As the cost of education continues to skyrocket and job prospects remain less than robust in a tough economy, the answer to the question, “What are you majoring in?” seems more important than ever.
There’s no getting around it. Education is expensive. A four-year degree at a public university costs, on average, $37,343, while an education at a private school will set you back $121,930. While statistics show that a college degree will undoubtedly open doors and increase your earning potential, you need to choose your degree carefully to ensure you’re making a wise investment.
Last week, we highlighted 8 college degrees with a poor return on investment. This week, we’ll head to the other end of the spectrum and show you 8 college degrees with great ROI (in no particular order), as well as some examples of jobs within each industry.
Methodology
calculate ROI for a specific degree, we first determined the overall cost of the degree. We allowed the degree holder four years to graduate. Using data from a recent College Board study, we assigned a figure of $37,343 as an average cost of a four-year public liberal arts degree, and a figure of $121,930 for degrees earned at four-year private colleges. The total cost included tuition, room and board, and books, and did not factor in scholarships or grants. We then determined the median cash compensation over the course of 30 years of typical jobs requiring that degree using Salary.com data. We used current Salary.com figures, but added 4.3% per year to account for inflation and cost of living increases. To determine ROI, we subtracted the cost of the degree from the gains over 30 years, then divided that figure by cost.
8. Math
If you love crunching numbers and solving complex problems, there are lots of career options for math majors with a great ROI. But of course you don’t need me to do the math! Here are three jobs commonly held by math majors (click on job title and/or salary for more information):
ACTUARY II
Median Salary: $70,029
30-Year Earnings: $4,130,308
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 110%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 33%
Median Salary: $70,029
30-Year Earnings: $4,130,308
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 110%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 33%
OPERATIONS RESEARCH ANALYSIS MANAGER
Median Salary: $146,456
30-Year Earnings: $8,637,969
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 230%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 70%
Median Salary: $146,456
30-Year Earnings: $8,637,969
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 230%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 70%
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE/RECEIVABLE MANAGER
Median Salary: $76,241
30-Year Earnings: $4,496,691
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 119%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 36%
Median Salary: $76,241
30-Year Earnings: $4,496,691
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 119%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 36%
7. Information Technology
While the rest of us are happy when we find the computer’s “on” switch, IT majors actually know what’s going on inside. All heaven declares mp3. Here are three jobs commonly held by Information Technology majors:
WEB APPLICATIONS DEVELOPER
Median Salary: $80,584
30-Year Earnings: $4,752,841
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 126%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 38%
Median Salary: $80,584
30-Year Earnings: $4,752,841
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 126%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 38%
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SPECIALIST
Median Salary: $109,604
30-Year Earnings: $6,464,440
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 172%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 52%
Median Salary: $109,604
30-Year Earnings: $6,464,440
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 172%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 52%
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER
Median Salary: $107,578
30-Year Earnings: $6,344,946
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 169%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 51%
Median Salary: $107,578
30-Year Earnings: $6,344,946
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 169%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 51%
6. Human Resources
Human resources majors serve as the gatekeepers to organizations, reviewing resumes, managing the hiring and firing processes, and developing policies that ensure employees are happy, healthy, and productive. Here are three jobs commonly held by human resources majors:
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS MANAGER
Median Salary: $94,978
30-Year Earnings: $5,601,799
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 149%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 45%
Median Salary: $94,978
30-Year Earnings: $5,601,799
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 149%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 45%
RECRUITING MANAGER
Median Salary: $88,916
30-Year Earnings: $5,244,262
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 139%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 42%
Median Salary: $88,916
30-Year Earnings: $5,244,262
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 139%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 42%
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER
Median Salary: $87,184
30-Year Earnings: $5,142,109
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 137%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 41%
Median Salary: $87,184
30-Year Earnings: $5,142,109
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 137%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 41%
5. Economics
If you’re interested in how things are produced, distributed, and consumed, consider a major in economics. Three jobs held by economics majors include:
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ECONOMIST (CORPORATE)
Median Salary: $115,671
30-Year Earnings: $6,822,271
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 182%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 55%
Median Salary: $115,671
30-Year Earnings: $6,822,271
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 182%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 55%
FINANCIAL ASSOCIATE II (CORPORATE)
Median Salary: $108,732
30-Year Earnings: $6,413,009
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 171%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 52%
Median Salary: $108,732
30-Year Earnings: $6,413,009
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 171%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 52%
INVESTMENT OPERATIONS MANAGER
Median Salary: $142,921
30-Year Earnings: $8,429,475
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 225%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 68%
Median Salary: $142,921
30-Year Earnings: $8,429,475
