The Academic Thread

[Mhera]

Looks like I still don't understand how homeschooling works, then

Since I don't have any sisters I can also say that I attend what was formerly an all-boys school .

[Banya]

Choosing a major/career

I'm a lot like Sky – there are so many different things I want to study and so many different careers I want to pursue.  Yet now that I'm faced with actually having to choose one, I'm exhausted and overwhelmed.  Trying to imagine the job you'll spend your life doing is a huge task for a teenager.  It's hard to think that far ahead when you're not even sure what you want to study or where you want to study it.  Here are a few places to begin:

1)   Start with your dream job.  You have one because you know what you'd like to do every day of your life.  How realistic is it, and how can you make it happen?
2)   Utilize your languages.  Do you know/want to learn a foreign language, and which?  Languages like Russian, Arabic, and Korean are prized by government agencies, and any of these will suit your job in the tech industry.  Germany has a huge growing economy.  French is spoken by numerous populations around the world.  Spanish is an unofficial language of the US and bilingual employees are sought by domestic employers in healthcare.  Where can you go with the languages you know?  (I know, Latin learners, I know.)
3)   Take introductory classes.  This is huge.  When graduating HS, I had no idea what I wanted to study, so I spend two years studying cheaply at a community college (a great idea if you're paying your own way through.) Many colleges will make you spend the first year or so distributing your credits across many subjects, and this is the reason.  I thought that the introductory classes would give me an idea of what I wanted to study.  Miracle of miracles – it worked.
4)   Read up on majors.  You know what subjects you like.  You have schools in your mind.   What are their majors? Read the descriptions.  That's how I found mine – I read about it online, found out my dream college offered it, and set my mind on that.
5)   Understand the true value of majors.  Here's a secret: it's better to graduate with an English degree and a high GPA than an Econ degree and a low GPA.  Your major will not limit what you can do.  You can go to law school with a degree in Earth Science.  You can obtain an MBA with a BA in Psych.  What really matters? Your experience and passion.  Make sure it's something you love.  That leads into...
6)   Gain experience.  Internships. Paid internships.  International internships.  Clubs.  Field study.  Volunteer.  Hands-on experience will help you realize whether or not you like what you're doing.  Figure it out now, so you can avoid completing a 4 or 6 year degree in civil engineering and realizing "Hmm... I don't like this." (This will also help you gain professional connections – important for later.)
7)   Realize that there is no useless degree.  Most employers want to see you have a degree so they know you can make commitments and are willing to work hard.  Some degrees are easier to earn than others, but, guys, they're college degrees.  They're valuable.  The catch: you have to be willing to accept that you may not get the job you desired.  For example, you majored in Classical Studies?  Interesting, not incredibly relevant to many fields, but certainly not useless.  However, the on-site research you completed in both New Mexico and Romania speak volumes for your level of commitment to your passion and the amount of effort you're willing to put into your work, but you may not get that dream job as Smithsonian curator.  You'll have to work your way up to the top by starting with a base job.  That leads into...
8 )   Recognize that some degrees force you to max out immediately, some don't. Some degrees won't allow you to advance further without more education, like degree in Dental Hygiene.  As soon as you get a job, you've maxed out.  You'll get a raise every few years, maybe promotion to supervisor.  But without going to dental school, you can't go further.  On the other hand, social science degrees are nearly limitless.  You can take a degree in Sociology into numerous fields, and there will nearly always be room for promotions and career-switching.
9)   Analyze your environment.  Where do you feel comfortable?  Working in a lab? Watching kids? Fixing up a historic site? Traveling frequently?  Find out where you feel comfortable and what that means for you.  Then go back to "gain experience," (no. 6) so you realize sooner rather than later if this decision was the right one.
10)   Always be open to changing your major.  My college won't let you declare if you're under 55 credits and you're not at least a 2nd-semester sophomore.  Until then, you haven't taken enough credits to determine a plan.  Don't settle on one yet - explore.  Again, you're a teenager.  You're not expected yet to know what you want to do for the rest of your life yet.  This is about building the skills, experience and connections you will use for the rest of your life.
11)   Get to know your academic advisor.  They are knowledgeable of all majors.  If they know you well, and your likes and interests, they can make a few recommendations and put you in contact with the right people.
12)   Forget what you liked and didn't like in high school.  A teacher can make or break a class.
13)   Sit in on a class or look at a textbook from a class in a certain field, maybe one you don't know much about.  Does the book on Physical Geography interest you?  Take a class on that for your lab credits.  Does the book on the philosophy of logic bore you?  Find something else.
14)   Talk to your professors.  What did they study?  Chances are they may not have an undergrad degree in the subject they teach.  What did they do when they first graduated?  Additionally, professors often bring back alumni to talk to students about what they've done since graduating.  Make space in your calendar for these.
15)   Consider two or three majors.  I'm dual majoring because I love my main major and have enough credits to make a second.  Many classes can be used between majors so it doesn't take extra time.  This also gives you more options in a career field.
16)   Finally, bonus tip: If you think you need it, give yourself more time.  When you get your degree, find out if you like it.  I've heard of so many people getting a Master's degree, then finding out they like studying architecture but they don't like working in the field.  Personally, it's been my dream since I was little to join the Peace Corps, and that's where I'll be after graduation.  I hope it'll give me more time to figure out what I want to do with my life.

