In high school I had a 4.0 in everything I took. However I couldn’t stand the atmosphere I was in so I decided to graduate a year early and go into a community college. I have about 24 transferable units now (transferable to UC or CSU since I’m in California.) Now a problem with my high school courses that I’m even coming across now is that I absolutely don’t enjoy math or science. In freshman year, I got an A in honors biology, A in Algebra, but I didn’t enjoy those courses. Sophomore year came around, I got an A in geometry just because I did all of the homework and somehow passed the tests. Honestly, if that Geometry class didn’t count many points for homework or extra credit, I wouldn’t have gotten the A. I attended a high school that specialized in marine biology but didn’t enjoy any of that. It was perfect for people that love science but I didn’t fit.
I think a lot of this has to go back to my elementary/middle school days. I enjoyed English and elective type of classes but dreaded math and science. For some reason, science always gave me a lot of anxiety. It was probably because of the strict teacher I had that wanted to flunk me, but it left a bad taste in my mouth ever since. Same with math kind of, except I started to improve. Then I became homeschooled and my math improvement kind of stopped since I wasn’t being challenged. What types of majors should I go into if I don’t like stem? I don’t want to be picky and completely rule out a major because of the math, but if that job involves a lot of math, 99 percent chance I won’t enjoy it.
I also have to add I’m really detail oriented and I like to be precise about details. I looked into accounting before but I can’t deal with the math aspect of it all. Is there anyone here that can identify with me or do I sound too difficult? I just want to study what fits me the most. What should I do?
There are plenty of good jobs that do not entail math particularly and science not at all (http://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/stem/stem-html/ - choose the NON-STEM Majors tab - and http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm) and, of course, various humanities majors that do not entail math or science. There is also study in social science, which is presumably not like the science you are averse to. People with these majors do get jobs (Students Review dot com, look at Careers Majors), although the process is not likely to be as easy or the jobs as immediately well-paying as these things are for engineering or computer science majors. (And, by the way, society cannot run well on STEM people alone.)
IMO, the goal always ought to include getting a complete education.
I don’t think that’s possible without a big dose of humanities, of course, but it also needs a knowledge of the physical world (some science) and a comprehension of calculus.
Mathematics, once taken beyond a trivial level, is so foundational for music, philosophy, and language that to contemplate college without it leaves as big a hole as skipping literature, cultural geography, or a foreign language.
STEM programs that don’t include these kinds of things, while employable, are also incomplete, IMO.
It should never be just about getting a job, but always should include getting a full education.John Adams, according to one biographer, took calc at Harvard in the mid 1700’s not to get a STEM job, but because his education would have been incomplete without it.
Business majors typically require calculus (though usually an easier calculus for business majors is offered). Business and social studies majors do require an understanding of probability and statistics (and an understanding of probability and statistics is generally useful). Philosophy will involve logical thinking that is like what one does in math.