Help a decrepit old fart dropout choose a new path in life

[pnazari]

im finishing up 2nd year biochemistry and would not recommend it unless you are truley committed to the subject/field. lots of molecular biology and chemistry involved, but mostly it is the study of proteins in different biochemical pathways...take that for what its worth.

[Hoi Polloi]

One of the great things about undergrad is that you can explore different things. In fact, the well-rounded education many still extole can only be attained by playing the field as it were. So, I would encourage you to go into the thing with the idea that you are going to play the field and that you needn't decide before entering where the exit is. Getting more than a piece of paper may really point to what you take away from it rather than a "useful" major.

Also, many professors will be more than willing to engage in discussions with you about opportunities, possibilities, etc.

So, rather than trying to figure it out now. Let the process of deciding what direction to take your education be part of the education process. In some sense, it cannot be any other way.

Good luck.

[Doug Funnie II]

I am a psychology major, and although its mostly worthless in the job force, it seems like it may be interesting to you. There are lots of different directions you can go, from engineering psychology to clinical psychology, to biopsychology. Each can cover a pretty good amount of biology and involves some statistics.

[HeavilyArmed]

I tried beach bum as a career path for 3 years. Worked out just fine.

[donkeylove]

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At your age, with a full 4 years of school in front of you, and an entry level job waiting at the end of it, I would focus on starting some type of small business rather than going back to school.

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I'm not actually looking to start a new career, necessarily. I want to go back to school because I like learning. I just figure that if I go to school, I may as well pursue a degree with potential in case I decide to use it to seek employment.

I am not particularly motivated by the pharmacy degree as an intellectual pusrsuit, but I like the idea of a decent-paying job that allows me to play poker when I want instead of because rent is due.

SpaceAce

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That's cool if you just want to have a backup. I wasn't by any means saying you are too old for school at 30. I am 35 and just think it would be hard at this age to finish a degree I wasn't highly motivated to get.

I am also just a strong proponent of working for yourself if possible as most wealthy people I know are employers rather than employees. There is just so much oppurtunity with the global economy right now to start your own business. With cheap goods and outsourcing of everything, I just feel your either taking advantage of the new economy or risk falling victim to it. There have been some good suggestions in this thread from others that I hope help you.

[scotchnrocks]

I think pursuing engineering will pay off the quickest and you'll feel at home in most civil/structural engineering programs or any other construction related degrees. There were a good bit of older students in the program I was in at Georgia Tech. If you're able to start in the fall or the spring, you could be interning within a year or two and easily have a job lined up by graduation time in 4 years. Absolutely no problem with the age thing either. Pay won't be quite as good as electrical or computer engineering, but it's an easier degree and probably an easier day to day job after school.

[Bulbarainey]

Out of what you mentioned, I think engineering is a great option, chemical if you can handle it. My friend who just got out a year ago just got a raise to 71k, and hes chemical. I'm not sure about everywhere, but in the LA area an engineering degree almost guarantees you 50-60k to start, even jobs for the city of LA pay that and more. the other benefit is if one day you want to become a lawyer, you can take the patent bar and be an IP attorney, which is one of the highest paying fields.

as for pharmacy school, i have a cousin who graduated 2 years ago and a friend trying to get in right now. the pay is not bad, but you kind of "cap-out" from what i understand. you may start out at 75-85k but its really hard to get past that 120k mark oneday unless you open up your own pharmacy. also take into consideration the amount of work you are putting in to make that much money when you could have become a doctor or lawyer, both which generally start out higher than that, and both which have a much much higher earning potential. the thing with being a doctor, the school you went to doesnt limit you that much, so even if your undergrad kind of sucks, you can, as a last resort, get your med degree in the dominican republic. my godfather and my uncle went there, as well as one girl i know through a friend at law school, all seem to be doing well. the only bad part about it, which wont hurt you if you study enough, is they usually have a lower pass rate for the boards.

[SpaceAce]

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im finishing up 2nd year biochemistry and would not recommend it unless you are truley committed to the subject/field. lots of molecular biology and chemistry involved, but mostly it is the study of proteins in different biochemical pathways...take that for what its worth.

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Thank you, I definitely can't see myself "committed" to biochemistry (from what I know of it), so I'll stay away [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

SpaceAce

[SpaceAce]

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One of the great things about undergrad is that you can explore different things.

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Thanks, I've been keeping that in mind, too. I know I don't have to make the decision ahead of time, I just want to get some sort of feeling for for what I should maybe keep an eye out for.

SpaceAce

[SpaceAce]

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I am a psychology major, and although its mostly worthless in the job force, it seems like it may be interesting to you. There are lots of different directions you can go, from engineering psychology to clinical psychology, to biopsychology. Each can cover a pretty good amount of biology and involves some statistics.

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Psychology is interesting to me on a personal level. As you said, though, I don't know what I'd do with a psychology degree short of pursuing a PhD. Since I'm just now thinking of going for undergraduate classes, I can't even pretend to know whether I'd continue on to post-graduate levels.

SpaceAce