Home Architecture Talk
Calling all experienced Confused Graduates! Help me decide my major! Please!?
I am a junior at FIU and I have been changing my major alot because I am not sure what profession i want to enter. I am 21 years old, I have a talent for drawing, enjoy art, children(although I have not learned classroom management, I like to teach), I think id like teaching high school, I think Id enjoy solving peoples problems, & Id definitely like a job where I'm in charge, creativity is useful, and a business type setting. I want to be happy but I want to make at least 50K in the profession I choose. Here are my major changes in order. I changed each of them because I wasnt so sure I liked what the careers everyday routine entailed. 1.Sociology 2.Elem. Teacher 3.Juvenile Criminal Justice (for at-risk youth) 4.Forensics (This is where I was looking for something I could make $) 5.Elem. Teaching & now Im thinking of switching to either: 6. Interior Design (Architecture) (for the business and art)( i also wanted to get into real estate and flipping houses, once the economy is back) 7. Art History (to become an Art Curator, designing museum exhibitions and or working in or starting my own art gallery. Or fall back on teaching high school kids if the curator job doesnt work out) No one in school is helpful, especially not the advisors. I need help, I am very stressed out and feel very down that I do not know what I should major in, and I dont want to go through years of schooling to earn the same salary as my current CVS job. Please help me! I am also looking to pursue a masters degree, i dont know what yet. but it is defintely a must. things I dont like, much math and much medicine. the two things that make the most money. :/ i know. Thanks Susan, that makes alot of sense. I dont really have anyone to guide me as to how college, majors, and careers work together.
Public Comments
- I think the problem is that you're thinking of your major purely as a route to a career. This type of thinking can be poisonous. Unless you're going into a very specified, skill-driven field such as computer science don;t worry about what major equates to what career. Many of the careers you listed don't require a specific skill set. Rather, they are the types of careers that will benefit from you selecting a major where you learn to think and problem-solve. You should probably consider more broad majors. Look into things like English, Psychology, So-An, History, etc. These may not seem like bread-winner type majors, but the truth is that these majors are more and more the majors that businesses are looking for.
- If you don't like math then I don't suggest architecture. Interior design is similar but different enough that you may wish to pursue it. However, there are no jobs for interior designers unless you are REALLY REALLY REALLY good. There are also few jobs for Art History, but there's a better chance at getting a job as an Art History teacher. You won't find a lot of Art History jobs in elementary or secondary schools, though, so your best bet would be to continue your education for a PhD and become a professor. Museum curator jobs are hard to come by. If you like art and like children then try looking into art therapy. There are more jobs available for an art therapist than an interior designer or art history teacher. The median pay for one just starting out as an art therapist (with less than a year's experience) is $30,000/yr. But that depends on where in the country you live. Obviously, places like New Jersey, New York, or California are going to pay more than places like Nebraska or Montana. http://www.arttherapy.org/
- You ought to look into urban and regional planning - I get the impression that it's like architecture without so much math and engineering, more studio work. FAU has a highly regarded program. A master's degree is the industry standard. Some schools combine urban planning with public policy for a joint degree. Something to get you thinking might be learning about New Urbanism - a movement among planners and architects that want to return to Traditional Neighborhood Design and Transit Oriented Development. You can be in a business setting with developers, teaching or presenting your ideas to city council or a community group, finding creative ways to build (or rebuild) places. A well renowned, leading firm promoting New Urbanism is down in your area - DPZ, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyrberk.
