Deciding where I want to take my life?

[nomdeguerre]

Well, I'll be a junior in high school this coming September, and that means colleges, SATs, choosing where I want to take my life... basically the whole nine yards.

And I'm stumped. I don't know where I want to be, what I want to do, where to take my life. Everyone I go to advice for says "Do what YOU want to do. What YOUR heart desire." The only desire in my life is to have a comfortable future.

So, this all boils down to one question: Which major should I choose to pursue? I know this is a broad question, but if you were to be back as a high school junior about to choose where to set your goals, where would you set them?
If it helps, my best subject in high school so far has been business law, but the idea of 8 more years in school and over $100k in student debts from undergrad and law school doesn't appeal to me. Thanks

 

[stevesurf]

Engineering Degrees are 4 year programs (generally) and can improve your analytic and problem solving capability, a plus in just about any profession.

 

[rockin_amigo14]

if you want to, you can be a truck driver. you get to meet lots of interesting people, not a hard job to learn, you get to travel all over the country, and it earns 6 figures a year.

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by w1ned Well, I'll be a junior in high school this coming September, and that means colleges, SATs, choosing where I want to take my life... basically the whole nine yards. And I'm stumped. I don't know where I want to be, what I want to do, where to take my life. Everyone I go to advice for says "Do what YOU want to do. What YOUR heart desire." The only desire in my life is to have a comfortable future. So, this all boils down to one question: Which major should I choose to pursue? I know this is a broad question, but if you were to be back as a high school junior about to choose where to set your goals, where would you set them? If it helps, my best subject in high school so far has been business law, but the idea of 8 more years in school and over $100k in student debts from undergrad and law school doesn't appeal to me. Thanks

As someone who has the same indirection evn now, I shall recommend that you take a year out and go and do something stereotypically gap year.

Its all well and good usign a university year to trya nd find out what you want to do for the remaining university years, but if the financial side is a worry for ou then obviously you either want to stick to what you first pick, even if it isnt you cup of tea, or to ensure that you will pick something that is more suitable.

-edit- Sorry dude im wasted. Ill PM you with some more constructive and coherant advice from my experience tomo.

 

[VR6ofpain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh -edit- Sorry dude im wasted. Ill PM you with some more constructive and coherant advice from my experience tomo.

On a Thursday evening, awesome.

CHEERS!

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh -edit- Sorry dude im wasted. Ill PM you with some more constructive and coherant advice from my experience tomo.

Take advice from this man. Go to a college where you can enjoy life and get wasted on a weekday

On a more serious note, once a junior in HS told me he was sort of thinking med school, but it seemed so far away, he didn't know...

So I kicked his butt. I told him he better get his grades up, ace the SATs, get into a guaranteed joint undergrad/med degree program, and lock it up while he was still young and had the energy. He basically kicked his arse in gear when he realized life started NOW and here we are many years later, he's a happy medical doctor, married to someone he met while at school, and a kid on the way.

But no way would I have given that advice if he didn't really have the desire. If there wasn't a spark in his eye, I woulda told him it's a tougher road, but it never hurts to have good grades, get into a nice liberal arts college, "find yourself" and something you enjoy doing, try it, sink or swim, and if you sink, pick yourself up and try again or try something else, keep going until you get a rhythm. That's what I did, and believe me, I had no idea when I was a Junior that I'd be here now, but nothing's handed to you on a plate - either you want something BAD and make it happen, or you don't know what you want but you always keep all your options open if it's in your control.

 

[pezzy]

I dont know if its the same in the US, but plumbing/electricians in AUS earn alot of money. If i had the chance to go back to the time i was deciding what to do after high school i would have definately done an apprenticeship with a plumber/electrician.

Im currently doing accounting and imo it is not worth the effort considering the amount of work you need to do and the pay you get at the lower hierarchy.

But you really should do what you think you are best at doing. You will have a stable future no matter what as long as you enjoy doing what you want to do. You said business law was your best subject, but did you enjoy it? If you didn't chances are you won't do too good in a higher level of education even if you did choose it. There are many paths out there for you to choose, each one will have its advantages/disadvantages. There is no one right path that will take you to where ever you want to be. It is a journey in which through decisions you make in life will hopefully get you closer to that goal. Continuing studying is just one of the many paths you have and in no way is it the best.

So take it slow, decide for YOURSELF, theres still alot of time and many options for you to choose.

edit: i just read Jahns post and it is similar to what my intentions were. Sorry for repeating .

 

[vapman]

Handymen here do make a lot of money. It's a dirty job, but they're booked year round.

 

[clarke68]

Very few people end up working in a field directly related to their undergrad degree. I'd recommend studying something you enjoy...helps you stay focused and you'll get better grades. You can always get an MBA later if you feel the need to be responsible/make money/etc.

