OK, you have decided to go to college and you think you have the stick-to-it-tivness to graduate. Second big important choice is choosing your major. Most companies only hire people who majored in something they need. After graduation you have to go out and make a living for yourself. You will spend a lot of your time for the rest of your life making a living. Life will be better if you like what you do to make a living.
At this stage in your life you may not have a clue as to what you want to do after graduation. I didn’t. But you need to work on it. Talk to family, talk to anyone you know who is holding down a job. Read some biographies of people you admire to see what they did for a living. Read the Wall St Journal to see what industries are growing and what industries are shrinking (dying?).
You have to pick your major in freshman year. Not that the college demands it (they should but don’t) but your major influences your choice of classes to take. For example if you decide to major in a STEM subject, you need to take calculus as soon as possible, first semester freshman year is best.
College offers three general categories of majors, totally useless, liberal arts, and STEM. Totally useless are any kind of studies, gender studies, black studies, ethnic studies and more. Anything with studies in the name should be avoided. Nobody will hire someone who majored in “studies”. Also art history, sociology, political science, underwater basket weaving, archeology, nobody hires anyone who majored in any of this stuff.
The seven liberal arts are/were English, history, foreign languages, music, art, philosophy, and theology. English and history will teach you how to write and writers are instantly employable. English is limited to the works of a few hundred English authors. History is broader, covering everywhere in the world going back to the invention of writing several thousand years ago. Any company doing business overseas is always glad to hire an American who can speak the language “over there”. They trust Americans more than they do foreign nationals. Music is good if you have any musical talent and you plan to perform. If you don’t have any talent, music won’t do anything good for you. Likewise art, you have to have some artistic talent for it to do you any good. Philosophy is fun but the only job it leads to a teaching it. Theology is pretty much obsolete now a days.
And STEM. Physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, programming, mathematics, business, and more. There are a lotta jobs for STEM majors. The best STEM subject is engineering. It is fun to do, and engineers are always in demand. The STEM field demands calculus, the text books do things in calculus and lacking calculus the homework will be meaningless to you. You want to sign up for calculus freshman year. Calculus requires that you already have algebra and trigonometry from high school. Note to high school students, you want to take algebra and trig unless you want to lock your self out of a STEM major in college.
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