Having Trouble Deciding a (Double) Major

College Majors
1

Fact sheet:

  • 21 years old.
  • Low-income parents, caucasian ethnicity.
  • 4.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
  • 2.6 high school GPA on a 4.0 scale
  • 37 credits, will have 46 within 2 weeks when the semester finishes.
  • All social sciences, communications, etc. completed for my AA.

After having a complete turnaround from high school to college, I’m having trouble deciding a (double) major while I’m currently at a state college. I am just about finished General Chemistry II and calculus I with a projected high A in both. I find that I understand and do well in maths and sciences – I love proofs and logic. I am enrolled in summer calculus II and linear algebra which start in a few weeks. I am also enrolled for my Fall classes of calculus-based physics, organic chemistry I, calculus III, and German I. I want a high quality education, initially wanting to go with Chemical Engineering and Math. I would eventually like to go a business route with them (e.g. process engineer to MBA to manager to energy/pharmaceutical company). In fact, I love business and consider myself very entrepreneurial. I am a self-taught programmer with dozens of published apps under my belt. My long-term goals are something along the line of business aspirations and philanthropy. I care very much about human rights (worked on a campaign for governor and helped train volunteers). I took intro to ethics and philosophy and it was one of the most exciting classes I have ever taken, as well. I optionally did all the extra credit papers (even though I already had an A in the class) as I saw it as an opportunity to debate my position and think logically about controversial issues.

While I absolutely want to go a “business” route, there are naturally so many ways to do so. Finance and economics is also something I have been very interested in. I love thinking about the way things and the world work. In my free time I read a lot of finance, business, marketing, and philosophy/ethics.

Possibilities I have considered:

  • Chemical Engineering and Math
  • Philosophy and Math
  • Economics and Math
  • Economics and Philosophy
  • Philosophy and Economics

And several hours of reddit research has led me to no definite conclusion…

I think with my unique situation of doing poorly in high school, continuously doing well in college with a 4.0, strong extracurriculars, and offers of letters of recommendation from my professors, that I should have no problem getting into the top public schools in my state. I also plan on applying to out-of-state private schools in the hopes of (a) I can get into a good one and (b) get a solid financial aid package.

I am looking for any tips, advice, feedback, or just general thoughts.

Thanks for your time everyone.

2

Well, if you want to be a process engineer/want to go into the business of tech, one of the best ways to do that is to major in a STEM field and follow that up with a business degree. So a math or chemical engineering major could be a good choice in that direction. I see no reason to double major, especially with an already-demanding engineering major. One or the other is just fine. (You can minor if you really feel strongly about it).

I get that your interest is in philosophy, and normally I am the kind of person who strongly encourages the humanities. But your desired career goals don’t seem to match up with a major in philosophy, unless you wanted to go into bioethics at a pharmaceutical company. That’s definitely an existing career field, and it could make sense to pair a major in philosophy and math or chemistry if that’s your interest. I’d check out what kinds of jobs exist in that field.

The thing is, hours of research on reddit or anywhere on the Internet won’t help you answer the question because it’s deeply personal. What do YOU want to study? There’s no objectively right or wrong answer; the answer is dependent upon what you want to study and what kind of work you want to do.