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Picking 1st Year Undergrad Courses Today...


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Hey guys,

 

I'm supposed to be picking my first year University courses today and I am completely lost. Even after talks with High School teachers/counsellor and my Uni counsellor, I still do not know what to go into. Do I want to end up at Med School at the end of the 4 years? I think so, but my opinion might change by the time I finish undergrad. Now my father really does want me to be successful, which is great, but he has also scrutinized everything I have considered majoring in. I like Science and Arts, so naturally I was looking into those two departments. From Science I was looking into Biology and Chemistry, from Arts it was English and Anthropology. He decided that none of those were good choices because you cannot land a high-paying job with a Bachelors in any of those fields. Biology and Chemistry especially are very specific and your options after 4 years really are narrow. With English and Anthro I've heard that there's a broader spectrum of opportunities but even still I've heard horror stories of Arts majors who could not land a job and were instead living in their parents' basement god knows how many years after graduation.

 

Now to be honest I really am interested in Anthroplogy, and I know that I could major in it and still apply for Medical School if I also complete all the requisites. But my biggest concern is that if I opt not to go to medical school, or if my circumstances don't allow me to attend, my anthro major may be good for nothing. Will I be able to find a job? Support myself? My family? According to my father, no not really since not only is it hard to get a job, but even if I do manage to land one, I won't really be making a lot. Plus he says that for higher education (past the undergrad level), I'd need to have a job to pay for it.

 

Instead he recommended business or engineering but neither of those interest me. So yeah, it's a conundrum. Any advice?

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Speak to a career counselor at your school.

 

It's lovely that your father wants you to be successful - I want the same for my kids, all parents do - but success is not only measured by how much you earn at work. Practical considerations like return on investment are, of course, important, but you have to consider your personal attributes as well.

 

It is indeed hard to land a well-paying job with most undergrad degrees now, it seems (at least it is here, so I hear from friends) but it certainly isn't impossible, as I know many people with bachelors in science who are working in their respective fields, and many who are not.

 

Your undergrad is the beginning of your postsecondary academic career, it does not have to be the end of it. I urge you not to go into a program you are uninterested in just to please your father. I imagine it will likely be unfulfilling, and you may not be as driven to learn and succeed in the program.

 

Seek the advice of a career advisor, and make your decisions on well-rounded advice instead of just the opinions of your father.

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Anthropology - you can do your thesis or essays on topic relating to medical anthropology, i.e., our Indians, aboriginals in Australia, medical conditions and culture in India and Africa, which can lead to MPH with a global focus. It is far from dead end.

 

Engineering if you have an interest and an aptitude. Business, I verily believe you won't learn much and you can always go into law which will prepare you better for business with all kinds of options. A friend with a law degree went to Wall Street for 3 years and then changed careers for investment banking, he is earning a fortune, works very hard and loves it.

 

Bottom line - follow your interests and life will take care of itself. Just work hard and live with no regrets, do your best, as I did, which led to medicine.

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With pure sciences and arts, you will need to do further education (masters or doctorate) to get a decent paying job. Some good bachelors that can land you a job include psychology (psyc is also a science! so you might want to consider it), business (BBA), accounting, engineering, health management, dietetics etc.

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Are you mathematically-inclined at all? I would consider keeping your current mix of courses and adding calculus to it. A degree in math (and stats) is extremely flexible and gives you experience with quantitative methods that are more specialized and less common - advantages when it comes to the job market. You could even combine that with a major or minor in anthropology - this wouldn't lead to a specific career, but would help cement your writing, research, and quantitative skills going into the future.

 

Ultimately, it's more important to choose courses that you enjoy and that you will succeed in. Your marks will be extremely important for med school admissions, but the easiest way to do well is to enjoy what you're enjoying. And you can always switch programs somewhere down the line.

 

I would also say that engineering is a sufficiently broad discipline that there's a fair variety of careers to go along with it.

 

Otherwise, your father is right that things like law or med school require you to pay tuition yourself, but few if any people do so by getting a job. Banks are more than happy to loan you the money at favourable (the most favourable really) interest rates and after you've been out of high school for four years you are able to obtain government student loans regardless of parental income. Graduate programs generally provide funding through awards and assistantships that allow you at least to break even. Beware so-called "professional" masters degrees that don't (though the loans will be available for them too).

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Thank you for the replies!

 

@Birdy: You're right that I shouldn't do something just because my father wants me to. Ultimately, if I do go the route of Med School, my GPA will need to be high so I'm much better off taking classes I'll actually enjoy. And yeah I'll definitely make an appointment with a counsellor and ask some more questions.

 

@future_doc: Same thing, I agree that I should do what I want to do and not try to please others.

 

@charmer: Is there a high demand for Psychology? I have friends who took the class in High School and really enjoyed it, but most of them just considered it a "fun" class, like dance. None of them thought that they'd be making good money by majoring in it.

 

@A-Stark: Yes I am very much mathematically inclined, it, along with English, is probably my best course. I don't know about Calculus though, I got an "A" in Grade 12 Math but didn't do too well in Calculus. Also, if instead of Med School I go for a Masters/PHD, would I still be able to support myself through government/bank loans or would I then be required to have a job and pay for it myself?

 

Thanks guys!

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