Gaming World Forums
General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: datamanc3r on July 23, 2010, 07:53:53 am
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Have any of you decided to change your majors? If so, how? What criteria do you use to judge whether a major is good for you or not?
Lately I've been thinking that Electrical Engineering isn't right for me. I'm not innately good at memorizing this stuff, the subject matter seems dry, and I can't really see myself being happy with it 10 years down the line. It's in my capacity to do the work of course, and the material isn't hard, but it's become stressful. I don't feel like putting the effort in because the work isn't lively; I have more fun writing essays than slugging through a technical book. Still, I don't know whether I might like the material sometime later, after I've gotten a sufficient knowledge base in it. I may just have this uneasy feeling about it just because I don't have a good foundation in it yet. Anyway, I feel as if I have a responsibility to the sacrifices my family's made to get me to school to pick a job with good job security.
On the other hand, I've become interested in sociology. I think it would be really cool to compile pages of study on the feasibility of stuff like the Arizona law, or researching how to attack huge social problems like gender and racial stratification, lessening the harms of poverty, etc. This kind of work seems to be more meaningful and lively, and at the same time less stressful. I know the working conditions are worse (it's more office-y and bureaucratic, which I detest) and you make less money. But it seems to me that I would be GOOD at this. On top of that, I could double major with econ and capitalize on my math background. It would really would kick some ass to be in research...only, from what I've read it's preferable that you have a doctoral degree. At any rate, I can't tell if this is a case of the grass being greener on the other side, or if I'm genuinely interested in this.
What are your thoughts? Have you guys changed majors? What made you do it? How did you decide?
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one time i was a software engineering student
then i just went to honours computer science because the first one would have made me take psych classes....ew....
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isn't sociology armchair anthropology for future concerned parents
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2 years biology w/ pre-med focus -> 1 year architectural engineering -> entering second year of landscape architecture
the 1 year of architectural engineering was just to get into the university I'm in now, and I only took classes that could be used in the architecture curriculum. I did want to see if I was interested in engineering (nope) but I figured I'd be heading into architecture anyway. then I changed my mind and went with landscape architecture because nature rules and I think I'll actually be able to affect the world/environment in a positive way. also the LA major absorbed most of my biology classes.
the 2 years biology idk. I wanted to be a neurologist. I did well with the curriculum and everything, I just figured out I didn't want to spend all my time in a hospital or working or on call. I want free time and I want a family
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I changed the major of my degree, yeah, and it worked out PRETTY ADEQUATE!
I went from two years of LLB (Law) to a LITERATURE DEGREE! As you can imagine, the jobs came flooding in after that!!!!
Regardless, it was actually the best thing. If you feel something isn't for you, you're going to be pretty miserable doing it as a career. You should always follow your interests as you'll be much happier.
Or alternatively, you could scrap being a doctor and become a gardener like earlchip seems to have chosen to do (HO HO HO!)
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Juris I guess the best option is do something you think you can do automatically, without too much effort and that you don't think is boring. Bonus points if other people actually have trouble doing it (ie I think all those gender issues, social problems could just be resolved with a neutron bomb but you'd probably better at handling them), which means you're doing the right thing for you.
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the best option is do something you think you can do automatically, without too much effort and that you don't think is boring.
That is totally living the dream. Well done for summing up the IDEAL SITUATION! I couldn't have said it better.
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Last year I considered switching from Computer Science to Software Engineering and I was literally just about to do it but if I did I would lose about 15 of the credits I earned in high school and I would basically fall an entire year behind. Plus I didn't like a lot of the classes that they would make me take, so I decided to stay in Computer Science because I was planning on minoring in Software Engineering anyways.
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I began college undeclared, but I spent my first year taking computer science/math/required courses. By the end of freshman I realized I didn't want to do computer science as a career.... Sophomore year I realized I liked biology a lot, so it wasn't until then that I began to take bio/chem classes. I was basically a year behind everyone for the rest of my college life, but things eventually worked out. On the plus side, senior year when everyone else was taking stupid boring required intro classes, I was actually taking FUN classes.
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Electrical and Electronic Engineering is my Major. I failed a year because I got ill and went nuts at the same time. I changed university and managed to get on a lot better.
