Need some sincere help on my university Major selection and advice.

[amdguy]

Alright guys, i know i am newbie here but realizing the diversity in anand, i think this is the best place to ask for some advice regarding academics and the future.

I just finished my first year of college doing Bachelor Business Administration AKA Management. I have to take 2 courses in accounting which is mandatory and for some reason, i just don't get accounting. I just came back from the mid term today, totally beaten up and brutalized. This is my second time taking this course as I dropped it the first time. I might have to drop it again i really tried very hard, doing all of the questions in the book and somehow, the question on the exam is totally different. With the accounting hinderance in place, it will severely affect my GPA, sure if i try hard enough i might just get a pass but again it has adverse effect on my overall GPA. the program is very good and there is the Co-op part where we get to on 3 work terms to gain experience.

I really like business, especially marketing and i have some experience in that field. I worked part-time with HP canada for a year in consumer and retail marketing and it was a blast. My passion is in technology marketing and that is where i want to pursue my career in. i also a know few pple from AMD's marketing and business division for a few years which may provide good connections.

Therefore, i am thinking of changing my major. One caveat of doing that in my school is that once I do that, I cannot take anymore business courses whatsoever. So there goes my business future. I am thinking of switching to psychology (took a few psych courses and love it!) which i can apply to to business areas. Maybe do a major in economics, arts, environmental science, anthropology etc....?


Maybe i am young and naive, but does what you major in while in college really have an impact on your future and future economics well-being?

i am in a mess...i need some advice from you pple, help me out here please :brokenheart:

 

[amdguy]

no one

 

[Kipper]

If you major in psychology with an emphasis on social psych, it is fairly simple matter to find a job with an advertising firm - which is straight up the marketing alley.

Be advised, however, that psych is entirely useless without at least an MA. My advice to you is don't worry about the career or where your life will end up. I have often found that doing whatever makes you happy (obviously thinking it through, but not overthinking) yields the best personal results. I am currently majoring in philosophy with a minor in sociology. I enjoy both tremendously and wouldn't be doing anything else.

Mind you, I came into college wanting to major in CS. My interests quickly shifted 180 degrees as I realized there was no way I could cut programming for more than a year...I was miserable in CS and much happier in the humanities.

Good luck.

Edit: Don't feel bad about accounting. Apparently it is one of those courses you either understand or have no idea how to do. Take my roommate, for example, who is pretty decent at it. Interning at Deloitte this summer - on the flip side, some of my other friends can't get their heads around it (and mind you, they are pretty smart people).

 

[amdguy]

thanks for the advice madcow,

i know it is important to do what u enjoy but i've heard many sayings humanities or arts major are worthless etc

 

[Jumpem]

Welcome to the club. I'm about to graduate with a CS degree, but am already tired of it after a year of development work. Sometimes I wish I had gone for something like finance instead.

 

[The Stigenator]

i am an enviornmental sciences major.. its a up and coming field.

 

[DWW]

amdguy, you mentioned you worked at HP Canada

I will help you once you tell me which school you go to. University or college?

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: amdguy
thanks for the advice madcow,

i know it is important to do what u enjoy but i've heard many sayings humanities or arts major are worthless etc

Take a few classes and you tell me. It's all how you quantify 'worth.' Some people have the goal of making a $hitload of money in life. While I don't necessarily find that worldview appealing or necessarily good, everybody has their own priorities. Mine is to do whatever makes me happy, and frankly, being in the humanities is it. A primary reason is yes, I can't stand the sciences - yes, most of my friends will be making 50K or more directly out of Law School or even college, and I will be teaching, trying to find a job when I graduate. I will probably go to grad school for another 6-8 years - but would I switch majors simply because I think one is more marketable than the other? No.

