<p>Hi,
I<code>m currently a freshman at UC Berkely, and I am seriously considering dropping out. The degree which I wanted to pursue was sociology. However, I don</code>t see this degree taking me anywhere in life. I`ve been thinking about becoming a dental hygienist, since I can obtain my degree in less than half the time and earn double of what I would have with a sociology degree.
What do you guys think?</p>
<p>This is a terrible idea. Why don’t you just switch majors or transfer somewhere? Also, a sociology major can go to dental school. Take your DAT and maintain a high GPA. Don’t drop out.</p>
<p>I do not know much about both degrees you are interested in, but it seems ridiculous to drop out of Berkeley after 3 days in college. Just change major.</p>
<p>Don’t drop out of Berkeley. My sister has a Sociology degree, and I agree that it’s worthless. Just switch majors.</p>
<p>@simba9 what does your sister do for a living? </p>
<p>She worked in a call center for a medical company for a long time, and now she does training for new call center employees.</p>
<p>@simba9 does she live a comfortable life with that job?</p>
<p>She isn’t starving, but doesn’t have a lot of spare money. She’s almost 50 years old, and I’ll guess her income is under $50K/year.</p>
<p>Until she started training new call center employees, she really hated working in a call center.</p>
<p>She has a Masters in Sociology, BTW. Not just a Bachelors.</p>
<p>Your thinking seems to be limiting. As previous posters have said, it makes sense to consider a different major. What other interest do you have?</p>
<p>Having said that, there is nothing wrong with becoming a dental hygienist if that is something that really floats your boat.</p>
<p>Hi anny123, </p>
<p>Congratulations on getting into Cal! Give yourself a chance to explore what this great university has to offer. I know it’s hard to figure out what path to take. The good news is that you don’t need to make a final decision at this point.
I highly recommend talking to advisors and counselors at school. Try speaking to different advisors until you find one or more that you’re comfortable with. Sociology is in the College of Letters and Science; you can make an appointment online to speak with an advisor: <a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/”>Home | L&S Advising. </p>
<p>Or, take advantage of the Berkeley Connect Program in Sociology: <a href=“http://www.berkeleyconnect.berkeley.edu/departments/sociology#description”>http://www.berkeleyconnect.berkeley.edu/departments/sociology#description</a>, where you get to talk to other students and mentors in sociology. This might be a great place for you to explore what you can do with sociology.</p>
<p>I agree with what AnnieBeats posted about majoring in sociology and applying to dental school. Visit the Career Center and speak to a counselor there; they can help you explore different paths. You might find another major that covers what initially interested you in sociology but that you’re more passionate about and that has better career prospects. </p>
<p>There are classes designed specifically for freshmen to find out about different subjects (Freshmen Seminars). Your L&S advisor can help you with these. There are also DeCal classes (1-2 units) that are fun ways to pursue other interests: <a href=“http://www.decal.org/”>My Dating Tests – What I learned to avoid;
<p>There are free counseling services at the Tang Student Health Center. There are student peer advisors in many of the college departments as well as different centers on campus. </p>
<p>Make use of the resources in the Student Learning Center (SLC) for help with organizing your study strategies. Attend some of the free lectures available all over campus (see the event calendar on the Berkeley home page). Check out some of the clubs, sports, etc. Get a student membership at the Recreational Sports Facility (RSF) for $10/semester and take a class there.</p>
<p>Once you allow yourself to get involved, I think you’ll find that it’s an amazing opportunity to attend Cal. Don’t be embarrassed to seek out help–there are many wonderful people at Cal who are ready to support students and help them to be successful. Good luck, anny123!</p>
<p>This is something that ucbalumnus always posts, but do check out ‘What Can I Do With a Major In…?’ page at our career center (<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/major/major.stm”>https://career.berkeley.edu/major/major.stm</a>).</p>
<p>I want to know a bit more about you why you’re saying this on the 3rd week of your college career. I think there’s more than ‘Because sociology is a useless major’. Is there some pressure to get a good job? You did say you <em>want</em> to do sociology, but saying that it won’t get you anywhere in life sounds like there are other factors that’s making you feel otherwise.</p>
<p>Since you’re already paid for this semester’s tuition, I’m leaning towards just study the butt out for this semester and see how you do, but first I wanna hear about yourself.</p>
<p>You don’t have to declare a major for a while, probably second semester sophomore year. Here is a suggestion. Get a copy of the Book of Majors published by the College Board. Go through with a pack of post-its and flag majors that seem interesting to you (maybe one color for “yes!” and another color for “maybe…”). Try to take 1-2 classes in the top 3 majors that appeal most to you. Go see the career center to get an idea of what graduates in each of those majors are doing after they graduate, what they earn, etc. See what kinds of internship opportunities they can help you ferret out as well (can be hard to find after freshman year, but not impossible – and you will be well position to apply some places after sophomore year if you do some research now). If you do these things, you might have a better idea by next year what major to declare.</p>
<p>Dropping out of Berkeley is not a good idea for a great multitude of reasons. Chiefly, you will need to be an educated person to be able to make interindustrial vocational transitions. And you are at Cal, which offers among the best undergraduate educations in the world. You would leave that to become a hygeinist?</p>
<p>Young adults tend to change their minds often. Because of that fact, I strongly encourage you to stay at Cal. You might change your major; fine, as Cal offers many top-notch programs.</p>
<p>Bad idea to drop out, your neglecting resources available to you. Give Berkeley a chance.</p>
<p>Remember, the only time you should drop out of college is if you can start a billion dollar company, like Steve Jobs did.</p>
<p>Do GE coursework at Berkeley, or, is the real reason that it is really tough for you there to adjust?
Just do what you can until you get used to the pace and explore other majors in allied health field: occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech pathology, pharmacy, dental school, etc. Don’t limit yourself and do try to get over your current fears of not meeting your potential.</p>
<p>Hi guys! Thanks for the advice.
I am still at Berkeley and I’m still interested in majoring in sociology. I had some hesitations before and I guess I still do because I was worried that I wouldn’t find a stable job with this major. Thinking about maybe double majoring in Spanish. </p>
<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/SpanPort.stm”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/SpanPort.stm</a>
The aspects for the Spanish major don’t seem very bright either unless you had something that you could utilize the Spanish with…what some people I know do is they double major in one major they have a strong interest in, and another major is for their parents/job aspects. I hated my major, but I did it anyways, and I took classes I was interested in on the side. </p>
<p>Don’t drop out but minor or major in something more marketable. My uncle has a PhD from Berkeley in Sociology but unable to support his family on two teaching jobs at CSUs so he quit and was doing construction work, not manual labor but buying and remodeling houses for a living.
So yes you have a good hunch but stay in school is better than drop out.</p>