Your college major

[LaxMom]

I didn't graduate. I was a paramedic, then segued to the nursing program but decided I didn't want to spend more years in school to lose autonomy in practice.

 

In August, I return to finish my degree in public health / community social health. :D

[Mom-ninja.]

Environmental Science.

 

Would love to go to grad school for Evolutionary Biology.

[rdj2027]

Apprenticeship in banking (2 years)

BS in Geology

 

I took all my MS classes, wrote my thesis and collapsed on the day of my defense. Was out of commission for several months and could not reschedule before we moved out of the country. That was 16 years ago. Maybe some day I go back and redo my MS just for the fun of it though my interests have changed slightly. At my current age crawling through the backwoods of Alaska and the Rockies, going for weeks on end without showers and all basic amenities of civilization has lost some of its allure.

[UrbanSue]

Doubled in music and poli sci. Then went to grad school for theology (but only made it halfway to an MA).

[readinmom]

English, Literature and Language

M.A. Teacher Education

[Zoo Keeper]

nm

[Laura Corin]

Under the English system, it's hard to change majors: there are no general courses, so you start immediately to specialise in the subject for which you were accepted. If you decide to change subject, everyone else in your new subject will have been diving deeply into the materials for months already.

 

I studied French and Drama, and took no courses outside those subjects for three full years; I also taught in France for a year abroad.

 

I also have an MBA.

 

Laura

[Jane in NC]

BS/MS Mathematics

[Laura Corin]

Plan II.

 

Points to you if you know what that is without googling. :D

 

At UT Austin? Do I get extra points for being a poor benighted Brit who got it without Googling?

 

Husband did Plan II.

 

L

[Twigs]

AAS Medical Laboratory Technology

BS Physics

[Twigs]

Plan II.

 

Points to you if you know what that is without googling. :D

:seeya: I know!!

[Jeannie in NJ]

rdj2027, I know what you mean, I don't miss setting up my tent on snow and trying to find a secluded place in the woods for a bathroom. However, there was nothing quite as pleasant as that first shower when getting back home (after peeling off totally disgusting clothes). I did like the mountains and trees tho and how peaceful some of the areas were. It was also nice when we camped right on the beach, listening to the ocean all night , eating fresh caught fish and swimming with dolphins. Could have done without the sandfleas tho lol. also had to go behind the dunes for bathroom use.

[Joyofsixreboot]

BA Radio and Television

MS Nutrition and Dietetics

[Sara in AZ]

Bachelors: Piano Performance

Masters: Piano Performance/Pedagogy

 

Would love to go back for a Masters in accompanying someday.

[Wildcat]

Business Administration

 

Never 'used' it as I got married right away & had kids. I'm not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I need to decide soon, though, as my youngest is nearly finished with school and I'll be closing in on 50 when I'm ready to re-enter the worforce. I have several ideas, but I'm just not sure if going back to school at that stage of the game is going to be worth the time & expense, or if I should just find 'something' for a few years and travel with hubby when he retires. Hmmm....

[SailorMom]

M.A. in Ancient and Classical History, with emphasis on the economic and religious history of each culture.

[Wildcat]

Zoology with a minor in Wildlife Biology

 

Would you recommend this today? Dd is interested in the exact same thing, but it's hard to find out how marketable she would be.

[DawnM]

BA-Anthropology/3rd World Development

Secondary Education Credential proram

MA-TESOL

MA-School Counseling

[Georgiana Daniels]

I changed my major a few times too. First I started out as a music major--seemed natural since I had a scholarship and whatnot, but I ended up totally FLOPPING. Then I switched to Journalism, which ruined my writing voice for a long, long time. Finally, I ended up switching to Public Relations and finished the degree. Basically, I needed to just graduate and get a job.

 

If I could do it over, I'd go for Architecture or Pharmacology. Sadly, those degrees are not available in our town or I'd do it now.

[Guest]

Early Childhood Development and Elementary Education. Still working on degree in Elementary Education.

[Mergath]

Lit and Anthropology. I went for six years, and I'm still something like four credits short of a BA- took too many classes I was interested in that didn't apply to my major. If all my credits were applicable to my majors, I'd practically have an MA by now. :p

[rdj2027]

Jean,

 

LOL, yes, one learns to be grateful for little things in that field. Funny that you mention setting up tents in the snow. We pitched tents one time after stopping somewhere around midnight. Next morning we figured out we were sitting in the middle of a frozen lake. I am still amazed that the ice didn't break under the weight of our vehicles. Got moving really quick in the morning though.

[Arcadia]

Civil and structural engineering, postgrad in computer engineering. I worked a few years with supercomputers after graduating. Hubby went all the way to phd in electrical engineering without switching.

[Violet Crown]

At UT Austin? Do I get extra points for being a poor benighted Brit who got it without Googling?

Husband did Plan II.

L

Bonus points for that! :)

 

I get very excited when someone asks me "What makes you think you can teach everything someone needs to know through a high school level?" I answer, "Actually, I majored in exactly that."

