, and cross them out 1 by 1. Then take classes on whatever it is, or just do it on your own time, then see if you still like it afterwards. I tried some environmental ****(dropped it after a week 

), creative writing(still like it but decided against it), and then settled on computer science.

 

[elcatfisho]

whatever it is that you want to pursue, ideally you should get some sort of experience in the field before committing to it as a career. i.e. internships, shadowing, volunteering.

you will also need to start researching on your own to figure out specifically what sort of services you would like to provide with the Economics degree. Skill set and expertise will make you stand out to employers.

 

[iallan]

Basing my reply assuming you're already a second or third year (by your age), you had already taken all of your general requirement classes AND you still don't know what field you want to get into, I would just pick a solid major that you can build a career in or at least one that you can leverage yourself with for higher education. (Yes, I realize that was one long *** run on sentence.) Personally, I would NOT choose a major in liberal arts or anything in marketing/writing/research/entertainment just because you can't really quantify your skills for employers to notice. Put "creativity" in your resume under skills and you get a . Everyone is creative/tech savvy in this day and age.

I'm a B.A. political science major turned B.S. business admin/accounting/auditing major, if it matters. I was a poli sci major because I wanted to become a lawyer, liked reading about philosophy, writing, researching, etc. but I woke up one day in the summer after my freshman year and realized a poli sci degree wasn't going to cover my lavish spending.