Is my major useless?

[Mellow Yellow]

*Caution: Rambling Rant Ahead*

I've gone through much deliberating over what I should major in. I went from Journalism to International Studies, to a brief stint in Education... and then to undecided.

Well, they told me that because I'm going to be a Junior soon... I have to pick something. So I flipped through the book:
Physics? Engineering? Most sciences? No way, I suck at math too much.
Philosophy? Music? Art? No, although I do like music, having no formal training counts me out (music theory is prerequisite knowledge)

Geography? I bet it would be hard... I'm taking Geography 101 now (Science requirement) and it's not easy. However, I like it far more than all those other sciences (Biology, Chemistry, etc) ... maybe it's just more practical or something.

So eventually I came to Telecommunication & Film section. I've taken one of their classes before and I liked it. The main concentration is Media Production (editing audio/video).. So I chose it.

Well as soon as I chose it.. these people seem to just pop up out of the blue..
Them: "What are you majoring in?"
Me: "Telecommuication and Film"
Them: "LOL Have fun flipping burgers *speeds off in SUV*"
Me: " : ("

Ok, so it didn't really happen like that... but is it really such a crappy major? I mean.... it can't be as useless as Philosophy or a BA in English or History (although.. it's always the so called useless stuff that I tend to like for some odd reason ;D)

[Mellow Yellow]

No, I can't stay undecided. It's a rule, you must declare a major by the end of your sophomore year.


And, it's true, I'm spending alot of money on my future, but currently, one major is just as good as the next. Having never had any real experience in any of them, I can't say for sure that I'd like any of them. This is why so many education majors teach for a few months then go hunting different work.

If only I could get someone to pay me to travel around the world and write my opinion about it ;D (likely hood of that < 2%)

[CoconutFudge]

You can be anything you want to be regardless of what your major is. Unless you want to go into some rigorous medical or science field, you can pretty much have any major and get your degree and do whatever you want. You have a ton of grad school options (law, business, literature, etc.) with that major. You should not pay attention to what snide remarks anybody says about it. If you are enjoying doing it, then you should do it. Plain and simple!

I respectfully disagree with what iameye suggested (continue as undeclared) because, if your school is anything at all like mine, you can't just "be" a major without following a pretty specific class path. This means that, as soon as you finally do declare a major later on, you will have to graduate much later than you would if you had done so earlier. I know that if I were to change my major, and I am a sophomore, there is no major where the credit hours required within that field would allow me to graduate with my friends (and when I have always wanted/planned to graduate) and that would be discouraging and annoying to me. You may be different, of course, but this is just what I am thinking.

I'm a business administration major. I think the field is interesting to learn about, I can do reasonably well in it, and I am thinking about going to grad school in that field. That said, if I change my mind, I will still have a very solid foundation because I stuck to the program and so I would be able to go into virtually any field/grad school that I would like to. (Again, really medical and science-oriented probably don't apply, but I personally am not concerned with that and it sounds like you aren't either!)

[Mellow Yellow]

Well, the funny thing is that throughout all this, my minor has remained constant: Japanese.

But I even have my doubts with it. I'm never going to be really fluent in Japanese. Our assistant teacher is American, he's really smart... and even he isn't all that great compared to a native Japanese person (and I highly doubt I'd ever become half as good as him )

How would a minor in a language you're only just mediocre in be any good at all? The main reasons I keep taking Japanese are these: I've worked so hard so far (learning two new alphabets, 300 kanji, thousands of words).. and it was my first college class ever, so the people in the class have grown on me.

To minor in Japanese they encourage studying abroad, and my parents really want me to do it... but I just have this bad feeling that I'm going to get to like.. Japanese 401 and not be able to cut it. Then what?

[ramone]

Could you teach english in japan? That would be cool.
Then with that experience, maybe you could go to europe or someplace else if you wanted to.

[Mellow Yellow]

I hear bad things about teaching English in Japan. But I can certainly do it. All it requires is a BA/BS, believe it or not. You aren't even required to know Japanese!

Bad part is, you go there and will be looked on by many as a "culture destroyer" or something. Many xenophobic areas around Japan.

[B]

"Location: In search of sasquatch"

Believe it or not, I spent about twenty minutes thinking about your dilemna as I drove to get my
mail this morning. And I decided that if you feel you must stay in college at this time,
Telecommunication & Film is not at all a bad way to go.
Go places, meet people, see the world. Film a bigfoot. Or a Beatle!
Teaching Japanese is lucrative, but as you've mentioned, there are drawbacks, so I don't recommend it,
particularly since Japan is likely to be experiencing increased numbers of tidal waves, volcanoes,
and earthquakes in the next few years....

I respect knowledge, but imo college is set up all wrong to learn anything. When you are thirsty,
do you stand under a waterfall to quench your thirst? The time spent running from class to class, and trying to do tons of homework ensures that you won't ever have any time for genuinely rational and creative deep thought or introspection.
Even worse, education has become a means of indebting the up-and-coming generation, forcing them
to become part of "the system" in a very horrendous way. You end up serving the reptilian masters because you are in terrible debt before you ever even have a chance to get started in life. Then, to recover from it, you prey upon the rest of humanity, charging exhorbitant fees for your services to recoup the money you need to pay the bills and keep going with whatever comes along next.
In the meantime you are sprayed with chemtrails and poisoned a thousand other ways.
Of course you can always go to Iraq and breath uranium dust.

I suppose if I had something better to offer, I'd tell you to quit college today, and save yourself
aggravation and money, as well as to give yourself some time to do the things you really want to do.
Even if it is bigfoot hunting.
But.....the ball is in your court. I'll have a junior whopper with cheese, please.

[eyesbleed]

Ya... good luck with all that. I think it would be tough makin' that decision at such a young age coz ya just don't know what's comin' around the bend.
I didn't have a clue as to what I wanted to do for a living when I was in my 20's (or 30's!), but during my full-time college years I majored in smokin' weed & hangin' out around the art labs all day...... & I do love that career but it doesn't pay the bills!

No, the funny thing is, that I ended up doing work that I love.. most of the time, & I never woulda guessed that this is what I'd be doin'.. (interior decorator house painting & faux finishes etc).
I just kinda fell into it by accident..... the 1st few yrs were tough, but I've settled into a career that I really enjoy. I'd so much rather be doin' this than anything I can think of other that staying home & working on art painting.

So anyway... I was very lucky in that regard... I can't imagine havin' to plan this out back in my 20's.

So again.... good luck..... ya might try the smokin' weed & hangin' around the art lab major.... it's much less stressful ;D