'Looking for jobs

['tarako]

'Ok. I've decided to change my major and here's the line-up I'm thinking. Double major in theater and philosophy with a double minor in psychology and computer science. What do you all think? I actually respect more of your opinions then people i know at college. Also, I have no idea what I can do with with major/minor combo. Anyone know any jobs that I can do with those? I was thinking theater tech or maybe a job in computer science? idk.

[mya]

Chose something you love to do.

Failing that, chose something you know you will have a job.

There is nothing worse than studying for 5 years and start working just to find out you do not wish anything of that.

I would take something as Compute science as major, and Nurse as minor.

But then again i know zero of your major/minor systems.

[Evangelion]

I'm not going to lie. Philosophy as a degree is fairly useless.

There are no positions in the world (that I know of) for professional philosophers. So basically its purpose would be:

A) Jobs that require you to have a BA, but don't specify a field

Credentials in research

It's one of those degrees that basically says, "I went to a four year school and graduated." Unlike Music, or Biology, or Statistics, which can all be applied to a specific field.

For example, one of my old managers at Barnes & Noble? Degree in philosophy.

[Evangelion]

PS - I strongly recommend that you seriously consider declaring theater as a major, as I do with any performance majors.

There are a million music performance and theater students in the world. And I hate to break it to you, but Broadway is only so big. Not to deter you, because I know I love music, and until recently, would have smacked anyone who said this to me. But it's a hugely competitive field, and you can either set yourself up to live a decent life (actually get a performance job), or you can blow it bigtime and end up being a waiter until you get your "big break".

It's a great dream, and I myself would love to pursue it.

But if you want to make a living, for most people it's not realistic.

[Kinicky]

Myeh. Theatre as a degree is fairly useless as well. I have a degree with a double major in Theatre/Secondary Education and a minor in Biblical Studies.

I use it a lot, but not as my profession. I work as the Pastor of Youth and Outreach at my church, and I use drama a lot for the outreach elements, as well as video for a lot of stuff I put in the services.

But do I have a job in a theatre area? No. And it's fairly difficult and low-paying if I did, unless I were to make it in Hollywood or Broadway. And then, you better be going to somewhere like Yale or Julliard.

[Raargant]

Theatre is useless unless you are truly interested in it and going into that field.

Philosophy is slightly less useless. If you are interested in advanced studies in law, philosophy, along with political science, is a very good choice; I have heard it said that law school admissions look very favorably upon philosophy majors who apply. If you aren't interested in law, then much as with theatre, it's useless in terms of finding a job unless you want to go into that field as a teacher or something.

Personally, I'd double up psychology/philosophy instead.

['tarako]

'Well, the theater degree is mainly because I love theater and they have a lot of tech classes. I know jobs in theater are tough but it's not like I want to be an actor. I'm all about lighting, it's my passion. I would like nothing better then to do theater lighting but, unfortunately, I'm trying to think about my future and the salary of a light, or sound, tech isn't enough to support a family. Maybe if my wife had a good job but I don't want to have to rely on that, you know? It's hard to get started in the field but once you do it's pretty nice. There's no money between shows though. That's where I thought the computer programming minor might help a bit. I know philosophy is a useless major but the classes seem so cool I don't want to pass it up. Actually, I think 8-bit theater said it best when the head of the illithid cult said, in response to being asked what do you do with a master's in philosophy, "You start a cult, of course." haha. I can always sub because all you need is a degree to be a sub-teacher switching computer programming to a major isn't wise because the major has to many required hours in it, the minor is boiled down to what you want. I can learn java, html, and C++. I just can't think of any like "well established job." lol.

[Kinicky]

Of course, if you can get a master's degree in Theatre, you could go for a professorship somewhere and then you would likely double as a light designer, if that is your specialty.

['tarako]

'True. I have no idea what graduate programs Miami offers but a masters in anything would be cool. A doctorate would be awesome! get the title of doctor in front of your name. That'd be neat. That would be pretty awesome.

[Kinicky]

Eh... you won't get a doctorate in theatre. A master's in theatre is considered equivalent to a doctorate in other felds (not by way of work or knowledge, but as far as professorships or other jobs in the theatre career field go).

As of three years ago, there was only one university that offered a doctorate in theatre, and I don't think that has changed.

The university that offers a theatre doctorate is Yale. Good luck with that.

['tarako]

'hmm. I don't know how long I actually want to stay in school. eh. I'll see what happens. I'm learning that what kind of jobs you can get is all based on networking and who you know. Internships would be good.

[Celerity]

If you are interested in lighting, why don't you go into electrical engineering (or physics, if your uni has applicable classes for light) combined with a field of your interest (theater, psych, phil) for your double major, with your minors in art and another interest..

This way, you will satisfy both your need for job skills and your interests.

as for me...

when I joined my university, I didn't know what I wanted to study, so I asked them to choose a major for me...they chose physics based on my ACT (entrance exam) scores. I studied that for about a year before I decided it would be a better hobby than life..so I took an interesting political science class and started to learn about chinese politics....

I started taking asian political science courses and then decided to study abroad to Japan, where I picked up more politics, history, and the japanese language.

