Be A Pal

[nitetrain8601]

Okay, so as many of you know, I'm in college. I am currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I'm a freshmen(sophmore after this semester), but I seriously want to change my major.

 

How can you help? Simple. State a major which you like or pick something you majored in and give 3 pros and cons of each. Don't worry about me having to take classes all over again. Everyone is welcome to help.

[Kyyle23]

Okay, so as many of you know, I'm in college. I am currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I'm a freshmen(sophmore after this semester), but I seriously want to change my major.

 

How can you help? Simple. State a major which you like or pick something you majored in and give 3 pros and cons of each. Don't worry about me having to take classes all over again. Everyone is welcome to help.

 

Oh I get it. This is so you can blame all of us when your career as a clown goes bellyup after Steff recommends clown school and you are watching all of your mechanical engineering buddies making money hand over fist. real nice, nite

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Okay, so as many of you know, I'm in college. I am currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I'm a freshmen(sophmore after this semester), but I seriously want to change my major.

 

How can you help? Simple. State a major which you like or pick something you majored in and give 3 pros and cons of each. Don't worry about me having to take classes all over again. Everyone is welcome to help.

 

 

Business:

 

PROS:

 

You're actually employable when you finish.

 

Good money

 

Challenging work environment

 

 

 

CONS:

 

Crowded field ( not nearly as bad as lawyers though )

 

Long hours

 

Having to play politics to get ahead.

[nitetrain8601]

Oh I get it.  This is so you can blame all of us when your career as a clown goes bellyup after Steff recommends clown school and you are watching all of your mechanical engineering buddies making money hand over fist.  real nice, nite 

 

 

Business:

 

PROS: 

 

You're actually employable when you finish.

 

Good money

 

Challenging work environment

CONS: 

 

Crowded field ( not nearly as bad as lawyers though )

 

Long hours

 

Having to play politics to get ahead.

 

Excellent. That's one of the fields I'm seriously considering.

 

Keep them coming guys.

[SnB]

I'm an economics major right now, with a concentration on the business side. My school offers a whole bunch of different econ concentrations.

 

Pros

-employable

-if you like numbers, but not too much ridiculous math

-its economics, it's practical and can be interesting if taught right.

 

Cons

-not everyone's cup of tea

....

 

 

what school do you go to nite?

[nitetrain8601]

I'm an economics major right now, with a concentration on the business side.  My school offers a whole bunch of different econ concentrations.

 

Pros

-employable

-if you like numbers, but not too much ridiculous math

-its economics, it's practical and can be interesting if taught right.

 

Cons

-not everyone's cup of tea

....

what school do you go to nite?

 

University of Illinois - Chicago

[SnB]

University of Illinois - Chicago

ok, as far as i know, UIC's specialty is their business school.....just something to be considered.

[santo=dorf]

What don't you like about ME? I ask because I'm graduating with a degree in that this semester.

[heavyduty]

Sport Administration/Management

 

PROS:

You get to talk about sports during your classes

You are entering a field in which you know you are passionate about

To be honest, it's relatively easy

 

CONS:

Hard to find work right out of school

Starting pay isn't very much

[nitetrain8601]

ok, as far as i know, UIC's specialty is their business school.....just something to be considered.

 

I'm strongly leaning towards business right now. That just helps sway my decision in that corner.

 

What don't you like about ME?  I ask because I'm graduating with a degree in that this semester.

 

Well I don't have the passion for it. For a major like that(or any practical major) you have to have a passion for it, else you won't get through school and if you do, you'll end up hating your job. If I hate my job, I can't perform up to my highest level. I mean, I'm part of the future of our country, I'd hate to be somebody who doesn't give 100% in what I'm contributing to this world.

 

Sport Administration/Management

 

PROS:

You get to talk about sports during your classes

You are entering a field in which you know you are passionate about

To be honest, it's relatively easy

 

CONS:

Hard to find work right out of school

Starting pay isn't very much

 

That was a thought of mine, but UIC doesn't have a Sports Management Program as far as I know.

 

Thanks for your replies.

[southsider2k5]

I'm an economics major right now, with a concentration on the business side.  My school offers a whole bunch of different econ concentrations.

 

Pros

-employable

-if you like numbers, but not too much ridiculous math

-its economics, it's practical and can be interesting if taught right.

 

Cons

-not everyone's cup of tea

....

what school do you go to nite?

 

It depends on what you mean by employable. Unless you want to be married to a city that has a major financial presence (LA, CHI, NYC etc) you are going to have a hard time finding a job. It is a very specialized industry. Much of what you will find is stuff that finance people would get into, unless you get into either working for the Government (such as a fed bank), trading of some sort, or working as an economist for a financial institution. (which would require a doctorate.) So unless you are willing to do something that isn't quite econ, you might be better served looking at business/accounting/finance/management/marketing.