Basically, once you get past the maths, the first two years of pure grind you get to learn about some things that are pretty rewarding. To get anywhere you pretty much have to work all of the time and be really disciplined which is what I haven't done until just this year. For me to get a first class degree I'll have to get 81% in my next year of study. Fucking tall order.
When I failed my 2nd year I was gonna switch to something like Geography which would be very enjoyable but inevitably end up with me not finding a job at the end and i'd be doing a teaching qualification. I grew some nuts and I worked my arse off with the EEE degree and it eventually became a lot more rewarding. I can see myself becoming something great from this and as I mature I am generally more responsible and interested in the subject matter. My problem with it was some sort of transition-to-adulthood depression/apathy thing that came with living so far from home and not being able to socialise a great deal due to the course. The course I moved to is the same, just less than 2 hours from my parents and in an area which is local that I feel comfortable in.
We all have our own experiences but that's mine. I guess you gotta be patient with these things cause they take a while and you don't wanna do anything that you'll end up regretting.
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ed in majoring in bummerism
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on a slightly more serious note, I started college as a pre-med student, but have since switched to just a biology major and added a psychology major. As to what the hell I am going to do with it, or could actually do with it is sort of a mystery to me.
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hah biggles is kind of right.
you could look into cultural anthropology, i think generally there's better approaches in anthropology than sociology. from my understanding, it attempts to understand people and their way of life before outlining problems,crunchin nums, and drawing up plans.
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I changed majors a couple of times but I was in community college so it's ok :)
Hey i'm going to school for Anthropology!
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anthropology haahaha
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Have any of you decided to change your majors? If so, how? What criteria do you use to judge whether a major is good for you or not?
Lately I've been thinking that Electrical Engineering isn't right for me. I'm not innately good at memorizing this stuff, the subject matter seems dry, and I can't really see myself being happy with it 10 years down the line. It's in my capacity to do the work of course, and the material isn't hard, but it's become stressful. I don't feel like putting the effort in because the work isn't lively; I have more fun writing essays than slugging through a technical book. Still, I don't know whether I might like the material sometime later, after I've gotten a sufficient knowledge base in it. I may just have this uneasy feeling about it just because I don't have a good foundation in it yet. Anyway, I feel as if I have a responsibility to the sacrifices my family's made to get me to school to pick a job with good job security.
On the other hand, I've become interested in sociology. I think it would be really cool to compile pages of study on the feasibility of stuff like the Arizona law, or researching how to attack huge social problems like gender and racial stratification, lessening the harms of poverty, etc. This kind of work seems to be more meaningful and lively, and at the same time less stressful. I know the working conditions are worse (it's more office-y and bureaucratic, which I detest) and you make less money. But it seems to me that I would be GOOD at this. On top of that, I could double major with econ and capitalize on my math background. It would really would kick some ass to be in research...only, from what I've read it's preferable that you have a doctoral degree. At any rate, I can't tell if this is a case of the grass being greener on the other side, or if I'm genuinely interested in this.
What are your thoughts? Have you guys changed majors? What made you do it? How did you decide?
Stick with EE man, do a double major if you're really passionate about sociology. Being a social worker is the fucking dregs if you have any spark of hope in your soul of maybe affecting greater societal change, you'll be driven insane.... and that's assuming you can even find work in the field! Almost every social science undergrad major I know is working jobs they hate and have nothing to do with what they studied, the ones that were lucky enough to score jobs doing things like social work are pretty set in a stable career path but always have the most depressing stories.
I switched from an engineering course to environmental science, it was a massive mistake and something I'm paying for by returning to school in the fall(electrical engineering in fact).
If you really love sociology, go for it and don't look back, just be prepared for graduate school if you want to work a fulfilling job in the profession.
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Hey i'm going to school for Anthropology!
Good! From what I know of you I imagine you fitting right in and doing pretty well. Take it to the end and be some sort of wild professor after living with some tribe for half a decade in the amazon
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Good! From what I know of you I imagine you fitting right in and doing pretty well. Take it to the end and be some sort of wild professor after living with some tribe for half a decade in the amazon
Well my plan was to focus on Native North America but as of recently I've been thinking of focusing on China. Native North America and China are both to areas of the world I've always been really interested in and think they'd both be really interesting to study.