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 225%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 68%
4. Biology
If you’re fascinated with the natural world, you can use that passion to make a good living by choosing to study biology. Three jobs held by biology majors include:
LABORATORY MANAGER
Median Salary: $85,292
30-Year Earnings: $5,030,519
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 134%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 40%
Median Salary: $85,292
30-Year Earnings: $5,030,519
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 134%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 40%
Download Casio SMF Conveter for free. Casio SMF Conveter - Casio SMF Converter is software that converts commercially available Standard MIDI file (SMF) data to a format that is supported by CASIO electronic musical instruments, and then transfers the converted data to the instrument. Oct 31, 2016 The PX-560 does indeed support import of SMF Type 0 and Type 1 (User guide pg EN82). As for wave files, they be renamed on a computer and I'm almost certain the PX-560 will display the names. As far as Casio listening, they do listen. That fancy color touchscreen, the PX-560 itself and the new MZ-X series is a result of listening.
Jan 26, 2017 www.muzykuj.com. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Casio SMF Conveter 1.0 Free. Casio SMF Converter lets you convert SMF files to formats for Casio instruments. 4.4 (8 votes) 1.0 CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. Review Comments Questions & Answers Update program info. SMF Converter is software that converts commercially available Standard MIDI file (SMF) data to a format that is supported by CASIO electronic musical instruments, and then transfers the converted data to the instrument. After data is transferred, it can be used with the lesson function for lesson play.
CLINICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE II
Median Salary: $72,812
30-Year Earnings: $4,294,449
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 114%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 34%
Median Salary: $72,812
30-Year Earnings: $4,294,449
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 114%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 34%
HEALTH & SAFETY SUPERVISOR
Median Salary: $71,758
30-Year Earnings: $4,232,284
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 114%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 34%
Median Salary: $71,758
30-Year Earnings: $4,232,284
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 114%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 34%
3. Engineering
Were you the kid who drove your parents crazy taking the toasters apart and putting them back together? Engineering majors have excellent problem solving skills and a knack for developing products, devices, and systems. Three jobs held by engineering majors include:
CHEMICAL ENGINEER II
Median Salary: $75,225
30-Year Earnings: $4,436,768
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 118%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 35%
Median Salary: $75,225
30-Year Earnings: $4,436,768
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 118%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 35%
MECHANICAL ENGINEER II
Median Salary: $71,715
30-Year Earnings: $4,229,748
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 112%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 34%
Median Salary: $71,715
30-Year Earnings: $4,229,748
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 112%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 34%
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SUPERVISOR II
Median Salary: $91,997
30-Year Earnings: $5,425,980
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 144%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 44%
Median Salary: $91,997
30-Year Earnings: $5,425,980
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 144%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 44%
2. Marketing
If you’re interested in why people make the decisions they do, have excellent leadership qualities and the ability to persuade, and could sell ice to Eskimos, then consider majoring in marketing. Three jobs held by marketing majors include:
MARKETING MANAGER
Median Salary: $86,591
30-Year Earnings: $5,107,134
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 136%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 41%
Median Salary: $86,591
30-Year Earnings: $5,107,134
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 136%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 41%
PRODUCT/BRAND MANAGER
Median Salary: $92,216
30-Year Earnings: $5,438, 896
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 145%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 44%
Median Salary: $92,216
30-Year Earnings: $5,438, 896
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 145%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 44%
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER
Median Salary: $86,127
30-Year Earnings: $5,079,767
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 135%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 41%
Median Salary: $86,127
30-Year Earnings: $5,079,767
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 135%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 41%
1. English
What could be better? Vnc server for android without root. For four years you do lots of writing and reading, you talk about writing and reading, then follow up with more writing and reading. Then, the sky’s the limit. Common jobs held by English majors include:
SPEECH WRITER
Median Salary: $78,011
30-Year Earnings: $4,601,086
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 122%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 37%
Median Salary: $78,011
30-Year Earnings: $4,601,086
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 122%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 37%
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Median Salary: $88,498
30-Year Earnings: $5,219,609
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 139%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 42%
Median Salary: $88,498
30-Year Earnings: $5,219,609
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 139%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 42%
CONTENT MANAGER — WEB
Median Salary: $79,674
30-Year Earnings: $4,699,170
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 125%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 38%
Median Salary: $79,674
30-Year Earnings: $4,699,170
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 125%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 38%
Make Your Money Count, But Do What You Love
When all is said and done, the best way to get the biggest bang for your education buck is to truly love what you do. But while few things contribute to your ultimate earning power like passion and excelling at what you do, it doesn’t hurt to know you’ll be able to pay off those college loans a little sooner!
