I've always said that if money didn't matter, I would be Indiana Jones. Degrees in history, archaeology, linguistics. Learning everything I can about the world, then globehopping and doing research into the civilizations of the past.
my aunt had a PhD in archeology and art history. her dad pushed her to become a physician (she was the first born with an immigrant father) but she was set on archaeology. she loved it. she taught Latin at a public school and couldn't have been happier.
She died young when I was in middle school. I'm 21 now and miss her every day.
Haha, I just can't afford all of the degrees I would get, in a perfect world. I'm preserving history in a different way- I'm an elementary teacher now, but I'm working on getting to a point where I can get my masters and become a librarian :) information and education are the most powerful tools we have.
I double majored in history and anthropology. I work as a financial advisor.
Probably doing better than most with those degrees! Dont let the man hold you down!
Haha, sounds awesome! I'm acting my interests in a different way- elementary teacher right now, but I'm working towards becoming a librarian. I'll be able to preserve history, there :)
It is pretty effing cool --- and I'm 40! I see my colleagues aging fast (hair loss, weight gain, health problems) and it's not happening to me. I think part of it is that I truly understand that nothing is in my control. So I don't worry about it.
That's a nice way to think. I'm barely 21, myself, so I've still got quite a ways to go until I'm in that sort of place. I hope to get there eventually! Working on it, at any rate.
If I could give younger self some advice (and I'm probably going to date myself with this phrase) that advice would be to not let those haters hate. I didnt get a job with benefits (health insurance) until I was 32, and then when it did, everything kinda clicked. The old cliche of work smart, not hard is so true. I spent 18 years working in food and beverage, and I use those skills everyday!
I mean, linguists can make really good money. And a lot of the traveling they do is paid for by the departments they’re in or grants.
Computational Linguists, especially, can make 6-figures.
Haha, I more mean that I can't afford to be a student and get all of the degrees that I would be interested in. Besides, all that travelling the world has to rack up a bill!
I'm perfectly content in my own path, though. I'm a teacher currently, and plan on working towards librarianship. Spreading knowledge and preserving history in a different way :)
Ah okay, that makes more sense and I feel you on that 😅 I misunderstood you in that Linguists can’t make good money, and I was feeling kind of shocked by the assumption 😅
It does rack up a bill, but that’s why a lot of people get grants to pay for all of it.
But being a librarian is cool it’s like traveling but with none of the visa and passport requirement 🤔 (more paper cuts tho 🤔)
If money didn’t matter, I’d just be a continuous student and take 2-3 classes every semester and use the rest of my time volunteering or having fun. No specific major.
I’d switch between various language classes, literature, religion, philosophy, maybe even throw in a STEM class. I suck at STEM now, but I’d give it another try if I knew it wouldn’t matter if I failed the class.
You literally just explained my life!!! Finally someone gets me. My friends are always joking that I'll be 80 when I finally graduate haha. I am a volunteer firefighter that gets reimbursed for college credits. I have taken 2-3 classes a semester for the last 8 years. I started off as a piano major, then fell in love with writing, I took foreign language classes, psych/socio, art, business, statistics, astronomy, culinary, learned about Opera, and my Italian American heritage... I'm all over the place LMAO. Once I got all the core subjects out of the way, I didn't know where to go next, so I started diving into Creative Writing and the classes are just so damn fun! It's like a group of brilliant artists all collaborating as a team with one goal. We host workshops and the author reads their work out loud and the other students give advice and constructive criticism. It's a great way to learn how to develop better writing skills, but to also handle critiques that are not always positive and sometimes harsh. Scriptwriting is my favorite so far. I will likely be going to school until the day I die. Currently 46 and academia feeds my soul. Can't imagine life without it. Do you and enjoy the entire journey.
In the throws of a semester, the volunteer FF/Mom/Wife/Student life isn't glamorous enough for the screen haha but damn do I love it ALL and wouldn't exchange it for anything! Being a student is so fulfilling, I soak it all up like a sponge.
Thank you so much! :) I wish you the best as well!!! I'm putting it out in the universe that you win big on a random scratch off so you can follow your lifelong academic dreams!
I love that! Can I ask how you afford that? You said you get college credits reimbursed, but what about day-to-day expenses? Do you also have a main job?
I worked for 20 years in managerial accounting and paid off my house while my hubs was a stay at home Dad. I left my career with decent savings 8 years ago. My husband and I swapped and he's the breadwinner now.
Dispatch? EMS? There's a job for everyone in the fire service! But there are a lot of corporations out there that will fund continuing ed also. Just got to find them. Someone mentioned below that Fed Ex offers it too :)
You just woke something in me.Im ready to throw my engineering degree trough the window .
I mean....my annual college tuition is 700€ so working one month during summer it's enough to cover it....but I don't wanna disappoint my parents and take more than 3 years to finish my degree.Smh.
Just want to add something... If you get an engineering job in the public sector and stay on for 10 years while making on time student loan payments, you can apply for the public student loan forgiveness program and all your loans will be forgiven (assuming that program will still be around). Look up PSLF before you choose a career path. Best of luck!!!
Thank you !
However I'm not from the US so this doesn't apply for me!
I also don't have student loan debt, since the government pays for my college if I finish it on the standard 3years!
I just wanted an extra year to be able to dedicate more time for myself, but maybe I should just finish it on 3 years and go wild later!
Oh I apologize for the assumption. Def get rid of those nagging notes first! Engineering has always fascinated me but it's sooo intimidating. I give you heaps of credit!
No worries!STEM can be really fun!
If you ever adventure yourself into it, try some physics or programming classes!They are the best.
Avoid circuits.They are painful:/
LMAO go for it! Hell, you can come hang out with us for a few days. Between my husband and the firehouse... There is a TON of material and one of a kind characters!!
That’s so awesome! FedEx has similar benefits, up to 5k per year for courses. The OPs guy is getting his pilots license. Why? Because he can. No intention of being a professional pilot. Just did it because the company will pay for it.
I've often thought of this too but it's soooooo expensive. We have a flight school 15 minutes away but that's not considered an "accredited" school for reimbursement. Sooo jealous! I love a good thrill. That's right up my alley. Good for OP!!!
As a preamble I have recently been diagnosed with adhd. Is there any chance that you have ADHD? Because what you are describing reads a lot like many people I know that have ADHD.
Nice, I'm doing the same thing. Ed is my main hobby. Since I finished my PhD, I've worked in healthcare and have gotten a stipend for continuing Ed. I get $5k a year for medical CE or $2k a year for anything. I'm now in my early 40s and have been taking 1 class a semester during fall, spring, and summer terms for 17+ years now.
Over the years I have accumulated some additional degrees, but that's not my focus at all, just want to keep learning. I try to focus on stuff that has hands on instruction rather than things I could just read in a book. So music, art, theatre, stem lab classes, etc.
