HELP! What should I major in?

mossalliance
Mon, 25 Jan 2016 02:32:23 +0000

I’ll (very fortunately) be attending Duke next year (or, rather, later this year!), but I’ve encountered a bit of a hurdle: the challenge of deciding a major/career path. Any + all help is appreciated; I’ve detailed myself a bit below:

I’m a STEM-minded individual trapped in a humanities-loving body. If Myers Briggs types mean anything to you, I am an ISTJ, something that I very much identify with; I am very concerned with logic, organized decision-making, and maximizing efficiency. However, math puts me to sleep, and physics puts me on the brink of tears. I am extremely interested in history (despite the daily 4-hour homework assignments, APUSH brought me euphoria) and politics. I am very good at analyzing/evaluating dilemmas/situations, but devising solutions makes me uncomfortable, as I’m often too concerned with efficiency to create a mutually uplifting solution. I thrive as a public speaker, but I don’t like the thought of a job that is dependent on networking.

I initially thought I wanted to major in Public Policy analysis and go into educational policy, but I realized that (1) I’m too concerned with efficiency to make creative, mutually agreeable solutions (as mentioned above) and (2) government, think tanks, lobbying are the three major areas where Public Policy majors end up; I know that the government’s inefficiency (and quite frankly, low salaries for educational specialists) will frustrate me, and I know that the networking required at a think tank/lobbying firm will drain me.

I will regard anyone who comments/helps as a saint

Read full thread