[ocelotmom]

Started out Psychology, switched to Human Development, dropped out of that university. Started out at CC as Computer Science, took lots of Early Childhood Education classes but never officially changed my major to that, and graduated with AAs in Women's Studies and Social Sciences. Then went back and got a Nursing degree.

[TeacherZee]

MA Business Studies

MEd Secondary Education

 

I'm one semester short of a MA in English Lit, I might go back and get that at some point.

[FaithManor]

B.A., triple major in Piano Performance, Music Education, and Philosophy with a minor in French. I've worked professionally as a pianist, elementary music education, middle school band director, private teacher with a very full music studio, and as a music therapist after a fashion when I became aware of a niche issue of children with specific types of learning or developmental disabilities, often not being able to find a music teacher who could help them...did the research, and well, ended up with a studio full of special needs kids that I adored! I've also taught 6th-8th science, high school chemistry at a private school, and spent a semester as a school guidance counselor, a position that was the most depressing and infuriating of my entire life. I briefly interned with a historical agency doing research for them and cataloging some books and artifacts, but that was for the summer post college graduation, and I haven't done anything like that since then.

 

Currently, just for fun and a little supplemental income for dd's wedding, I work special sales, some Saturdays, and whenever the owners are out of town. This is for a local quilt store. The job is low stress and a lot of fun so I'll probably continue after the wedding and maybe take on a few extra hours over the summer.

 

Dh has a B.S. triple major in math, computer science, and business. Both of us were science geeks so if you looked at our college transcripts, you would see chemistry, physics, biology, more chemistry, more physics, etc....we both filled out electives with science.

 

Faith

[Kathryn]

BA History

MA History

MLIS Archives

[Julie of KY]

BS in Chemical Engineering

MD

[catz]

Lit and Anthropology. I went for six years, and I'm still something like four credits short of a BA- took too many classes I was interested in that didn't apply to my major. If all my credits were applicable to my majors, I'd practically have an MA by now. :p

 

 

Oh I totally did this too. I have enough credits in the right places for a bachelors and a masters for sure. Just not the paperwork!

[LostSurprise]

Started as a Biology major for 2 years, had a stringent scholarship (a B would just not cut it) and a math professor who didn't agree with the way I worked problems, so I transferred over the the Secondary Education department and in 2 years got a BA in Secondary Education and a BA in Communications. If I did it over I would just transfer to a state university and continue the Biology on my own dime, but it seemed like a wonderful opportunity at the time.

 

I'm also 4 classes away from an MLIS degree.

[FaithManor]

 

Would you recommend this today? Dd is interested in the exact same thing, but it's hard to find out how marketable she would be.

 

 

This is a tough one to break into without a PH.D. My middle boy is specifically interested in herpetology. But, he knows he also needs to be able to get employment so he's amended his plans to a double major in ecology and environmental science with an emphasis in zoology (he'll still go on for at least his masters) which is more marketable...currently, there are still many government and private sector jobs available in this field and lots of research. One of the highest paid non-executives (and let me tell you, she pulls down the BIG bucks) for GM is an environmental scientist that spearheads all of their environmental impact studies for future construction/expansion...she also manages the group that oversees the wetlands preservation program and wildlife management for GM since often, in exchange for being allowed to build X at Y location, they then maintain something for the environment and habitat preservation somewhere else. There is a wave of retirement coming up in the government sector for environmental scientists and so there will be job openings.

 

My cousin has a PH.D. in it and teaches at and does research through the University of Minnesota and is the premier expert on Great Lakes invasive species, and all things particularly, Lake Superior. She does not rake in the big bucks, but plenty of money to live on, and she loves the work. So, ds will pursue his zoology/herpetology passion on the side while getting a more marketable education. He has even expressed interest in working on rainforest preservation, most specifically, the temperate rainforest of western Washington state and British Columbia.

 

Generally speaking, except possibly Cornell - which does not award merit aid so keep that in mind when applying - the top biology/environmental science/ecology with zoological emphasis and research tend to be the big state Ag schools. It's quite expensive to have a strong animal research department. So, the state flagships tend to be the ones endowed with the best reputations in this department. The top 20 list includes, Michigan State and University of Michigan, U of Wisconsin at Madison, Minnesota State and U of Minnesota with some of the best Great Lakes research taking place at U of Minn. at Duluth (a regional campus of that flagship school), Purdue, U of Rochester is no slouch in ecology but light on zoological research, desert research departments are fantastic at Arizona State and U of Arizona, and for tropical...Florida State and U of Florida...I've heard, don't know if this is true or not because I don't have personal knowledge, that U of F is much better than FSU, and there's another smaller U in or near the Everglades whose name escapes me at the moment...I'll try to look it up, but probably not until after the wedding. Then of course Hawaii...and who wouldn't want to study evironmental science and ecology wearing shorts and a lei???? :D Their botany department is one to drool over!!!!