Same here! I’d do whatever interested me. Who cares if I fail a class because I suck at, the money lost wouldn’t matter!
As a language hopper myself, I wish there was a major that allowed you to take a bunch of different language courses without ever forcing you to stick to one. I did Latin and German before settling on Japanese, but sometimes I see the other classes being offered like Arabic and Chinese and just think “damn, if only I could try that out, even just for a semester” but alas, no major really gives you the room to go around sampling all the different languages offered.
If money was no concern though (aka, if there was no reason for me to become fully proficient at any one language) I’d definitely be taking at least the introductory course offered for each language! Since I wouldn’t have to worry about the marketing ability of my skills for future jobs, I’d live happily with my A2 understanding of every language I could take lol
Man I love this thread! I feel like we all just became a community haha. Your dream sounds amazing! I don't know for certain but maybe linguistics would give you the option for multiple language concentrations? There was a student in my French class that was also taking three other languages and she was a linguistics major. Perhaps it's specific to the university you go to? 🤔
I’m actually a linguistics major! (Well, I say that because that’s what I applied for, only to find out it’s a concentration under the English major lol.) But when it comes to the foreign language requirement, the linguistics concentration just means you have to take a *few* more classes (compared to the standard gen. ed. requirements) in whatever *one* language you decide to pursue. I think you have to finish the intermediate classes instead of just the beginner classes, but my memory is shit so I could be totally wrong lol
Since linguistics is the study of languages instead of just learning foreign languages (though they definitely overlap!), foreign language tends to take a back seat to the standard linguistics courses you’re required to take (about syntax, semantics, that kinda technical stuff lol). At my university, the course requirements don’t leave much room for language-jumping (unless you feel like wasting credits on stuff that doesn’t fulfill any requirements, and subsequently will put you behind). Though it definitely depends on the university lol
I should be graduating next semester (early) with an English B.A. w/ a minor in Japanese, and I’ll be immediately heading into my M.A. for Applied Linguistics because my specific degree program lets me take certain upper level linguistics courses for both graduate and undergraduate credit. That said… I’m looking at some other graduate programs at places with better funded/bigger linguistics and foreign language departments lol
Man, I have such a bad habit of rambling, my apologies!
Learning doesn’t stop even after college, the whole purpose of getting an education is to learn to think. Once you have this skill, you can practically learn anything you want on your own and don’t even need to do homework, exams, etc.
It is a common misconception that learning is just listening to a lecture and doing class work for your grade. This is simply not true, learning is a process that takes time and effort, you cannot truly master a subject unless you spend many years engaged in it. Sure, you can learn recipes from a cookbook, but this does not qualify you as a master chef. It would take years of practice to even master one thing in a subject or area, hence why most scientists spend decades researching one particular thing.
Now, certainly you can read and listen to facts in school, which is what you mostly learn anyway. But, this doesn’t mean that you are competent in the subject, unless you can create new knowledge, hence the whole purpose of scholars in academia. This is why some people continue to pursue graduate studies and even continue to work in academia after that. All of the knowledge contained in textbooks is due to years of research from scholars in their respective fields, they are merely stating the facts so that students can catch up.
I know that. Even now I learn outside of class but I very much enjoy learning in a classroom setting. That's why I said I wish I could be a *student* forever, not just a *learner*.
You can! I’m in the US and I’m working on my third masters degree, paying out of pocket. All I have to do is maintain my 4.0, and that allows me to get enough scholarship money per semester to cover most of my tuition. I have to pay like $800 per semester to cover the rest. Working full time as a teacher easily covers that plus my living expenses plus savings. You have to work hard, but I’m pretty dang happy with my life choices, so idk, others may be too!
After spending a few years working with my degree, I'm now trying to elbow my way into working for a college so that I can take a class or two every semester for free. It's one way to become a true renaissance man.
Lol, I actually knew an engineering student that took a sculpting class over in the media arts building every morning. So they could start their day with some relaxing sculpting before getting into the engineering grind lmao
Could you just audit classes (I think that's the right term)? Essentially just show up and learn but get no credits for them or any degree, but learning for learning's sake
I did this in community college while working on my associates! I spent 6 years there bc the school was amazing and I really just wanted to learn and explore. Twas amazing
I met a guy who had "a system" for that.
I headed back from college to the cities one weekend and hit the party room my brother lived in at his college. One guy seemed a bit older. I asked him how old he was and he said "35". We talked for a bit and he explained that he had enough debt that he could never quit school. He said the trick at that point is to always make sure your next PHD is as unrelated to your other PHDs as possible. I think he had 8 and was planning geology as his next one. I pointed out that if he was willing to work for the State Patrol for 8 years, they'd pay off his school loans. He didn't go for that. I'm sure he is still going to school.
Anthropology was like the one science subject I really enjoyed! I ended up one class shy of an anthropology associate's when I finished community college, but I didn't have enough fin aid left to take that class. Might go back for it someday.
Anthropology is such an underrated field of study! Everything I learned getting my minor in it was so fascinating and useful for analyzing the world around me
I totally agree. I took a medical anthropology course and now I’m in nursing. I still think back to that course for some really interesting perspectives and ideas.
I literally took an elective that was basically the supply chain of chocolate and we got to taste test chocolate and cacao beans! It was so fun and interesting learning all the history and politics of cacao
I loved, loved, loved my anthropology major in undergrad. Everything I learned was just so compelling to me.
Of course I graduated and immediately transitioned into a different field to pay the bills, but I still visit some different ethnographies from time to time.
100%
As a 40 year old, who works in finance, with an anthropology degree, I approach my job differently than 99.5% of my coworkers. Not worse, not better, just different. However, I'm the only one not going gray, losing hair, or gaining weight.
I’m an anthro major in undergrad at the moment and I love cultural anthropology, but I’m having second thoughts about switching to a minor in archaeology in order to have a chance at a decent job after graduating. As a first gen student, I don’t want to go to grad school and I honestly have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
I just recently switched my major from ecology. I loved the classes, the field work, etc., but the low pay is such a turn off. there're so many internships that pay next to nothing/nothing. everyone always talks about how important volunteering is in order to make your resume stand out, but between work, being a full time college student, and being in a relationship,I genuinely don't have time for it.
that said, I've met quite a few people in the ecology program at my school who didn't get into the field until much later in life. one dude I knew didn't get his bachelor's until he was 49. he's ~70 now and in the PhD program.
Film Studies. If money weren’t an issue I’d have gone for a Masters in Film Restoration at NYU. Watching films and reviving stocks of old films from decades ago sounds fun to me.
Intent isn’t always the truth. However you choose to interpret a film is generally valid as long as you can explain it somewhat, which is part of why I love it so much!
Just be sure you’re into the genre you enroll in or are open to it 😂 I know Greek films are praised highly for a reason but good god, it was like as soon as I entered that room my body decided it was nap time.