Earn More Money No Matter What Your Major Is
It doesn’t matter whether you major in philosophy or physical education, you want to make as much money as possible. Luckily, Salary.com can help.
The first thing you should do is research, so you’re able to come to the table armed with the knowledge of what your job is worth. Use our free Salary Wizardbelow to find out what’s a fair salary for your position. You can enter your location, education level, years of experience and more to find out an appropriate salary range before you negotiate.
Good luck.
How much are you worth?
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Physicians face a degree of stress in their profession that holds them up to a high standard of responsibility for their patients' care. That being said, some specialized areas of medicine are relatively placid. This includes pathology, the study of various body tissues or secretions for signs of illness and medical conditions. Pathologists typically enjoy the luxury of predictable hours, seldom see a patient, and interact primarily with other health care providers. Careers in pathology begin with the completion of an undergraduate premedical degree.
Pre-Med Majors
For aspiring medical students, there's no such thing as a pre-medical major. Any major is acceptable, as long as it includes the prerequisites for medical school. These typically include basic humanities courses, as well as calculus or statistics or both. Most schools also require a grounding in basic sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology, and usually some more advanced coursework in organic chemistry and related topics. Most students opt for a major in the sciences, which makes it easier to incorporate the subject into the degree program. Pathology makes heavy use of organic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology, so these are all excellent options for a major.
Medical School
The bulk of a physician's training comes during the next four years at a medical or osteopathic college. The first two years are spent in classroom instruction, building on the basic scientific knowledge gained from the premedical degree. This includes training in medical terminology, human anatomy and physiology, medical genetics, pharmacology and related topics. It also covers practical details of the medical profession, including medical ethics and pertinent laws. During the third and fourth years, students spend most of their time in supervised clinical training with live patients. Aspiring pathologists should choose pathology-related electives during the first two years, and as much laboratory time as possible during the third and fourth.
Residency
Medical schools prepare students to become doctors, but they're not ready to practice medicine upon graduation from med school. They must still complete a residency to learn the necessary skills in their medical specialty. For a pathologist, this typically requires four years of supervised practice under the watchful eye of experienced peers. They'll study blood, stools, urine or tissue samples in search of pathogens, parasites, abnormal cells and similar indicators of illnesses or other medical conditions. At the end of their residency, they must take and pass certification examinations administered by the Board of Pathology to become board-certified pathologists. Some will specialize further, completing fellowships in forensic pathology, neuropathology or other fields.
The Career
Employment prospects will be strong for physicians in general over the coming years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a 24 percent increase in demand between 2010 and 2020, substantially higher than the average of 14 percent for all occupations. Pathologists should benefit as well, since their expertise is called on constantly for patients of all ages. The salaries are in the midrange for physicians. A 2011 special issue of 'Modern Healthcare' magazine reviewed the healthcare industry's major physician salary surveys, reporting average pathologist salaries ranging from a low of $230,000 to a high of $356,281 per year.
2016 Salary Information for Physicians and Surgeons
Physicians and surgeons earned a median annual salary of $204,950 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, physicians and surgeons earned a 25th percentile salary of $131,980, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $261,170, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 713,800 people were employed in the U.S. as physicians and surgeons.
