1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? A Mechanical Engineer. 2.)Why did you want to major in that? A bunch of us in High School all decided to enter Engineering - Most majored in Mechanical, one in Chemical. We were in all the AP classes (Physics, Chemistry, etc.), and were all good friends, so I guess it just happened! Plus, I've always liked machines/math/science, etc. so it was a natural fit. 3.)Did you ever change your major? No....but I did drop out after a semester and a half! I was too interested in the "college life" and getting shitfaced. I ended up going back and got my degree in 2003. 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? See above. 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? I don't really remember being focused on what my salary would be, but I'm sure I expected to make decent money. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? Very! I work as an Engineer in an automotive factory, so I get to work with cool machines all day long. Plus, my boss is very cool and very-much "hands off" so I get to work on whatever project I deem necessary!
I went to college for one year for Automated Systems Engineering. I started losing interest in it when I was.. well completely failing. Then I went into Broadcast Technology, which was awesome! Really interesting, and right up my alley. After graduation there were no jobs. Since then the industry has turned upside down, and I am no longer qualified to work in the field. That might be for the better though. I am now working in a job that has serious career opportunities, and while it isn't my dream job, I AM making double what I would be as a Broadcast Technician. I didn't care about the pay scale when I was in college. I enjoyed the work. Turns out the field didn't work for me, so I wasn't given a chance to do any work in it. I am fairly satisfied right now though. EDIT: By the way, right now I work for an Engineering firm, creating reports. It's a cubicle job, but my opportunity to grow in this company is massive!
1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? A retail manager/dog trainer 2.)Why did you want to major in that? I knew what I was good at 3.)Did you ever change your major? Once. I started out in business management and switched to Marketing 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? Marketing fit my personality - less rules to abide by and less corporate grind 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? Absolutely. I have a 3 year old daughter, she was born my Sophomore year. I cared a lot about money. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? Yes I am. I got a job fresh out of college because I worked hard and did the dirty work. Best advice I can give you is to try and have a balance in favor of getting work done. It's very, very easy to let your college social life just piss away your goals. You won't truly know what you want to do with your life for another two years I'd say, and even then it's still extremely hard to get the dream job right out the gates. Although I love where I'm at right now, it's not what I envisioned or what I envision for a lifetime (ALWAYS dream bigger). You're going to have to have some really shitty jobs and you'll change your mind a lot. That's okay. Good luck.
1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? I thought about the US Marshals service. So I majored in Criminal Justice and minored in Soc and Psych. 2.)Why did you want to major in that? See # 1 3.)Did you ever change your major? No 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? N/A 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? No, but shortly after college I did - turns out there's no money in saving the world. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? Yeah, I suppose. I'm an underwriting assistant - if I took a couple of tests I could be a full underwriter, but I've yet to find the time to take the classes. I use aspects of my major for it, in that I gotta know some laws here and there and it's loosely kinda like being a paralegal, but for insurance in that the underwriter kinda makes decisions, and then I come along and do a mess of the actual WORK. But it's cool because every insurance company has them, and I've got a heavy compliance background - so I could also probably work for a bank, etc. Finding a job shouldn't ever be too tough. It won't make me millions of dollars, but it's a job.
Nope. We have University in the US also. In your country, "College" is the equivalent of non-university secondary education... such as possibly a trade school (although we have those here too). Anyways... 1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? Computer Hardware related career 2.)Why did you want to major in that? I didn't originally, as my first thought was to go into art. I had found that art felt more like work and less like fun and one of my hobbies prior to college was playing around with computers. So I changed and went into computers... in an attempt to make my hobby my job. 3.)Did you ever change your major? No, but my major changed on me. When I started my college career, the curriculum was primarily based on mainframe design, maintenance, programming, etc. During my second year, the State dropped a bunch of courses off the program, meaning I didn't end up fulfilling the original degree program. It sucks I was there in the transitional period, but it makes sense since I have used very little of that knowledge in my professional career. 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? See above 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? Not really. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? Since I started out in a general way, I eventually moved more into software after about 2-3 years. It wasn't until I was 8 or so years in that I finally settled on a career path that I was happy with. Unfortunately, it is highly specialized meaning that employment opportunities is fairly limited but fortunately I've held the same job since 2006.
Wow dude, that is crazy. How hard was college with a baby? I cannot even imagine that. I barely was able to handle my child at 30!
It was ... difficult. I had to remind myself that my situation wasn't any harder than what other people have gone through, though. I pretty much told myself to shut the fuck up and get your work done, she's more important than the stress you think you're having. So in 4 years I was in college and graduated with honors. It's just a matter of "doing it."
