Pick My Major and 2nd Semester Classes for Me!!!

[Jman28]

Hey guys. I'd really appreciate some help. You can shape the mind of a young man if you wish. Second semester of my sophomore year is approaching and I still have no major. I'm on the path to become a philosophy major, which is interesting and all, but not so useful in real life.

Here is the online timetable of classes (http://timetable.doit.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/TTW3/TTW3.navigate.cgi?20052+depts/all.html) at my school for the upcoming semester. Or you can start here (http://registrar.wisc.edu/timetable/spring/) .

So, here you go. I will seriously consider any class and/or major recommendations from you. I'm hoping that our common interest in poker will lead to a few other common interests that I'm unaware of. Here's a little of my background (I can explain more if I get some good responses, but I don't wanna waste your time.):

I'm definitely Math/Science oriented as far as my intelligence. However, I hate Calculus and many of the math classes I've had. I have yet to take any math since HS where my last class was AP Calc. I don't need any math to graduate, unless I wanna major in something related to it.

I am more interested in Liberal Arts... creative writing, film stuff, etc., but I'm not a diligent worker at all.

I get by because I take classes that interest me and I test very well.

I do not do homework unless I must do it to pass a class. I don't really read the material either, but I would if it was very interesting to me.

This is why Philosophy has been nice. The material is interesting, and there isn't much work. If you get it, you get it. No hard studying necesarry.

I HATE history type classes and anything that involves reading your textbook, memorizing dates or facts, and spitting them back out on the test. That is not my style at all.

I just took a philosophy class on Bayesian Prob. Theory and it was really interesting, so I've considered trying Stats, but I really don't want to have to take more Calc.

I know I'm gonna have to take some classes I don't like, but I wanna keep that to a minimum.

I'm capable of high level thinking. Difficult concepts are fine with me. What I'm bad at is something that takes a lot of studying to do well in. For instance, I probably went to 5 of 40 Logic classes this semester (i'm not saying these concepts were difficult). I aced the tests. However, I got a C in intro Psych last year because all we did was memorize disorders and stuff from the book and fill in the blanks on a test.

I know that's something I need to work on, but I'm just saying, don't recommend classes where you know that intelligence isn't needed, and just some hard studying will do the job.

If you could help me, I'd really appreciate it. I can give info on credits I have and such if I get some good response, but I don't feel like posting for 6 pages and getting no responses. That looks bad. Thanks.

-Jman28

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

You've got a problem. You can either decide now if you want to work towards your degree and have something worthwhile when you're done or if you want to screw off and just party and bang chicks and nothing else. I highly recommend growing up a little bit and realizing this is setting up the rest of your life. If you want something useful, take a couple more calc classes and go engineering. The minimum calc classes are not hard for a BS in engineering (I didn't look at your link, so I apologize if engineering isn't available at your school). If you just want to dick it, stick with your philosophy classes, party hard, bang tons of chicks, and make sure you have a good time in the next few years. Once you're out, try to find something where you don't have to be smart/experienced in any particular field, but you just have to have a good personality - good luck.

[Jman28]

Thanks for the response.

[ QUOTE ]
I highly recommend growing up a little bit and realizing this is setting up the rest of your life.

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you just want to dick it, stick with your philosophy classes, party hard, bang tons of chicks, and make sure you have a good time in the next few years.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you misunderstood me. I don't study hard because it isn't my nature. I've never been able to sit down and learn material that I didn't want to know for over 30 minutes.

I'm not putting school on the backburner to go party, and I do realize that this is important. I'm posting here for advice on an important subject because I don't know what to do.

[ QUOTE ]
you want something useful, take a couple more calc classes and go engineering. The minimum calc classes are not hard for a BS in engineering

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks. I'll look into engineering classes and maybe talk to a couple engineering majors. I took one engineering class in HS and I've taken lots of physics. I think that it's interesting, but have heard it's a tough major.

-Jman28

[daveymck]

If you like maths what about accountancy?

Uses maths but is more about the accounting concepts etc as well.

It has a boring tag but isnt that bad and pleanty of work opportunities post college.

I dont know the US way of degrees etc so dont understand the majoring stuff but saw accountancy on the list.

[Paluka]

I think if your skill lie in the Math/Science fields you'd be crazy to not major in something math-oriented.
It sounds like you need to pick a major just because the intro level courses tend to be boring and involve a lot of memorization type stuff. You need to get to higher level stuff so that you can actually think about stuff rather than regurgitate a text book.