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About the Author
Fred Decker is a trained chef and certified food-safety trainer. Decker wrote for the Saint John, New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, and has been published in Canada's Hospitality and Foodservice magazine. He's held positions selling computers, insurance and mutual funds, and was educated at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
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In this post, we discuss the best majors for law school applicants. If you are still in undergrad and you are considering law school, this article will give you a better understanding of which undergraduate majors are the most beneficial for law school admissions, and how your choice of major might affect your law school application.
Quick Note from Joshua Craven: Remember, these numbers represent averages, and regardless of your major you can dominate the LSAT. I was a finance major and I got a 177 on the LSAT (23 points higher than the average for my major).
But First… The Worst Majors for Law School
I want to state an important warning right up front: IF YOUR SCHOOL HAS A PRE-LAW OR CRIMINAL JUSTICE MAJOR, DON’T DO IT. The hard evidence out there is that pre-law and criminal justice majors do worse on the LSAT and have worse outcomes when applying to law school.
According to LSAC, who tracks these things, only 52% of criminal justice majors and 61% pre-law majors were accepted to law school. Compare that with philosophy, economics, and journalism majors, who were admitted to law school at rates of 82, 79, and 76 percent respectively.
Now I agree with other commentators this is likely explained by self-selection. The theory is that poor test takers tend to choose these majors in abundance and this same group would score low on the LSAT even if they chose a different major. Under that theory, it’s not the major itself that’s causing the poor performance, but, no matter the explanation, they are clearly under-performing.
Let’s take a look at a study of LSAT scores by major:
Major Category | Average LSAT | Average GPA |
---|---|---|
Engineering | 156.98 | 3.24 |
Natural Sciences | 156.79 | 3.32 |
Arts & Humanities | 154.96 | 3.42 |
Business & Management | 153.44 | 3.33 |
Social Sciences & Helping Professions | 152.78 | 3.37 |
Computer Science | 151.48 | 3.23 |
Health Professions | 149.29 | 3.21 |
Other | 148.40 | 3.21 |
(Source)
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Tell Me MoreOf those measured, the two majors supposedly tailored towards preparing students for law school have the worst performance on the exam that gets you in law school!
There is no way to say this nicely, but don’t get lumped in with this group if you can help it. I realize there are great students at great schools pursuing these majors (Berkeley, for example, has a “legal studies” major), but it’s my firm belief that these majors don’t do anything to prepare you for law school that history, English, or political science doesn’t do better.
We also can’t fully discount the possibility that these majors really are worse at preparing you for the LSAT specifically. A known strategy for increasing your LSAT score is doing a lot of dense reading (think The Economist or The Wall Street Journal). English, philosophy and history majors have you reading and thinking critically about dense material all the time. People also theorize that hard sciences will prepare you well for the LSAT, a topic discussed later in this post.
Further, Criminal Justice and pre-law majors typically carry rampant grade inflation, so a law school admissions department might be inclined to discount a good GPA you receive in such a program slightly. Although Ann Levine, a former admissions dean and an expert in these matters, states that these majors wouldn’t cause any bias against you, she does state that you had better not get a low GPA in these majors. This indicates a belief that these are considered easy majors, such that doing great in them won’t be any real credit to you, and doing poorly is a big strike. [UPDATE: Ann just got quoted in Business Insider saying, “Law schools don’t consider [the criminal justice major]academically rigorous,” so I guess the gloves are off at least with respect to criminal justice.]
Grade inflation (and the attendant possibility that your GPA gets discounted slightly) is a problem for most humanities majors, but I would hazard a guess that it is worse for pre-law and criminal studies majors. While any discounting effect is likely to be very small, (law schools care more about your GPA number than where it came from and how you got it) it might affect you on the margins, especially at the very best law schools. Incidentally, I knew no criminal justice or pre-law majors at the University of Chicago. The admissions game is all about maximizing your chances wherever possible, and pre-law and criminal studies majors appear to hurt rather than help.