Now...if you don't actually know what you enjoy...may sound odd but it's actually quite common...I'd recommend going to a Junior College for your General Ed stuff. JCs are great (read: not too expensive) places to experiment, try new things, flounder a bit, find yourself, etc. After you've been there a bit, take a look at your transcript & see what classes you got the best grades in, and which ones you enjoyed the most...pretty good indicators of a good choice of major.

 

[nomdeguerre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn So I kicked his butt. I told him he better get his grades up, ace the SATs, get into a guaranteed joint undergrad/med degree program, and lock it up while he was still young and had the energy. He basically kicked his arse in gear when he realized life started NOW and here we are many years later, he's a happy medical doctor, married to someone he met while at school, and a kid on the way.

How was he doing before you whipped him into shaping up? I've got a renewed desire to ace my SATs and get into a good business school like Stern or Tepper, but I don't know if doing excellent only in my junior year and beyond could do much. The person that knows me best says that I've got no chance for anything too spectacular in her point of view.
For reference, my high school career GPA is a 3.8 and I've got no extracurriculars under my belt, yet.

 

[joneeboi]

I am in a similar situation as you, hearing basically the same mantra, "Do what you want." The huge problem is that I like doing everything and can see myself doing just about everything. I am entering into university within the next two weeks for the first time, and the only criterion I used was my skills. You only have so much ability for so many talents while maintaining a complete lack thereof for so many others. I am better at math and physics than I was at biology. Chemistry, I was pretty good at too. Thus, I am taking the engineering program at the University of Alberta instead of the medicine route I always pictured myself doing (a vision brought to me in part by my dad, rather, in whole).

A glimmer of hope I got was from hearing from a great deal of university people is that after you take a 2 or 3 years of your major courses with your minor courses, you tend to find out eventually what you want to do. Kind of a hit-and-miss deal. If anything, try different jobs, do some artsy-fartsy stuff, volunteer at a hospital or lab, and like Jahn said, get good grades. Nothing opens more doors than grades. Well, a great personality just might do the trick.

If I had to go back, I would say screw it to all the people who thought they were too cool to have hobbies, interests, preferences, talents and explore all those things.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by w1ned Well, I'll be a junior in high school this coming September, and that means colleges, SATs, choosing where I want to take my life... basically the whole nine yards. And I'm stumped. I don't know where I want to be, what I want to do, where to take my life. Everyone I go to advice for says "Do what YOU want to do. What YOUR heart desire." The only desire in my life is to have a comfortable future. So, this all boils down to one question: Which major should I choose to pursue? I know this is a broad question, but if you were to be back as a high school junior about to choose where to set your goals, where would you set them? If it helps, my best subject in high school so far has been business law, but the idea of 8 more years in school and over $100k in student debts from undergrad and law school doesn't appeal to me. Thanks

college debt is bullsh!t. if i were to do it again, i would have gone from prep school and got a job right away, to earn money to take a class in some field that would pay $60,000+ as a starting salary, like programming. pay it all up front. college is a rip-off and a total scam, and to saddle a young person with that kind of debt as they are starting out is a crime.

 

[clarke68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joneeboi Nothing opens more doors than grades.

I've never once had a job interview where someone asked me about my grades. Not saying you should blow them off...but passion & willingness to work hard count for far more (and they help on the grades, too).

Quote:

Originally Posted by w1ned The person that knows me best says that I've got no chance for anything too spectacular in her point of view.

Say what? Having recently reflected on the subject (my 20-year high school reunion was last weekend), if I let someone define my life by who I was 20 years ago, I'd have been doomed.

What exactly is "spectacular in her point of view"? What would be spectacular from your point of view? I had an unspectacular 2.65 in high school, went to a local JC and figured out I like art, never took the SAT, and ended up graduating cum laude from San Jose State with a BFA in fine art photography...now I do web design.

Okay, the odds may be a little slim if you want to win a Grammy or get into the NBA, but surely there's something you enjoy doing enough to spend a few years studying it. Don't let yourself be held back by fear...I thought art was the stupidest, most irresponsible thing to choose for a major, but I couldn't help the fact that I loved it. It worked out well, and I met a lot of cool people along the way.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

I would keep an open mind, attend a strong public school, and approach every idea or piece of subject matter to see if it stuck or if I excelled at it, all while maintaining a high GPA.

This will leave you with plenty of money and opportunities to do what you need to do in your post-undergrad life.

-Matt

 

[Head Creep]

I'm in pretty much the same situation as you, just 2 years older. I graduated a year early, took a year off to search for a future, and wound up thinking myself in circles. Then it hit me: I'm eighteen. Based on the standard retirement age at this point in time, my working life is going to take up the next 47 years of my life. There's not a chance in Hell that 18-year-old me is ready to decide what 30, 40, 50 and 60-year-old me wants to do with his life.

The plan changed. Now, it's get out of my 20's happy and with a reasonably stable financial situation. On September 25th, I'll be going to a trade school with a job as a music engineer in mind. It'll most likely not be permanent, but I'll be doing something that I've always been interested in doing, and I won't have to spend much to do it.