How did you decide?

Beautiful Fireball

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Alright, I also posted this in the advice forum, but am not getting many responses there, so I thought I would try here. I am starting school in a month and I am having the hardest time deciding on a major and a career path. I am already about two years behind where I want to be so starting school with an undeclared major is not really an option. Alright, I have narrowed it down to three choices, but they are all incredibly different, and I have no clue how to pick. The first one, is majoring in English and going into publishing. I love books and I love to read and I could see myself being very happy in that field. The second one is events planning, i am not sure what you major in for that, but I always thought that would be a kinda fun career. And lastly, one that has always been in the back of my mind is Psychology and then going into counseling or something related. I could see myself being very happy in that one, and being quite successful. But the main thing holding me back from that one is the other day I was talking to my mom, and told her I was considering going into counseling and she laughed :eek: not the reaction i was looking for. So after all that I am not sure what to do, anyone else been in a similar position? Would taking a career test help or are those worthless? I really need to get started with school, as I am still a freshman, and I feel that I have wasted too much time. :help:
 

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You should think about what you be happiest doing in the ong run. What makes the most money. What has the most job oppurtunities, which career you could best serve God and help people.

I wanted psychology-but i can't afford 5 years, so I'm settling for pharmacy tech and nurse through job corps for free. It's my only option. Some people think psychology is a waste, but i think it's a great way to help people.

career tests could be good-maybe talk to your college counselor about it-i did that once and it was definately worth my time-they gave me a lot of good resources, including the occupational outlook handbook-which I'm not sure if i can post links but you can find it on google. it's a .gov site.

Good luck to you and God bless :)
 
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fishstix

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I had a general idea my first year, and since first year classes are pretty general and you need the same basics for most things, that was good enough for then. Everyone has to take English first year, and probably a science and a humanities class, etc. Then, towards the end of my first year, before starting my second year, I chose my major based largely on what I had enjoyed most in those first year classes.

Since you have your choices somewhat narrowed down, I'd suggest looking into what classes you'd need to take for each of them. Even though they are ultimately different paths, chances are that there will be a lot of overlap, especially in the first year classes. Take those classes that overlap. There will also be some space for electives in each one, which you can use to round out your schedule if necessary. Be sure to take an English class and a psychology class so that you can get an idea of what each one might be like. Once you have one semester under your belt, you may have a better idea of what you want to do (or at least what you definitely do not want to do :) )
 
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ACADEMIC

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You are not neccessarily supposed to know yet. You are not alone in not yet knowing at age 20! No need to really hurry, unless other things are going on.

Event Planning - that major would be Business or Organizational Management, but any major will do for that career. What counts most in that field is experience actually doing it.

Have you taken English and Psych classes yet? Which did you like best?

You can always major in one and minor in another; or, double-major.

If journalistic publishing is your goal, major in journalism. Most major papers have internship programs. This will give you a better idea.

You can contact a psych counselor or LCSW in your area and talk with him or her about their job. I am sure you will find several willing to talk with you. You can perhaps volunteer in their office, as well. This will also give you a better idea.

------------------------------
 
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onecrazycowgirl

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This is kinda tight, in my "new student institute" class today, they were talking about how to decide on a major.

One of the big things was to first look at what we see as major interests, and then to look for where we spend the most money, the most time, what we put the most thought into, and what is closest to our heart, so to speak.

I'm taking a psych class this semester, and from what I understand, clinical psychology requires a LOT of writing ...
 
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ACADEMIC

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I have already taken an English class and a Psychology class. I loved them both, and that is where my dilemma lies. I wonder if there is a career field where I could utilize both?:scratch:


Absolutely! Can you first let me know more about what you envision to do with an English degree? You said "publishing," but that could mean many things.
 
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Beautiful Fireball

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Absolutely! Can you first let me know more about what you envision to do with an English degree? You said "publishing," but that could mean many things.
I was hoping to be like an editor or something like that, Not journalism, something more like literature.
 
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ACADEMIC

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I was hoping to be like an editor or something like that, Not journalism, something more like literature.

Well, as far as publishers of literary works hiring editors to do grammar clean up and such, it does not really happen. Publishers who publish literature expect and do receive publish-ready manuscripts. Editors working for publishers more just help decide what does and does not get published. Individual authors sometimes hire grammarians, however, to clean up their work before submitting it.

Usually, editors in the field of literature play the role of spearheading book ideas that deal with issues or themes in literature. For example, I am published in a book like this in a different but related field. How it worked is that a university-based professor put out a call for chapters on a specific theme for her book idea. Specialists on that topic then submitted complete chapters and she decided which ones to include in the book. Sometimes, an editor like this will dialog with chapter submitters to clarify arguments made, but editors are not doing clean-up or re-wiriting things. I am sure you have come across plenty of edited books like this. It works the same basic way no matter the field.

To be an editor like the above will requires a Ph.D. in a sub-field of literature, plus usually a good record of prior publishings. Usually, but not always, such editors have some name-recognition among specialist in their field. This lends credibility to the book idea they are spearheading.

