Argh... four years of college and all I've got is a PhD in confusion

Zenithian Legend

Zenithian Legend

Banned
I've had a bit of an epiphany. Background: I've been going to college for the past four years now, when I first go there I really wasn't sure what I wanted to major in, but I knew damn well I needed a degree in order to get a job. My friends really didn't push me in any particular direction, it was through coincidence that I ended up selecting the same or a very similiar major as many of them: business administration. I figured no matter what I decided to do, a degree in business was a safe bet. I've become president of a student organization regarding international management, and I'm nearly through the business program, in fact I probably would already be finished had I not decided to get a minor in economics and retook a few classes, that didn't turn out so well earlier on. I've had aspirations to become a great CEO of a fortune 500 company. The plan was to get an internship and hopefully be successful enough to get a company to pay for me to go to grad school, and then I could get a masters degree in business.

So, now if you're reading this you ask yourself, well what's the problem, Horse, you seem to be set in the right direction for a prosperous business career... well the final month of this past semester (in particular) I've really started to question what I really want, I suppose this is inevitable for anyone nearing the completion of their college career. I sometimes wonder if I'm doing the right thing with all this. I know I could be a great businessman and make a lot of money doing it, but then of course being a horse I sometimes want more. I don't feel like I'm doing things right either, like when I watched a film in my management class and was supposed to analyze it on the management techniques used in each situation, I instead began to subconciously analyze the performances the actors were giving. While most of my friends didn't suggest what major I pursue, people I didn't know so well, including acquaintances, friends of friends, and people I just meet at random have often suggested that I pursue a career in acting, or just assumed that was my major. I took several acting classes over my college career to find out what might happen, and I got A's in all of them, but... at the same time my greed and sense of reason got the best of me, and I decided that majoring in acting wasn't going to get me any sort of good paying job, yet now my sense of reason is failing.

Not sure why I typed all this, it seems as though I'm trying to convince myself to change my major now taht I'm near the end of my college career. I suppose I could always double major, or change my minor. Of course this could all be just because I'm nearing the end, and this line of thinking is normal for someone in my position.

Anyone experience anything similiar, or any thoughts/comments... I really don't know where I'm going with all this; I just needed to get my thoughts down on paper (or a message board in this case) and get some feedback. All I know for sure is that I'm at my best when I'm up in front of a group of people, be it performing or giving a presentation/speech, which generally becomes a performance.
 
Right now I'm on a path to major in Computer Science, but I'm not particularly knowledgeable with programming, I sucked at Cisco Networking, etc.
Also I've always been somewhat interested in medical stuff (I read lots of stuff online and whatnot), so I have often thought about pursuing that too. But it would require more than to simply double majors, I'd need med school and I'd have to be sure thats the type of life I'd be happy with.
 
I use to want to be a doctor from the time I was 8 yearss old. But when I got to college I switched from my biology major to health administration in my junior year. It kinda sucked at the time , but I'm sure that it'll be worth it in the long run.
 
Same thing happened to me when I was graduating 2 years ago....I had a degree in CIS (Computer Information Systems) but questioned what I really wanted to do...so I decided to go back, and got my Masters of Business Education...so now I'll be certified to teach (high school and juco level) and have my CIS to fall back on...

if you really love you some Business, my advice is go back for your MBA....(if that's an option)...that should set you up to see if you really do want to be that Fortune 500 CEO..

but yea anyways, your feelings are normal I would say.
 
[quote name='cgpwns']Right now I'm on a path to major in Computer Science, but I'm not particularly knowledgeable with programming, I sucked at Cisco Networking, etc.
Also I've always been somewhat interested in medical stuff (I read lots of stuff online and whatnot), so I have often thought about pursuing that too. But it would require more than to simply double majors, I'd need med school and I'd have to be sure thats the type of life I'd be happy with.[/QUOTE]

How early are you in the CS path? Because after just 1 year you should feel quite knowledgable if they are teaching it properly. Since you mentioned Cisco Networking I think you might be confused. That sort of thing is usually in an information technology major and not a CS major.

As for Zenithian, I hear you man. I feel that you need to follow what you want to follow. An undergraduate business degree doesn't give you that much of a leg up on any competition. If you pursue the theater major, most places (save for finance) won't look down upon you for not having a business major. As long as you show a desire to learn the business and the industry, they won't care.