[jakethebake]

When I was 18, I was sick of school. I joined the Marines because I didn't want to go to school and I didn't want to flip burgers. I got out and went back to school, and now have a BA and MBA, both from good schools.

If I'd gone to school when I was 18, I would've done just what you are. I would not have studied and maybe flunked out, or maybe ended up with some useless degree that had nothing to do with any career I really wanted.

The military isn't for everyone, but if you're going to waste your time and not going to study, you should find something productive to do with yourself and put school off until you're ready for it IMO.

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
You need to get to higher level stuff so that you can actually think about stuff rather than regurgitate a text book.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the response. That's a good point.

But, how am I gonna know what is going to be interesting once I get into the higher levels of it?

Maybe some of you can tell me?

-Jman28

[Rhone]

Hey there. I don't know you well enough to offer you any advice, but I will just comment that you can get a pretty good knowledge of stats without having to do any more calculus.

Rhone.

[Shajen]

[ QUOTE ]
When I was 18, I was sick of school. I joined the Marines because I didn't want to go to school and I didn't want to flip burgers. I got out and went back to school, and now have a BA and MBA, both from good schools.

[/ QUOTE ]

Negative, you joined the Marines because you wanted to get all the hot chicks the Army and Navy guys couldn't.

/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

(I can't spell)

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey there. I don't know you well enough to offer you any advice, but I will just comment that you can get a pretty good knowledge of stats without having to do any more calculus.

Rhone.

[/ QUOTE ]

Knowledge is different than a degree. I know that I could learn and understand statistics without much calc, but I think that in order to graduate with a BS in Stats, I'm gonna need a few Calc courses.

I still might do it. Just saying, I don't wanna.

-Jman28

[Shajen]

I dunno. I read your post and all I can think is damn, this dude doesn't know what he wants to do. Not that that's a bad thing, but posting here to have other people pick for you is not the right way to go about it, man.

You need to do some serious thinking and figure out what it is you enjoy. Work towards that.

Or just get a Business Degree /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
I dunno. I read your post and all I can think is damn, this dude doesn't know what he wants to do. Not that that's a bad thing, but posting here to have other people pick for you is not the right way to go about it, man.

You need to do some serious thinking and figure out what it is you enjoy. Work towards that.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I really have no idea. I wouldn't say I'm letting other people pick for me. I just wanted some feedback.

I have thought about it a decent amount too. This is just a way to think out loud for me and bounce my thoughts off of some people.

[ QUOTE ]
Or just get a Business Degree /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was 18, I was sick of school. I joined the Marines because I didn't want to go to school and I didn't want to flip burgers. I got out and went back to school, and now have a BA and MBA, both from good schools.

[/ QUOTE ]Negative, you joined the Matines because you wanted to get all the hot chicks the Army and Navy guys couldn't.
/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
There was that too. I was stationed on an Army base for awhile, and there was the hotel party off base one Friday. It was just a bunch of army guys and girls. Anyway we walk in, and my one buddy goes stright to the mini-fridge and takes out all the beer. My other buddy and I grab these three army girls, and we head for the door w/o saying a word to anyone else. As we're walking out, this one guy says, "Hey! What are you doing?" My buddy says, "We're taking the beer and the women and we're leaving." And we did. In and out in like a minute. Nobody even moved. I swear it was hilarious. The funniest thing is we didn't plan to do it or anything. We just did it.

[Shajen]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was 18, I was sick of school. I joined the Marines because I didn't want to go to school and I didn't want to flip burgers. I got out and went back to school, and now have a BA and MBA, both from good schools.

[/ QUOTE ]Negative, you joined the Matines because you wanted to get all the hot chicks the Army and Navy guys couldn't.
/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
There was that too. I was stationed on an Army base for awhile, and there was the hotel party off base one Friday. It was just a bunch of army guys and girls. Anyway we walk in, and my one buddy goes stright to the mini-fridge and takes out all the beer. My other buddy and I grab these three army girls, and we head for the door w/o saying a word to anyone else. As we're walking out, this one guy says, "Hey! What are you doing?" My buddy says, "We're taking the beer and the women and we're leaving." And we did. In and out in like a minute. Nobody even moved. I swear it was hilarious. The funniest thing is we didn't plan to do it or anything. We just did it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, that OWNED. Nice work.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

If you like math/physics, engineering can be very interesting. I just looked and saw that you're in Madison - UW does have a good engineering program. Mechanical engineering is basically applied physics. If you take the right classes, you can get into some really cool stuff. I went mechanical for my BS and then went aerospace for my MS. You can make it through a BS degree without doing much calc outside the calc classes if you want to, but you'll understand things better if you can apply the calc to it. My MS degree basically turned more into applied math and I doubt you'd like that if you don't want any more calc - the MS level is where you really learn to apply the calc (and more advanced) stuff. My wife hates when I say things like this, but if you go something like civil engineering, it's more looking things up in code books as far as I can tell. That and then just not being an idiot about things.