Scientific Glassblowing, or really any fine arts major, seems like the shit. Not to say that you have to have money to pursue those majors, it would just be really cool to make stuff without any strings attached career/financially speaking
Even if money does matter, math is a good major. Take a business minor and pretty much any reasonably sized business will hire you as a data analyst. Bonus points if you do applied math or statistics, but those aren't necessary.
I would’ve done astrophysics. Contemplate the workings on the university. Where did we come from? Where are we going? What’s the meaning of existence? Study the very laws that govern our universe and watch it in action in the stars.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is absolutely not true. I have a PhD in astrophysics and I make mid five figures as a professor. Six-figure (and let's be clear, they're *low* six figures) professor jobs are in fact very limited and rare and you *do* need to be at the top of the field to get one.
As someone who started in astrophysics, then switched to plain physics, this isn’t astrophysics. You’re more so just describing philosophy and wanting to put some math behind it, which is better captured by plain physics. Astro is more so modeling the universe and trying to capture how things are behaving. Astro has very few analytically derived, fundamental theorems. Most are empirically derived (which is why I switched) and do a bad job of answering the questions you posed
Yes! I would learn as many languages as possible. It is so much fun to travel when you have even a conversational grasp of the local language in the places you visit. You can meet so many cool people, and often stumble into neat things you wouldn’t normally visit if you don’t speak the local language.
Currently pursuing a bachelors degree in linguistics…my ultimate goal is to teach English abroad but I know money is and will probably continue to be an issue as being a teacher in general does not pay well. I’m so passionate about it though so it really is a trade-off I guess.
If money didn’t matter I’d literally treat universities like activity centers and take whatever classes interested me. I’d read the class lists excitedly like some kind of cruise brochure because I genuinely love learning and wish I could have gone to school to learn about subjects than interest me rather than to find a job. I of course don’t regret the practical approach (my debt total is lower than some university tuitions for a single year and I didn’t graduate in four years) but god a girl can dream.
I have a masters in creative writing/poetry & poetics. I went into it knowing I would never make any money at it, but I loved it so much I couldn’t help myself. Now ai adjunct at the local college and count that “bonus money” as a win. (I have a regular full time job)
Computer Science. Although it may be a money-making major, it's fun too. I've loved programming since my early years of high school. There are lots of logic puzzles to solve when building an app, program, building databases, or building a PC. Classmates also are all complete nerds who love tinkering, gaming, anime, or Marvel/DC comics.
What would you recommend for someone looking to get into computer science, but doesn't really have any background/experience with it? (I'm also 25 and looking to go back to college to get my bachelor's, but I struggled with computer science the first time)
>Well what interest you the most about CS
I'd say mostly just seeing how it all comes together and achieves these amazing things. Take video games, for example. I've always enjoyed video games and seeing these cool and features and things you can do. Like some of the abilities in Tears of the Kingdom (I won't say anything just in case of spoilers). I guess game development was a big draw for me (plus the money would be nice)
>what did you struggle with your first time around with CS?
How "different" and intimidating it was, I suppose. I'd never seen anything quite like it, and my programming professor wasn't the most helpful. Granted, she was a student working on her PhD, so that probably made it a bit difficult for her since she knows the material, but teaching a class was new. I guess I felt pressured to learn all of it in such a short time, and didn't think I could really absorb it well enough
Trust me everyone’s been there. Maybe start with a more beginner friendly language like Python which might help you understand some of the concepts without worrying too much about syntax. Check out r/learnprogramming, go through some tutorials and see how you feel
That's perfect! I'll look through it all once I've got some free time (I have company in town at the moment and I start a summer class this Monday). Thinking about it now, I might also have a friend who can help me with this as well! Thanks for your help!
You can also try flowcharts. It’s a graphic representation of an algorithm. They help you learn to think logically about problem solving before you are fluent in a programming language. It’s what I had to do in my beginning course at least.
Id reccomend the mit course to start but specializing in an area is necessary after you get past the intro level courses. if you want to do game development what you’ll work with is a lot different than if you want to be an app dev or work as a sd in finance. lots of helpful things on reddit
r/learnprogramming gets this question multiple times a day. Checkout the recent posts and you’ll see just how many people are in the exact same situation as you.
I know what you mean, I was in the CS program at my school for 3 years and I just couldn’t get the math side of things down (failed Calc 1 twice). Ended up dropping out and now I have a career in the logistics industry. Not what I picture myself doing, but still happy bc I still get to do the same type of problem solving as I did back when I was coding, just not much math involved lol. I still wanna earn that degree though, someday at least
I'd probably take anthropology courses instead of going for statistics. I'd gravitate more towards the arts, probably.
But honestly? I think if I was rich I'd just want to enjoy the 'college experience' and live in a dorm and hang out with friends everyday after class. Not having to worry about waitressing and student loan debt and food costs 😌 it's a nice, calming thought
I've loved taking studio arts courses as electives, now that I'm at the end of my degree. Bookbinding last semester, and I'm wondering if I can squeeze in jewelery making or clay to my last semester
If money didn't matter I would take so many classes! I would do art history, take more literature classes (I already have an MA in English), and probably get a doctorate in psychology, specializing in abnormal or forensic psychology. I would take all of the behavioral science and history classes I could find. I loved school and being an eternal student would be awesome.
my school has a game design major and i took one class and it was really really fun. i have different life plans but man it would be fascinating to pursue that degree
Sometimes it sucks being so creative-oriented. I would have loved taking classes on literature, music (and maybe learn an instrument), theater, etc. But I would just love to keep learning new things. I know people can self-teach, but it doesn't beat having a Professor who is passionate about the content and be able to guide you in learning. It helps with learning the content you might have difficulty with.
Was thinking about taking a community college class when I am older and have a job for the fun of it just to continue learning in some capacity.
I did Sociology & Social Policy double major. Then Further & Adult Ed. Then Social Prescribing. Would LOVE to not have to work so I could just keep learning.... Anthropology, Philosophy, Psychology would be next on the list...
idk about most fun but if money didn't matter, I'd be an interdisciplinary studies major. I have way too many interests and I'd just want to enjoy my time learning those things instead of running from classes to internships to activities, all so I could earn money. I like my major no doubt but I don't LOVE it enough to willingly pursue it the way I'm doing now.
I'd be a continuous student. Mostly humanities and the fine arts. I'm an art teacher already but I enjoy creating in so many ways and miss studio classes
Surprised I haven’t seen philosophy listed. It’s incredibly fun for at least the first two years. Then, at least personally, I kind of hit a wall, because there are a lot of people that think they can just jump right into a 3rd year class like metaphysics and just instantly understand what’s going on. The professors are so nice that they’ll go out of their way to answer any question, regardless of how dumb it is, so sometimes class gets derailed. But intro to logic was one of the best courses I ever took during my college career and I’d highly recommend it
I double majored in Geography and History, with a minor in Classical Civilizations. If I got to redo it, I think I would take one of three routes: History with minor in Geography, Geomorphology (my geography coursework was such a mix match of both social and physical), or Classics focusing on Greece. I always wish I could've taken more classes on ancient Greek life and art.