If people tell you the humanities are worthless, ask biology majors to write twelve-page papers arguing against censorship. Hell, ask them to write a paper, period! Similarly, if you ask me to write a lab report it'll take forever, but it all boils down to what you value in an education and what you see as its purpose. Some see it as a financial investment which increases earning potential. Personally, I see it as a way to expand my mind and challenge my ways of thinking, to consistently bombard my principles with new ones and see how they stand up. When I graduate I want to have learned how to live life, not learned the elements of the periodic tables by heart or how to diagram molecules.

One last rip in favor of the humanities: I don't see any biologists who have started revolutions, who have affected the world profoundly and shaped world events. On the other hand, Freud, Marx, Darwin and Mill are four thinkers who shaped the events of the 20th century and were far more influential across the board than any others of their time, IMO. So the humanities are better

Choose for yourself what you will, and DON'T LET ANYBODY ELSE DECIDE FOR YOU, GUILT TRIP YOU INTO MAJORING IN SOMETHING ELSE BECAUSE IT'S "WORTHLESS," OR PRESSURE YOU INTO ENTERING A FIELD UNLESS YOU WANT TO.

 

[DWW]

You said that "My passion is in technology marketing".

Quite clearly you are in the wrong program at school (Bachelor Business Administration AKA Management). Don't take Management if you want to go into marketing, its quite easy

Your college/university probably has a program more directed to marketing. Tell me which school you go to (I'm assuming your in Canada b/c you worked at HP Canada) and I'll find the best program there for you.

I wouldn't settle for anything else because psychology, economics, arts are not what you want to do. Besides, economics is harder than accounting (hell, in part its based right off it! )

 

[amdguy]

thanks for all the support and advice..

DWW...i go to University of Toronto , the BBA program

 

[DWW]

University of Toronto is a great school. I'm thinking of doing undergrad studies there in 2-3 years for a Physics degree (does anyone know if they are good for that compared to other Canadian schools?)

Anyhow, do you know if they have a marketing degree instead? It sounds like that is what you are more geared towards. If not I'd highly suggest considering a place like Ryerson. They would have something like that probably.

A degree is nice so I won't recommend college (to you Americans, college and university are different in Canada). But I'd check out Ryerson IF Toronto doesn't offer a program more geared to you. Its a great school.

 

[Turkish]

UoT doesn't have a Marketing program? All major universities must have it...

Anyways, I came to Virginia Tech as a computer engineering student. After seeing all the bullsh1t they have to go through, I decided its not for me. I switched to Pampling College of Business where I had to choose between Management, Marketing, Finance or Accounting. I chose Management, then added Finance as my second degree. IMO, best thing to do is talking to your advisor and see what programs are available to you.

 

[Turkish]

D.W.W.: college and university are different in U.S. too

ex.

University: Virginia Tech
College: Pamplin College of Business.

 

[amdguy]

i know its a great school..i love the program i am in but just accounting is killing me

there is no marketing degree in UofT, but i can choose marketing stream within BBA and I do not want to go to ryerson


screwed am i

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: MadCowDisease

Originally posted by: amdguy
thanks for the advice madcow,

i know it is important to do what u enjoy but i've heard many sayings humanities or arts major are worthless etc

Take a few classes and you tell me. It's all how you quantify 'worth.' Some people have the goal of making a $hitload of money in life. While I don't necessarily find that worldview appealing or necessarily good, everybody has their own priorities. Mine is to do whatever makes me happy, and frankly, being in the humanities is it. A primary reason is yes, I can't stand the sciences - yes, most of my friends will be making 50K or more directly out of Law School or even college, and I will be teaching, trying to find a job when I graduate. I will probably go to grad school for another 6-8 years - but would I switch majors simply because I think one is more marketable than the other? No.

If people tell you the humanities are worthless, ask biology majors to write twelve-page papers arguing against censorship. Hell, ask them to write a paper, period! Similarly, if you ask me to write a lab report it'll take forever, but it all boils down to what you value in an education and what you see as its purpose. Some see it as a financial investment which increases earning potential. Personally, I see it as a way to expand my mind and challenge my ways of thinking, to consistently bombard my principles with new ones and see how they stand up. When I graduate I want to have learned how to live life, not learned the elements of the periodic tables by heart or how to diagram molecules.

