What can I DO with my course choices?

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ebec11
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27 Jan 2009, 11:46 pm

I've decided what I'm going to take for the coming years in high school, and I'm not sure what to make of it.
My main interests are Business, English, and Psychology and I have room to take them all, but the problem is what I'm going to do with them. Should I take another math course? I took applied despite my good grades in academic for a couple of dumb reasons, and now I'm regretting it because I figured out you need Math for psychology and probably business too. I know I want to take Psychology as a major (don't think I'll be prepared math wise for further then that though), perhaps business as a major or minor (leaning towards major) and English as a major/minor (leaning towards minor). But what kind of job can I GET with that. I just don't know, and I'm freaking out that I'm going to have all this education and can't do anything WITH it.
Any advice? Should I just try to enjoy grade 11 and not worry until next year?



Fnord
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28 Jan 2009, 12:08 am

Repeat after me:

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Where to, mac?"

"Please hold."

"Paper or plastic?"


And the all-time favorite:

"Spare change?"



ebec11
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28 Jan 2009, 12:13 am

Fnord wrote:
Repeat after me:

"Would you like fries with that?"

"Where to, mac?"

"Please hold."

"Paper or plastic?"


And the all-time favorite:

"Spare change?"

But can't you get some type of job other then that with a University education, even if it's general? I mean, I enjoy these things, and I really want to get a job I enjoy. I don't care about the pay too much, as long as I'm afloat I'm fine. But I can't work fast food, I get overwhelmed much too easily (I can barely eat at a fast food restaurant)
By the way, you could have been a bit nicer and still said the same thing...



Fnord
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28 Jan 2009, 12:28 am

Okay ... serious questions deserve serious answers.

A BA degree in General Studies is worth more than no university degree at all. You can get a managerial level job, supervising an office full of paper-pushers. You can become an administrator in the health-care or governmental services industries. You may even be allowed to teach elementary course in an urban public school.

But the economy is weak, and even if you have an engineering or science degree, there is no guaranty of getting a well-paying job. A medical degree would be most beneficial, as hospitals are actually going abroad for nursing staff.

Another good bet might be to apply to a military officers' training academy, after you get your civilian degree. As a commissioned officer, you could end up as the lead Public Affairs Liaison or a recruitment center.

There are possibilities, but you have to really be motivated for many of them.



ebec11
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28 Jan 2009, 3:45 pm

Thank you for the serious answer, it helped me make my decision.
Also, the economy might be better by the time I get a job. It'll be at least six years, probably more before I'll be able to get a job.
If I am struggling, I do get an allotted amount of money for my disabilities. It may not be enough for my own place, but I can use it to stay with my mom until I get a good enough job.
I'm going to do what I want to do, no matter how hard it may be. So I will probably go on with my scheduled course time line.



Orwell
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28 Jan 2009, 5:55 pm

A business degree can get you a job once the recession is over.

Psychologists are very well-paid. You'd need a PhD, but you'd earn several times what I anticipate earning with my planned PhD in biology.


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zeppelin123
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28 Jan 2009, 6:04 pm

There are many community colleges where you can take univesity and highschool courses simultaneously. Therefore, you could upgrade your math while working on other first year university courses. Also, community colleges offer smaller class sizes and more individual attention so I think (from my experience anyway) they are great places to do (and sometimes finish) your degree.

Not everyone completes high school in three years. I had to do an extra year and repeat three of my grade 11 courses because they didn't meet the provincial equivilents in the new city I moved. The move also caused severe anxiety and ended up having me on homebound for a year. I graduated high school in 2004. I also switched around some in university. I will finish my bachelor of psychology in 2010 then I plan to do graduate studies in educational psychology.



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29 Jan 2009, 2:10 am

try business with a minor in psychology and focus on the statistics. If you like English maybe focus on technical writing or business writing. That combination seems most profitable. Particularly for HR, marketing or interoffice personnel.


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29 Jan 2009, 3:17 am

Psychology is definitely the money-maker there, so here's what I might recommend....

Major in Psychology, then either major or minor in Business so that you can open up your own practice and know how to run it. Then just take English classes for fun (you can minor in it if you think you'd have enough time, but getting a degree wouldn't really be necessary).

Hope this helps.



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29 Jan 2009, 3:43 am

Cyanide wrote:
Psychology is definitely the money-maker there, so here's what I might recommend....

Major in Psychology, then either major or minor in Business so that you can open up your own practice and know how to run it. Then just take English classes for fun (you can minor in it if you think you'd have enough time, but getting a degree wouldn't really be necessary).

Hope this helps.


a BS/BA in psychology is not a money maker.

you need at least an MS or PhD for that


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Cyanide
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29 Jan 2009, 4:08 am

Shiggily wrote:
Cyanide wrote:
Psychology is definitely the money-maker there, so here's what I might recommend....

Major in Psychology, then either major or minor in Business so that you can open up your own practice and know how to run it. Then just take English classes for fun (you can minor in it if you think you'd have enough time, but getting a degree wouldn't really be necessary).

Hope this helps.


a BS/BA in psychology is not a money maker.

you need at least an MS or PhD for that


She never said she was going to stop after getting a Bachelor's.



ebec11
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29 Jan 2009, 9:44 pm

Cyanide wrote:
Psychology is definitely the money-maker there, so here's what I might recommend....

