Advice College

GoldenCocaine · 2016-01-09T23:05:00+00:00

I was literally in the exact same situation and major as you a year ago. I then heard about a friend who was making good money as an outdoor lineman (high voltage electrician basically). I made the decision to drop out and attend trade school. It was the best decision I ever made in my life. I now have a good job with steady pay for the rest of my life. A real career. I'm sure if I stayed in college with my liberal arts degree I would be currently unemployed living with my parents begging for work. Change majors / direction with your life ASAP is what I would do. This is your future.

rigbyismyhomie · 2016-01-09T22:46:19+00:00

Hey! I took some communication classes, and did 4 years of college radio. I am in law school now.

If you can't stand your classes, that's reason enough to switch. However, as a Junior, your options might be limited. I went to a private school as well, and I know that I didn't have many options when it came to switching out my junior year, but I'll lay some advice on ya.

With the exception of fine arts and applied sciences, what you get a degree in matters much less than the fact you got a degree.

If you want to completely change fields, take classes in those areas and apply for internships. Get recommendations from your professors or chairs in the departments that you want to work in. Let's say you strike out, then go for your MBA or your masters in those sciences.

Don't tack on an extra year (and extra debt, I assume) just to switch a couple words on your degree. You always have grad school as a safety net, and through social skills (networking) and academic instruction (taking electives in those schools), you can still get your foot in the door in these fields.

Here are direct suggestions:

0) Its probably the start of your semester, so do these things as soon as you get back on campus.

1) Talk to friends in those programs. See which professors help students the most. If you don't have friends in those programs, email the chair, say you might be interested, and ask for a meeting.

2) Go to the meeting. Express that your interests have changed, and ask how you can transition from comm to whatever. Know what the field entails. Do your research. Come with questions.

3) They will probably tell you to take some intro classes. Take them, and treat them like a golden key. Do what you need to do to get As. Make friends with the professors (Go to office hours!).

Life is much more about who you know than what a piece of paper says. Be the guy who's passionate about what you're doing, and the gatekeepers will be proud to let you through.

EDIT: Added info to #2.

reserved1012 · 2016-01-10T03:16:46+00:00

I did a post graduate at a liberal arts college after I got my degree and promptly dropped out. It was horrible. I realized my cohorts were impressively untalented and unintelligent. I stood out massively by just vaguely applying concepts from books. No one did extra reading. I see why entry level for these careers pay ass.

Title	Advice College
Author	will485
Upvotes	1
Comments	3
Date	January 9, 2016 10:00 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/408bds/advice_college/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/advice-college.159037 https://theredarchive.com/post/159037

Comments