i feel just a tad bit overwhelmed

College Life
1

<p>i wasn’t very smart my first 2 years in college, and screwed up badly. well, i didn’t fail any classes, but i also wasn’t very smart about picking majors and classes. i changed my major way too many times, so i have reallly random classes here and there. and the bad thing is, i went for an engineering major, so i’m a bit burned out right now. i honestly didn’t mean to do that, but when i didn’t get in, i didn’t feel like reapplying again. and i guess, even as i was taking the classes, it didn’t feel quite right, but i kept going on with it, because i really just wanted to be committed to something like everyone else, get a major, and get out. i’ve given up searching, and decided to just do something i can look back years from now and be proud that i did that. i’m taking an intro philosophy course, and i really wish i took it much earlier. i’m having fun in it, and i don’t feel like i want to get out during each class time (unlike for the other majors). but i also got a little ambitious and considered double majoring in econ and philosophy, and i know i definitely want a minor in Chinese. well, i haven’t given much time for this to sink in, so i’m having a splitting headache, because just thinking about taking all that in such a short time (2 more years of extensive chinese, econ, and philosophy) is a little bit of a killer. if i do all those, the earliest i can graduate is when i have stayed 1 extra quarter behind, only if i do summer school full time this summer, and the summer i’m supposed to graduate. i don’t know, i think i could learn a lot from philosophy and econ, but i don’t know if i would get much out of it in only 2 years. i’ve heard philosophy can be a pretty hard major, and i don’t even know if econ is hard or not. it probably is. the intro course wasn’t too bad, but it’s just an intro. well, i don’t know what i want from posting this. you can try to convince me not to do it if you want, but i think i will be glad i did this years from now. i’m taking a lighter load this quarter to give myself time to think what i want to do, but even then, i still feel very burned out. plus, i have to work part time. ><</p>

<p>me being kinda not very smart, i also went for an english degree for who knows what, and i’m about halfway through. but i always felt like i shouldn’t be there during each class i take, and i even had a nightmare that the english major wasn’t for me. that’s when i decided to get out. of course, i could just quickly finish the major and get out in less than a year, but i just think i would regret doing so. </p>

<p>i guess i’ve already decided what i want, my next step is to figure out how to do all those without killing myself. and honestly, i didn’t research the econ major too much (so any insider tips appreciated). i read some descriptions, it sounded appealing, and i want to do it. not a very smart way to decide things, is it.</p>

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<p>won’t someone say something… long story short, i changed my majors and minor all of a sudden and only have two years left. so that means i’m going to have to squeeze everything in last minute, and i don’t know if i can do it. just need some insight.</p>

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<p>You think that’s bad. I am 33 years old and a college drop out two times. I did not get the promotion I wanted so I quit and returned to college. I am now ~12 years older then most students in my class and struggling because it is not easy to learn at 33 years old. What you did is not bad and common so just settle down and decide which one you want by heart. Don’t worry about which major is hard and if you can finish it within two years. So what if you have to stay little longer. Trust me, it is better to stay and finish now then come back to college in the future like me.</p>

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<p>Well, what would you like people to say? Philosophy and English are both pretty flexible…neither channels straight into a particular career. Engineering is quite the opposite, and Econ falls somewhere in the middle. </p>

<p>All that strikes me is Engineering, English, Econ, Philosophy, Chinese…you’re all over the board. At this point in your education, I’d probably advise you either to just pick something and stick with it, recognizing that your major will very likely bear little relation to your eventual career (with some exceptions), or to take a semester off and think things over. Or just to recognize that you’re going to graduate late, and deal with the fact. But right now, it doesn’t look like there’s any rhyme or reason to your various paths. It’s one thing to be well-rounded, but it’s another to completely lose yourself amid your own interests.</p>

<p>Practically speaking, I’d probably suggest dropping Philosophy and sticking to an Econ major, Chinese minor. Why? Because unless you know that you’re bound for a career requiring an undergrad Philosophy major (and I’m hard-pressed to think of one…public high school Philosophy teacher, maybe? Not a popular path), then a lack of Philosophy won’t close any doors to you. But if you sincerely want to pursue the topic out of interest and aren’t satisfied with a few electives, then hey, by all means…plug away. If you just feel that you need a double major, then you could complete your English major and add Econ (or Philosophy, but Econ is probably the more practical of the two, and I say that as a Philosophy major).</p>