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Well my plan was to focus on Native North America but as of recently I've been thinking of focusing on China. Native North America and China are both to areas of the world I've always been really interested in and think they'd both be really interesting to study.
Those are probably the most depressing areas to focus on, at the same time the most interesting except for maybe some places in central asia. Native north americans is kind of a broken record at this point as far as antropology is concerned, but rural western china is probably your best bet on finding something that hasn't been written about a billion times by white people who care
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As if DC is an electrical engineering student too! This place is choc full of EE students now! I am pretty sure there was another member who said they were doing EE too but I can't remember who.
1 more year until I graduate :D
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Hah, guess we do have a lot of EE here.
Stick with EE man, do a double major if you're really passionate about sociology. Being a social worker is the fucking dregs if you have any spark of hope in your soul of maybe affecting greater societal change, you'll be driven insane.... and that's assuming you can even find work in the field! Almost every social science undergrad major I know is working jobs they hate and have nothing to do with what they studied, the ones that were lucky enough to score jobs doing things like social work are pretty set in a stable career path but always have the most depressing stories.
I switched from an engineering course to environmental science, it was a massive mistake and something I'm paying for by returning to school in the fall(electrical engineering in fact).
If you really love sociology, go for it and don't look back, just be prepared for graduate school if you want to work a fulfilling job in the profession.
Yeah...I actually looked into this a lot and from what I've read sociology pretty much leads to governmental work if you don't have a Ph.D.That's so damn depressing, too, because there are loads of things you could be doing with sociology, but the government is usually too incompetent to do any good in those areas. And that's ultimately a problem with the government's money management. Christ if they could have gotten rid of the pork barrel, reigned in those special interests, spent a hell of a lot more on education, and funded more scientific and social research, we would be doing a lot better now, and I definitely wouldn't mind going into governmental work. But nowadays job security is iffy. I guess I'd rather be doing EE than be stuck in the bureaucratic ladder being unable to do the things I set off to do. Maybe I could join a nonprofit or something. And I always wanted to do peace corps...
Yeah, I'ma stay the course for now. A friend of mine's dad is a researcher at UCSD for EE, and another friend of mine's dad works at Qualcomm. I can use those as launching points. In the meantime, next semester is going to be easy because I only have to take physics III and C/C++ programming (finished with my math classes for transfer woot!), so I'ma GET A JOB, save up for a car, and save up for dp on an apartment. But mostly, I'll take it easy. I took waay too many classes those last two semesters, which really screwed up my GPA. But I can swing by with a 3.3 if I ace these next two classes. Hopefully I'll transfer. Dear God, I hope I do.
My original plan was to go from EE into international patent or copyright law. It would kick ass to work for the UN and travel places, which is the only reason why I'd go into law -- otherwise, it reeks of paperwork and bureaucrats. Being able to travel is probably one of EE's saving graces if you're high up enough. Not to mention some measure of job security. Still. I can't help but think that I could be doing better.
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I switched from an engineering course to environmental science, it was a massive mistake and something I'm paying for by returning to school in the fall(electrical engineering in fact).
what didnt you like about enviormental science man? im kind of looking at that as an option as of now
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what didnt you like about enviormental science man? im kind of looking at that as an option as of now
:welp: it's like not-quite-a-science-major major. You'll get some chemistry, ecology, geology/hydrology, climatology, and whatnot but you won't come out of school with any sort of specialization that makes you valuable in the labor market.
I mean sure I can be a lab tech, work for Dept. of fish&wildlife or something, maybe move on to saftey&health/industrial hygiene but that's not what I want to do with my life.
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i know how you feel man i always thought that i would be interested in computer science and i finished my first year of college in may, but idk if i want to do computer science anymore... i've been interested in programming since before i joined gaming world. and i joined gw when i was 11. damn time flies. but yeah i really want a job where i travel to places and help people. like i guess i could do peace corps but what with a cs degree you know? i love computers but i like helping people who need it a lot more than making hello world show up on the screen haha
im thinking about anthropology because i took a cultural anthropology class my first semester and its by far my favorite class so far. i just dont know what i would do with an anthropology degree. hell i like studying plants and animals i was thinking about biology too. maybe being a nutritionist or something with that idk. and at the same time i want to join the fbi or a private investigation team to track identity theft and fraud. i even talked to this guy about it who told me if i went to school for it he would love to have me do an internship with forensic investigations. he was the head of that branch and i made him his lattes at starbucks!