Just so there isn’t confusion, I am not suggesting that anyone avoid classes that deal with legal subjects. If that interests you, go ahead. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking that it will prepare you at all for 1L year. The main thing that prepares you for law school, in my opinion, is taking a heavy workload in a challenging subject. It’s the nature of the work, and not the particular subject matter, which is most important. That brings us to our discussion of the best majors for law school…
The Best Majors for Law School
The matter of picking a good major for law school is pretty simple. You want a serious subject that interests you and where you think you can obtain a high GPA.
Now, what do I mean by a serious subject? I mean one that is challenging and is well-regarded as an area of academic inquiry. This could be anything from English (Evan’s major) to Finance (Josh’s major) to Engineering to Philosophy. Generally, if it is a major where you tend to see serious students flock, you are in good stead.
This is important for two reasons: First, more difficult subjects are well-regarded by admissions staff. Though it may surprise some, the hard science majors are particularly in demand at law schools. I think this is partly because they are in short supply and add variety to the class, but more so because these students tend to excel in the law school environment and also are very in demand for employment after receiving a law school education (often for intellectual property law).
Second, dense subjects just prepare you better for the rigors of law school. I noticed that students who did hard majors at rigorous schools had a slight edge in law school because they were used to dealing with a very heavy workload.
On the other hand, students from the humanities such as English, philosophy, or history, had plenty of opportunity in undergrad to develop the critical thinking skills and communication skills that served them well in your first-year legal writing class, on law school exams, and especially later in the practice of law. Admissions staff know that these majors are valuable training and admit them to top law schools in large numbers. Just as an aside: take a logic course in your school’s philosophy department, as it gives you a priceless head start on your LSAT study.
Looking back up at our chart, we see that science majors are crowding the top 15 spots. There as well are humanities majors studying serious traditional areas of academic inquiry. Law school admissions staff are likely to slightly favor students from all these majors over other areas which we see towards the bottom of the list. What’s more, these majors amply prepare you for the rigors of law school.
Don’t forget though, maintaining a good GPA is still key in the admissions game. If you don’t think you are capable of maintaining around a 3.75 in chemistry, perhaps try something else if you think you may apply to law school.
That said, when you have strong preferences, you should stick with what interests you. Admissions staff look for people that are passionate about what they do and picking a major that you really enjoy will make you a more complete person. If Chemistry is the one thing that gets you most excited to go to school, then do that and forget about whether it helps you with law school or not!
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Learn MoreEvery once in a while, I’ll get an email from a high-school-aged reader – or the parent of a high-school-aged student – who is looking for advice on what to study in college and, to some extent, how to pay for it.
When I went to college, I followed the simple and straightforward advice of my high school guidance counselor. I majored in the subject that I liked most in high school.
Unfortunately, I figured out halfway through college that having that major alone wasn’t going to put me into a career path that I wanted, so I switched majors.
The problem? Well, there were a few problems, and I’ll discuss them below.
What Should I Major In Test
What Should You Study?
Without some sort of plan as to what subject you’re going to study in college, it’s very difficult to go through college with any efficiency, and without that efficiency, college becomes incredibly expensive.
The truth is that you want to minimize the number of semesters you spend in college, and the best way to do that is to settle on a sensible major as early as you possibly can – in high school, preferably. You can actually lay much of the ground work for a successful college run during high school.
Why minimize the semesters? Each semester you spend in college almost always means more student loans and it also means more interest on your previous student loans. In other words, extra college time eats directly into your earnings potential after college in a big way.
You want to avoid that. One big step in avoiding that is to figure out your major as early as you can and even start thinking about it seriously during your early high school years.
There are two main factors to be thinking about.
Factor #1: Do You Want to Do It?
Naturally, your own skills and interests need to be a starting point.
If you disliked a subject in high school, then it would be foolish to study it in college and start moving down that career path. You’ll be miserable the entire way.
Similarly, if you have no skill in an area, it would be foolish to focus on that area in college and start moving down that career path. You’ll guarantee yourself a competitive disadvantage throughout your career.
Instead, you need to look at the set of areas that you didn’t dislike and that you didn’t struggle with.
Note that this doesn’t mean you should restrict yourself only to what you liked and what you excelled in, though those can be good pointers if they manage to make it through the other factor.
Factor #2: Can You Make a Living with It?
So, you’ve got a list of subjects that you don’t hate and that you’re not really poor at. The question you need to ask yourself about each of those subjects is what kind of careers they lead into and whether or not you can make a living with them.