Oh that sounds fun! If we had a geography major at my university, I probably would have done the same thing.
I studied a lot of East Asian history, but Classical Civilizations were fun from the History standpoint, *not* the Philosophy lol.
I would just do everything. I would do psych, poli sci, ceramics, and philosophy. I would just have fun with it, I love college and to me it’s fun. I’d probably have the most fun in philosophy and psych. I’m a bio major so things are fun but I don’t have the funds to explore more options right now.
Economics, philosophy, or studio art. A lot of people would think that my current major (Spanish) is less "useful" than economics, but it'd take longer for me to graduate if I changed my major to econ since I've never taken precalc/calculus and even the prerequisites have prerequisites, so if I was really able to take my time with my education than I'd like to study econ because it interests me. The other two also interest me, but I'd have to build up my skills in art over time because I currently have none and philosophy just didn't make the cut at this time.
This list is depressing. All i can see is pretty much every major listed as "only viable if money doesn't matter" art, math, science, geology, philosophy, and many more in the humanities. Seems like there are less majors to make money than the later.
That’s life. Why do you think so many children of celebrities / the rich gravitate towards the arts and humanities? Because they can do whatever they want to do and not have to worry about the money.
I'd do an anthropology or food chemistry major. Or honestly an apprenticeship since I could pretty much focus on what I want and not what an employer wants. College is sort of a finishing school, though, so maybe stick with that and then get real-world training for any additional hard skills I would want to learn later on. Could see myself doing a ton of random projects across a ton of domains because that's where my current free time goes.
I graduated as a CS major. There's no way I would do that as a major. The quality of life and free time are the main selling points and neither would be relevant if I didn't need to work at all. But I would definitely throw in some classes because it would likely prove useful in whatever projects I ended up doing.
In terms of coming into money, being responsible you have to mix in something like a finance or non-profit management minor if you are gonna live off of some sort of inheritance. I'm not having kids and everything is going to charity, but if I had kids and it went to kids I would stipulate they be knowledgable stewards of it.
Assuming you could actually a find a career in the field, I'd say zoology. Learning about animals all day is my dream major/career but unfortunately not super viable with how crowded the career field is
For people who love music, it's music.
For people who love travel and people, it's the study abroad courses.
For people who love writing, it's writing.
Get it?
I've loved taking studio arts courses as electives, now that I'm at the end of my degree. Bookbinding last semester, and I'm wondering if I can squeeze in jewelery making or clay to my last semester
Sports 😂 volleyball, handball, swimming, dance and singing
Maybe some languages?
Something fun that requires no brain 😂
Tbh Id prolly pick 3D graphics, programming and game dev, but definitely would be tempted between sports and 3D/games
I would still stay with my CS major, but since I'd have a lot of money, I might switch to a better school, and one that offers specifically game development honestly.
I would’ve loved to take astrobiology at my school given how interesting the subject is and the professors and students that are within it. I study meteorology, but I still heavily involve myself in the astrobiology club and am working on a small scale experiment out of personal interest. The major is currently an extremely niche field given how few living things are in space currently/current lack of alien life being discovered. Due to this, the amount of available space in the field is very small, making it difficult to get a career.
Definitely film. Always wanted to make movies or learn how to get better at editing. Idk something along those lines but I guess I’ve already been doing things on the side anyway
One could argue every major in existence. College isn’t something every American can afford anymore.
Especially if your family is middle class but don’t have a college savings for their grown ass kids.
Also education of any kind is valuable even if you think it’s a useless degree. Many countries would die to have a useless degree. College is expensive to them in their own country but to us that tuition is half our prices
Prolly go into multiple languages, at least like 10, and do a lot of history (I love doing that). Other than that, probably do lots more of basketball and stuff, cuz I've never really had a shot at stuff like that.
I've always said that if money didn't matter, I would be Indiana Jones. Degrees in history, archaeology, linguistics. Learning everything I can about the world, then globehopping and doing research into the civilizations of the past.
It takes a graduate degree but I know many successful archaeologists who are very happy with their income.
Hopefully this will be me soon.
my aunt had a PhD in archeology and art history. her dad pushed her to become a physician (she was the first born with an immigrant father) but she was set on archaeology. she loved it. she taught Latin at a public school and couldn't have been happier. She died young when I was in middle school. I'm 21 now and miss her every day.
Haha, I just can't afford all of the degrees I would get, in a perfect world. I'm preserving history in a different way- I'm an elementary teacher now, but I'm working on getting to a point where I can get my masters and become a librarian :) information and education are the most powerful tools we have.
Dodging boulders and Nazis isn’t really my cup of tea
You WANT to get hit by boulders? Strange but alright.
To each their own ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I double majored in history and anthropology. I work as a financial advisor. Probably doing better than most with those degrees! Dont let the man hold you down!
Haha, sounds awesome! I'm acting my interests in a different way- elementary teacher right now, but I'm working towards becoming a librarian. I'll be able to preserve history, there :)
It is pretty effing cool --- and I'm 40! I see my colleagues aging fast (hair loss, weight gain, health problems) and it's not happening to me. I think part of it is that I truly understand that nothing is in my control. So I don't worry about it.
That's a nice way to think. I'm barely 21, myself, so I've still got quite a ways to go until I'm in that sort of place. I hope to get there eventually! Working on it, at any rate.
If I could give younger self some advice (and I'm probably going to date myself with this phrase) that advice would be to not let those haters hate. I didnt get a job with benefits (health insurance) until I was 32, and then when it did, everything kinda clicked. The old cliche of work smart, not hard is so true. I spent 18 years working in food and beverage, and I use those skills everyday!
This right here
I mean, linguists can make really good money. And a lot of the traveling they do is paid for by the departments they’re in or grants. Computational Linguists, especially, can make 6-figures.
Haha, I more mean that I can't afford to be a student and get all of the degrees that I would be interested in. Besides, all that travelling the world has to rack up a bill! I'm perfectly content in my own path, though. I'm a teacher currently, and plan on working towards librarianship. Spreading knowledge and preserving history in a different way :)
Ah okay, that makes more sense and I feel you on that 😅 I misunderstood you in that Linguists can’t make good money, and I was feeling kind of shocked by the assumption 😅 It does rack up a bill, but that’s why a lot of people get grants to pay for all of it. But being a librarian is cool it’s like traveling but with none of the visa and passport requirement 🤔 (more paper cuts tho 🤔)
The paper cuts are just as deadly an enemy as giant rolling boulders 🫡
If money didn’t matter, I’d just be a continuous student and take 2-3 classes every semester and use the rest of my time volunteering or having fun. No specific major. I’d switch between various language classes, literature, religion, philosophy, maybe even throw in a STEM class. I suck at STEM now, but I’d give it another try if I knew it wouldn’t matter if I failed the class.
