<p>hi, im sure many of us have this concern (especially asian students). </p>
<p>When we’r choosing a major should we lean toward our interest or practicality?</p>
<p>I myself is really interested in anime art and is pretty good at it, and I’m sorta secretly planning on becoming an anime artist in japan, but i was sorta stuck w/ the choice of electrical engineering for 1) its practicality and 2) my parents have been nagging that the only career i can choose are lawyer/doctor/engineer (ya, we’r asians).</p>
<p>I’ve seen the counselor at orientation and she told me I’m suppose to make my decision fast (b4 freshmen ends) if i want to switch to art major or not. Right now Im pretty torn between pursuing my dream or consider the practicality of life and stick w/ a major i don’t really like (but makes money). What should I do? plz comment</p>
You’re Asian, so your parents have likely already chosen your major…
Also, most anime/manga artists at UCLA are Design | Media Arts majors. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>my parents wanted me to have a secure professional job…that’s where the whole doctor/lawyer/engineer speech comes in…but above they, they just want you to have a good life…so they’re just being good parents.</p>
<p>i say just do what you want…make freshman year your year that you decide what YOU want to do…because ultimately if you love what you do, then the monetary rewards are just a bonus…and your life will be that much better…and in the end your parents will agree with you.</p>
<p>i guess i didnt mention that my parents are EXTREMELY anal about me getting a “professional” job and me having a materialistic life, eh? </p>
<p>especially my father, I’ve hated him (yes hate, its complicated my family situation) for as long as i can remember becuz he’s always forcing me to have hobbies i hate, and always planning my life out where I’m not really myself but a mere reflection of wat his ego would do if he gets a second life.</p>
<p>lol i feel the same way (i’m asian too) though my parents don’t pressure me as much as your parents seem to do. my mom believes going into medicine would match my personal strengths best, but it seems that a lot of my friends’ moms say the same thing about their children. </p>
<p>i would reiterate what etti says about using freshman year to find out what you like. that’s what i’m going to be doing at least :)</p>
<p>Dude, I totally understand what you’re going through. I’m Asian too, and for me, it’s between microbio major (for a future pre-med of course) or econ/biz-econ.</p>
<p>Although I like bio, I’m really interested in econ so I’m leaning towards economics, but as with all Asian parents, they think that a econ degree is useless and that the only way I’ll be happy is if I’m financially secure with a M.D. or J.D. -____-"</p>
<p>But personally, I think if your “interest” major isn’t far too uh…I don’t know how to say this without dissing certain majors…but everybody knows there are certain “fluff” majors that essentially don’t land you a job easily. (e.g. Women’s Studies or something…)</p>
<p>Basically, what I’m trying to say is, I think it’s perfectly fine to pursue your interest/major as long as it’ll provide a future for you…e.g. econ for me…
:T</p>
<p>part of the reason i choose electrical engr is that i’m pretty good at math (cuz im asian xD) but i dont really like math. You kno that feeling? where ur good at something but u dont like it? ya that’s me w/ math and science</p>
<p>I never got a lawyer/doctor/engineer speech It was medicine all the ****ing way. I remember my bio teacher (Asian UCLA alum) saying that she double majored. One major she honestly enjoyed, and the other was just for practicality. </p>
<p>She also said that a lot of her Asian friends are now doctors, but they’re not happy. </p>
<p>If you like Economics because of your HS economics course, you will be in for a rude awakening once you start to take courses above Macro/Micro economics. I used to love Economics, but once you get into the upper divison, you realize it’s a ton of theory. But hey, you may love theory and love econ. </p>
<p>I’d say, try to find something that is practical while being interesting. Either extreme might end up being bad depending on your major. </p>
<p>Anime art is flooded with a ton of good people. I realized that such a career will probably pay crappy in Japan, but I could practice a ton and get so good, but a 12 year old Japanese Kid will come along and be better than me in all aspects.</p>
<p>that’s exactly why im kinda hesitating cuz i kno there are good anime artists flooding in japan, I’m not sure if I can make a living out of drawing in japan, but I so wanna live in japan ~sigh~</p>
<p>You can be an engineer by day, anime artist by night! :)</p>
<p>Nah, just kidding. But I mean, if you like drawing anime, keep it up! Are you only interested in drawing anime though? If you like other forms of art and design, than you may want to go for the DESMA major. But if not, then it might be safer to just keep it as a hobby, since a job in anime probably isn’t the most stable considering the competition.</p>
<p>well I’ve been drawing for about 6-7 years now and all the ppl who’ve seen my anime work said I can seriously consider going into the anime industry. </p>
<p>and yeah…i know there will b fierce competition hence my hesitation and consideration for EE… but then again I seriously dont want to have a midlife crisis when I’m 40 on how i wasted my life doing something that i’m not passionate about. but if I go into the industry there’s the possibility that I mite regret it too… </p>
<p>Spend some more time to decide what you really want to do. I’m sure you’ve already spent quite a bit of time, but keep at it.</p>
<p>The thing is, I have met a bunch of people who draw well. I considered them to be of the caliber of being able to going to the anime industry. The sad thing is none of them are doing it for a career. It’s just a hobby for all of them. Imagine if they got really serious. Competition = wow. </p>
<p>Hey Kaiser, do you have a Deviant? Post it or PM me it if you do!</p>
<p>Dude, I have it worse than you. My parents gave me the doctor/lawyer/engineer speech too, and I decided (not completely from them) that I wanted to be a doctor. Problem is, all our family friends are biologists, and they tell them that biology is a horrible field to go into. Now I’m stuck out of the traditionally “easier” biology major and into the much harder Chem E because they’re afraid I could end up being a lab technician scrubbing test tubes for the rest of my life Q_Q</p>
<p>I think you should let the first 2 years of college help make your final decision, or maybe like study abroad to Japan, and get a taste of what its like. Its better to sample everything before diving into a lifelong commitment.</p>
It was medicine all the ****ing way. I remember my bio teacher (Asian UCLA alum) saying that she double majored. One major she honestly enjoyed, and the other was just for practicality. </p>