Start by talking to your teacher in each of those potential subjects. Ask what kinds of careers are available within this area of study, and what similar areas of study (and available careers) might be out there that you haven’t considered or heard of. Usually, your teacher studied their subject in college and knows about similar subjects and some of the careers available there.
Take some of those ideas and research them online. What kind of earnings come from those careers? What is the day-to-day working life of someone in that field like? Check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics for information about expected earnings and growth forecasts for a given career.
It’s worth noting that some people will have higher expectations for earnings than others, even if that means a career where 60-hour workweeks are the norm. It has a lot to do with your individual values. Having said that, however, a higher level of earnings gives you a lot more opportunities down the road.
Bringing the Factors Together
If you take both of these angles seriously, you’re going to wind up with a rather brief list of subjects. Your area of study and your first career should come from one of those areas, and the earlier you can select that area, the better.
I’m going to use my own selection of a major as an example of how not to do this, and then describe how I should have done it and how I will guide my children to do it.
I didn’t really even think about college with any seriousness until my senior year in high school. I felt like I liked most of my subjects in school, so I didn’t really have a major in mind.
My senior year, my class load was basically designed to free up time for extracurricular activities while getting my remaining requirements out of the way. Since I didn’t really have a study plan for college, I didn’t have any focus for my class selection.
The college I went to offered a day for new students before they signed up to go to campus and talk to professors while figuring out a major, so I just went to the professors in departments that matched my favorite high school classes.
The English professor flat-out told me not to major in English. The math professor was extremely distracted. The only professor that was on the ball was the biology professor that I met, who was a charming picture of what you might envision a kindly professor emeritus to be like. So, I majored in biology.
I wound up double majoring and spending extra time in college because of that decision, not because I didn’t like biology as a subject, but because I didn’t really know where it would lead professionally.
Now, what should I have done?
What I should have done is sat down during my sophomore or early junior year and assessed which classes I actually enjoyed the most – or, more importantly, which ones I hated and which ones I just wasn’t very good at. I would have been left with a list much like what I had when I went on campus, which is fine for a first step.
What I should have done then is done some research into what careers are available in those areas of study, as well as figuring out what I needed to study for any careers that sounded cool. What were those careers like? What did they pay?
I am fairly sure, looking back, I would have settled on computer science as a major had I actually followed this path. I found the subject interesting and the jobs in that field had lucrative potential.
Then, I should have spent my last year or so in high school choosing high school classes that prepared me for that area of study – any computer programming classes I could take, as well as math classes, physics classes, and technical writing.
Would this have been a perfect preparation? No, nothing is, but it would have been far better than what I did.
Go Beyond Classes
One big additional factor to consider about the expense and length of college and the value you get out of it is that a large chunk of the value that you get out of college comes from what you do outside of classes.
If you go to college and just take classes, you’re not getting nearly the value that you should for that opportunity. There is far more value to extract from your college dollar:
Relationships with professors: The professors on your campus often have a ton of insight beyond what you see in the classroom. Quite often, they have connections to industries as well as (sometimes) their own research money. They can be incredibly useful sources of professional and intellectual advice, plus they can end up providing great letters of recommendation.
Jobs within your area of study: Many universities offer opportunities for jobs that are at least somewhat related to your area of study. At larger institutions with healthy research programs, there are many opportunities for undergraduates to work, often starting with very menial labor but often growing into something more. Even if those opportunities aren’t available at your school, you can often find leads through your professors and the university for work during the summer and even during the academic year.
Extracurricular activities: Most campuses are bursting with organizations of all kinds, and many of them are great for filling up a resume and also for expanding your knowledge in your area of study. Many opportunities allow you to expand your transferable skills, such as leadership and project planning.
Professional network building: You’re surrounded by people in your major who are headed to similar career paths. Get to know them and start building a professional network while in college. Try to know everyone you can within your major and even in related majors. Build a real connection to as many of them as possible.
What Should I Major In Quiz
How Should You Pay for It?
All of this sounds wonderful, but it all comes with a pretty hefty price. How will you pay for it? There are a number of strategies well worth thinking about.
