Choosing Majors, but what if your major is not practical, Or doesnt make money? Options

[MakeAChange]

As young children we all have our dreams of what we want to be "when we grow up". Most kids say they want to be an "Astronaunt, a fire fighter, a doctor, a lawyer" I was a space freak, and for the longest time, up into the sophmore year in High school, I wanted to be an astronomer and look up at the sky all day. Come to find out during career exploration in high school, astronomy sure in the hell wasnt a field in high demand, and the pay was low (who the hell is gonna pay you 100k a year salary to look up in the sky besides nasa). You have to face reality, many dreams just arent realistic, such as becoming an astronaut. Of the millions of qualified candidates, how many people are auctually chosen to go into space? Two?

After getting dragged back down to reality, I was told to choose a career thats in high demand. They say you can never ever go wrong with a degree in business, which is what I majored in and got a BA in (in Finance). What other degrees can you never go wrong with?

This post has been edited by MakeAChange: Oct 25 2009, 03:13 PM

[InitialDJay]

lol it's a common misconception that astronomer looks up the sky all day. it' usually applies to amatuer astronomers.

most profesional astronomers are working and busy preparing lecture since they are hired mostly by schools. also astronomers have a very diverse skill, ranging from fixing telescope, giving advice to govt space program, teaching, and doing physics. so they tend to switch fields pretty easily from astronomy to general physics to nuclear research to solid state physics, etc...

full time tends to do teaching more so than researching.. but you should not think of becoming astronomer for money..it kills your delication...

anyway, you can never go wrong with business degree, doctor, lawyers, etc..

[nagasawa]

Please don't go for the money. Money comes with hard work and a lot of other factors, not just a degree. If you're interested in sciences, the corporate sector will be glad to have you.

You should balance between something that interests you moderately and something that will pay ok to start. There are really so many jobs out there that it's hard to predict what you can make with one degree or another. Sometimes your pay will probably have nothing to do with your degree.

Always remember, that as long as you're working for someone else, you're more likely to get screwed in terms of pay, especially a major corporation.

[mndeg]

you guys are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo screwed

[Agashi]

I'd choose practicality over passion.

When you have bills to pay and trouble feeding you or your children, you or your family won't be happy.

You can always still passion when you have a secure job and career. You can't get it the other way around.

[JakeCutter]

Yeah, you'll be making good money to support your family but you'll also be miserable working at the same time. Who wants to wake up and go *sigh* here we go again... everyday? My advice is to find something that compliments your talents that you'll also enjoy doing. That way, you'll probably find something you want to do for many years to come. Explore all the possibilities and don't limit yourself. You'll find your niche soon enough.

This post has been edited by JakeCutter: Oct 24 2009, 12:42 AM

[TINMAN]

Some parents are so naive to tell their children to pursue their dreams when the kids lack the necessary skills or talent to be in a given industry.

Always have a plan B just in case and be realistic.