Frankly, I was the one all my friends bitched at because I never studied. I was more one to just pay attention in class and I was smart enough to figure it out. I very rarely did all my homework - usually did enough of it to demonstrate that I did know what was going on and then left the rest. The result was crappy homework grades and I pretty much rode my test scores. I get the feeling you're not too different from how I was. I do feel like I would've got a lot more out of school if I would've just put my nose down and worked hard at it, though, and that the end result would've been more rewarding. I got my BS in 7 semesters and my MS in 3, but I think people who really worked at it and took 5 years for their BS have something they can be proud of accomplishing. Plus, they had more time to spend in college, which I kindof wish I had, although an MS in aerospace and a good paying job at 22 is hard to argue with. Anyway, I ramble... I really think you need to realize that if you want something worth having, you're going to have to work at it a bit. Just take it like a man and do what you need to do. Otherwise, make damn sure you have a helluva time while you're in college getting a philosophy/business degree and see what you can make of it when you get out. UW can be a hellagood time.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
When I was 18, I was sick of school. I joined the Marines because I didn't want to go to school and I didn't want to flip burgers. I got out and went back to school, and now have a BA and MBA, both from good schools.

[/ QUOTE ]Negative, you joined the Matines because you wanted to get all the hot chicks the Army and Navy guys couldn't.
/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
There was that too. I was stationed on an Army base for awhile, and there was the hotel party off base one Friday. It was just a bunch of army guys and girls. Anyway we walk in, and my one buddy goes stright to the mini-fridge and takes out all the beer. My other buddy and I grab these three army girls, and we head for the door w/o saying a word to anyone else. As we're walking out, this one guy says, "Hey! What are you doing?" My buddy says, "We're taking the beer and the women and we're leaving." And we did. In and out in like a minute. Nobody even moved. I swear it was hilarious. The funniest thing is we didn't plan to do it or anything. We just did it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well done.

[Jman28]

Thank you very much for the long response. It seems we aren't too different, and I'll definitely look into what you said.

-Jman28

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Frankly, I was the one all my friends bitched at because I never studied. I was more one to just pay attention in class and I was smart enough to figure it out. I very rarely did all my homework - usually did enough of it to demonstrate that I did know what was going on and then left the rest. The result was crappy homework grades and I pretty much rode my test scores. I get the feeling you're not too different from how I was. I do feel like I would've got a lot more out of school if I would've just put my nose down and worked hard at it, though, and that the end result would've been more rewarding.

[/ QUOTE ]
That was exactly me in high school, and it's exactly what I would've done in college if I'd gone right away.

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Frankly, I was the one all my friends bitched at because I never studied. I was more one to just pay attention in class and I was smart enough to figure it out. I very rarely did all my homework - usually did enough of it to demonstrate that I did know what was going on and then left the rest. The result was crappy homework grades and I pretty much rode my test scores. I get the feeling you're not too different from how I was. I do feel like I would've got a lot more out of school if I would've just put my nose down and worked hard at it, though, and that the end result would've been more rewarding.

[/ QUOTE ]
That was exactly me in high school, and it's exactly what I would've done in college if I'd gone right away.

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, see, this is me too. What about the marines changed you??

I feel like no matter what happens to me, I won't be able to change my mindset.

Was it just getting older?

Thanks.

-Jman28

[Shajen]

Discipline is the biggest thing I learned while in. Doing things you don't want to because you have to is a definite wake up call. Helps with the studying too. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ThaSaltCracka]

How old are you JMan?

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
How old are you JMan?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll be 20 in 10 days. Why do you ask?

-Jman28

[jakethebake]

I think a lot of it's just getting older. But I developed a lot of self discipline too. It also gave me time to figure out what I wanted to do.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How old are you JMan?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll be 20 in 10 days. Why do you ask?

