I Need Help With A Very Important Decision!!! (NOT Related to Poker) - Page 3

kiddj · #21 07-12-2005, 01:00 PM

Is "pick another degree entirely" an option? I don't mean to be rude, but these degress are not going to make you very marketable in the work force. (I'm referring mainly to the Bachelor level.)

If you are planning to do graduate work, you're probably better off doing whatever interests you. You will change your mind at least once anyway before you reach your 3rd year.

My wife graduated with a bachelor in psychology (5 years ago?). Started out making like $22,000/yr. She's topped out now at about $29,000/yr. She's now having to go back and get her masters in business in order to move up to a $35k a year position. I got my degree in Civil Engineering, and I started out of college well over 35k: and civil is not initially as high paying as other engineering disciplines.

However....I started college as a music composition major. My advice: do whatever for 2 years, then change your mind and get your degree in something useful, or improve your poker game. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

noggindoc · #22 07-12-2005, 01:25 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Is "pick another degree entirely" an option? I don't mean to be rude, but these degress are not going to make you very marketable in the work force. (I'm referring mainly to the Bachelor level.)

If you are planning to do graduate work, you're probably better off doing whatever interests you. You will change your mind at least once anyway before you reach your 3rd year.

My wife graduated with a bachelor in psychology (5 years ago?). Started out making like $22,000/yr. She's topped out now at about $29,000/yr. She's now having to go back and get her masters in business in order to move up to a $35k a year position. I got my degree in Civil Engineering, and I started out of college well over 35k: and civil is not initially as high paying as other engineering disciplines.

However....I started college as a music composition major. My advice: do whatever for 2 years, then change your mind and get your degree in something useful, or improve your poker game. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah no doubt a B.A. in psych is nearly useless in the job market as far as pay goes, but I don't think the OP meant this to be his "main" degree, he's going with economics. I don't think an engineering degree is going to be a great addition to the economics degree. The pay does eventually increase in psych though, ~$100 bucks an hour I'm not complaining.

JKDStudent · #23 07-12-2005, 01:28 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I got my degree in Civil Engineering....I started college as a music composition major.

[/ QUOTE ]

So how many weird looks did you get for switching from music to Engineering? I was going for Music Ed for two years (did my Associate's in Music), then switched to MechE (current student), so I've gotten my fair share as well.

kiddj · #24 07-12-2005, 01:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah no doubt a B.A. in psych is nearly useless in the job market as far as pay goes, but I don't think the OP meant this to be his "main" degree, he's going with economics. I don't think an engineering degree is going to be a great addition to the economics degree. The pay does eventually increase in psych though, ~$100 bucks an hour I'm not complaining.

[/ QUOTE ]
I agree that it may go well with the economics degree, but I would think that a business or accounting type degree may compliment it better. (Although, these degrees are very close to one another at the bachelor level. It wouldn't surprise me if the difference between an economics and business degree is like 3 courses.)

You're definitely right about the top end of the psych field. I just find it frustrating that you can't reach that level without a graduate degree. I am VERY happy that my wife is getting her masters now. With her having a BA in psych and a masters in business and me testing for my PE license soon, we should be walking around in gold pants in no time! [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

kiddj · #25 07-12-2005, 01:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I got my degree in Civil Engineering....I started college as a music composition major.

[/ QUOTE ]

So how many weird looks did you get for switching from music to Engineering? I was going for Music Ed for two years (did my Associate's in Music), then switched to MechE (current student), so I've gotten my fair share as well.

[/ QUOTE ]
Lol...Yeah, and when I went to apply for graduation, the advisor tried telling me I couldn't graduate because I needed like 6 fine arts credit hours!!! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] I then directed him to the last page of my transcript (where they put useless classes out of your major). I said: "Take your pick!".

Music was more fun, though. More chicks.

More hot chicks!!!

Engineering sux! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

shermn27 · #26 07-12-2005, 10:47 PM

As a psych major myself and a very near future graduate student in social and personality psychology, I am clearly biased towards psychology. So I will not banter on about why you should choose it. Most of what others have said seems to be true.

I do want to point out that Daniel Kahneman was the 2002 Nobel Prize winner in Economics and he was a professor of psychology at Princeton University. I also know a 30 something year old guy who has a Ph.D. in social psychology and is now a business professor at PennU making over $500,000 a year. So business and psych, yeah they go together and they pay awfully damn good (esp. if you are more business).

kyleb · #27 07-13-2005, 03:49 AM

Economics looks very good to the graduate schools, and will teach you a lot about Game Theory and the ability to take advantage of all situations. It really stresses EV and how to get further in your life, and I can say with conviction that without my education background in Economics, I would not have a job I like and I'd also be a shitty poker player.

Economics teaches you what you need to do to get to point A from point B. It's invaluable.

MikeL05 · #28 07-13-2005, 06:58 AM

Psychology if you see yourself doing something in Economics with statistics or analysis. (most likely)

Philosophy if you see yourself doing something in Economics with writing or discussion.

just2ska · #29 07-15-2005, 12:00 PM

dont' do philosophy... it's really only good if you intend to go to Grad school for law or somehting...

psych all the way

The Yugoslavian · #30 07-19-2005, 08:06 PM

I'd argue that Philosophy very well is *the* most useful subject to study for the 'real world.'

I unfortunately don't have time to elaborate....

Yugoslav
Note: This does not mean that there aren't plenty of seemingly 'worthless' Philosophy graduates running around in weed induced stupors, quoting banal sh*t without any meaning.