Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I am currently in my fourth semester of community college and I am getting close to having to decide upon a major to study. I've been going back and forth about majors that I did want to do such as microbiology, engineering, video game designing and others and outside of video game designing, when looking back, none of these majors interest me for reasons other than money (and even with video game designing, I've lost hope in the game industry and refuse to work in it). I've now just recently realized that I want to do a major in something relating to social studies majors. Aside from the fact that science/math was always my weak point in school, social studies was by far my strongest subject in school and I feel that now that I've gotten my math/science level up to an acceptable level, it's time to build upon my strength and run with it. I currently in Calculus and General Inorganic Chemistry I for math classes, and I am willing to go up to Calculus II and General Inorganic Chemistry II if I must, but no further than that. I think I'm getting pretty close in finding the major I want to do (thinking about double majoring) and I do know that I want a job that involved these: Traveling around the world and seeing what life is like outside the USA or even living in another country: I have yet to been out of my country, so I am really anxious to get an opportunity to do so. I have an incredibly strong interest in the culture of the world, especially Japan and East Asian countries, but I am also interested in how the rest of the world is like. A job that encourages me to view different countries would be one I'd like to have and I'm tired of living in a bubble. Learning new languages: I am currently self-studying Japanese (because I love Japanese culture and entertainment) and would also like to learn other languages as well (particularly interested in Chinese and Arabic). It'd be nice if I could get a job that knowing foreign languages play a significant part in. Jobs that involve helping others: It could be anything, just as long as I know what I'm doing is helping or even saving the lives of others. Jobs that require strong background in history, government and economics: Like I said, I have a strong background in social studies classes and these three factors pops up as areas I could do really well in. Without one of these, you can't really have a full understanding of the other two. I think I could have some serious talents involving these fields should I put in enough hard work to master the materials. Also, for me, the less control people have over my thoughts on serious issues, the better. Is there anything that fits all the things I'm wanting out of a career? Hopefully so, because I'd rather not go back to square 1 again after having to do so last semester. I do know that I want to do a double major if need be and minor in a language. Thanks!
Two thoughts: You can easily get a job teaching English in Japan. Or in Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam. If you are interested in business you likely will find good opportunities. You are going to have to be incredibly talented to learn Japanese. And then Chinese? And then Arabic? If you can master even one of those you dont need any heop from anyone here.
Teaching English other parts of the world certainly does sound interesting. However, I can't see myself doing it for the rest of my life due to having other things I'd rather do and that I myself never had a strong affection towards English (though I will say that I am certainly interested in the exotic writing system languages like Chinese, Japanese and Arabic have). I haven't really looked into businesses since I assumed that you would have to run your own business and I can't see myself running one anytime soon. Doesn't help that I don't know what I want to do with a business major. However, I will try to do more research to see if I might be interested in one. Speaking of which, I have been thinking about going into international journalism with a bent on the Asia-Pacific region (Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, etc, though other areas as also fine with me). Wonder if there's anything for it?
Teaching English like that is for students, or short termers of other sorts. Conversational English, of course, your students will likely know grammar better than you. Book-grammar of course, not how to use it! Its a good way I think for Americans to spend time in Asia, make money and meet people. Business opportunities of surprising sorts may come your way. Do not try to go to Asia with pre conceived ideas, whatever you think is not what you will find. Like when I came to the USA, 13 years old, and had such insensible ideas of what I would find here. Good luck with this, maybe you could go for a summer and see what you find! Dont go to Japan unless you are rich.
Unless you are on a full scholarship already, my recommendation is to join the US Air Force, and go travel the world for a few years. Come back and finish college when you have a better idea of what you want to do with your life, and at that time, your GI Bill will pay for all your classes.
An excellent advice, the guy is all over the ballpark, and need a few more years to mature and to decide what he wants to be.
I would say check out the State Dept. website and see what kind of backgrounds they want, and major in political science and public policy or administration, but unless you get into an Ivy League school like Yale or Brown that's a tough road, lots of competition, and takes a while to make decent money. They do have excellent language training opportunities and travel of course.