So my recommendation is to follow what you want, because you can always get into some sort of business later on if your dreams don't pan out. In fact you could go for a minor in business or possibly a double major.

I too am nearing the end of my college career and I
a) feel like I don't know shit about my major
b) feel like I don't know shit about anything
, so it seems like you are having a perfectly normal reaction.
 
I think you are overlooking your positives. Being interested and being good at acting is very usefull for the business world. You will have to "sell" your ideas and lead your employess. Acting is a very big part of this. If you arent a believable actor, then they will sense it and not be as motivated as they could be.

Use your strengths as an actor to propel you through your business career. You are in sight of the finish line, no reason to give up now that you are so close. Give business a try; maybe set up a deadline of a few years to decide if it's your cup of tea.
If you find you still dont feel comfortable, theres still time to go back and try again.
Just dont think that acting and business are 2 different ocupations because you will need acting in your business life every day. Even if its just acting that you enjoy your job ;P
 
[quote name='Tromack']I too am nearing the end of my college career and I
a) feel like I don't know shit about my major
b) feel like I don't know shit about anything[/QUOTE]
I'm a senior in college too and you just basically summed up my entire feelings in those two points. But in my case I really know shit about my major.
 
Since you already spent so much time in your degree, you should definitely try to finish it so you have a degree to show for it. Then you can use the degree to get a job. Some companies will pay you to get another degree if the degree is complementary to your job. So this might be a good way to branch into different (but complementary) fields.

As for me, I spent first 30 years or so of my life in school. I have a BS Comp E, MSEE, MSCS, and I spent over 5 years in Stanford CS PhD program. But I ended up quitting the program before I got my PhD degree. That was 5 years ago. Sometimes I still regret about not getting a PhD after spending so much time working on it.

So I think you should definitely try to get your degree since you are so close to it already. That way you won't regret it later in life about not getting your degree and think of yourself as a quitter like me. Also, you can get a 2nd degree later if your interest changes. If you already have a degree, it'll be much less pressure to get that 2nd degree. So you'll have more fun learning and not worrying about getting the degree.
 
Right now I'm working on getting my master's degree in Computer Science...and I don't particularly like Programming and I know that I don't want to do it for a living, at least strictly programming. I just think a master's degree will look attractive for computer related jobs, such as QA. The "80 hour a week EA games hell" is not for me, thats for sure. Plus, my current job pays for 75% of my tuition, so its stupid not to do it =]
 
im a 5 yr BA/MA for industrial psychology....and at times i doubt it also, i feel its really normal, im only getting B's and B+'s in my major classes :whistle2:\..well general psychology, but thats close 2 my major classes :D! and i feel its not wat i wanna do, then i remember what i like, i like talking to people and being social...also i think i have a natural talent for it as im able 2 help ppl with problems they have, dream interpretation, all that good stuff.
it just depends, we all have second thoughts and it depends how strongly u feel, remember, its ur life, if u dont feel comfortable doing something, then don't do it, do wat makes u happy...and on that note, im getting pretty late for my job as a janitor (seriously) :'(
 
Wait, wait...where are you getting a Ph.D in 4 years? Is it inside some kind of time-space anomoly?

In any case, and you'll have to take this with a grain of salt, because I'm a ways away from the end of my schooling, but I think it's just like you said. You're getting a little bit of cold feet at the thought of having to make it in the real world instead of the cushy world of academia. It's times like this where you just have to forge ahead. There's plenty of time after you get your degree to pick up some more classes on the side if you want. But do finish what you started.
 
It's tough especially when you're pulled in two different directions. I''d always wanted to be a doctor since I was five years old. In college, though I was also a music composition major and briefly but seriously considered pursuing a career as a film composer but in the end, realizing the chance of me being the next John Williams is non-existant and that I also was drawn to going into medicine I kept up with that and have no regrets.
 
I think it's only natural to get to senior year and feel like you don't know anything and doubt what you're doing. It's imprtant to rember 2 things though:

a) you're right, you don't know anything
b) your major doesn't have to have anything to do with your job, and it doesn't mean you wasted your time in college.

a) College is mostly pretty easy and you're only learning the basics of your major. I remember having to take all my classes in my major junior year with graduate students and realizing just how little I knew. Given that most introductory classes in the first year or two probably cover the same stuff you've already learned in high school if you took classes in that field, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

b) My wife KNEW that she wanted to be a psychologist since 6th grade. She changed her mind in the beginning of senior year. Got a municpal consulting job after college without having every taken a class in business or economics. Why? Because most jobs really only care about your diploma (and some where you got it from) and to a certain extent your GPA. Most people who have already gone through college realize that it's really not much different from high school and don't take it too seriously. Unfortunately, most students don't realize this until junior or senior year.
 
when you graduated from grade/middle school and looked back from the perspective of high school, or when you looked back on high school from college
for a lot of people, it feels like the only thing you are learning is how clueless you really are.
It doesn't stop when you graduate college, and it really never stops, unless you get stubborn, set in your ways, feel you know enough and then start complaining about the younger generation.