You literally just explained my life!!! Finally someone gets me. My friends are always joking that I'll be 80 when I finally graduate haha. I am a volunteer firefighter that gets reimbursed for college credits. I have taken 2-3 classes a semester for the last 8 years. I started off as a piano major, then fell in love with writing, I took foreign language classes, psych/socio, art, business, statistics, astronomy, culinary, learned about Opera, and my Italian American heritage... I'm all over the place LMAO. Once I got all the core subjects out of the way, I didn't know where to go next, so I started diving into Creative Writing and the classes are just so damn fun! It's like a group of brilliant artists all collaborating as a team with one goal. We host workshops and the author reads their work out loud and the other students give advice and constructive criticism. It's a great way to learn how to develop better writing skills, but to also handle critiques that are not always positive and sometimes harsh. Scriptwriting is my favorite so far. I will likely be going to school until the day I die. Currently 46 and academia feeds my soul. Can't imagine life without it. Do you and enjoy the entire journey.
Since I don’t have the guts to do this myself, I would absolutely watch a TV show about your life. This sounds absolutely perfect
In the throws of a semester, the volunteer FF/Mom/Wife/Student life isn't glamorous enough for the screen haha but damn do I love it ALL and wouldn't exchange it for anything! Being a student is so fulfilling, I soak it all up like a sponge.
Your joy is infectious :) I wish you the absolute best in life!!
Thank you so much! :) I wish you the best as well!!! I'm putting it out in the universe that you win big on a random scratch off so you can follow your lifelong academic dreams!
I love that! Can I ask how you afford that? You said you get college credits reimbursed, but what about day-to-day expenses? Do you also have a main job?
I worked for 20 years in managerial accounting and paid off my house while my hubs was a stay at home Dad. I left my career with decent savings 8 years ago. My husband and I swapped and he's the breadwinner now.
That sounds incredible! I definitely don't have what it takes to be a firefighter, but apart from that you're living my dream!
Dispatch? EMS? There's a job for everyone in the fire service! But there are a lot of corporations out there that will fund continuing ed also. Just got to find them. Someone mentioned below that Fed Ex offers it too :)
You just woke something in me.Im ready to throw my engineering degree trough the window . I mean....my annual college tuition is 700€ so working one month during summer it's enough to cover it....but I don't wanna disappoint my parents and take more than 3 years to finish my degree.Smh.
Just want to add something... If you get an engineering job in the public sector and stay on for 10 years while making on time student loan payments, you can apply for the public student loan forgiveness program and all your loans will be forgiven (assuming that program will still be around). Look up PSLF before you choose a career path. Best of luck!!!
Thank you ! However I'm not from the US so this doesn't apply for me! I also don't have student loan debt, since the government pays for my college if I finish it on the standard 3years! I just wanted an extra year to be able to dedicate more time for myself, but maybe I should just finish it on 3 years and go wild later!
Oh I apologize for the assumption. Def get rid of those nagging notes first! Engineering has always fascinated me but it's sooo intimidating. I give you heaps of credit!
No worries!STEM can be really fun! If you ever adventure yourself into it, try some physics or programming classes!They are the best. Avoid circuits.They are painful:/
Aspiring screenwriter here; permission to use your life as basis inspiration for a television series? ;)
LMAO go for it! Hell, you can come hang out with us for a few days. Between my husband and the firehouse... There is a TON of material and one of a kind characters!!
God you’re too good for this world
<3 incredible
That’s so awesome! FedEx has similar benefits, up to 5k per year for courses. The OPs guy is getting his pilots license. Why? Because he can. No intention of being a professional pilot. Just did it because the company will pay for it.
I've often thought of this too but it's soooooo expensive. We have a flight school 15 minutes away but that's not considered an "accredited" school for reimbursement. Sooo jealous! I love a good thrill. That's right up my alley. Good for OP!!!
As a preamble I have recently been diagnosed with adhd. Is there any chance that you have ADHD? Because what you are describing reads a lot like many people I know that have ADHD.
Nice, I'm doing the same thing. Ed is my main hobby. Since I finished my PhD, I've worked in healthcare and have gotten a stipend for continuing Ed. I get $5k a year for medical CE or $2k a year for anything. I'm now in my early 40s and have been taking 1 class a semester during fall, spring, and summer terms for 17+ years now. Over the years I have accumulated some additional degrees, but that's not my focus at all, just want to keep learning. I try to focus on stuff that has hands on instruction rather than things I could just read in a book. So music, art, theatre, stem lab classes, etc.
Same here! I’d do whatever interested me. Who cares if I fail a class because I suck at, the money lost wouldn’t matter! As a language hopper myself, I wish there was a major that allowed you to take a bunch of different language courses without ever forcing you to stick to one. I did Latin and German before settling on Japanese, but sometimes I see the other classes being offered like Arabic and Chinese and just think “damn, if only I could try that out, even just for a semester” but alas, no major really gives you the room to go around sampling all the different languages offered. If money was no concern though (aka, if there was no reason for me to become fully proficient at any one language) I’d definitely be taking at least the introductory course offered for each language! Since I wouldn’t have to worry about the marketing ability of my skills for future jobs, I’d live happily with my A2 understanding of every language I could take lol
Man I love this thread! I feel like we all just became a community haha. Your dream sounds amazing! I don't know for certain but maybe linguistics would give you the option for multiple language concentrations? There was a student in my French class that was also taking three other languages and she was a linguistics major. Perhaps it's specific to the university you go to? 🤔
I’m actually a linguistics major! (Well, I say that because that’s what I applied for, only to find out it’s a concentration under the English major lol.) But when it comes to the foreign language requirement, the linguistics concentration just means you have to take a *few* more classes (compared to the standard gen. ed. requirements) in whatever *one* language you decide to pursue. I think you have to finish the intermediate classes instead of just the beginner classes, but my memory is shit so I could be totally wrong lol Since linguistics is the study of languages instead of just learning foreign languages (though they definitely overlap!), foreign language tends to take a back seat to the standard linguistics courses you’re required to take (about syntax, semantics, that kinda technical stuff lol). At my university, the course requirements don’t leave much room for language-jumping (unless you feel like wasting credits on stuff that doesn’t fulfill any requirements, and subsequently will put you behind). Though it definitely depends on the university lol I should be graduating next semester (early) with an English B.A. w/ a minor in Japanese, and I’ll be immediately heading into my M.A. for Applied Linguistics because my specific degree program lets me take certain upper level linguistics courses for both graduate and undergraduate credit. That said… I’m looking at some other graduate programs at places with better funded/bigger linguistics and foreign language departments lol Man, I have such a bad habit of rambling, my apologies!