One last rip in favor of the humanities: I don't see any biologists who have started revolutions, who have affected the world profoundly and shaped world events. On the other hand, Freud, Marx, Darwin and Mill are four thinkers who shaped the events of the 20th century and were far more influential across the board than any others of their time, IMO. So the humanities are better

Choose for yourself what you will, and DON'T LET ANYBODY ELSE DECIDE FOR YOU, GUILT TRIP YOU INTO MAJORING IN SOMETHING ELSE BECAUSE IT'S "WORTHLESS," OR PRESSURE YOU INTO ENTERING A FIELD UNLESS YOU WANT TO.

What an ignorant ass post. How about the Watson/Crick DNA model? Just because you don't know about a field doesn't mean there aren't huge revelations in it. Besides, with the sheer numerical advantage of liberal arts majors, of course you will have some standouts.

Bio people can write papers just fine. They're required to take the same GE/breadth classes as everyone else.

I have a fun story about a CS major who decided to go to law school. I have a friend who went to a top 25 univ for CS. He worked a year as a programmer and decided being a pencil pusher sucks. He prepped for the LSAT, took the test, and got a perfect score. Apparently the test focuses largely on logic/comprehension sort of word problems. Thanks to his technical background, a test considered hard for liberal arts majors was cake for him. Don't even try to rip on technical people for being bad at verbal/written/language. On average, they might even be better than libby arts people since thats where all the dumbasses in higher education end up.

I have an engineering degree and I worked in a computer hardware sales office for six months. My performance exceeded all recent grads among my office including people with business and marketing degrees. I've sold 100k worth of hardware on single orders to international customers. Not bad for a technical guy with no business education huh?

The thing with liberal arts majors is that they often don't have productive/profitable applications in the world of coporate slavery. Also there are way too many of them. Technical fields used to be good, but since the economy took a dump, they are only a little bit better now.

As a recent graduate who has tried his hand at several jobs, honestly I'm not sure your degree matters too much as long as you are not specializing too heavily (IE medicine, engineering) for your career path. I think the main thing is if you're flexible and intelligent, you'll be better able to leverage opportunities that come your way. You know the saying, no matter how much you polish a piece of sh*t, it's still a piece of sh*t? It holds true for people and education also, with education being the 'polish'.

 

[amdguy]

so OS, i am screwed eternally then

btw DDW, uoft is pretty good for physics, i heard Mcmaster is better (they have their own reactor!!)

 

[amdguy]

help....

 

[homestarmy]

Everyone and their mother has a psych degree. Why? Because it's so simple and 'fun'. Not a good idea.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: XietyCOM
D.W.W.: college and university are different in U.S. too

ex.

University: Virginia Tech
College: Pamplin College of Business.

In Canada, colleges are what we call community colleges in the US.

 

[gistech1978]

look at my user name.
see if your school offers geographic info systems (GIS)
there are plenty of jobs available. the ones im interviewing for pay pretty well too, not outstanding, but certainly comfortable if youre w/o a family.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: OS

What an ignorant ass post. How about the Watson/Crick DNA model? Just because you don't know about a field doesn't mean there aren't huge revelations in it. Besides, with the sheer numerical advantage of liberal arts majors, of course you will have some standouts.

Bio people can write papers just fine. They're required to take the same GE/breadth classes as everyone else.

I have a fun story about a CS major who decided to go to law school. I have a friend who went to a top 25 univ for CS. He worked a year as a programmer and decided being a pencil pusher sucks. He prepped for the LSAT, took the test, and got a perfect score. Apparently the test focuses largely on logic/comprehension sort of word problems. Thanks to his technical background, a test considered hard for liberal arts majors was cake for him. Don't even try to rip on technical people for being bad at verbal/written/language. On average, they might even be better than libby arts people since thats where all the dumbasses in higher education end up.