 

Don't get lured into a Zoo Tech degree. This is okay for the kid who really does.not.mind. mucking out after wild animals, but the reality is that it does not lead to promotion or research. It might be a stepping stone for a kid who thinks a job at the local zoo is an option to help him or her earn some money to further on to a four year uni, but the pay is very low and it doesn't have a future for someone wanting to do more than just be around the animals and presiding over some basic care.

 

As I told ds, the screenplay writers for Jurassic Park were spot on when they titled every scientist and researcher in the movie "Dr."

 

Faith

[Jenny in Florida]

English, with emphasis in creative writing. I did the departmental honors program at my university, which required kind of a mini-minor in something that was outside the department but related in some way. It took some doing, but I managed to arrange to do my related coursework in the school of journalism (something of a big deal, since the English department and J-school were notoriously not friendly.)

 

I flirted briefly with switching to education, with an eye towards getting certified to teach English at the secondary level, but changed my mind after a semester and went back to the English department.

[freesia]

BA in history

Elementary certification (1-6)

[Jen in NY]

BMusEd. Trumpet was my major instrument. : )

 

<--------------

[MrsMommy]

BA in Theology

[Matryoshka]

I started as a Business major. But I'm too much of a generalist - I ended up switching my major to a program called Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration (ie make your own major). I mixed business, international politics and economics and foreign languages (including minors in Spanish and German). I called it "International Trade" (because the Business school wouldn't let anyone use "Business" in their major name unless they were in the Business school).

 

That left me lots of time to take other cool courses like Computer Science, Biology, Art, Chinese Literature and Indian Anthropology.

 

Yeah, wonder how I ended up a homeschooler... :tongue_smilie:

[Lady Florida.]

I have a BS from the College of Education. I would say I majored in Exceptional Education, but technically it was Mental Retardation. That's actually what's on my degree. It was the correct term in 1977.

[Caroline]

BS Materials Science and Engineering

MS Ceramic Engineering (because GA Tech didn't have an accredited MSE degree until 6 months later)

PhD

[plath]

I started out elementary ed and then switched to secondary ed English.

[AFwife Claire]

Double major in biology and math, with a near minor in chemistry (one class short). They have been handy for homeschooling, but even more handy was all my experience tutoring! I feel like homeschooling is a lot like tutoring--finding the reason one student doesn't understand something, rather than necessarily teaching a concept a ton of different ways until everyone in a big class understands it.

[EKS]

I started as an environmental studies major, switched to psychology, then switched to biology, and finally ended up in biochemistry.

[lea_lpz]

Hmmm... Average student will change their major 4 times as an undergraduate.

 

I was a Spanish major, English major, Women's Studies and finally a political science major.

 

I am in a M. Ed program for educational counseling.

 

I thought initially I would go to law school, then I learned more about myself and went into counseling after working with students in various internships.

 

Now I want a career that would allow me to homeschool so I am going to pursue a LPCC after I graduate (my masters will count toward this so I am just doing my clinical hours post graduation).

 

I don't know if we ever really know what we want to be when we grow up :)

[BarbecueMom]

BMusEd. Trumpet was my major instrument. : )

 

 

Same here!

[Shahrazad]

I'm still working on my degree. I started as a nursing major and switched to doing a B.A. in Social Work and Arabic this term as I didn't think I could realistically complete nursing school while dh is in med school at the same time with small children (one of whom is being homeschooled) and no family support or babysitter. I don't have much left for the degree and I plan to work a few years while DH goes through med school and once he is well set, I plan to apply to med school myself. Honestly, I always saw myself doing medicine and nursing was my back-up with plans to go on and do a Masters in Nurse-Midwifery because I didn't see how I'd manage the financial and home aspects of medicine. Doing it later and in a different sort of environment has made it a realistic goal for me so I'm willing to wait.

[VeritasMama]

Elem. Ed. with a minor in Special Ed.

[MicheleinMN]

I first majored in Physiology, then switched to Accounting - even switching colleges, but didn't finish.

 

(Life got in the way.)

 

I wish I had at least gotten the degree in Accounting, but would like to go back as an English or Classics major now.

[SwallowTail]

B.S Chemistry, with unofficial minor in materials engineering and math (was doing an engineering double major).

 

M.S. Polymer science and engineering

 

PhD work (incomplete) Materials Engineering - had to stop due to dd's unexpected arrival and her being high needs

 

I hope to return to grad school one day (God willing) and complete a PhD, but may change majors to chemistry w/ a biopolymer emphasis, biomedical engineering, oo chemcial engineering. It all depeneds upon what professor is working on projects that would be a passion for me.

[craftyerin]

Bonus points for that! :)

 

I get very excited when someone asks me "What makes you think you can teach everything someone needs to know through a high school level?" I answer, "Actually, I majored in exactly that."

I knew, too! :thumbup1: I went to UT as well, and had a couple of friends who were Plan II majors.

 

To the OP, I have a BA in history and government, and am certified to teach 6-12th grades in those subjects. But never have.

[sbgrace]

BS in Business Education, MS in education. I enjoyed teaching. But if I had known I would be leaving the profession after kids, I would have picked something that allowed for part time type work I think.