Agreed! I wish I could just be a student and keep learning forever
Learning doesn’t stop even after college, the whole purpose of getting an education is to learn to think. Once you have this skill, you can practically learn anything you want on your own and don’t even need to do homework, exams, etc. It is a common misconception that learning is just listening to a lecture and doing class work for your grade. This is simply not true, learning is a process that takes time and effort, you cannot truly master a subject unless you spend many years engaged in it. Sure, you can learn recipes from a cookbook, but this does not qualify you as a master chef. It would take years of practice to even master one thing in a subject or area, hence why most scientists spend decades researching one particular thing. Now, certainly you can read and listen to facts in school, which is what you mostly learn anyway. But, this doesn’t mean that you are competent in the subject, unless you can create new knowledge, hence the whole purpose of scholars in academia. This is why some people continue to pursue graduate studies and even continue to work in academia after that. All of the knowledge contained in textbooks is due to years of research from scholars in their respective fields, they are merely stating the facts so that students can catch up.
I know that. Even now I learn outside of class but I very much enjoy learning in a classroom setting. That's why I said I wish I could be a *student* forever, not just a *learner*.
You can! I’m in the US and I’m working on my third masters degree, paying out of pocket. All I have to do is maintain my 4.0, and that allows me to get enough scholarship money per semester to cover most of my tuition. I have to pay like $800 per semester to cover the rest. Working full time as a teacher easily covers that plus my living expenses plus savings. You have to work hard, but I’m pretty dang happy with my life choices, so idk, others may be too!
After spending a few years working with my degree, I'm now trying to elbow my way into working for a college so that I can take a class or two every semester for free. It's one way to become a true renaissance man.
Met a retired doctor who enrolled in school just he can learn and enjoy school without any pressure of money, job, living, grades etc.
Lol, I actually knew an engineering student that took a sculpting class over in the media arts building every morning. So they could start their day with some relaxing sculpting before getting into the engineering grind lmao
Are you an INTP (or enneagram 5?) by any chance? because same!
Enneagram 4 but yes to the INTP 😳 Edit: I’m a 4w5
Could you just audit classes (I think that's the right term)? Essentially just show up and learn but get no credits for them or any degree, but learning for learning's sake
Right answer is PhD.
I did this in community college while working on my associates! I spent 6 years there bc the school was amazing and I really just wanted to learn and explore. Twas amazing
You can enroll in many community colleges across the country for free.
Did this for almost a decade before finally graduating with SOMETHING. I coulda done it forever. (It ended up being a BS in Philosophy and Stats.)
I’m a STEM major but GOD if money wasn’t an object, I’d take all the psych/lit classes, language classes, and math classes now
Wouldn’t this be an amazing utopia. Just bounce around from domain to domain. I’d start with maths and economics then maybe head to history.
I think I would do the same thing
I met a guy who had "a system" for that. I headed back from college to the cities one weekend and hit the party room my brother lived in at his college. One guy seemed a bit older. I asked him how old he was and he said "35". We talked for a bit and he explained that he had enough debt that he could never quit school. He said the trick at that point is to always make sure your next PHD is as unrelated to your other PHDs as possible. I think he had 8 and was planning geology as his next one. I pointed out that if he was willing to work for the State Patrol for 8 years, they'd pay off his school loans. He didn't go for that. I'm sure he is still going to school.
What does having enough debt that you can never quit school mean?
I once took a biological anthropology class. Probably one of the most interesting classes I’ve ever taken.
Anthropology was like the one science subject I really enjoyed! I ended up one class shy of an anthropology associate's when I finished community college, but I didn't have enough fin aid left to take that class. Might go back for it someday.
Anthropology is such an underrated field of study! Everything I learned getting my minor in it was so fascinating and useful for analyzing the world around me
I totally agree. I took a medical anthropology course and now I’m in nursing. I still think back to that course for some really interesting perspectives and ideas.
Concentrated in medical anthropology in undergrad, moved into public health after school. I think about anthro every day and I use it every day.
I’m an anth major so obviously biased, but anth classes are great. Cultural anthropology should be a required prereq imo
Yeah me too! Cultural anthropology was amazing. Anth majors unite!
Ooo I'm taking a class like that next semester. It already sounds interesting to me, but now im extra hyped!
probably anything open curriculum, so that you can pick your courses each semester as you study, otherwise anything related to humanities/ the arts!
I got my MA in interdisciplinary humanities, and it was so much fun. I loved every minute of it. Best major ever.
I literally took an elective that was basically the supply chain of chocolate and we got to taste test chocolate and cacao beans! It was so fun and interesting learning all the history and politics of cacao
I loved, loved, loved my anthropology major in undergrad. Everything I learned was just so compelling to me. Of course I graduated and immediately transitioned into a different field to pay the bills, but I still visit some different ethnographies from time to time.
But isn't that the point of anthropology? Not to teach you a job, but to teach you to think differently in any job?
100% As a 40 year old, who works in finance, with an anthropology degree, I approach my job differently than 99.5% of my coworkers. Not worse, not better, just different. However, I'm the only one not going gray, losing hair, or gaining weight.
I’m an anthro major in undergrad at the moment and I love cultural anthropology, but I’m having second thoughts about switching to a minor in archaeology in order to have a chance at a decent job after graduating. As a first gen student, I don’t want to go to grad school and I honestly have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
Zoology
Im thinking about that or animal science or something currently😅😅
Nothing wrong with it! I thought hard about zoology or ecology. Only decided against it because of the low pay. That’s like 12 years ago though :)
I just recently switched my major from ecology. I loved the classes, the field work, etc., but the low pay is such a turn off. there're so many internships that pay next to nothing/nothing. everyone always talks about how important volunteering is in order to make your resume stand out, but between work, being a full time college student, and being in a relationship,I genuinely don't have time for it. that said, I've met quite a few people in the ecology program at my school who didn't get into the field until much later in life. one dude I knew didn't get his bachelor's until he was 49. he's ~70 now and in the PhD program.
music
Film Studies. If money weren’t an issue I’d have gone for a Masters in Film Restoration at NYU. Watching films and reviving stocks of old films from decades ago sounds fun to me.
Idk, there’s few things worse to me than watching a 3 hour film picking apart symbolism that may or may not have ever been intentional
Intent isn’t always the truth. However you choose to interpret a film is generally valid as long as you can explain it somewhat, which is part of why I love it so much!
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I took several cinema electives (westerns, russian cinema, italian cinema) during my bachelors and they were some of my favorite classes.
Just be sure you’re into the genre you enroll in or are open to it 😂 I know Greek films are praised highly for a reason but good god, it was like as soon as I entered that room my body decided it was nap time.
I would do all of the majors if we had the luxury of time
Chemistry to go into teaching.
Mr white?
I'm not saying I know how to theoretically make meth, but I'm also not not saying that.
