"Major" Conundrum

[JayPnay]

... I have no idea what I want to do with my life, in terms of a career.

As of now, I'm a student at San Francisco State University, and I have Biology as my major and Journalism as a minor. What I intended to do after I received my degree was to get into a school of pharmacy (in order to become a pharmacist) or get into some kind of career in the medical field. Honestly, though, I feel like I'm doing this only to satisfy my parent's wishes. My dad said he would support me with anything that I wanted to do, but my mom.....well, that's a different story. She constantly tells me how she regrets not taking up nursing. I think it's one of those standard situations where the parent tries to fulfill their dreams vicariously through their children.

I've come to realize that I have a penchant for the subject of English, and I'm just a fan of words, in general. Ideally, I'd love to be a writer, editor, and/or journalist. I mentioned to my mom about this interest that I had, but she just went on a tangent and got irritable. She just went on and on how I should stick to something involving the medical field because there's always a demand and it's a safe bet.

Although I find her words annoying, there's some truth in it. If I were to be a pharmacist or something similar, then I know that I could, with no trouble, find a job and have financial stability. Also, let's face it, writing/editing/journalism is a very competitive realm. I'm not necessarily the best writer.... I mean I do have a firm grasp on the English vernacular, but I don't excel in it.

I just finished my finals this week. I don't think I did well on them, particularly in my science classes (Bio & physics). I'd be lucky if I got at least a B for those classes. I know I could've done better this semester, but I just wasn't motivated.

I'm torn.

Should I play it safe and stick with Biology as my major? Or should I take a chance and change my major to English?

Financial stability or personal satisfaction??

I don't know....advice please.....

[ForeverInADay]

Become a marine biologist and pull golf balls from whale holes.

[JayPnay]

Become a marine biologist and pull golf balls from whale holes.

I did actually consider becoming a marine biologist...

but I don't like getting into the water, just as much as I don't like whales

http://nuke-the-whales.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/nuke-the-whales8.jpg


(just kidding, but, on a serious note, I don't think marine biology is for me)

[Gnrr]

... I have no idea what I want to do with my life, in terms of a career.

As of now, I'm a student at San Francisco State University, and I have Biology as my major and Journalism as a minor. What I intended to do after I received my degree was to get into a school of pharmacy (in order to become a pharmacist) or get into some kind of career in the medical field. Honestly, though, I feel like I'm doing this only to satisfy my parent's wishes. My dad said he would support me with anything that I wanted to do, but my mom.....well, that's a different story. She constantly tells me how she regrets not taking up nursing. I think it's one of those standard situations where the parent tries to fulfill their dreams vicariously through their children.

I've come to realize that I have a penchant for the subject of English, and I'm just a fan of words, in general. Ideally, I'd love to be a writer, editor, and/or journalist. I mentioned to my mom about this interest that I had, but she just went on a tangent and got irritable. She just went on and on how I should stick to something involving the medical field because there's always a demand and it's a safe bet.

Although I find her words annoying, there's some truth in it. If I were to be a pharmacist or something similar, then I know that I could, with no trouble, find a job and have financial stability. Also, let's face it, writing/editing/journalism is a very competitive realm. I'm not necessarily the best writer.... I mean I do have a firm grasp on the English vernacular, but I don't excel in it.

I just finished my finals this week. I don't think I did well on them, particularly in my science classes (Bio & physics). I'd be lucky if I got at least a B for those classes. I know I could've done better this semester, but I just wasn't motivated.

I'm torn.

Should I play it safe and stick with Biology as my major? Or should I take a chance and change my major to English?

Financial stability or personal satisfaction??

I don't know....advice please.....
Well, this is your life. You only have one chance to live it. ITs your mother that says she regrets not taking up nursing, and so, SHE didn't live her life the way she wanted.

Think about it. She regrets not taking up nursing, what would you regret not doing later on if you did what your parents wanted you to do. I really don't think that its fare to guilt trip kids into going int o a profession that they would rather not go into.

But if your really worried about what your parents want, why not write/edit/etc a nursing journal. Then they may be happy with your choice, because in a way, your doing what they want, but your also doing what you want.

And I think the key thing to do is sit down with your parents and explain your problem to them. Then they could possibly help you out or stop putting pressure on you to do something THEY regret not doing.

[cris545]

Well, this is your life. You only have one chance to live it. ITs your mother that says she regrets not taking up nursing, and so, SHE didn't live her life the way she wanted.

Think about it. She regrets not taking up nursing, what would you regret not doing later on if you did what your parents wanted you to do. I really don't think that its fare to guilt trip kids into going int o a profession that they would rather not go into.

