What Major Should I Choose?

You might look at a school like CSU – Humboldt which has a lot of flexibility in its degrees including self-designed ones and double and joint majors. They have an accredited Social work program and a well developed environmental program. They even have a graduate degree that looks at the interface of environment and working with people. DA

First, thanks for wanting to devote your life to helping! We need more people like you!

If you are just starting college, take intro courses in all the areas you are interested in. If you are starting your bachelors after completing an associates then select a 200- or 300-level course in each area. That will give you good info on what you’re still interested in and might eliminate something that you don’t like studying.

The one thing I keyed on from your answer was that you do not want to be stuck behind a desk, and you want to make a good living. If you are a social worker, you may be out and about, but the only people who make a good living are those who are administrators for an agency. You’d have to get a master’s degree and you would then be behind a desk.

I think people are really starting to wake up about the environment, so the career options will be more plentiful and more varied in the near future. There are jobs in offices and there are jobs in the field. I think you will be able to find something to suit you.

I would start contacting people in all kinds of environmental work to interview them about their jobs–what they entail, what a typical day is like, what they like about it and what they don’t. And ask for their advice. Your instructors should be helpful as well.

Good luck!

i don’t know the exact statistic but i know that most under grads end up switching majors at least once. so while i don’t know anything about the degrees you’re looking at, my advice would be to hold on declaring until you’ve taken the intro level courses for a couple degrees you’re interested in and definitely talk to some advisors and professors! i know it can seem intimidating but most professors i’ve come across are more than willing to talk to you and give you any advice they can, plus they know more than anyone what exactly you can do with a major. i’ve found that a lot of times the info you get from the internet, high school, etc can often be wrong! so don’t rush yourself, you don’t need to declare a major for a couple years and you won’t be penalized at all for not doing so right away. and keep in mind that about half of your credits (if you’re at a liberal education school) will be basic classes, my school calls them LERs-liberal education requirements. so say you take a couple environmental science classes and decide it’s just not for you. the credits will count towards something else, even if it’s just elective classes.

i definitely know that going into college it can seem like you need to know right then what you wanna do with the rest of your life..pretty scary at 18! but trust me, you grow so much in the 4 years you’re in undergrad and things may change and you have to be open to that. so take some classes that look interesting to you and just let yourself learn and enjoy your classes…and that will give you what you need to know about yourself in order to chose a career! best of luck! feel free to message me if you have any other questions!

I would say that Education is the best choice. You will be working with children or young adults and you can help others get involved with helping the environment. You could study Science Secondary Ed. and get students to do projects that are about conservation and the like. Or you can teach elementary school and help children learn. Teachers can work anywhere and your salary will increase nearly every year. Plus great benefits and 3 months off every year! I say if you like education, that’s definitely the way to go!

Good luck!

Given that you are just starting college, it may be a little too early to declare your major. Try taking a couple of bio courses and a few courses realted to enviromental science to see if it is something you enjoy. As for education, you can worry about that much later, as if you are interesting in teaching you can go for your masters in teaching much later. For now try expirementing with different classes in bio/enviromental area to get a feel for what those classes are like. Most colleges let you declare your major around sophomore year, so that’ll give you enough time to choose something that fits you best.

I majored in general biology and now I am an environmental consultant.

Because the economy is booming, it’s not hard to get a job in the environmental sciences field. See if you can shadow someone in any of these fields and you’ll be able to get a better idea of what you want.

Don’t worry. Most students feel that way when entering their first year. If you want to help animals, then you can always become a veterinarian. It seems that you are very interested in helping your surrounding. Any major in the biological sciences can help with that. However, biological science majors are best used when they complete a Masters or PhD program. I also know that psychology or human development are popular majors. These two majors can lead to great careers in helping people.

dont count out environmental sciences just because people are telling u its hard to get a job with it. right now people are starting to wake up more about saving the earth, and by the time you graduate, there could be a demand for them. things change with time. just like 20 years ago there wasnt any demand for computer technical job types, and now its booming.

have you ever tried {ARTS&SCIENCES} before? i suggest that you try mastering that kind of [major]{subject} first before you drive yourself into a big and ugly stone that will keep you arrested for a long,long t.i.m.e.