<p>Above all, do what you want. If you don’t mind staying an extra quarter and you think you’ll regret any other path, then go the Phil/Econ/Chinese route.</p>

<p>Bear in mind, also, that a major is not supposed to be “easy.” As long as you’re capable of handling the work load, then do what interests you. Don’t be turned off because something “is supposed to be hard.” At this point, I might also advise you to turn to longer-term interests than to continue making decisions based on Intro courses.</p>

<p>I assume that the lack of responses here is due to the fact that readers don’t know what you’re looking for. We don’t want to advise you to do something that you say you’ll regret, but it’s difficult to back up your current choices. So…good luck. I hope you enjoy whatever path you choose.</p>

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<p>You are not all over the board, your classes, actually philosphy is a very good thing to study= talk to Stanford about that</p>

<p>We are so quick to think we need to have our path decided by the time we are 20 these days, its a shame</p>

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<p>okay, i’m rethinking this econ thing. it sounds like something i can do, but it would’ve sounded nicer 1 or 2 years ago. i think it’s pretty interesting, but when i really get to thinking what i want most out of life, it all boils down to one thing. i know i really want it, but it seems more like just a dream, but i keep coming back to it. i really wanted to be a novelist/screenwriter, etc. and even though econ can’t be that bad, i see the major as just a prep for everyday life, like philosophy… but probably not something i want to do after i graduate. i chose english because i thought it could help me with novel writing, but the classes never felt right to me. people in the classes seem to take them too lightly, and i just never felt like i belong there. but i doubt majoring in english automatically means i get published. but the thing is, even if i major in english, i don’t really want to work in that common area either, ie journalism, advertising, newspapers, etc. i just like stories and want to write them down. but does this sound more like a hobby? honestly, i don’t think i want to do anything the majors in college lead to. i think i just wanted to gain “life skills” by going. but well, realistically speaking, econ is not a bad major to fall back on, i guess.</p>

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<p>Some schools offer Creative Writing or even Screenwriting as majors. If yours doesn’t, then would you be allowed to self-design a major at this point? Another idea might be continuing your English major, but going for a “creative writing emphasis.” I recommend talking to someone within the English department, and specifically someone who specializes in creative writing (look through faculty bios or find a creative writing course and seek out the professor).</p>

<p>You might not be finding your ideal opportunities at your own school, but to say that “I don’t think I want to do anything the majors in college lead to” is probably unfair. I’m sure you didn’t intend to come off this way, but it sounds a little whiny and “pity me”-esque. It would amaze you, the things you can study if only you know where to look (or if you go to a school that allows self-design). Now, that info might not be helpful to you, but you should know that your situation–feeling behind, feeling overwhelmed, feeling unsure of your interests–is, however unpleasant, nonetheless quite common. I know a girl who went from Engineering to Dance, one who went from Chemistry to Dance to Criminology to International Relations to Politics, one who went from Architecture to Nutrition to Psychology (and is currently on hiatus, figuring her interests out), and one who went from Poli Sci to Business to Sports Management back to Business back to Poli Sci (and transferred schools with each swap until she was back at her starting point). One majored in Studio Art but is now at grad school for Creative Writing. When I myself headed to college, I was torn between English, Engineering, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Graphic Design, Psychology, Marine Biology, Neuroscience, Linguistics, Journalism, Advertising, or Math. Just to name a few. “How do I choose my major?” has got to be one of the most popular thread topics in this forum.</p>

<p>While it may seem like many of your peers have things all figured out, you shouldn’t assume or fear that you’re unique in your confusion. And because of this fact, there’s a pretty good chance that your school offers resources to help you. Talk to the Career Planning office or to your student advisor. Get in touch with the Dean of Students’ office and find out who they recommend contacting.</p>

<p>For the record, I just googled “econ major” and got a ton of university pages describing the major, its career prospects, the type of coursework it often involves, the type of thinking it requires/encourages, and so forth. A lot of the info that you seem to be looking for is out there, you just have to search for it a bit.</p>

<p>Random fact for you: I could be wrong about this, but I seem to recall hearing that the minority of employed people are actually doing something that’s directly related to their undergrad degree.</p>

<p>And finally, just for fun…</p>

<p>**<a href=“http://www.marietta.edu/~ema/econ/famous.html[/url][/b]”>http://www.marietta.edu/~ema/econ/famous.html**&lt;/a&gt; A list of famous Econ majors, ranging from George H. W. Bush to Lionel Richie to Bob Barker.</p>

