What did you major in in college? What would you major in now if you could do it over again?

In Shanghai I graduated with a BA Finance and BA Japanese. Maybe study marketing not finance next time.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

Majored in History and Religious Studies. Enjoyed studying those but not very practical.

If I had it to do over I would major in a science with the goal of going to pharmacy school.

Uhhh, going into pharmacy is a terrible idea. 80% of grads work for the 5 major chains (CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, etc) and those chains have announced they will be slashing their pharmacy workforce in half over the next 10 years, because of increased automation and pharmacy techs.

This is happening right as the number of pharmacy grads is exploding--the over-saturation is terrible and about to get much worse.

see theangriestpharmacist.com

;) ;) nudge nudge wrote:

A Duck wrote:

Major in business; because everything becomes a business at tome point.

Minor, or double major, in what you love, what fires you up.

At tome point, you should invest in a speeling course.

The correct answer was...typing course. This was obviously a typing error. Sound out s-o-m-e, if he had spelled it s-u-m you would have a point.

Accounting which will give me a job. Unfortunately my life will consist of mind numbing work.

If I could do it again, definitely some sort of engineering or computer science. I would rather be a person who creates than someone who does the books for the people that create.

majored in physics. should have majored in gender studies.

Finishing up my last semester in Mechanical Engineering. If I could restart, I would probably go back and do exercise science. I've had no interest in engineering despite good grades, and I read way more about training and running in a week than the amount of time I spend on actual course work.

Actually, if I could switch right now I would definitely go to Computer Engineering, or even just Computer science. I like playing around with computers and systems, but the coding they teach you as a MechE is very basic.

Entrepreneurship Undergrad, now I am getting my MBA right out of college. No regrets so far.

yyy wrote:

majored in physics. should have majored in gender studies.

It wouldn't have helped you much with the ladies, so don't give it a second thought.

Exactly....finally, the voice of reason....college is now just a place where wealthy kids hang out and party on their parents dime for 5 years and get it out of their system. Then their parents get them jobs at their friends' companies making lots of money doing relatively little where they complain that they can't get into a good grad school because of affirmative action quotas, ignoring their poor undergrad records and lack of talents or work ethic. (Unless. of course, you are George Bush who certainly did get into a good grad school despite his awful undergrad record.) This is the real American way.

G_D

BS Mechanical Engineering

MS Electrical Engineering (controls emphasis)

Would have done electrical from the start and taken more programming and math classes or

Would have majored in Chinese and Asian Studies and gotten an MBA and also possibly a combo JD - I think the money potential would have been much greater. Don't know how well I would have faired in that environment. I spent 2-years in Taiwan as a missionary, took 16 units of Chinese in college and was a linguist for awhile for the Army NG so my Chinese wasn't too bad and could have been better if I worked at it even more. The quantitative part of an MBA would have been a cinch compared to what engineering was.

I have a brother who got an MBA and has done very well in hospital admin (is over 10-hospitals) and makes a ton more money than I do.

Money isn't everything though. You need to like what your doing and that is much more important than the money as long as your making an adequate salary.

Majored in English and journalism. Fine for the time to do that, and being able to write well has helped provide a decent living, but if I were to do it again, I might choose chemistry or some other science as I've always had an interest in science. Either that or just major in AWESOMENESS. I could probably test out of all the classes there.

BS and MEng in Mechanical Engineering (Consecutively). Got a M.S. in Computer Science 12 years after my MEng.

To the person who is a mechanical engineer and wants to do computer science, you still can. Look into CFD/FEA stuff... I turned into a software developer because of that...

If I had to do it all again.

Either change major to applied mathematics or keep mechanical engineering and either have went for a Ph.D in Applied Mathematics or went back to get my MBA after I worked for a couple of years.

Actually was deferred admission into Yale business school for two years right after getting my MEng. Didn't go however....

Do you develop CFD/FEA software? What's that like/how's the pay?

That seems like an interesting alternative to standard engineering work, though I can see how it might be tedious.

BS in International Affairs

MBA in Finance & Business Policy

I would do the same thing --- I'm happy with my broad undergrad education and my career specific MBA.

By the way, my parents didn't fund any of my education.

I majored in Applied Mathematics and I'm currently a math PhD student in my 6th year, ABD (All But Dissertation). I don't regret it, although sometimes I wonder if pursuing a PhD in math is worth it. I actually am more interested in exercise science and biomechanical engineering, given my obsession with running and fitness.

I primarily do computational linear algebra. My research is in Model Order Reduction, mostly applicable to VLSI integrated circuit simulation. Although I deal mostly with the math of it and I don't know much about circuit design. I don't find my research topic super exciting, but it is useful and can potentially get me a pretty good paying job with a lot of freedom to run and pursue other interests.

Azaleas wrote:

Do you develop CFD/FEA software? What's that like/how's the pay?

That seems like an interesting alternative to standard engineering work, though I can see how it might be tedious.

Yes I do. It can be a little tedious, but its perfect for a runner. Sit on my butt all day in front of a computer instead of on my feet. Pay is good if you are with the right company. The work is sometime very challenging which I enjoy. Fixing bugs, not so much. In complex software, there are plenty of those.

Bio undergrad

Physician Assistant for masters

Loved undergrad definitely the right choice for me. It did make running at top level tough. I had to do workouts solo a lot of times and had to actually study while teammates ran huge miles, iced etc. Though it is hard to believe there is more to life than running, definitely glad I had a decent degree once I had graduated.

PA school was wonderful, loved what I learned and what I do. Highly recommend, good pay, good hours and very rewarding.

NoWorries wrote:

Mind as well get some extra education.

Yes. Mind as well.