What is/was your major in college?

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Simple questions. Did you continue education past HS? What did you study?
And more AS-related, do you think it's important for those of us w/ AS to pursue our education as much as possible, relative to others?

Psychology (completed)

Last edited by Rainbow-Squirrel on 24 Mar 2010, 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I have a B.A. in theater.

Yeah, probably not the most likely major for an Aspie, but at the time I wanted to make films and the film makers I liked the most came out of theater. I think English would have been a better route for me or Communications. I ended it spending more time doing tech work and stage management than directing or writing.

Frankly I didn't need a degree to get the work I do now. (Motion graphics and visual effects) The only thing that matters is "can you do the work?" not do you have a pretty piece of paper that says you went to school. But college allowed me to delay entering the real world for a while. This had some advantages and some disadvantages. It provided a buffer between my less mature self and the challenges of the working world, but it also allowed me to put off learning some things that I might have benefited from learning earlier.

My guess is that Aspies tend to do better in college than in regular school since the curriculum is more focused on one's interests. Yes, there are pressures that can feel overwhelming; certainly more overwhelming than at a low responsibility, low pay job, but less than at a better paying, more fulfilling job. In the end, that ability to avoid the real world for a bit longer might provide enough maturation time so that when you do enter the working world, you can do so with greater confidence and ability to cope.

This is just a guess, but all other things being equal, the Aspie who goes to college will fare better than the one who doesn't, mostly because the person has had the chance to learn some more useful socialization skills in a relatively protected environment.

Anyway, that's what I think.

Lars

Painting and Printmaking-I had no plan, it was a way of deciding not to decide. My mother told me recently she and my father did not insist on a more skill oriented commercial art degree because I was so "fragile".

Don't tell my university that psychology is one of the humanities. The psychology department is in the science faculty and they steadfastly maintain that they follow scientific method.

That said, I actually majored in philosophy. Post grad. And in true aspie form I spent years studying, enjoyed it when I wasn't depressed, and had too much executive dysfunction to complete all the courses I attempted. I was enrolled as a university student for at least 15 years, on and off. The degrees I actually completed could have been finished in four years.

I also spent a lot of time pursuing my special interests in the library (well, 2 million books do give you plenty of scope - my university was a serious institution). My parents even spoke to me about spending too much time on extra-curricular intellectual pursuits (like teaching myself obscure languages), while for me the pursuits were a refuge from the big confusing unstructured adult world of university life.

So I majored in philosophy ... and in a few obscure languages that aren't mentioned anywhere in my academic record.

I don't plan on going to University. So I wont major in anything.

Library Science w/ an Education component

I'm still in high school, but I chose the "Humanities" option because that's most likely the area in which I will major.

Chemical Engineering with a focus in polymers and biomedical engineering.

I'm an Economics major, and I deeply regret it. After I finish my degree next year (may as well, since I've come this far), I'm going to go back and do Mechanical Engineering for 2 years.

Library.... science? What on earth is that?

Library Science is basically preparation to become a librarian.

was a total flop in college, i flailed about for 2 years before i lost my job and my fundage. a relief rather than a let-down.

So, what's so difficult about being a librarian that it requires study after high school that isn't traineeship/apprenticeship? Is there something behind the scenes that you don't see when you're just at the library to read?

There must be because my aunt has her Master's in Library Science.

Psychology and linguistics, I am undertaking 2 degrees concurrently.

It doesn't, really. But which applicant to a job looks better:

"I just graduated highschool, and I love books."

"I love books and the prospect of being a librarian so much that I spent four years of my life studying to be the best damn one I can be. And guess what, this means you don't have to waste man-hours training me on everything."

And a degree in Library Science is a hell of a lot more impressive than some degrees out there I've seen.