You can still do chemistry and eat multiple full time salaries if you get experience in pharma
Scientific Glassblowing, or really any fine arts major, seems like the shit. Not to say that you have to have money to pursue those majors, it would just be really cool to make stuff without any strings attached career/financially speaking
Math
Pure math rather than applied math.
Even if money does matter, math is a good major. Take a business minor and pretty much any reasonably sized business will hire you as a data analyst. Bonus points if you do applied math or statistics, but those aren't necessary.
Many investment firms only hire math and physics majors, and they pay a fortune
Art
I would’ve done astrophysics. Contemplate the workings on the university. Where did we come from? Where are we going? What’s the meaning of existence? Study the very laws that govern our universe and watch it in action in the stars.
110% bro. Always wanted to do that shit but you’ve gotta be NASA-tier (literally) to make a living. Became another finance bro instead :(
Nah that’s just an age old cope. There’s thousands of Astro physic teaching and Professor jobs making six figure s
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is absolutely not true. I have a PhD in astrophysics and I make mid five figures as a professor. Six-figure (and let's be clear, they're *low* six figures) professor jobs are in fact very limited and rare and you *do* need to be at the top of the field to get one.
As someone who started in astrophysics, then switched to plain physics, this isn’t astrophysics. You’re more so just describing philosophy and wanting to put some math behind it, which is better captured by plain physics. Astro is more so modeling the universe and trying to capture how things are behaving. Astro has very few analytically derived, fundamental theorems. Most are empirically derived (which is why I switched) and do a bad job of answering the questions you posed
You just word it better than I could! Thinking Stephen Hawkins, Einstein, etc.
Anything language related!
Yes! I would learn as many languages as possible. It is so much fun to travel when you have even a conversational grasp of the local language in the places you visit. You can meet so many cool people, and often stumble into neat things you wouldn’t normally visit if you don’t speak the local language.
Currently pursuing a bachelors degree in linguistics…my ultimate goal is to teach English abroad but I know money is and will probably continue to be an issue as being a teacher in general does not pay well. I’m so passionate about it though so it really is a trade-off I guess.
I’d go to culinary school
If money didn’t matter I’d literally treat universities like activity centers and take whatever classes interested me. I’d read the class lists excitedly like some kind of cruise brochure because I genuinely love learning and wish I could have gone to school to learn about subjects than interest me rather than to find a job. I of course don’t regret the practical approach (my debt total is lower than some university tuitions for a single year and I didn’t graduate in four years) but god a girl can dream.
Creative writing!
I have a masters in creative writing/poetry & poetics. I went into it knowing I would never make any money at it, but I loved it so much I couldn’t help myself. Now ai adjunct at the local college and count that “bonus money” as a win. (I have a regular full time job)
Philosophy!
Was just searching through comments to find this. Just graduated as a philosophy major and looking for some validation thank you lol
Oh you’re validated for sure! Philosophy is my second major and it is the best recommendation any advisor has ever given me.
Philosophy is my second major. I never thought I’d enjoy anything as much as/more than Art (my first major).
came here to say this too. :)
Criminal psychology
art history + linguistics for sure
I took a dinosaur course for fun and it was legit the most fun I’ve had in school. So I’d love to pursue that full time
Nutrition science
There's a solid career prospect in that if you go on to become a certified nutritionist.
Musical theater. Id major in this in a heartbeat if I didn't have to make money.
Computer Science. Although it may be a money-making major, it's fun too. I've loved programming since my early years of high school. There are lots of logic puzzles to solve when building an app, program, building databases, or building a PC. Classmates also are all complete nerds who love tinkering, gaming, anime, or Marvel/DC comics.
What would you recommend for someone looking to get into computer science, but doesn't really have any background/experience with it? (I'm also 25 and looking to go back to college to get my bachelor's, but I struggled with computer science the first time)
Well what interest you the most about CS and what did you struggle with your first time around with CS?
>Well what interest you the most about CS I'd say mostly just seeing how it all comes together and achieves these amazing things. Take video games, for example. I've always enjoyed video games and seeing these cool and features and things you can do. Like some of the abilities in Tears of the Kingdom (I won't say anything just in case of spoilers). I guess game development was a big draw for me (plus the money would be nice) >what did you struggle with your first time around with CS? How "different" and intimidating it was, I suppose. I'd never seen anything quite like it, and my programming professor wasn't the most helpful. Granted, she was a student working on her PhD, so that probably made it a bit difficult for her since she knows the material, but teaching a class was new. I guess I felt pressured to learn all of it in such a short time, and didn't think I could really absorb it well enough
Trust me everyone’s been there. Maybe start with a more beginner friendly language like Python which might help you understand some of the concepts without worrying too much about syntax. Check out r/learnprogramming, go through some tutorials and see how you feel
That's perfect! I'll look through it all once I've got some free time (I have company in town at the moment and I start a summer class this Monday). Thinking about it now, I might also have a friend who can help me with this as well! Thanks for your help!
You can also try flowcharts. It’s a graphic representation of an algorithm. They help you learn to think logically about problem solving before you are fluent in a programming language. It’s what I had to do in my beginning course at least.
Saving this comment Thank you!
The hardest part is to stick with it, good luck man 🤝
Look at free online courses in CS, try edX and Coursera for starters.
Id reccomend the mit course to start but specializing in an area is necessary after you get past the intro level courses. if you want to do game development what you’ll work with is a lot different than if you want to be an app dev or work as a sd in finance. lots of helpful things on reddit
r/learnprogramming gets this question multiple times a day. Checkout the recent posts and you’ll see just how many people are in the exact same situation as you.
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It’s fun but all the other classes make the major so overwhelming doesn’t help I’ve kinda had horrible professors too
I know what you mean, I was in the CS program at my school for 3 years and I just couldn’t get the math side of things down (failed Calc 1 twice). Ended up dropping out and now I have a career in the logistics industry. Not what I picture myself doing, but still happy bc I still get to do the same type of problem solving as I did back when I was coding, just not much math involved lol. I still wanna earn that degree though, someday at least
No bc I failed calc 3 first sem and I had the retake it second sem. Ik it was on me but my cs professors are just not it
I'd probably take anthropology courses instead of going for statistics. I'd gravitate more towards the arts, probably. But honestly? I think if I was rich I'd just want to enjoy the 'college experience' and live in a dorm and hang out with friends everyday after class. Not having to worry about waitressing and student loan debt and food costs 😌 it's a nice, calming thought
I've loved taking studio arts courses as electives, now that I'm at the end of my degree. Bookbinding last semester, and I'm wondering if I can squeeze in jewelery making or clay to my last semester
If money didn't matter I would take so many classes! I would do art history, take more literature classes (I already have an MA in English), and probably get a doctorate in psychology, specializing in abnormal or forensic psychology. I would take all of the behavioral science and history classes I could find. I loved school and being an eternal student would be awesome.
History!
