4321234

my friend is majoring in physics, and his whole family, including cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. were business majors. i guess he knew too well about the business world and didn't want to go that path, so he wants to do something more artsy. but it doesn't make sense why he would go to college just to be a chef later on. he just said he likes to cook. well, it just so happens that my family worked in restaurants most of their life, and they hate it. job security sucks, low pay, get treated like crap, no benefits, depend on tips, etc. if my mom went to college, she most definitely would not work in a restaurant. i tell him my dad cooks, and he gets burned all the time, but the friend doesn't seem to mind. i think he's a hands on person, and maybe he's just tired of school, caz physics is a hard major, and he's not getting good grades in it either. anyway, i'm just trying to persuade him not to go that direction, because cooking for someone else and getting paid for it is definitely a lot different than doing it for fun, and cooking is one of his hobbies. i'm just trying to bring up other better options for him that he might like, just in case he really does work in a restaurant and end up hating it, there will be better options open. anyone have any suggestions? i have a feeling he's feeling low in confidence because of his hard classes, but i'm sure there are better options than being a cook.

during his free time, he likes to go to wood shops and make toys. i think he likes to work with machines. he helped design a robot during high school, and he loves puzzles: sudoku, rubics cube, puzzles, etc.

i think his skills could actually be valued somewhere. any ideas?

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You say he likes puzzles and has built a robot before. Has he considered engineering? Specifically, electrical engineering as a major? It's a tough degree and will require lots of work, but he can take some courses on Cryptography, Information Theory, Stenography, etc.. (all EE courses) if he's interested. It sounds like a pretty cool set of classes that he might be interested in.

And you're definitely right, if he works as a chef, it will be hard for him and he won't have job security. But as far as his grades go, he needs a few good grades and he'll be addicted to trying to get good grades. That was sort of my case in the beginning of my college years... I got mediocre grades, then when I took an upper level math course and aced every exam 95+ and ultimately got an A, I felt really good about myself and now strive to get A's in every class. Try convincing him to try to do well this semester. Is he doing bad because he's not trying? He should go to professor's office hours and TA office hours of extra help.

4321234

okay, i'll try to motivate him. but he's a senior already. he actually did try engineering, but he didn't like it very much. he does get good grades, but he gets good grades in every class (general credits) but classes for his major. lol. he's going to take a philosophy class with me next quarter, and he seems pretty interested when i talk about philosophy classes. he helps me with the reading, and he'll probably get better grades in philosophy. i have a feeling he might consider double majoring in philosophy, but i think he also just wants to graduate asap and get outta there.