Many organizations, both non-profit, for-profit, and governmental, hire what are called "ghostwriters." See this Wikipedia article for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_writing . Most hold at least Masters degrees.

For some more ideas for you about what one can do with only a bachelors or masters in English, check out this: http://www.heidelberg.edu/depts/eng/jobs/jobs3.html

Feel free to shoot back question if you wish.
 
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Beautiful Fireball

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Well, as far as publishers of literary works hiring editors to do grammar clean up and such, it does not really happen. Publishers who publish literature expect and do receive publish-ready manuscripts. Editors working for publishers more just help decide what does and does not get published. Individual authors sometimes hire grammarians, however, to clean up their work before submitting it.

Usually, editors in the field of literature play the role of spearheading book ideas that deal with issues or themes in literature. For example, I am published in a book like this in a different but related field. How it worked is that a university-based professor put out a call for chapters on a specific theme for her book idea. Specialists on that topic then submitted complete chapters and she decided which ones to include in the book. Sometimes, an editor like this will dialog with chapter submitters to clarify arguments made, but editors are not doing clean-up or re-wiriting things. I am sure you have come across plenty of edited books like this. It works the same basic way no matter the field.

To be an editor like the above will requires a Ph.D. in a sub-field of literature, plus usually a good record of prior publishings. Usually, but not always, such editors have some name-recognition among specialist in their field. This lends credibility to the book idea they are spearheading.

Many organizations, both non-profit, for-profit, and governmental, hire what are called "ghostwriters." See this Wikipedia article for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_writing . Most hold at least Masters degrees.

For some more ideas for you about what one can do with only a bachelors or masters in English, check out this: http://www.heidelberg.edu/depts/eng/jobs/jobs3.html

Feel free to shoot back question if you wish.
Wow, thanks for the info! That really helps a lot :thumbsup:

Anything I can do utilizing both psychology and english, or would that be kinda hard to find?
 
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ACADEMIC

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Wow, thanks for the info! That really helps a lot :thumbsup:

Anything I can do utilizing both psychology and english, or would that be kinda hard to find?
--Working on the publishing end of a Psychology magazine.

--Using psy to evaluate lit and other interdisciplinary venues.
 
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Alright, I also posted this in the advice forum, but am not getting many responses there, so I thought I would try here. I am starting school in a month and I am having the hardest time deciding on a major and a career path. I am already about two years behind where I want to be so starting school with an undeclared major is not really an option. Alright, I have narrowed it down to three choices, but they are all incredibly different, and I have no clue how to pick. The first one, is majoring in English and going into publishing. I love books and I love to read and I could see myself being very happy in that field. The second one is events planning, i am not sure what you major in for that, but I always thought that would be a kinda fun career. And lastly, one that has always been in the back of my mind is Psychology and then going into counseling or something related. I could see myself being very happy in that one, and being quite successful. But the main thing holding me back from that one is the other day I was talking to my mom, and told her I was considering going into counseling and she laughed :eek: not the reaction i was looking for. So after all that I am not sure what to do, anyone else been in a similar position? Would taking a career test help or are those worthless? I really need to get started with school, as I am still a freshman, and I feel that I have wasted too much time. :help:

I'd suggest you to talk with staff from respective faculties and see what information you can glint. Also, try taking some lectures. it's always good to sit in in first year lectures, since first year courses are introductory. After that, sit down and think which course you like to do the MOST.

It's always about doing what you like. I spent 6 years doing a degree that I hate. Thank God that I'm finally on the 'right' (I hope) track.
 
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ACADEMIC

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I spent 6 years doing a degree that I hate. Thank God that I'm finally on the 'right' (I hope) track.


I think it is better to be a college dropout and vocational flounder a while than spend years and money in college doing something you are not really sure of nor fully ready to do.
 
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fuzzyh

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I was a college dropout and did the whole vocational thing for a while. I wish I had finished up earlier than I did, even if it wasn't what I wanted to do. A BA or BS in anything allows you to get a better job than being a college drop out. I've found employers are much more interested in me since I got my BBS (Bach of Biblical Studies), though my degree isn't in the field of most of those jobs.

However, God is good and here I am working on an MA now. Who would have thought it 2 years ago? Certainly not I nor anyone I know.

Some of the best advice I received about jobs, is find something you like doing. Then go about figuring out how to make money at it. That certainly was my goal and thus the MA in philosophy. I love to read, to study, to teach, to think and even writing a bit. Most of all, I love school, but I hated paying for it.

One option to combine English and Psych, is to major in English and minor in Psych. Then shoot for doing a masters in psychology. Or if you are looking at some different schools, you could always find a school that will do an interdisciplinary study. Then you would get your BA in interdisciplinary studies, in Psychology and English.
 
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ACADEMIC

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I have seen so many students following the get-a-degree-any-degree-so-long-as-its-a-degree philosophy. While there is some merit to it, most such students also seem to be following a very often corresponding philosophy: A's may pay but C's get degrees. Then that follows them for life. Whereas if they just wait a bit to study where their passion is this is so often averted.
 
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