ughhhhhhhhhhhh talking about it makes it worse
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Don't discard the idea of peace corps just yet. CS degrees do have the potential to do some good. There's a place in indonesia which was dirt-poor and had absolutely no resources. Once a stable infrastructure was developed there, these people literally had no way to enter the marketplace. A couple of Americans saw some potential there and taught them programming and data entry. This market turned out to be the place's biggest exports. They're not doing super-well, and their electricity is still subsidized, but they can afford their own things. It's a step in the right direction. Programming and data entry take considerably less materials than manufacturing does, which used to be a prerequisite for industrial society. Now it is theoretically possible for a group of people in any social standing, whether it's horticultural, agricultural, or maybe even foraging, to go straight to post-industrial.
Anyway, once solar-wind become cheaper, then loads of countries will be able to make a living. CS majors would definitely be able to help then.
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India is already doing all the programming the world needs. Give up.
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India outsources all the time, mostly data-entry jobs.
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i know how you feel man i always thought that i would be interested in computer science and i finished my first year of college in may, but idk if i want to do computer science anymore... i've been interested in programming since before i joined gaming world. and i joined gw when i was 11. damn time flies. but yeah i really want a job where i travel to places and help people. like i guess i could do peace corps but what with a cs degree you know? i love computers but i like helping people who need it a lot more than making hello world show up on the screen haha
im thinking about anthropology because i took a cultural anthropology class my first semester and its by far my favorite class so far. i just dont know what i would do with an anthropology degree. hell i like studying plants and animals i was thinking about biology too. maybe being a nutritionist or something with that idk. and at the same time i want to join the fbi or a private investigation team to track identity theft and fraud. i even talked to this guy about it who told me if i went to school for it he would love to have me do an internship with forensic investigations. he was the head of that branch and i made him his lattes at starbucks!
ughhhhhhhhhhhh talking about it makes it worse
Check around for some nonprofits, charities, or NGOs. These organizations need CS/tech people, but be willing to relocate anywhere in the world and don't expect the kind of pay you'd get working for some company in the US though.
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i'm not really surprised by how many people think they wanna go into CS but then realize they don't, but at the same time i sometimes feel like i'm the only person who genuinely loves CS and wants to do it forever :<
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You sad, sad cubicle person.
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i'm not really surprised by how many people think they wanna go into CS but then realize they don't, but at the same time i sometimes feel like i'm the only person who genuinely loves CS and wants to do it forever :<
Come be a web developer. It's fun, you get to do programming, it's got more advanced stuff to work on for hardcore CS freaks, it pays and it means you won't end up in a cubicle.
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Come be a web developer. It's fun, you get to do programming, it's got more advanced stuff to work on for hardcore CS freaks, it pays and it means you won't end up in a cubicle.
I've actually been considering this a lot lately since I've been learning a lot more about web programming. There's a local shop that's looking for someone to overhaul their website (they're actually iirc a pretty well known/big/something supplier of like trading cards and board games and that sort of thing, but since the dude mostly sold stuff online/at conventions it didn't matter where he put the warehouse so he moved near my hometown since cost of living was so cheap and he liked being there). A friend of mine was offered the job but she doesn't have time for it and since she knew it was near where I lived she passed it onto me, I'm thinking about taking it up and seeing what it's like to actually make a website for something more professional than what I've done in the past. To be honest I don't think I know enough of the programming just yet to do something that big, but then again I probably have done more web programming than my friend already so I guess they are more concerned with just finding SOMEONE. It definitely sounds like a fun thing to do especially considering I've bought stuff from them before so idk I guess it's making a site for both something in my community and something I would actually USE myself.
edit: tbh this
You sad, sad cubicle person.
kinda made me angry because HEH YOU CAN'T LIKE CS WITHOUT BEIN IN A CUBICLE YOUR WHOLE LIFE. SLAVE TO THE MACHINE ETC. ETC. even if you were joking i think that's a really really dumb attitude to have towards it especially since a lot of the other majors listed here have just as much of a chance of havin you end up a regular salary worker in an office too
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It'd be surprising if you weren't angry. I'm kind of glad you are. Shows that you've still got the stuff in you not to be taken down by the monotony of the job which exists only on the surface stereotype. In reality there's an art under the code, inasmuch that it is as standalone as Michaelangelo's David. It's a testament to you, and you've got the right to be goddamn pissed if someone were to caricature it with as careless a comment as 'LULULUL CUBICLES.'
