College Majors. Any Ideas?

[Vincent Vega]

Hey FP, when you find that degree that has low hours, high pay, and lets you read the classics all day and perform when you want to - all with only a BA - let me know what it is so I can change my major.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' timestamp='1353182191' post='2511920']
Hey FP, when you find that degree that has low hours, high pay, and lets you read the classics all day and perform when you want to - all with only a BA - let me know what it is so I can change my major.
[/quote]
Lol, me too.

[GregorMendel]

Here is a great and Very comprehensive resource about the level of unemployment, and the ranges of income of pretty much every college major you can possibly think of from the Wall Street Journal:

http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/NILF1111/#term=

Its basically a condensed version of a recent report from Georgetown University's Center for Education and the Workforce, which regularly publishes studies Very relevant to college students and recent graduates:

http://cew.georgetown.edu/publications/reports/

I definitely suggest that you take a look at these resources while making your decision

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='HisChildForever' timestamp='1353179798' post='2511901']

You can't BE a psychologist with a BA in Psychology. You can get a job like...working in Human Resources. But no, you don't go from a BA to having a private practice. I bet a lot of the people who fall under the "unemployed" category here are in graduate programs.
[/quote]

The ones who were highly unemployed were the clinical psychologists -- people with fancy master's degrees.

[HisChildForever]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1353189280' post='2511984']

The ones who were highly unemployed were the clinical psychologists -- people with fancy master's degrees.
[/quote]

The link looked at college majors, not current careers. A BA in psychology doesn't automatically make you a clinical psychologist lol. It's actually sort of dumb if not confusing that it calls psychology "clinical psychology." There are way, way more branches of psych.

And no, clinical psychologists have doctorates. Well, a Master's too I'm sure. But doctorates.

[Lilllabettt]

I thought if you wanted to be a psychologist you pretty much needed a phd? no?

**** edit: nvr mind, HCF you answered for me

Edited November 17, 2012 by Lilllabettt

[HisChildForever]

Yeah, PhD or PsyD.

[Maggyie]

If you go under P for Psychology on that list, people with the generic Psychology major have a 6.5% unemployment rate or something. Much lower than the 19% for Clinical Psychology majors.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='Maggie' timestamp='1353197758' post='2512021']
If you go under P for Psychology on that list, people with the generic Psychology major have a 6.5% unemployment rate or something. Much lower than the 19% for Clinical Psychology majors.
[/quote]
If I had to guess, I would say that they are probably taking jobs in Human Resources and middle management, where psychology is definitely an advantage.
If I remember correctly, my Human Resources professor was a psych major.

[MissyP89]

Irrelevant:

FP, I did my best studying in the chapel. No harm in that!

[FutureCarmeliteClaire]

[quote name='the171' timestamp='1353133588' post='2511715']
I realize I said international relations earlier.. Affairs. Affairs.
[/quote]
Relations, affairs, same difference.

[OnlySunshine]

Maybe what you should do is look into taking some career aptitude tests and, with those models, choose a major that you would be good at and LOVE. Money is NOT everything, contrary to popular belief. It will only get you so far. Take it from someone who has taken jobs only to find herself hating the ones she took just to have money. Now, I'm majoring in something I both love and am good at and it's financially viable. I took a Myers-Briggs test that showed me what kind of work I should pursue that would match my personality. Of course, like any test, it is not foolproof, but it is a good starting point. You can run yourself in circles trying to find something because of all the majors offered today.

[qfnol31]

Fun statistics to be added to this thread:

Somewhere around 80% of students enter college uncertain of their major. At least 50-60% change their major at least once during the course of their studies. I've had friends change their majors six to eight times during their BA years.

In other words, you really need only a general idea of what you might like to do and find a school that is open to that and other things as well. I went to a liberal arts college that allowed me two years without choosing a major (though I changed mine half way through my first year and stuck with philosophy, the major for future welfare recipients).

[size=1]Source: Penn State studies of incoming freshmen and graduating seniors.[/size]

[Anastasia13]

Have you thought about being a college professor? You could write about your field on the side?

[Anastasia13]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1353198155' post='2512023']
If I had to guess, I would say that they are probably taking jobs in Human Resources and middle management, where psychology is definitely an advantage.
If I remember correctly, my Human Resources professor was a psych major.
[/quote]
At my university, this was in the college of business, as an emphasis along with a set of general business courses. With this kind of degree, you can work in almost any kind of organization.

Edited November 18, 2012 by Light and Truth