But if your really worried about what your parents want, why not write/edit/etc a nursing journal. Then they may be happy with your choice, because in a way, your doing what they want, but your also doing what you want.

And I think the key thing to do is sit down with your parents and explain your problem to them. Then they could possibly help you out or stop putting pressure on you to do something THEY regret not doing.

I agree with this.

and in the more extreme decision, I'd chose personal satisfaction over financial stability. You're more likely to develop your writing skills and actually excel with them, than excelling in anything medical that you don't enjoy as much.

[maiabean]

Go with personal satisfaction. Financial stability is only satisfying for so long. If you're stuck in a profession you don't enjoy [nursing], you'd basically be following in your mother's foot steps because you'd regret doing going into nursing, just as she had regret not going into nursing. So what if nursing pays better, or you can almost certainly be guaranteed a job? Talk to them. I'm sure they'd much prefer your happiness as opposed to you following your mother's dream.

[Take Heart]

Marry a rich guy and leech off him for the rest of your life.

[lukey]

writings tough kiddo, my dads been a journalist his whole life and he fuckin loves it... really good profession if you wanna work your ASS off... fun if you like writing tho, its a different kinda writing tho

[Chancetobe]

I'm going with the personal satisfaction. I love Political Science, and I want to be a lawyer, even though my dad said he'd disown me if I become one.

[berk18]

I just finished my finals this week. I don't think I did well on them, particularly in my science classes (Bio & physics). I'd be lucky if I got at least a B for those classes. I know I could've done better this semester, but I just wasn't motivated.


This part is huge. Both myself and my roommate have been in very similar situations over here in the East Bay. No matter how smart you are, or how much potential you have, if you're not motivated you're going to get worse grades, and you're going to be miserable doing it. I don't know what admissions standards for Pharmaceutical schools are, but if you're not motivated, that sure job might not even be a safe bet. You're 19. Your writing will improve a ton if you seek individual help from professors/TA's. If you have some potential, and you're truly enthusiastic (i.e. it's not just a phase) you can find something to do with an English major. Talk to teachers, find out what your options are. This will give you ammo for talking to your parents. You'd be surprised what you can do with the most useless seeming degrees (I'm doubling in Philosophy/Classical Languages.) You're Mom'll be much more likely to respect your decision if you can lay out a comprehensive plan beyond "Well, I'll be a writer."
As for the parents thing, it sounds like your Dad is chill with it all. Talk to him, or both your parents at once. Dads can be pretty good at helping out with stuff like this, and he'll probably be more persuasive to your Mom than you are.
I started out in Molecular/Cellular Biology, Premed and whatnot. Since I switched, I've been doing more work than I ever did as a Bio major, gotten great grades, and loved every minute of it. Unless you really need a six figure salary, go with what you love. Good luck.

[Signals Corrupted]

Sounds like you're pretty spoiled. Please your parents and quit being so selfish.

[JayPnay]

Thanks to all those who replied with some genuine advice. I appreciate your consideration. I guess I already knew the answer to my situation. I just needed some reassurance to verify that I wasn't way in over my head. Sorry for the late response.


Well, this is your life. You only have one chance to live it. ITs your mother that says she regrets not taking up nursing, and so, SHE didn't live her life the way she wanted.

Think about it. She regrets not taking up nursing, what would you regret not doing later on if you did what your parents wanted you to do. I really don't think that its fare to guilt trip kids into going int o a profession that they would rather not go into.

But if your really worried about what your parents want, why not write/edit/etc a nursing journal. Then they may be happy with your choice, because in a way, your doing what they want, but your also doing what you want.

And I think the key thing to do is sit down with your parents and explain your problem to them. Then they could possibly help you out or stop putting pressure on you to do something THEY regret not doing.


Your beginning statements ring true. I'd just be perpetuating the cycle if I were to continue in this direction and later question what could've happened if I were to pursue what I really wanted to do.

I was considering something similar to your idea about the nursing journal. I was also thinking of taking up technical writing, with emphasis on medicine, since technical writers with training in a special field (especially medicine) usually have good chances in finding work, according to some stuff I read on the internet. It would be like what you said. In a way, I'd be doing what they want, and simultaneously doing what I want. However, that's not what I truly want to do, but I'm definitely keeping it in the back of my mind as a back-up plan.

Yeah, I really should just sit down and talk to my parents. I'm still trying to formulate an ironclad argument, and establish some other options that I could take with an English major.

Thanks so much for your advice!

[JayPnay]

and in the more extreme decision, I'd chose personal satisfaction over financial stability. You're more likely to develop your writing skills and actually excel with them, than excelling in anything medical that you don't enjoy as much.