Major in Psychology, then either major or minor in Business so that you can open up your own practice and know how to run it. Then just take English classes for fun (you can minor in it if you think you'd have enough time, but getting a degree wouldn't really be necessary).

Hope this helps.

That sounds like a good idea! How long does a PhD take? And what's the difference between it and a Master?
Do I need science though? Because I really can't stand that subject (and can't get anything higher then a 75% no matter how hard I try)



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29 Jan 2009, 10:15 pm

ebec11 wrote:
Cyanide wrote:
Psychology is definitely the money-maker there, so here's what I might recommend....

Major in Psychology, then either major or minor in Business so that you can open up your own practice and know how to run it. Then just take English classes for fun (you can minor in it if you think you'd have enough time, but getting a degree wouldn't really be necessary).

Hope this helps.

That sounds like a good idea! How long does a PhD take? And what's the difference between it and a Master?
Do I need science though? Because I really can't stand that subject (and can't get anything higher then a 75% no matter how hard I try)

A PhD will likely take 4-6 years depending on how hard you work and what your subject is. The difference between that and a Master's is that a PhD is a more advanced degree that qualifies you to do more important work in the field. I have dealt with several people (especially in my university's disability office) who have Master's degrees in psychology. They can get decent jobs, but from personal experience I would say that people who go for a master's instead of a doctorate are just inferior people in pretty much every possible way. Although PhD programs do have a reputation for being somewhat soul-crushing, and you'll have to be willing to live on ramen for a while. I'm not sure how much science is needed for a PhD in psych, but I would guess not much. I mean, the standard undergrad stuff but not much heavier than the typical humanities major. If you were interested in the science side you'd be studying neurobiology instead of psych, so I don't think they'll expect as much science.

Really though, you have to decide what you want to do with your education. Which degree you go for should be based on what career you want to enter with it.


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29 Jan 2009, 10:48 pm

Orwell wrote:
They can get decent jobs, but from personal experience I would say that people who go for a master's instead of a doctorate are just inferior people in pretty much every possible way.


Wow, really? It's inferior to stay in college for an additional 1.5 years after a Bachelor's to give yourself a better chance at getting a job and/or increase in pay, then feel no need to take the additional classes and just enter the job market? Or to be in a situation where you can't afford to get your PhD, or other occurances in life stop you from being able to do it? Or are you saying it's inferior of them to have a personality/mental capacity that inhibits their ability to pursue anything past a Masters? You might as well say people with ASDs are inferior, then. Hell, why not go the full distance and say that anyone without a PhD in Nuclear Engineering is inferior, since that's considered to be the hardest degree to obtain (not my opinion, it's the general consensus of science/engineering professors).

Yes, I'm going back for my PhD in Chemical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, and/or Astrophysics (might even take up Johns Hopkins offer for Molecular Biophysics), but if I get offered a great job, I'm going to take it. Why? Because my sister wants to go to college to get a degree in Bioengineering with a minor in Horticulture, but can't get the loans and can't afford it. I want to be able to give her help in doing this, and I can't exactly do that only being capable of living off of ramen noodles, now can I? Additionally, when I'm college, I'm basically incapable of having an intimate social life. I'd like to at least have a few years to explore this before settling down with someone or becoming that creepy guy up the street with the gnomes.

I can understand how you might have met some real jackasses that only went for a Masters, and ultimately ruined your opinion on the degree. But please, don't say that someone's inferior for such an immaterial reason.



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29 Jan 2009, 11:03 pm

Anyways, to the OP:

To me, Business degrees have always been a soft option. Most colleges and universities design these degrees around the fact that it's a party major; late classes, no class on Fridays, and they're exceedingly easy courses. If you get it, at least get you MBA, or get a specialty business degree. A friend of mine is in one that specializes in Systems Management (i.e., computer stuff), and he's currently being seriously probed by a company that makes computer programs for hospitals.

Like everyone's mentioned, it's best to get a PhD if you get a degree in Psychology, otherwise the pay isn't squat and it's harder to get a job (though you'll still be likely to work in your field).

English degrees are similar to Psychology degrees, except for two things. First is, unless you get a PhD, expect to only be able to get a job as management in retail. Second is, even if you get your PhD, if you don't write anything that gets published, you're going to have a hell of a time. My uncle has his PhD in English, but since he never wrote anything that got published, he's stuck in Texas, teaching a long series of dolts at Baylor University (nothing says fun like football players in summer classes, trying to make up for their failing the class twice during the regular school year). On the upside, he has some hilarious stories from the stupidity he encounters daily.



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29 Jan 2009, 11:29 pm

DNForrest wrote:
Orwell wrote:
They can get decent jobs, but from personal experience I would say that people who go for a master's instead of a doctorate are just inferior people in pretty much every possible way.


Wow, really? It's inferior to stay in college for an additional 1.5 years after a Bachelor's to give yourself a better chance at getting a job and/or increase in pay, then feel no need to take the additional classes and just enter the job market?


I think it depends on the subject and current economic conditions. My faculty mentor used to tell us that getting a Masters degree would equate to $10k/year in additional starting pay. I left after my bachelors and earned that in pay raises in 2 same years, so I think I was better off leaving.