-Jman28

[/ QUOTE ]because what you are asking everyone about will come with age. I literally wasted 2 years of college when I was 18-20 because I didn't want to be there. One thing that motivates you is working at some crappy job for a while(<cough> marines <cough>) and that will make you realize how much you need school, and you'll take it much more seriously.

[Shajen]

Dude, being in the Marines isn't some crappy job.

I worked in I/T while I was in for 5 years.

HUGE advantage I'm still using today over the CS kids who didn't have any practical experience just theory. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
One thing that motivates you is working at some crappy job for a while(<cough> marines <cough>) and that will make you realize how much you need school, and you'll take it much more seriously.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. But poker causes a problem here. Why would I take a job that pays me 1/5th what poker does??

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
One thing that motivates you is working at some crappy job for a while(<cough> marines <cough>) and that will make you realize how much you need school, and you'll take it much more seriously.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. But poker causes a problem here. Why would I take a job that pays me 1/5th what poker does??

[/ QUOTE ] well maybe you can work and play poker at the same time.

[Rockatansky]

Here's an alternate plan:

1. Major in Philosophy. This will allow you to choose between:

2(a) Continuing to party, bang chicks, and do as little as possible.

2(b) Doing a little less of 2(a), while putting in some work by taking some advanced logic classes, reading a good bit of difficult philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, etc.

3. Go to law school. You will now have to work hard, but it will actually be worth it. If you chose option 2(b) above, you will be as well-prepared as anyone there.

The upside to this plan should be obvious. The downside is that you will not be able to get a PHD from MIT in physics and will therefore be relegated to playing .50/1.00 HE on Party Poker for the rest of your life with a .5BB/100 win rate.

Whatever you do, take some classes just for fun. I'd highly recommend taking something like art history or film. If you don't, I think you're missing out on a lot of what college has to offer. Some would say that if you don't come out of college with a practical degree, you're wasting your time. I'd say that it's equally wasteful to attend college and not do something that enriches you as a human being.

No matter what you do - good luck!

[ThaSaltCracka]

you plan requires far to much schooling.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

That's what I thought. Man... give it 5 years and you can be a damned rocket scientist.

[Rockatansky]

[ QUOTE ]
you plan requires far to much schooling.

[/ QUOTE ]

Post-graduate education is, generally speaking, +EV (I'm sure there are counter-examples).

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
Dude, being in the Marines isn't some crappy job.

I worked in I/T while I was in for 5 years.


[/ QUOTE ]Just jokes man, my brother is in the Army so I had to say something /images/graemlins/laugh.gif, plus its not like I called you a Jar Head or something.

[Shajen]

No, I got you.

Just can never let a ribbing slide on my Corps, you know?

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
you plan requires far to much schooling.

[/ QUOTE ]

Post-graduate education is, generally speaking, +EV (I'm sure there are counter-examples).

[/ QUOTE ]
There's post-graduate education and then there's graduating when you're 34698743697 years old. One is +EV and the other isn't unless you're one badass mofo and you're good enough to be graduating when you're 34698743697 but you're instantly rich. I don't think he's in this position.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
No, I got you.

Just can never let a ribbing slide on my Corps, you know?

[/ QUOTE ]fa sho, I can dig, no biggie to me, I like Marines anyways.

[Rockatansky]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
you plan requires far to much schooling.

[/ QUOTE ]

Post-graduate education is, generally speaking, +EV (I'm sure there are counter-examples).

[/ QUOTE ]
There's post-graduate education and then there's graduating when you're 34698743697 years old. One is +EV and the other isn't unless you're one badass mofo and you're good enough to be graduating when you're 34698743697 but you're instantly rich. I don't think he's in this position.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is absurd. He would graduate law school at 24 or 25. Exactly what should he be doing at that age? Retiring?

I'm not denying that there are advantages to getting a four-year degree and immediately entering the work force. There are certainly opportunity costs to post-graduate education. However, they are not so great as to automatically make it a -EV move.

Why are you attacking the most practical piece of my advice?

[Jman28]

[ QUOTE ]
well maybe you can work and play poker at the same time.


[/ QUOTE ]

You just blew my mind.

-Jman28

[on_thg]

[ QUOTE ]
3. Go to law school. You will now have to work hard, but it will actually be worth it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dissent, on both accounts. I pretty much slacked through law school and managed to graduate with honors. And it is very possibly NOT worth it, as law school is expensive and law itself is a tremendously boring profession with unrealistic expectations attached to it. You can make good money if you work your azz off and sell your soul to do it, but if you want to have a life of any sort, don't count on it. (Can you tell I do something else now?).