I did mean it in a somewhat joking way. Of course, as demonstrated by my inability to adhere to a job which entails government enslavement, even at the cost of my country and the ideals I want to promote, I have a severe stigma against being stuck in walls. You'll have to forgive me for my upbringing. You're talking to someone who used to sleep in a walk-in closet. It's not a 'dumb attitude' as much as it is a legitimate reaction to having been conditioned to hate the sensation of being 'stuck.' My parents are stuck in figurative cubicles. That's the crux of the problem. I realize now that you, on the other hand, are not actually 'stuck' but rather you are actually in a position where you want to be. Maybe I'm jealous of that? I dunno. I hope not. Goes against how I see myself. Still, there is the possibility that I meant my comment in the most evil, scathing, jealous way because you've found a way to be free and I haven't. I wouldn't put that past myself. But if that's the case then you should just laugh at me.
If I meant it, then it was because I am jealous. If I didn't, then it was a joke. Either I meant it or I didn't. Therefore, either I am jealous, or it was a joke. Each way, you should laugh. Unless of course you think the joke was in bad taste and not aesthetically pleasing to your funny bone. I can't help you there. Although, I must admit that the joke was pretty low level.
Take pride in your anger. Next time, I expect that you just flame me for being stupid. It's what GW does best.
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:welp: it's like not-quite-a-science-major major. You'll get some chemistry, ecology, geology/hydrology, climatology, and whatnot but you won't come out of school with any sort of specialization that makes you valuable in the labor market.
I mean sure I can be a lab tech, work for Dept. of fish&wildlife or something, maybe move on to saftey&health/industrial hygiene but that's not what I want to do with my life.
ya. if i DO go that route, id quite probably double major in poli sci as well. Use my enviormental studies degree to specialize in international development and aid.... i think that would open some doors that would allow me to:
1) help people
2) travel
3) pull down a decent salary
three things i would like to do with my life! and IF i keep my grades solid, i think that could leave the door open for law school as well... but maybe it will turn out i just LOVE biology and wanna do that instead.
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ya. if i DO go that route, id quite probably double major in poli sci as well. Use my enviormental studies degree to specialize in international development and aid.... i think that would open some doors that would allow me to:
1) help people
2) travel
3) pull down a decent salary
three things i would like to do with my life! and IF i keep my grades solid, i think that could leave the door open for law school as well... but maybe it will turn out i just LOVE biology and wanna do that instead.
Just an FYI, environmental studies is even more worthless than enviro-sci. Also, your list is pretty unrealistic and you're probably going to end up with just one of those(if you're lucky, two).
help people.... Help who do what? I think the most good you could do would be working for NGOs in developing countries or maybe some kind of advocacy group in the US, either way you ain't getting much in terms of salary especially if you're traveling. I understand the sentiment here, but you should take a look at who's at the helm of the "green industry", where all the money comes from, and where it goes. They're not hiring idealistic young environmental science/studies undergrads that's for damn sure and I think you'll find that 'helping people' takes a backseat to just about everything going on wherever there's money being made.
If the environment is really your thing, look into hydrology and civil/environmental engineering, that's a good kind of practical expertise that can actually really help people. It'll definitely satisfy all 3 things on your list and is a profession that'll be in high demand for a long time.
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Do you guys know anything about taking time off before going to graduate school and that sort of thing? Not that I have any idea yet what I want to do actually once I get to grad school, (clinical psychology, genetic counseling? etc) but I was wondering about doing a year or two off before going. I know I have some friends who want to do some field work overseas somewhere for a year or so (where at? I don't know, europe? africa?), and I was wondering if that would be something beneficial for me, or if there would be oppurtunities in places like that which would (or wouldn't?) be beneficial in having before figuring out where and what to do in graduate school (not to mention, the whole figuring out what to do with the rest of my fucking life problem)? I'm kind of at the point here where I'm really starting to wonder and figure this shit out, ya know?