<p>**<a href=“http://www.louisiana.edu/Academic/LiberalArts/PHIL/Famous_Philosophy_Majors.html[/url][/b]”>http://www.louisiana.edu/Academic/LiberalArts/PHIL/Famous_Philosophy_Majors.html**&lt;/a&gt; A list of famous Philosophy majors, ranging from Pearl S. Buck to Pope John Paul II to Richard Gere.</p>

<p>**<a href=“http://faculty.ircc.edu/DEPT/English/Famous%20English%20Majors.htm[/url][/b]”>http://faculty.ircc.edu/DEPT/English/Famous%20English%20Majors.htm**&lt;/a&gt; A list of famous English majors, ranging from Reese Witherspoon to Sally Ride to James Cameron.</p>

<p>All of the paths you’re exploring offer a great deal of flexibility. None of them will forever corner you into a single career, and none of them will close off a terrible number of paths. My own advice would be to stop worrying too much about the Big Mysterious Future and concentrate on how you’d like to spend your study-time for the next two, two and a half years. If that path of study seems unrelated to your eventual goals, then don’t stress about it as long as it’s something that interests you for now. The flip-side of that advice is to focus on your career goals and then pursue what you feel to be the most logical path for the time being (i.e. “suck it up” re: English). I can think of best-selling books by economists and philosophers as well as traditional novelists. </p>

<p>Regardless of what you end up majoring in, there’s a lot that you can do if you clear your head and are willing to put in the effort. found a Creative Writing club in your spare time. Volunteer with your school’s Literary Magazine. Write and direct a One Act (my school had something called “24 Hour One Acts” where the plays were cast, rehearsed, and performed within the space of 24 hours…perhaps yours offers something similar). Organize a group to participate in NaNoWriMo (<a href=“http://www.nanowrimo.org/)%5B/url%5D”>http://www.nanowrimo.org/)</a>. College offers no shortage of opportunities to pursue your interests, even if you don’t feel that you “fit” into a particular course of study.</p>

<p>Good luck :)</p>

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<p>wow, you’re great. thanks a bunch. </p>

<p>every time i make a decision about majors, there seems to be the same concern. like, if i go from english to econ, seeing myself doing business seem to make me feel a little uncomfortable. and if i do English and Philosophy instead, I also see myself unemployed, or working at the library my whole life, and that makes me uncomfortable. i guess i feel a little limited in resources for the future. counselors always try to help by asking where i see myself in the next few years. i really don’t know. i actually even feel a little torn up just thinking about it. i also seem to think that if people in the past have done things, i could too. ie: most authors are english majors, etc. </p>

<p>so i know a major is just a bunch of classes you take in the subject and in depth. i don’t think i should think of these as majors anymore. it’s been too long ingrained in me that majors=careers, which is definitely false. but i guess a better way to think about this is what i want to study for the rest of college, and in depth in. as much as i like writing, i don’t want to study post-modernism. but i really like philosophy, and i have most fun studying chinese. it’s weird. i felt a pretty okay with just philosophy and chinese (though a little worried about employment), and when i add either econ or english in there, i feel like it doesn’t offer me enough flexibility. isn’t that weird. like econ might sway me into the business area, and english might sway me into the writing area. i guess i’m just thinking about this all too much. it might be better if i don’t even think about the future. but then i’d also feel a little goal-less. </p>

<p>i’m meeting with a career advisor in 2 days. i originally planned to discuss whether i should go to law school, library school, or law library school. i guess i’ll tell them about the writing thing too. thanks anyhow.</p>

<p>p.s. that’s pretty funny. none of the famous econ majors are even economists, which i thought i would be if i majored in econ. a lot of them are even in the entertainment industry. weirddd. wow, richard gere was a philosophy major! very shocked! i thought most actors don’t even go to college. lol.</p>

<p>i guess careers are just what you like to do, not what you liked to study. since school is not the real world. for most of us anyway. :D</p>

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<p>“most authors are english majors…”
– I have no idea whether that’s true or false, but there’s another thread around here about “English vs. Journalism.” In that thread, a number of posters claim that a totally different background an actually make for great journalists, because as long as those people can still write well, it means that they have their own “areas of expertise.” The same would hold true among novelists. Think Dan Brown, for example (I know I’m choosing kind of a controversial example, but hey). The man knows how to stick together a sentence, but he certainly wouldn’t have pumped out the same bestsellers without his background in Religious Studies :)</p>