I have an engineering degree and I worked in a computer hardware sales office for six months. My performance exceeded all recent grads among my office including people with business and marketing degrees. I've sold 100k worth of hardware on single orders to international customers. Not bad for a technical guy with no business education huh?

The thing with liberal arts majors is that they often don't have productive/profitable applications in the world of coporate slavery. Also there are way too many of them. Technical fields used to be good, but since the economy took a dump, they are only a little bit better now.

As a recent graduate who has tried his hand at several jobs, honestly I'm not sure your degree matters too much as long as you are not specializing too heavily (IE medicine, engineering) for your career path. I think the main thing is if you're flexible and intelligent, you'll be better able to leverage opportunities that come your way. You know the saying, no matter how much you polish a piece of sh*t, it's still a piece of sh*t? It holds true for people and education also, with education being the 'polish'.

Sheesh...looks like I hit a nerve. Like I said, each field has its strengths - but most biology majors will not be required to take the extent of paper-intensive courses which liberal arts majors will, and vice versa. Note that I cannot write lab reports with the same skill and technical vocabulary that a science major can, and the opposite is likely true for the biology major. Moreover, I never claimed that my post was objective. If you read it closely you'll note that it is clearly biased in favor of the liberal arts, which I find expand my mind, but most of all, make me happy. If you took offense to the post, I'm sorry, but it was intended to be in the best of spirit...if you can't take a joke or a friendly jab, well...

That is the core of the post. AMDman should do whatever makes him happy and not listen to what anybody else tells him to do because it's "worthless" or "useless."

As far as Marx/Mill/Darwin making an impact is concerned, I have no doubt that the DNA model had impacts on its field and repurcussions in others. But like I said, my post was biased as is blatantly evident, and you're going to have to forgive my shamelessly OBVIOUS rips into the sciences...and if Marx/Mill/Darwin are simply standouts you'll have to forgive me if I guffaw.

AMDman, you're anything but screwed. You are obviously intelligent, capable, and seemingly, a person who seems to be well at the helm in terms of where your life will lead. I would suggest that you try your hand at a few fields (you mentioned you liked psychology, let me recommend sociology or some courses in cultural anthropology as well) and see what you like best, and major in that - college is a time for pursuing your passions, taking courses you could not do anywhere and learning things you may have not known before. It is also a time for getting drunk and hooking up, but that is a separate issue. Like OS has said, majors have very little to do with what job you will end up in. Like I've said, do whatever makes you happy and don't let anything stop you from doing that.

Edit: Please enjoy yourself. I can't emphasize how important it is and how unique this opportunity is. Never again will you be packed into the same small geographic area with the same number of people and see they day after day for four years (or longer) straight. It baffles me when I find people that go to college and think it's only for the degree and that no aspect of it is for the social life, the friendships, and being alive. These are the people who stay indoors and do problem sets on a Friday afternoon. Take a hint from the brilliant geeks at MIT: when the weekend starts, nobody is going to Harvard or BU to party - they go to MIT.

 

[maziwanka]

i wish i had done pre med. sometimes i think i should have pushed myself more in college (i could have finished 1 semester earlier, albeit packed)

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: XietyCOM
D.W.W.: college and university are different in U.S. too

ex.

University: Virginia Tech
College: Pamplin College of Business.

In Canada, colleges are what we call community colleges in the US.

Thank you for that completely irrelevant and unrelated post. :disgust:

 

[wyvrn]

Hmm no marketing degree? That's an underdeveloped Business School you are going to. Don't worry about accounting, most business majors hate those classes. I toughed out the two I had to take and it didn't hurt my grades too much, I have a 3.85 GPA so far

Well if you want technology marketing, why not go BS in business with major in MIS, and use all your electives on marketing classes (make it similar to a minor) ?

Consider transferring schools to somewhere that has a degree plan that you want. In all honesty though, a lot of times you end up not being able to find a job in the field you trained for when you graduate. So it might not matter

 

[CPA]

You don't understand accounting


[nelson voice] Ha Ha [/nelson voice]