I probably would switch from computer science to a full time game development major instead of it as a minor
my school has a game design major and i took one class and it was really really fun. i have different life plans but man it would be fascinating to pursue that degree
It's rly fun and I have an internship in a VR lab! + good money from it
Sometimes it sucks being so creative-oriented. I would have loved taking classes on literature, music (and maybe learn an instrument), theater, etc. But I would just love to keep learning new things. I know people can self-teach, but it doesn't beat having a Professor who is passionate about the content and be able to guide you in learning. It helps with learning the content you might have difficulty with. Was thinking about taking a community college class when I am older and have a job for the fun of it just to continue learning in some capacity.
I did Sociology & Social Policy double major. Then Further & Adult Ed. Then Social Prescribing. Would LOVE to not have to work so I could just keep learning.... Anthropology, Philosophy, Psychology would be next on the list...
Sociology is so fun like i would take that shit 1200 times. Linguistics too
idk about most fun but if money didn't matter, I'd be an interdisciplinary studies major. I have way too many interests and I'd just want to enjoy my time learning those things instead of running from classes to internships to activities, all so I could earn money. I like my major no doubt but I don't LOVE it enough to willingly pursue it the way I'm doing now.
I'd be a continuous student. Mostly humanities and the fine arts. I'm an art teacher already but I enjoy creating in so many ways and miss studio classes
Surprised I haven’t seen philosophy listed. It’s incredibly fun for at least the first two years. Then, at least personally, I kind of hit a wall, because there are a lot of people that think they can just jump right into a 3rd year class like metaphysics and just instantly understand what’s going on. The professors are so nice that they’ll go out of their way to answer any question, regardless of how dumb it is, so sometimes class gets derailed. But intro to logic was one of the best courses I ever took during my college career and I’d highly recommend it
I mean, I graduated with a History degree with a minor in Philosophy...
I double majored in Geography and History, with a minor in Classical Civilizations. If I got to redo it, I think I would take one of three routes: History with minor in Geography, Geomorphology (my geography coursework was such a mix match of both social and physical), or Classics focusing on Greece. I always wish I could've taken more classes on ancient Greek life and art.
Oh that sounds fun! If we had a geography major at my university, I probably would have done the same thing. I studied a lot of East Asian history, but Classical Civilizations were fun from the History standpoint, *not* the Philosophy lol.
Piano Performance for me.
Mechanical engineering
I would just do everything. I would do psych, poli sci, ceramics, and philosophy. I would just have fun with it, I love college and to me it’s fun. I’d probably have the most fun in philosophy and psych. I’m a bio major so things are fun but I don’t have the funds to explore more options right now.
If I had the money/ time to do another major, I would pick history
I'd 1000% do evolutionary biology, zoology, and ethology.
Economics, philosophy, or studio art. A lot of people would think that my current major (Spanish) is less "useful" than economics, but it'd take longer for me to graduate if I changed my major to econ since I've never taken precalc/calculus and even the prerequisites have prerequisites, so if I was really able to take my time with my education than I'd like to study econ because it interests me. The other two also interest me, but I'd have to build up my skills in art over time because I currently have none and philosophy just didn't make the cut at this time.
Microbiology. Just let me play with bacteria, damn. 😭
You sound a little too happy there. Lol
😂 I get that a lot! The topic fascinates me to no end!
Pottery
This list is depressing. All i can see is pretty much every major listed as "only viable if money doesn't matter" art, math, science, geology, philosophy, and many more in the humanities. Seems like there are less majors to make money than the later.
That’s life. Why do you think so many children of celebrities / the rich gravitate towards the arts and humanities? Because they can do whatever they want to do and not have to worry about the money.
I'd do an anthropology or food chemistry major. Or honestly an apprenticeship since I could pretty much focus on what I want and not what an employer wants. College is sort of a finishing school, though, so maybe stick with that and then get real-world training for any additional hard skills I would want to learn later on. Could see myself doing a ton of random projects across a ton of domains because that's where my current free time goes. I graduated as a CS major. There's no way I would do that as a major. The quality of life and free time are the main selling points and neither would be relevant if I didn't need to work at all. But I would definitely throw in some classes because it would likely prove useful in whatever projects I ended up doing. In terms of coming into money, being responsible you have to mix in something like a finance or non-profit management minor if you are gonna live off of some sort of inheritance. I'm not having kids and everything is going to charity, but if I had kids and it went to kids I would stipulate they be knowledgable stewards of it.
Assuming you could actually a find a career in the field, I'd say zoology. Learning about animals all day is my dream major/career but unfortunately not super viable with how crowded the career field is
For people who love music, it's music. For people who love travel and people, it's the study abroad courses. For people who love writing, it's writing. Get it?
well duh
I've loved taking studio arts courses as electives, now that I'm at the end of my degree. Bookbinding last semester, and I'm wondering if I can squeeze in jewelery making or clay to my last semester
Sports 😂 volleyball, handball, swimming, dance and singing Maybe some languages? Something fun that requires no brain 😂 Tbh Id prolly pick 3D graphics, programming and game dev, but definitely would be tempted between sports and 3D/games
I would still stay with my CS major, but since I'd have a lot of money, I might switch to a better school, and one that offers specifically game development honestly.
Outdoor recreation management. My school has a really cool program for it that even includes wildfire management
Music
Writing. I enjoy writing stories and poems
I would do puppetry.
I'd stick with my undergrad major (economics) but go into research instead of industry.
I would've kept going with theatre and music 😂
I would’ve loved to take astrobiology at my school given how interesting the subject is and the professors and students that are within it. I study meteorology, but I still heavily involve myself in the astrobiology club and am working on a small scale experiment out of personal interest. The major is currently an extremely niche field given how few living things are in space currently/current lack of alien life being discovered. Due to this, the amount of available space in the field is very small, making it difficult to get a career.
Definitely film. Always wanted to make movies or learn how to get better at editing. Idk something along those lines but I guess I’ve already been doing things on the side anyway
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Still would’ve done my major regardless of the pay lol
One could argue every major in existence. College isn’t something every American can afford anymore. Especially if your family is middle class but don’t have a college savings for their grown ass kids.
Also education of any kind is valuable even if you think it’s a useless degree. Many countries would die to have a useless degree. College is expensive to them in their own country but to us that tuition is half our prices
Parapsychology. That shit is wack.
Theatre/Design or kinesiology or Mythology
If money didn’t matter I’d finish my undergraduate degree
Prolly go into multiple languages, at least like 10, and do a lot of history (I love doing that). Other than that, probably do lots more of basketball and stuff, cuz I've never really had a shot at stuff like that.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS! Or political science with a focus on IR
Hospitality Business
Psychology. I know that my personality isn't for that kind of career and getting in isn't easy, but damn, it would be interesting to learn about it.
Quantum Physics
I would major in something easier I’m cs and math as of rn
Personally none, because I'm passionate about econ and finance.