Non-traditional Veteran Choosing Major

College Majors
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I am a non-traditional student, veteran, 40+, etc. Going back to school, paid for via VA college funds. Have a horrible school record, did some college, but when I was young and didn’t really want to go to school, so some classes I did great, others I blew off and bombed. So I’m going to a community college for a transfer studies degree and to work to bring up my GPA. Did great in Business Law, History, Algebra, Political Science…But messed up my grade in Algebra, and its been so long since I’ve done math I know math I will need to start from the basic Math Literacy class.

I am trying to decide on a major. My work experience has been in IT (networking, some programming), and in the military I went through Biomedical Tech training. So in addition to IT, though its been a long time, have some medical coursework and knowledge (did pretty well). My dream would be to go to law school eventually, but I am also considering Physical Therapy and other paths. I really enjoy helping people and having myself dealt with a lot of things in life, I am also strongly considering taking a route leading to Social Work or Psychology.

Any advice on majors to consider would very much be appreciated. Something that would transcend well to either pursing law school, physical therapy (DPT?), Masters in Psychology/Social Work…I know I probably sound all over the place, but that’s my personality, I learn and excel quickly at things and am all over the place with my interests.

Some degrees I’ve been thinking of, again all over the place; Anthropology (seems good across the board for advanced schooling or if I end up not going beyond Bachelor’s), Business Administration, Biology, Computer Science, English, Cybersecurity, International Business or Relations, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work or Linguistics.

Any suggestions, advice, etc. is appreciated!

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You can major in anything and go to law school. It’d be good to take classes that require lots of critical thinking, analysis, and writing; majors in the social sciences (like anthropology, sociology, English, and psychology) are good for that. Computer science can also be good - it can lead to patent law or work in law and tech - but you may want to supplement your schedule with some writing classes. But any of the majors you listed above would still make you eligible for law school.

If you wanted a master’s in psychology, you’d major in psychology. But a master’s in psychology generally won’t allow you to practice therapy as a licensed counselor. You’d need a master’s in mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, school psychology, or social work. For an MSW, you can also major in anything in undergrad. For the others, a major in psychology is the best choice.

For a DPT, there are certain prerequisites you have to take. Those are usually anatomy and physiology, physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and statistics. You can take these classes with any major, though. Many DPT hopefuls major in exercise science or kinesiology in undergrad; if those majors aren’t offered, often the choice is biology or something health-related.

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juillet, thanks so much for the reply! I think that’s helped me narrow down, at least between psych, sociology and social work, seems like best options would probably be Sociology first, since it will transcend both law school and masters in social work. The more I think about it, the DPT may be more school than I really want or should do, especially for something that’s not really in the top two career path’s desired.

Is there a wide variety of degrees that lead to MSW, or is it pretty much sociology or social work majors?

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