I came home, combined all of that into an indisciplinary major (asian political studies) and also picked up teaching english to foreigners (aka TESOL; I knew I needed some job skills)...I became very interested in the teaching courses, bumped it up to major status and got my teaching license..and started taking chinese language courses

In the end, I had two majors (asian political studies + TESOL) and my minor was in international affairs, with certificates in chinese and japanese

These days, I wonder if I should have gone into electrical engineering or computer science, but I am happy with my choice. The social (esp. intercultural), political, and philosophical skills I learned in my own majors would definitely have not been learned in engineering or computer courses...but I think I would be happy with almost any path, so almost a moot point

Of course, I am making half what my brother makes (who stayed in physics and got a masters)...

As for my future, I'm trying to decide if I'd rather teach history in the states, teach in an elementary school, or go to graduate school for educational leadership and try to become a principal...

edit: either that, or getting married and retiring...

[BigPapa]

This is what I am going to tell my kids when they start thinking of college and careers.

1)If you have a passion, go for it. No amount of money will ever justify you being in a profession that you really don't care about.

2)You are still young, don't ever think you are stuck into what your degree is in, or if your passion changes, its okay. Retool via school or whatever and go for your new passion.

3) Don't have a passion. Get something with a pension! Firefighter, Fed Gov, Local Gov, Teacher. If one of these are your passion, bonus! Saving in 401k is great, but not having to and having a hefty pension plan is great

4) Go into Allied Health, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Language Pathologist. The careers are great, pay is great, you can go into schools and make a great living with pension. Or into Hospitals and Nursing homes and companies will let you travel the US on their dime, paying you, paying your hotel, your food, your rental car etc.. GO warm in the winter, and anywhere else in the summer.

5) Never leave your parents house.

[Tantangel]

This has been KY'd by Tantangel for comfort.

[Evangelion]

Just because we've known each other for several years doesn't mean I'm not going to take offense at that...

[Zrothum]

Yes it does, you big teddy bear.

[Tantangel]

Fine, fine. Sorry it hurt your feelings, at the time of the post I laughed my *** off since it tied into your other thread so well and I was hoping Celerity would flesh out the whole marriage idea more and maybe I could reference the saving money on your car insurance by switching to Geico commercial, but it made your feelings get hurt on this special day so I'll edit out the post.

['tarako]

'In response to celerity. Yeah, my girlfriends dad is an electrical engineer. He has some health issues due to the high levels of radiation he's always around. But he would LOVE if I became an electrical engineer. Said he would help pay for my college and get me a good job taking over his clients and such. The only problem is I'm ok at math. TO be an electrical engineer major you need like 3 years of calc. I'm more of an intuitive thinker, not so logical. Something about mercury and Pisces conjunct in one of my houses. Well, that's how my dad explains it. I'm good at abstract math but not so much at calc. lol. And same with physics. As much as I like science I need to stay away from them, lol. Over the weekend I'm planning on planning out my classes for the next few years. Miami took away the make your own major major last year. Which would be very cool. As much as I hate being poor I'd rather make what I need and be doing what I really like then be in a job I hate making lots of money.

'Thanks BP. That's very good advice.

[killalou]

'In response to celerity. Yeah, my girlfriends dad is an electrical engineer. He has some health issues due to the high levels of radiation he's always around. But he would LOVE if I became an electrical engineer. Said he would help pay for my college and get me a good job taking over his clients and such. The only problem is I'm ok at math. TO be an electrical engineer major you need like 3 years of calc. I'm more of an intuitive thinker, not so logical. Something about mercury and Pisces conjunct in one of my houses. Well, that's how my dad explains it. I'm good at abstract math but not so much at calc. lol. And same with physics. As much as I like science I need to stay away from them, lol. Over the weekend I'm planning on planning out my classes for the next few years. Miami took away the make your own major major last year. Which would be very cool. As much as I hate being poor I'd rather make what I need and be doing what I really like then be in a job I hate making lots of money.

'Thanks BP. That's very good advice.

EE is an excellent choice. As a matter fact any engineering is a stable and RELIABLE gig. Also this major is very, very, very, flexible. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT! It doesnt mean you have to stay with it. You like medicine or politics? Okay 5 years of engineering then go on to grad school (and get in MUCH, MUCH, easier then those with pre-med and politic science). As for the math. LOL. The only thing you need on to know are derivaties and integrals on the job and if you forgot that is just a quick google search away! All an engineering degree does is show that you have the ability to learn. You WILL have to hustle and get pass your classes, but after that its smooth sailing. Chemical engineers get paid the most, and there are tons upon tons of jobs for computer engineers (which is pretty much the same as computer science for undergrad). Electrical Engineering is a good choice as well.

[Kinicky]

My dad got an electrical engineering degree and he is now making 300k a year with only a bachelors.

So yeah, that's a degree you can raise a family with.

[killalou]

My dad got an electrical engineering degree and he is now making 300k a year with only a bachelors.

So yeah, that's a degree you can raise a family with.

Hrmm...thats what I want to make in like 5 years. What type of EE does your dad due and where does he work at?

[Kinicky]

Well, he currently is working for APS (Arizona Public Service) heading up a division that... well, to be honest, what it does has changed so much over the past decade that I am not entirely sure what its emphasis is now.

I believe it is a service solutions division that has him traveling a lot. Growing up, he has made b/t 120k-150k

Just recently, an electric company in California decided to start up something similar. The division my dad heads up is fairly unique, so he is one of very few people who know how to do it. As such, they want him... bad enough to double his 150k he was making.