Ask Yourself What Education You Really Need
Not all career paths lead to a four-year university. Some lead elsewhere.
If your goal is to become an electrician, for example, then you should be going to a trade school, not an expensive four-year university.
If you’ve researched your area of professional interest and found that it does not require a stay at a four-year college or university, then there’s no need to go. You’ll have the advantage of not having those crushing student loans.
However, those paths are definitely in the minority. What if your career path does lead to college?
Get General Education and Basic Classes Out of the Way Quickly and Cheaply
If at all possible, you should be trying to pick up a college credit or two during your final years of high school. Does your high school offer any courses that can be used for college credit? Are they discounted or subsidized by the school? If so, you need to be taking advantage of that savings, both in terms of money and of time.
If you’re not sure about it, ask your guidance counselor for help. Your guidance counselor is there to help you find classes like this.
- Related: How High School Students Can Financially Prepare for College
What about after high school graduation? Remember, you don’t have to immediately progress to a four-year school. Instead, you can spend a year or two at a community college knocking off the general education requirements at a very inexpensive price.
Not only does a local community college offer inexpensive prices per credit, it also affords you the opportunity to continue living at home for a year or two after high school, drastically reducing the room and board costs you will likely face at university. You can often get through this period without any debt at all if you pair it with a job.
Minimize Your Student Loans. Period.
Eventually, though, you’ll likely end up at a university of some kind. Part of your goal while you’re there should be to minimize your student loans, and there are several ways to go about this.
Live super, super cheap: Don’t waste a dime. Get free meals everywhere you can – many on-campus organizations offer lots of free food. Look for free opportunities on campus for things like doing laundry. Live in a tiny apartment with three roommates (you won’t be there much anyway, so just look at it as a place to eat a simple meal, sleep, practice a bit of hygiene, receive your mail, and store some of your stuff) to reduce the rent to a pittance. Every dime you can save on your room and board means a dime less you have to take out for student loans.
Don’t buy textbooks immediately. Some classes will really require them. Other classes won’t require them at all. You won’t know for sure until you go to the class a few times, so do that before buying books.
Take class-planning seriously and try to eliminate a semester or two through careful planning. This means talking to your academic advisor to plan out clearly what classes you should be taking each semester so you can finish up earlier. This also means registering for classes as quickly as you can so you’re not shut out of a class, which can really disrupt planning.
Keep your grades up. Failing a class and retaking it isn’t the end of the world, but if it’s a prerequisite for other classes, it can completely throw off your plan for getting out of school early. A single failure can sometimes cost thousands of dollars. So take every class seriously and do the hard work you need to do to pass it (at the very least) or, ideally, excel at it. Yes, studying isn’t fun, but studying can not only make the difference between thousands of dollars in student loans now, it can also help you with better grades and earn you thousands of dollars later on.
The Most Important Skill from High School – By Far
The most important skill you can take from high school – by far – is the ability to study effectively, which is inherently linked to managing your time effectively.
Not only will that skill serve you tremendously throughout college, it will be invaluable for the rest of your professional life in almost any field.
For many college-bound students, however, practicing those skills on the high school level can be tricky. The best way to practice those skills is to take challenging classes and push yourself to excel in them. Take AP classes and focus on getting good grades in them while also taking on some extracurricular activities.
The only way the vast majority of students can pull that off is by managing their time well and learning how to study effectively and absorb information and concepts in a relatively limited time. This is the single biggest key to success in college and in the information economy we live in.
If you can build that skill in high school, it will serve you faithfully (and continue to grow stronger) for the rest of your life. If you don’t have it, college will be incredibly challenging, as will the challenges you face in other avenues of life.
How exactly do you do this?
Start keeping a calendar. You can do this electronically or on paper. I encourage you to try both to figure out what works for you. Invest enough seriousness into the calendar so that it becomes an actual tool to rely on instead of a burden to fill out.
A calendar is one of those things that crosses what I call a threshold of usefulness. If you start investing any time in it at all, you’re going to find that the invested time is completely lost unless you raise the usefulness of that calendar to a level that you begin to really rely on it. So, either don’t bother at all or commit to it.