<p>In fact, here’s yet another set of fun facts. A sampling from the current New York Time’s best-seller list, plus the degrees of the authors…</p>

<p>Hardover Fiction

  1. PLAYING FOR PIZZA, by John Grisham (Accounting followed by law school)
  2. THE ALMOST MOON, by Alice Sebold (Hard to find…studied poetry and fiction)
  3. WORLD WITHOUT END, by Ken Follett (Philosophy)
  4. THE CHOICE, by Nicholas Sparks (Business Finance)
  5. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, by Khaled Hosseini (Biology)</p>

<p>Paperback Trade Fiction

  1. LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA, by Gabriel Garc</p>
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<p>Student615,
I have a very hard time making decisions. I actually feel a loss when I can’t choose everything I have considered, which is pretty sad, they’re just majors right. I keep thinking it through, and looking back at course descriptions, and have decided to not minor in Chinese, because I’m not interested in taking some required courses, ie translated Chinese lit courses. I’m looking at this way too dramatically, I feel like i have to make sacrifices, lol, which is true, i guess. i guess it all boiled down to what i want from a college education. i wanted to speak Chinese fluently (Chinese language courses), and I wanted to learn a new skill/hone skills I’m bad at from college. Particularly problem solving and logic. This is probably why I wanted to do engineering. I also wanted to continue writing, hence the English major. But I don’t think I was getting what I expected from an English major. I was thinking of dropping Philosophy, but I think what I can learn from that major is priceless. Another reason I pursued Philosophy was because I have a feeling it could teach me a lot about humans, life, thinking clearly, etc., that could help me out a lot when I write novels/scripts, etc, and maybe even help me out in the decision making process. Am I wrong about this? I’m just learning a lot of logic and arguing in my intro class. Don’t know about the rest. English major isn’t so bad, but I really like logic. Actually, when I put all the Philosophy classes I want to take together, I get enough credits to get a Philosophy minor. Now, if all I wanted was logic from Philosophy, I suppose a lack of a few other Philosophy classes won’t hurt too much. </p>

<p>The counselor tells me I could have more doors open if I do the BS econ option, but I’m also limited to what classes I can take in the BS Econ option. he tells me it just depends on what i want to do after i graduate then. no clear idea still. </p>

<p>goals in college:
learn to speak chinese (taking chinese language courses already)
think logically (philosophy)
problem solving (econ)
writing (philosophy)
be somewhat employable after college (econ)
think analytically and critically (phil/eng)
have fun (phil)</p>

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<p>You don’t have to major in something to take classes in or learn from it. I wanted to learn German, so I took the entire language sequence. No major. No minor. Just GEs and then electives (and trust me, I didn’t have a lot of open space to play around with). </p>

<p>You might get the most flexibility by finishing your English major, because then you’d have elective space to play with rather than eating up your remaining credits with required courses (of course, if the English major holds no appeal, then this is a poor suggestion). But it seems conceivable that you could finish your English major while also taking all of the philosophy courses that interest you, thus winding up with a Philosophy minor (and perhaps continuing your Chinese language courses as electives). I only suggest this because it sounds like flexibility would be helpful to you.</p>

<p>You’ll be “somewhat employable after college” with any of these degrees. Based on the English, Philosophy, and Econ majors that I know, your employability won’t vary too dramatically. It’s the curse of the liberal arts…“somewhat employable” is as good as it gets :stuck_out_tongue: (only kidding).</p>

<p>Does your college offer a degree in Liberal Arts of in general Humanities? If so, it might let you blend a few of your interests. Likewise, some schools offer a PPE degree (Philosophy, Politics, & Economics). Ditto the possibility of self-designing a major, or obtaining a dual degree (“blending” English and Philosophy, so to speak, or any other combo). Any of this available to you?</p>

<p>I understand what it’s like to be so indecisive and also so overwhelmed by your own interests, and I know the frustration. It drives me crazy that I might have passed up my only chance to formally and seriously study so many fascinating topics! But that’s kind of the nature of college. After saying “talk to a counselor” and “do what you enjoy,” this isn’t a decision anyone else can make for you.</p>