Remember though, the easiest time in your life to try anything is always now.
 
[quote name='Tromack']How early are you in the CS path? Because after just 1 year you should feel quite knowledgable if they are teaching it properly. Since you mentioned Cisco Networking I think you might be confused. That sort of thing is usually in an information technology major and not a CS major.

[/QUOTE]

What is your basis for saying that you should feel quite knowledgable after just 1 year in a CS program? You cannot honestly tell me that after one year that you should feel quite knowledgable about programming. One year of college would mean at most two programming classes to begin with, and that is in no way capable of producing someone who would be considered "knowledgable".
 
Man, welcome to the college experience. I went through the entire elementary education program right up to the point of submitting my application for student teaching, then changed my mind. Several years wasted. Or so I thought. I realized that what I really wanted to do was be a professor of Literature, so I shifted a few classes over, and finally graduted with a BA in English Language/Lit 7 years after I started. Now I'm working on my Masters. Don't freak out if you change your mind this late. Take the time to think things through and really discover what you want to do. Hell, I tried Business school for a brief semester after changing my mind about elementary ed. It's never too late to really find out what you want to do. I wish you the best of luck in figuring it out.
 
I changed my major from Information Sciences and Technology to Accounting. Unfortunately, I had to switch schools because the school I was at didn't offer accounting at the campus I was at. That was after 3 years of school because I found the IST major was not what I thought it was and I was having problems with it (barely passing a lot of the courses).

Before you decide if you want to change majors, find out exactly how many more courses will be required and how much more time if any it will add since that can make or break the decision to change majors. Changing majors added 3 years onto my time spent in college but that was partially due to the fact that I changed schools (they misled me about what credits would be accepted and what requirements would be fufilled which has been nothing but problems), but I am glad that I changed majors because I know I would not have been happy working with computers in the way that the IST field works (some databases and programming).
 
Shit I've been in college for 4 years and I have at least a year left. I'm in a program that I have no interest in but I'm too far along to switch majors again (unless I want to start paying for it). So instead I've decided to just take whatever classes I want regardless. I don't really expect to ever graduate, but it's not important to me so I'm fine. :lol:
 
I can understand the frustrations of college many of you have gone through or are currently experiencing. My first 2 years of school were spent attempting a double major in Business/CIS. I suppose the path I took was the natural progression of interests I had while in high school and was partially the result of influence from within my family. I'd been going through the motions, counting the semesters until I would be out of college, but never once considering what I would actually be doing once I got out. At some point I got around to thinking about what I wanted, not what was expected of me, and I decided to change schools and majors. I was accepted into my new school in the college of design but I haven't decided whether I want to head in the specific direction of architecture or art/design.

I would suggest to anyone who is uncertain of their current major to take a step back and consider if what you are studying now is what you want to be involved in 5 days a week for the next 30-40 years. Don't stay in a field you know you won't enjoy, do something about it now. It will be more difficult to change your life once you have a career/family/bills to pay.
 
Right now I'm taking Computer Science courses. I'm amazingly good at programming.

But I don't see myself enjoying programming. I want to get into 3D design and graphical type stuff, but... I don't know. I'm so confused.
 
I'd say take a year off after college and give acting a shot. I'm just graduated from college and while I have a good idead what I want to do (I better, I getting a PhD in psychology which takes 5 years) several of my friends are having their own doubts and I have told them all the same thing. Just try something different for a year.

I have had about 8-10 friends take a year after college and try that thing they've always wanted to try, but never really had the chance or the guts. Its ranged from acting, missionary work, dancing, video game tester and a bunch of other stuff. All of them enjoyed takign the year off. Most have gone to work to something similiar to what they majored in at college, two have decided to pursur careers in their year long experiments. But all of them have jobs. Its not going to hurt you to take one year off. And if you don't, you will always regret it.
 
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