I use Google Calendar for my calendaring needs. It works perfectly for me, sending alerts to my phone to remind me of things and providing great views of what I need to know. It takes time to keep it updated, but that time pays off in having something I can rely on. If it’s a due date or another date worth remembering, I know it’s in there and I know I can trust it at a glance.
Figure out a system for keeping track of all assignments and their due dates. In other words, you need to figure out how to keep a running to-do list or your own version of it.
There are a lot of apps for this – I probably recommend Todoist for new users. Learn how to use your preferred tool and, as with the calendar, invest enough effort so that you truly trust it. You can certainly use paper, too.
- Related: 10 Apps I Use Every Day to Help My Productivity
Learn to work stepwise on larger tasks. For a bright student in high school, procrastination can be a very strong strategy. No projects or tasks are really that big in high school, so you can get away with putting everything off until the last minute.
College – and real life – doesn’t work like that. If you rely on procrastination in college, you will fail. The same is true in your professional life.
A much better strategy is to work on good anti-procrastination strategies in high school where the risk of failure isn’t as high. Rather than waiting for the last minute to do assignments or projects, do them when you have free time gaps that aren’t filled with anything worthwhile. Break down bigger projects into pieces you can do in a half an hour or so. Actually do the optional reading assignments (they help a lot in college).
Final Thoughts
College is expensive, particularly so when you make a poor choice for your major and invest years of tuition and time going down the wrong path. However, if you make some smart choices in the year or two before college – and during your college years – you can extract every dime of value from college and reduce your student loans and end up with a degree you actually want in an area of study you enjoy.
That’s how you win the college game.
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Did you ever get some seasonal crud you couldn’t shake? Up all night coughing? We’ve all been there; you call for a last minute appointment, go ahead in only to find out your appointment was not actually with the Doctor but this person with the title “PA”. Well rest assured, a PA truly is as good as seeing your Doctor for typical sick and well visits – maybe even better, as they see a lot more patients than ol’ Doc and as a result are probably more familiar with current bugs passing through your area.
Physician Assistants, also known as PA’s, practice under a team of Physicians and Surgeons. They have been through extensive training and are well prepared to examine, diagnose and treat patients. And there’s always room for a few more, if you want to do the schooling.
Education
Typically one enters into this career path via another healthcare related career; Nursing, EMT, Technicians. A bachelor’s degree and some healthcare experience is required for admission into a Physician Assistant Program. To increase your chances of gaining admission to a PA graduate program the bachelors degree should be a B.S. (bachelor of science) in a science major; think biology, chemistry, you get the idea. The actual PA program is a Master’s degree, a 2 year full time program. In 2012, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc (ARC-PA) accredited 170 programs.
The program includes both lectures and laboratory style instruction in the following courses:
- pathology
- human anatomy
- diagnostics
- physiology
- clinical medicine
- pharmacology
- medical ethics
You don’t have to do a clinical residency like doctors, though there are residency programs available if you want to specialize. Plus, you have to pass a national certification exam with the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and be licensed by the medical board in whatever state you want to practice in.
Work Environment
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 58% of PA’s are working in doctor offices, 23% int hospitals, 7% at outpatient care centers, 4% in government and 3% private practice.
PA’s can perform pretty much the same services as doctors. And, as expected, they are utilized more than doctors for preventative care visits because they are more cost effective than physicians. As more Physicians retire or enter specialty fields. more PA’s will take on primary care services.
PA’s may be expected to do everything from routine sick and well visits to assisting surgery or prescribing medicine – in other words, a lot of responsibility.
Outlook
Look, you can’t go wrong with medical fields; most people know this. PA is not the exception: it is estimated to grow a whopping 38% from 2012 to 2022 as stated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For a 2 year Master’s program it’s a great salary booster from other bachelor level healthcare positions. The median annual wage for Physician Assistants was over $90k in 2012!
Federal healthcare reform will also play into the equation on the future of PA’s. The number of individuals who now have access to general services has and will continue to increase, thus resulting in more work needed for Physician Assistants as well as Doctors.
personCarrie Sealey-Morris
folderGrad School, Healthcare, Medicine, Nursing
folderGrad School, Healthcare, Medicine, Nursing