1.)I wanted to be in Graphic Design, working with computers and designing packaging (for example the packaging of Transformers) 2.)Working with computers was more fun than working with people at that point in my life. 3.)Yes, since my parents helped me pay for college, they asked me not to select Graphic Design because it was too competitive. I ended up majoring in Industrial Technology with an option in Graphic Communications (which is more the printing side of things) as a compromise. 4.)See above. 5.)I didn't, but looking back, I should have done more research behind potential careers in the field. Everytime I got hired in the area of my major, I was offered a lower starting rate than what I was making at the call center I worked at through college. That includes the "oh, your a college graduate, so you'll get an extra $0.50/hour" bullshit. 6.)I was. I used what I was supposed to learn in college to further my position at my call center. Ended up using my design skills to develop new training materials and become their Lead Trainer, and ultimately held several other positions. The pay wasn't great, but the people were awesome, and I never minded going into work until they relocated. Then I found a new position at an energy company in their call center as a Supervisor. Another awesome job that I loved going to everyday, but last year we basically had no winter, and ended up being laid off. The search for new employment has continued since April. Actually had a follow-up interview today, so I'm hoping for the best. By the way, my wife ended up choosing Graphic Design, and moved her way up to being an Account Executive at an advertising agency, and I was making slightly more than her until I was laid off...just to compare the separate routes we chose.
1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? I wanted to be an aerospace engineer. 2.)Why did you want to major in that? I've always loved air and space craft. Their designs always fascinated me. And, then there was Mr. Montgomery Scott.... 3.)Did you ever change your major? Yes and no. Having known people that worked in the "real world", I realized most of my professors in the Aero/Astro program were pretty far out of touch with reality. I wanted more real world skills. Purdue offers an Interdisciplinary Engineering program where you work with the Engineering school to develop a more tailored program for what you want. I ended up getting a dual degree: a BSE in Interdisciplinary Engineering focusing on aircraft systems and a BS in Aviation Technology which also got me my Airframe and Powerplant license. 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? See above. 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? Sort of. I knew engineers could make good money, but aviation is not a career to get rich in. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? Very. I'm around aircraft every day. I'm also someone that likes to be a "firefighter" when it comes to problem solving. The career I'm in now, support engineering for a major airline, gives me new problems and new challenges almost every day. 7.)Out of curiosity, where did you attend? Check out my username. If you can't figure that out, then maybe college isn't for you.
Hmm.. interesting thread here. 1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? -A strength and conditioning coach for a school or major sports team 2.)Why did you want to major in that? -Health and fitness has always been a passion of mine and I knew its what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Helping others and also doing what I love at the same time is a no-brainer. 3.)Did you ever change your major? -Nope, always exercise science. 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? -I didn't. 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? -Being in this industry depends on where you work and what clientele you have. I'm fortunate to work for my friend at his personal training studio, where he is able to pay us a huge portion of the contracts we bring in. It beats any commercial gym by a WIDE margin. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? -I love it and wouldn't change anything. 7.)Out of curiosity, where did you attend? Mercer County Community College for my associates, and Rowan University for my bachelors. My major was exercise science at both schools.
Ah What the hell, I'll play 1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? I originally went in for business administration. But my heart wasn't really in it. 2.)Why did you want to major in that? Honestly I let my guideance counselor talk me into it. When I first started I couldn't care less about being there. 3.)Did you ever change your major? Yes my junior year I went for biology, namely Herpatology. 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? I always was facinated by Reptiles and amphibians, I was the kid in the back yard with the jars chasing the little critters (when not playing with Transformers). 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? Nah that was part of the reason why I switched. It pissed my parents off something fierce too. I never wanted to be that person that chased dollars for the sake of chasing dollars. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? Couldn't be happier. Oddly enough I'm a cop now. People that knew me from back in the day always do a double take when I tell them what I do now (hell sometimes I do one myself). Guess I'm always gonna be the kid chasing bugs to them LOL! 7.)Out of curiosity, where did you attend? Roselle Catholic High School and then Montclair State University.
1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? I was going for business management 2.)Why did you want to major in that? Practical for my area 3.)Did you ever change your major? No 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? Wanted to make good to take care of myself and be stable in teh future 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? Yeah I work in eCommerce for a huge player in the classic car/ hot rod scene. Never did finish college and do good for myself and family. 7.)Out of curiosity, where did you attend? local community college
1.)When you started college, what did you want to be? I went to a technical school to get a degree in Graphic Design. 2.)Why did you want to major in that? I liked computers, and to be honest my parents were pressuring me to do something with my life. I picked it because it seemed the least undesirable of my choices. 3.)Did you ever change your major? No, but I probably should have. 4.)If you did change your major, why did you? Had I changed it (which I didn't), I'd've gone into computer repair/IT. In hindsight, that seems a much larger and more lucrative field. 5.)Did you care about how much money your career was going to make you while in college? Not in the slightest. But again, I should have. 6.)Are you happy with the career you are in? I'm happy with the job I have right now, which is in the printing industry, but I'm not doing any graphic design. 7.)Out of curiosity, where did you attend? Like I said, it was a technical school. Some years after I graduated it was fully absorbed into a local community college and today most people aren't aware it ever existed. I believe its buildings have been demolished.