 

I have worked in trading for 7 years now after majoring in Econ in college so if you have any questions about either, let me know.

[bmags]

journalism

 

pros:

get to meet many people and understand your community

sense of accomplishment in the work

communications

 

cons:

starting pay low

deadlines

some fields competitive (broadcast/sports)

 

i'm in journalism at u of missouri, and they recruit kids out of our j-school, so i feel pretty good about getting a job out of school even if its but 35-40K coming out

[SnB]

It depends on what you mean by employable.  Unless you want to be married to a city that has a major financial presence (LA, CHI, NYC etc) you are going to have a hard time finding a job.  It is a very specialized industry.  Much of what you will find is stuff that finance people would get into, unless you get into either working for the Government (such as a fed bank), trading of some sort, or working as an economist for a financial institution. (which would require a doctorate.)  So unless you are willing to do something that isn't quite econ, you might be better served looking at business/accounting/finance/management/marketing.

 

I have worked in trading for 7 years now after majoring in Econ in college so if you have any questions about either, let me know.

 

maybe it was my advisor just being very "advisor-y", but he told me that economics majors from here will usually get the same type of jobs the guys from finance and such will get.

 

now you got me worried, you whore

[CanOfCorn]

i'm in journalism at u of missouri, and they recruit kids out of our j-school, so i feel pretty good about getting a job out of school even if its but 35-40K coming out

 

 

 

Is it really that high now? When I was coming out, back in the days before color television, starting pay at CNN was $13,500. Now, I know it's not like that now, but you can't tell me that there is anyway you will be making more than $25K coming out, can you?

[3E8]

Well I don't have the passion for it.

As a freshman, have you even taken a ME course yet?

[southsider2k5]

maybe it was my advisor just being very "advisor-y", but he told me that economics majors from here will usually get the same type of jobs the guys from finance and such will get.

 

now you got me worried, you whore

 

If you want to stay in Chicago, you should be fine. if you want to work in a smaller town, make sure to minor in something else.

[bmags]

 

Is it really that high now?  When I was coming out, back in the days before color television, starting pay at CNN was $13,500.  Now, I know it's not like that now, but you can't tell me that there is anyway you will be making more than $25K coming out, can you?

 

coming out of the #1 journalism school in the country , its closer to 35 K , but obviously news editorial compared to broadcast or advertising or magazine all have different starting salaries...news editorial is a little less, closer to 30...but advertising which is under the J-school is much higher, driving up the avg.

 

broadcast i can see making considerably less considering if you are not one of the few who get REAL work at KOMU, you would have to settle for a foot in the door...

[RockRaines]

Wow, picking a major. Just when you thought it was important, then you got into the real world. Honestly, unless you are trying to do something extremely specialized, your major doesnt make a large impact. I actually have a degree in Psych along with many hours of graduate school and research time. This all of course leads to my current profession as a enterprise software consultant. I can honestly say I do not use any of the knowledge that I aquired in my major. But the drinking I learned in college comes into play alot more often!

[santo=dorf]

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Nov 9, 2005 -> 01:36 PM)

Well I don't have the passion for it. For a major like that(or any practical major) you have to have a passion for it, else you won't get through school and if you do, you'll end up hating your job. If I hate my job, I can't perform up to my highest level. I mean, I'm part of the future of our country, I'd hate to be somebody who doesn't give 100% in what I'm contributing to this world.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If you're only a freshman, you've probably only taken classes that all engineering freshmen take (physics, calc, chemistry.)

 

It could be worse. You could have your degree with no experience and no job lined up like me.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

It could be worse.  You could have your degree with no experience and no job lined up like me. 

 

I'll be joining you soon.

[SnB]

It could be worse.  You could have your degree with no experience and no job lined up like me. 

i'll be stating that same sentence in 2 years.

Seriously, i'm trying to find some internships this summer, applied to probably about 10 of em, nothing.........i'm no good at life.

[3E8]

All I learned from months of trying to get internships is that it pays to have connections. Try to set up as large a network as you can in college.

[nitetrain8601]

As a freshman, have you even taken a ME course yet?

 

Yeah I have. I'm a Freshmen by 2 credit hours and that's because I withdrew from a class last year. That's a long story short. And I plan on staying in Chicago. That's my preference.

Edited November 9, 2005 by nitetrain8601

[santo=dorf]

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Nov 9, 2005 -> 06:25 PM)

Yeah I have. I'm a Freshmen by 2 credit hours and that's because I withdrew from a class last year. That's a long story short. And I plan on staying in Chicago. That's my preference.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Which course was it?

[nitetrain8601]

Intro to ThermoDynamics. Statics and Fortran Programming for Engineers are being taken this semester. I also took Intro to Engineering in my first semester.