I'd recommend doing some studying abroad, preferably in conjunction with foreign language study. You could even turn a foreign language directly into cashflow by doing some translation.. Even while studying abroad, potentially! I got to do that in Germany, and I'm still doing translation work to earn my living right now. That's something a business major would likely help you with as well, at least if you're interested in being your own boss (something I also do at the moment). As for the other things, like history, government and economics, well... You could always specialise in translating those areas
Wanted to respond to this one in particular... I'm currently in community college, so I am able to pay my way through college for now. If I get enough scholarships, I should be able to continue to go to community college until I transfer (most likely Texas Tech). University is a much, much different story, but at least for a bachelor, I should be able to walk out with less debt than my oldest brother. However, if I do pursue a Masters, I dread a huge debt I'll accumulate. As for the Air Force suggestion, it sounds appealing, but I'm not sure if it's suited for me. In my last year of high school, there was a presentation by a Navy officer done in my economic class that talked about the Navy and why it is a good idea to join the Navy. Being in the Navy would give me the opportunity to see the world, but it would also mean extremely rigorous training that is meant to discipline a person. Knowing myself, the latter was probably what I needed, especially since I did not know what I would major in (still don't, but I do have some ideas) and I even talked to the Navy Officer myself about it. Unfortunately, by the time I remembered that I wanted to join the Navy, it was too late as my grandparents had already discarded the information about joining the Navy (and surprised as well since I come from a far right family). They claimed that I wasn't strong enough to join the Navy and claimed I didn't need the discipline anyway. I wished I had stood up for myself then; regret not doing so when I should have. Since then, I got put on Social Security (due to my autism, don't like being on it), currently have a weak GPA (only 3.22 as of now), still not able to drive a car, still have to live with my grandparents (college is like five minutes away) and have yet to decide on a major. Yeah... not exactly proud of myself. Seeing the Air Force suggestion kind of scared me there because it reminded me of what I wanted to do a couple of years ago and I tried to find every excuse to ignore this one because I'm not sure if I'm even strong enough to join (I'm 140 lb and 6'2'' and can carry up to 50 lb). If I were to go forward with, it wouldn't be because of the glory of being a hero or because I love America (honestly, I feel quite indifferent to it, but that's another topic for another day), but because it would be good for me in the long run. I'm going to see if I can declare a major by the end of this semester. If not, then I'll be thinking about this.
I generally say that if you're not sure what you want to do, look at the things you're considering, and just follow the best job prospects. I was interested in being a lawyer, a teacher, a professor, and the odd fact is this: not only is the compensation for lawyers (or people with JDs not involved in law) far better than for teachers/professors, its actually surprisingly less competitive. And, of course, takes less time to do. Don't get me wrong, its competitive, but its less competitive than becoming a teacher/professor. My mother got her degree in history, Summa Cum Laude, and she can't get a job teaching at any local school. She got a full-time position at a local library, but now she has to take classes again for that job. Part of the problem is that for each job she applied for, there were literally hundreds of applicants. It's hard to be the #1 choice out of 500 qualified applicants. So, for what you put up, I'd suggest engineering. It's a solid field, good pay, easy to find employment. The downside is that, of those you mentioned, its probably the most difficult degree, and if you haven't taken any classes in your college's engineering track, you're going to have a rough next two years. But hell, if the next two years decide what you do for the rest of your life, then don't let that hold you back.
Don't mean to knock you down, but you probably wouldn't be accepted by any branch of the military, even the Chair Farce. The military is very dismissive of medical conditions. If, for example, an individual was medicated for ADHD after their eighteenth birthday, they'd be denied entry for it (nearly applied to me, and against my parents' strong opinion I refused medication for a full year before turning eighteen for just that reason). I can't imagine they'd shut the door equally fast after hearing 'autism.' I was one of few who actually joined out of patriotism (you'd be shocked how many in the military didn't join for that reason), but I noticed many people in the military develop a much stronger feeling of patriotism after they gained a new perspective. Also, if you have a real interest in language, I'd recommend getting Rosetta Stone, going ham on that, and then take a test to verify your abilities. It's effectually about the same as having a degree in a language, the difference being that you spent less to learn it. I've used it, and its effective. The only reason why I didn't complete the program is because my work picked up to the point where I didn't have the time anymore, and when I left the Navy I had less of an interest in it. My main drive in using it now is just to test out of required courses at my college. It's 40k/yr for tuition, I don't want 10k worth of that going toward a language I can learn on my own with such a program.
Engineering ... Work hard and get the degree that will take you anywhere you want in the world . When it comes to a career , either pick a job you love or pick a job that pays enough to allow you to do what you want to do .
^this. But hopefully he can find a mix. Teaching is my ideal job, but it's surprisingly competitive (more than law - a shocker for a lot of people), the education degree track itself is just dumb (I was pursuing it and quit because the courses were... really just silly). I'm pursuing law because it's something I think I would enjoy, but it also offers the compensation to do other things that I love outside of the field. You know, like strip clubs and such. haha jk