I hope this helps each of you in some way.  Thanks - this was fun!

[Wylder Treejumper]

^^ I disagree with one thing-- there is a useless degree. Creative Writing is the most useless degree in existence. I want to be an author, but would I ever get a degree in creative writing? No.

[Mhera]

^heh.

Thanks for putting that post down, Banya. It helps a lot, and I'll keep it in mind.

[Banya]

Hmm... my university offers CW as a sub-concentration, not as a major.  I know it's offered at other schools and would bet it's been done at mine as part of a build-your-own-concentration plan.  I have no doubt that this degree would help students become better writers and orators and improve their communication skills.  I see this being relevant to journalism, editing and publishing, translating, teaching, screenwriting, PR, making speeches, and becoming a playwright.  As I said, while a particular major may not be relevant to more than a handful of fields, a major like this would not doom you to living in a cardboard box on the streets of NY.  What really matters is the experience you gain as you work toward your major.
Small side-note: It took me a while to stop calling degrees useless.  I know Political Science majors, German Studies majors, fine arts majors, and Organization Studies majors, and I had to train myself to stop thinking, "What on Earth are you going to do with that?"  I saw people intern, work, and go on field studies, and realized that they were gaining business or lab experience that was filling their resumes and teaching them to be versatile.  I could just as easily call a degree in Cell and Molecular Biology useless, for it's the experience in the field that matters, and I can't call others' passions useless.
Second small side-note: And with that...I personally wouldn't get a degree in CW either.  

Anyway, Wylder, I hope you find the perfect major for you (if you choose to go to college, that is).  And I'd bet you'll be an excellent author.

I'm glad it helps, Mhera.  Thank you for the feedback, both of you.

[James Gryphon]

Even so, I would caution those who are interested in going for a particular degree, especially 'cute' creative degrees, to make sure that they have some sort of plan for how exactly they're going to pay it off, and a plan B (and even C) if they can't immediately hop into that "high-paying dream job". My oldest sister spent years and racked up massive loans to get some top-notch arts-related degrees from top universities... those debts from loans are still haunting our family today. She's done plenty of stuff, sure, gotten some publicity, but she's never made anything besides living wages on it. With that experience in mind, I can't emphasize this enough: make sure that what you learn can pay itself off. If it probably won't, then at least make sure that you're well set up in something more profitable, so that you'll have something to keep you financially safe, before you study something that you're not sure will lend a monetary return.

[Søren]

make sure that what you learn can pay itself off

^^^^
Being something like a hygienist or something that pays well for the money to learn.
(It worked really well for several people I know.)

[Skyblade]

Banya, that is so, so helpful!! Thank you for taking the time to help me and other members out. We truly appreciate it.

[Banya]

You're welcome, Sky.  Thanks for asking me.

Also, since many of you are HS juniors it's about time for you to be visiting schools.  Let us know where you're visiting – we want to know how it goes!  (And if you visit my school, you can sit in on a class or eat in the dining hall or do something they don't normally include in campus visit, if you'd like.)

[Skyblade]

That's a helpful post too, James

Yes, good idea!! I've visited one of my options several times, and there's one not too far from me that I would like to go to. The others so far, however, are admittedly out of state. They would be hard to visit.

[Skyblade]

WHY IS THIS THREAD ON THE SECOND PAGE!!!

*revives* Okay x) Anyway, what classes are you all taking? I still don't know so much about homeschooling, but I'm pretty sure you have different classes (English, math, science, history, electives).

For instance, I'm taking all IB core classes and IB Spanish and IB Computer Science and some others.

The IB classes are because I'm pursuing the IB diploma.

[Luftwaffles]

I did public, private AND graduate school, so I don't really know what to answer ^^U

I went to a private for the longest time so... yeah.

School was always a big let down for me, like it always seemed to discourage natural curiosity on the student, in favor of the standard manners. Glad that's over.

[Mhera]

Anyway, what classes are you all taking? I still don't know so much about homeschooling, but I'm pretty sure you have different classes (English, math, science, history, electives).

No, we combine all the subjects into something called Scienglishistorelectimath. It's quite efficient .

All kidding aside, I'm taking Pre-Calculus, English, Advanced Biology, Latin, and some electives. I'll might put up a more thorough explanation of how the curriculum is laid out later.

What's IB?

[Skyblade]

@Sierra: How?

That's cool, Mhera! IB stands for International Bacca-Baccaleua...uh....something (Wait a moment while I look this up)

A minute later...

International Baccalaureate. It's a diploma program that's quite rigorous. It's amazing I have this much time to spend on the forums, is all I can say!

[Luftwaffles]

@Sierra: How?

Let's just put it this way: you are not allowed to learn about military history more than superficially.