R&S Regulars: Help James find a major - Part II (This time, it's personal). & What would Jesus* major in?

Question

Again, JC was thrown in to help it post. This Q is a follow up to:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070813105722AA9ureL

Here is everything I have flirted with as a majors & minors.

Does this change your suggestion from before?

Electrical Engineering (embedded hardware)
Women's Studies
American Studies (Racial & Ethnic studies concentration)
French Language & Culture
Italian Language & Culture
English (Non-Fiction Writing & Lingustics)
History

I also am fascinated with origins of culture and civilization, religion, Christianity & American Christianity, & origins of religion.

Not options are:
Political Science, Economics, Mathematics, Hard Sciences (eg Physics, Chemistry), Literature, Engineering.

Again, for all my Yahoo friends, I have no contacts, so if you could be so kind as to star.

Money's not so much a concern. I hated studying and working in Electrical Engineering. I still love science, but more in a big picture, language, described as theory, lay person's way. I hate the nitty gritty of calculations, etc.

Art: The federal government is subsidizing my education, and will be through graduate school. And there's nothing you can do about it.

Simple fact: Investment in education makes the Economy grow.

Thanks for your tax dollars, buddy.

Answer 1

No, doesn't change it. I still say linguistics and languages.

You say you like the origins of culture and civilization, that's why I say linguistics. Studying the development of languages over time is a cultural study in and of itself. And if you study linguistics and the root languages that our current languages came from, you can read and understand a lot of things other people can't.

And based on your Q/A, you also seem to enjoy the particularities of the elements of language. Studying linguistics reveals even more of that, it's amazing.

Answer 2

FUNNY, and a big decision, I won’t even try to help you decide, most people in your place have plenty of feedback, I’m an R&S regular, but I do not know you all that well,

so the reasons I’m posting is the question of what would Jesus major in intrigues me, on the surface, I would say he wouldn’t, or if he did, maybe a year or 2 undecided/ communication (lol) then drop out,

He wasn’t about labels, about having the establishment say “you, you are worthy of having an opinion on this, you can speak” most of the leaders of the day thought he was crazy, a fanatic leading people astray (wow, not too far from today)

in the bible 30 was there coming of age time, where you left your fathers business and started your own, so I think JC would have probably started his public ministry at about 18-19.

I feel many people make this mistake, they feel lead to do something in church work, so instead of simply getting involved they put almost all major ministry options on hold for 4 years while they go off and get a piece of paper that tells them what God already did, I’m not saying Christian edu is bad or unimportant, I’m just saying God uses you where you are many of times, rely on God not paper.

Answer 3

I'm relatively new here so I don't "know" you (or, more accurately, I don't know the persona you choose to display here), but as a college professor, I can make some general suggestions for choosing a major.

First, what do YOU want to DO with your life? If you are independently wealthy and are only in college for "enlightenment", then your major is pretty much a moot point! Major in "university studies" or whatever they call it and continue taking classes that appeal to you and teach you something you want to learn. However, if you are like most people, you are in college because you eventually want a career that you'll find satisfying and that will support you in the lifestyle you want to have...right?

Assuming you aren't independently wealthy, one of the first questions you should answer is how much money do you need to support yourself? Like it or not, many of the majors you expressed an interest in do NOT pay what many considered a "living wage". Furthermore, the competition in those fields is FIERCE. To illustrate, after the movie Jerry McGuire came out, I heard dozens of students express a desire to be an agent and they chose to major in "sports marketing" (I taught the introductory sports marketing class at the time). Despite my best efforts to enlighten them (even to the point of reminding them that most professional agents have a LAW degree), quite a few came back to me after they graduated and complained that the only entry level jobs open to them paid minimum wage and that they couldn't find a job in their field because they were competing with too many other people that were willing to work harder/longer, had better grades, or went to a better school!

Personally, despite having an undergraduate degree in human resources and an MBA in management training and development, when it came time to get my Ph.D., I switched to marketing primarily because the numbers at the time showed that there was a greater shortage of marketing faculty AND because the average salaries of marketing faculty were about $15K higher than HR faculty.

As for what Jesus would want you to do (and yes, I know that was tongue-in-cheek but I'll answer it anyway), I think Jesus would want you to choose a major and a career that allowed you to make maximum use of the gifts you've been given. What are your talents?...are you a good speaker or writer, do you have a talent for explaining things to people and making complex concepts sound simple, do you have artistic talents (writing, painting, drawing, building things with wood, whatever)? In the long run, you'll probably be much happier AND much more successful if you choose a career field that capitalizes on your existing strengths and talents.

Answer 4

I have to go with Jack on this - as a holder of two bachelor's in Sociology and History, I know there's not a whole lot those degrees qualify you to do- except teach and work in museums.

So, have you ever considered a master's in Museum Studies? Takes that list of interests and undergrad work, and tosses it all together, and people with masters and PhDs in Museum Studies are making big money.

(Would consider it myself, if I weren't still paying off that teaching certification)

Answer 5

The same thing I did: Religious Studies (it is NOT theology) with a philosophy minor--ok, skip the philo, it really sucked, but it sure helped my major. Of course, get your advanced degrees in it as I didn't. Then after you either teach it and/or write a book. Or become a waiter.

Answer 6

French & Italian Language & Culture. You could teach the language or the history, be an interpreter...

Answer 7

I have the same problem as you--I'm interested in too many things. An interesting thought I had on that--major in something that will result in getting a job at a University, then you take classes for free to pursue your other interests.

Answer 8

I'm sticking with social theory even if it does have close ties with literary theory.

If chemistry and physics are out, you pretty much have to disqualify biology unless you are going into systems biology (ecology or evolution). Otherwise you will get too much chemistry for your liking. However, if you are interested in biology and economics, there are graduate programs in theoretical ecology that draw heavily on basic economics. But then you have lots of math.

Answer 9

Try Communications with a minor in English (linguistics). That degree should get your foot in the door at any major company or business school.

Good luck!

Answer 10

I vote for English and American Studies - you could use both of these and see how Religion/Spirituality has played a role in both - thereby combining a few interests together.

Good Luck!