Yeah, this is true. The fact that enjoy writing will probably motivate me to do better in that sphere, as opposed to medicine. Thanks for the response.


Go with personal satisfaction. Financial stability is only satisfying for so long. If you're stuck in a profession you don't enjoy [nursing], you'd basically be following in your mother's foot steps because you'd regret doing going into nursing, just as she had regret not going into nursing. So what if nursing pays better, or you can almost certainly be guaranteed a job? Talk to them. I'm sure they'd much prefer your happiness as opposed to you following your mother's dream.

Yeah, this is true. As previously stated, I’d just be inanely perpetuating the cycle. Dang… yeah, I really should just suck it up and talk to my parents about it. They immigrated here to give me and my brothers better opportunities. I really hope they could see that if I were to change my major that I would be taking advantage (in a good way) of what they wanted for us. Thanks for the advice.


writings tough kiddo, my dads been a journalist his whole life and he fuckin loves it... really good profession if you wanna work your ASS off... fun if you like writing tho, its a different kinda writing tho
That I am thoroughly aware of! Writing is definitely a tough business to get into. Kudos to your dad. That’s the kind of situation I’d want to be in for my career. I’d love to be in love with my work. I do enjoy writing. I don’t mind working my ass off, as long as I love what I’m doing, I’d be content. Thanks for the response.


I'm going with the personal satisfaction. I love Political Science, and I want to be a lawyer, even though my dad said he'd disown me if I become one.
I guess personal satisfaction is what I’m leaning towards right now. That’s cool that you want to be a lawyer. Hmm… I don’t think my parents would ever disown me, so it looks like you have it a lot more difficult. It seems as if you’re really determined to be one, so go for it. Good luck with everything.

[JayPnay]

This part is huge. Both myself and my roommate have been in very similar situations over here in the East Bay. No matter how smart you are, or how much potential you have, if you're not motivated you're going to get worse grades, and you're going to be miserable doing it. I don't know what admissions standards for Pharmaceutical schools are, but if you're not motivated, that sure job might not even be a safe bet.
That’s true. If I’m not motivated, I’m just going to do worse. I mean I’m just doing the general science classes right now, and those are just the foundation to the more specialized and advanced courses. If I’m not doing well on the groundwork, then I won’t be successful as I move forward, because I haven’t even firmly established the core of the information. Yeah, pharmaceutical schools have tough admission standards. That’s what I was afraid of, too. If I continue on this route (without being motivated), then I'm not going to do well, and I don't even know if I can get into pharmacy school. During admissions, I know they’d hold interviews to see whether or not one is really passionate about the pharmacy business, and I just don’t think I would be able to genuinely exhibit that kind of passion or drive.

You're 19. Your writing will improve a ton if you seek individual help from professors/TA's. If you have some potential, and you're truly enthusiastic (i.e. it's not just a phase) you can find something to do with an English major. Talk to teachers, find out what your options are. This will give you ammo for talking to your parents.
Even though, I’m 19. For some reason, I feel like I’m soooo old. I guess it’s because of the fact that I don’t want to grow up hehe. I keep forgetting that I still have my whole life ahead of me. Yeah, you’re right. If I want to improve on my writing, I should start now. I’m planning to talk to some advisors over the summer, and just learn more about the program and learn about my options.

I started out in Molecular/Cellular Biology, Premed and whatnot. Since I switched, I've been doing more work than I ever did as a Bio major, gotten great grades, and loved every minute of it. Unless you really need a six figure salary, go with what you love. Good luck.
Thanks for the great and encouraging advice. It really means a lot since you’ve been in a similar situation. It’s good to hear that you’re happier after switching your major because that just gives more hope to me.

[TheByrus]

Marry a rich guy and leech off him for the rest of your life.



i can't wait to get my degree in leeching.

[Gnrr]

Thanks to all those who replied with some genuine advice. I appreciate your consideration. I guess I already knew the answer to my situation. I just needed some reassurance to verify that I wasn't way in over my head. Sorry for the late response.





Your beginning statements ring true. I'd just be perpetuating the cycle if I were to continue in this direction and later question what could've happened if I were to pursue what I really wanted to do.

I was considering something similar to your idea about the nursing journal. I was also thinking of taking up technical writing, with emphasis on medicine, since technical writers with training in a special field (especially medicine) usually have good chances in finding work, according to some stuff I read on the internet. It would be like what you said. In a way, I'd be doing what they want, and simultaneously doing what I want. However, that's not what I truly want to do, but I'm definitely keeping it in the back of my mind as a back-up plan.

Yeah, I really should just sit down and talk to my parents. I'm still trying to formulate an ironclad argument, and establish some other options that I could take with an English major.

Thanks so much for your advice!
No problem :P