I think my college experience was a lot like the orignial poster's -- good with math and science in HS (wanted to be an electrical engineer), but hated calculus. Drifted over to the liberal arts college, took anything I felt like that sounded interesting, and waited until my senior year to decide on a major. I needed one fewer course to go Poli Sci than Econ, so that was it.

My advice, for whatever negligible amount it's worth, would be to take classes that interest you so that you pull solid grades and can get a decent job for a year or two after graduation. If you like it, maybe you work for a company that'll pay for a MBA or masters degree. If you don't, change jobs, go to grad school, play poker or just do something different. If you got into Madison, you're probably smart enough to learn how to do just about anything. Don't worry about having your life figured out before you're 21. Or at 30, for that matter -- many of the people I went to law school with now have totally unrelated careers.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not denying that there are advantages to getting a four-year degree and immediately entering the work force. There are certainly opportunity costs to post-graduate education. However, they are not so great as to automatically make it a -EV move.

Why are you attacking the most practical piece of my advice?

[/ QUOTE ]
I have no problem with post-grad degrees. I have one myself and I completely agree that they're 100% worth it and more (not PhD, though, at least for engineers). Where I disagree with you is specifically the law school part.

[Jman28]

on_thg,

Thanks very much for the thoughtful response. I've heard your take before. I always felt like once I got into the law field, I'd like it, but maybe it's the exact opposite.

Something for me to think about.

Thanks again.

-Jman28

[on_thg]

[ QUOTE ]
I've heard your take before. I always felt like once I got into the law field, I'd like it, but maybe it's the exact opposite.

[/ QUOTE ]

If law is a field you're interested in, don't let my negativity influence you too much. There are plenty of people in the biz who do enjoy their jobs.

As long as I'm on my soapbox, one thing I'd suggest is that you check out what the practice of law is really like before you commit to going to law school. Get a summer job, internship or whatever. Job shadow or something. If it was up to me, the first year of law school would be on-the-job.

Good luck with the thinking.

[ddollevoet]

Jman:

Look into Economics. It is a college of letters and science degree. I got my B.S. from Wisconisin in 1992.

The requirements are pretty broad. This is from memory and the info may be dated. You'll need 120 credits to graduate. 40 Econ credits (most of which are cross listed with the school of business). The other 80 must be taken from a variety of disciplines: humanities, sciences, etc.

Most economics classes deal with high level (usually mathematical) theories on how different forces (supply & demand) affect the economy. No heavy duty memorization. Just ability to grasp high level concepts and how changes in variables change the outcomes.

I liked the major because it gave me a great deal of freedom to choose which classes I wanted to take, as the requirements were to take a certain number of credits and not necessarily any particular classes.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Dan

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Look into Economics. It is a college of letters and science degree.

[/ QUOTE ]
My undergrad is in econ as well. It limits you in terms of a finance job because a lot of people don't think it's practical, but there are a lot of things you can do with it.

But, there is a lot of calc involved in some of the classes.

[MEbenhoe]

JMan,

You sound like me in many ways. In high school I had the grades and test scores that I could've gotten into schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc., yet I decided to go to UW - La Crosse. I'm also very math/science oriented, but hate Calc and such even though I do very well in these types of classes. I'm currently entering the 2nd semester of my 2nd year at UW - La Crosse and I already have Junior status and I'm on pace to graduate next year with a degree in fitness of all things, I'm an athlete too so this makes some sense. I ended up in this major because I found it at the time to be the only subject matter I enjoyed, so I said what the hell and went with it.

As of right now my plan looks like this; finish up my undergrad work next year, do the 1 year Master's program in Human Performance, and finish up with a PhD in either Exercise Physiology or Biomechanics. That would have me finished with all school work at the age of 24 and lined up to get a combo research/professor's job at a random university. However, this may all change because I'm thinking of throwing on a double major in something random like economics, so honestly who knows.

I honestly don't know if there's anything helpful in this at all, but you seemed a lot like me from your description so I figured I'd give you my story and see if you got anything from it. Good luck.

[Jman28]

Thanks everyone for responding.

It looks like I should give Econ a try, so I'm going to take an intro course this semester. No final decisions on a major as of yet of course. But this is a very important topic for me and I want to let you know that I appreciate the responses.

I may PM some of you in the future with questions. Hope that's okay.

Thanks again.

-Jman28

[ddollevoet]

No problem.