College Major/Future Career

People switch majors so much its dumb, (Like myself and plenty of other people). I'm just trying to say that nothing is permanent and this isn't the "be all end all" decision. This is a hard one because as you said, they were somewhat realistic. If you ABSOLUTELY hate what you are doing now then I wouldn't advise you stay with it, Just keep your mind open to new ideas. You dont have to stay with what you are doing, and you don't have to chase fashion but whatever you chose, its not going to ruin you life at the age of 18.

Fox

 

Let me quickly tell you about my circle of college friends. What we majored in, and where we ended up.

R was a pre-med major. He now is a senior editor at a major (non-medical) magazine.
D majored in film studies. He's a massage technician.
A majored in math. He works in the entertainment industry.
J started as pre-med, then switched to history. He works in mergers and acquisitions for a bank.
P majored in sociology. He writes music for TV shows and movies.
B was a pre-med major. He's a doctor now.

...we all think B is the weird one.

My point is this - don't overthink the major. It's easy to think that the wrong major will be a huge sticking point, but I haven't seen that to be the case. Indeed, if you change your mind (back) and want to get a med degree, you'll probably have to do a bit of catch-up. But that's no big deal in the long run.

My main question would be this - have you taken any fashion courses yet? I don't know what sorts of "intro" courses there might be, but I'm curious as to whether you've gotten your feet wet on that. It may end up that you don't like the drudgery of fashion design, either - it would probably behoove you to know that before you commit fully.

Lex

 

Just to add to Fox, I also think that you shouldn't base your ideas on a career choice on a couple of classes. Maybe you have already done the proper research on your current career plans, but if you haven't shadowed someone to get a feel for the work environment, I suggest doing that before abandoning it. Sometimes people use a job to enable them the ability to pursue a passion. I have worked through an issue similar to yours before. At the end of the day after all the advice comes in, you will have to be the one that makes the decision.

 

American college kids change majors an average of three times during their upper education. You don't have to know what you want to do at 18.

That being said, if fashion really is your dream, I say go for it. It is a competitive field and you could use the degree to back you up. Barring that, you could remain in your current major for the security and just learn everything you possibly can about the fashion industry, designers, sewing, business management, etc...

You don't necessarily need a fashion degree if you school yourself. You just have to be a very thorough autodidact (self-taught learner) and have the confidence/skills to promote yourself when the time comes.

For what it's worth, during my five years at university I switched from pre-vet to studio art, and from studio art to English/political science (the degrees I graduated with).

 

One bit of advice I have for you is to NOT do law school. You'll aquire so much debt and the market is saturated as it is...So use that as an argument point with your parents if you need to. They won't be able to deny it.

I work in Biology and I absolutely love it. Doesn't pay "well" right now, but after I get my M.S. I might be able to make a living in it. Med school isn't your only option with a Bio degree.....Many people go the research route, like me. If you end up getting a Ph.D. your career becomes less bench work and more grant-writing, which is something I want to avoid...But I do have to say working in academia is fun-a lot of hard work, but also a great way to lead your life.

THAT being said, I would probably drown in the fashion world...My mind just doesn't work that way.

Do what you want, and you'll never work a day in your life.

 

Okay...After typing all this I realised this is really long! I hope it helps somewhat...

Actually...depending on what kind of college/university you enter it might still be able to enter a bio and fashion...even though it sounds a bit far-fetched i have heard of something kinda similar...

For example, one of my friends did a Business Major and did Media Arts on the side as a joint major...so a bit like a double major...but not quite. But then again...is there even a place that does both bio and fashion well...=____="

Bio, i don't know much about i'll say straight up, but i believe some of my friends who went that route ended up so far (they haven't graduated yet...) doing something along the lines of working at drug companies, which tends to be..staying long hours in the lab and such (this may happen during the time you're in college...). I've also heard like...all-nighters where you work from sun-rise to sun-rise @_@".

Fashion, i would have a hunch that it would be long hours too (and i see all-nighters also if you're not careful)...but i suspect that it would feel a lot more rewarding as you can more often physically see the results of your work. Personally, i am a media arts major. I do 3D animation/rendering, 2D drawing/rendering, some architecture, film, photography, game design, sound design, computer programming...and so on. Whenever I finish a project, I can see the results...like 3D animation, instead of a lab report...Anyways I doubt that this will help me pay bills in the future which is the major argument here versus what you wanted to do for a long time?

I say...think about what skills are transferrable that you will acquire when studying either of these majors. As I have come to realize, a lot of the times, you're not really learning a whole lot about the content (most often you have to do all the research yourself anyways), instead you acquire skills and other things like time management, stress control, networking, cooking...etc.

How long of a time frame do you think you will be in college for? I'm currently in my 5th year....which turns out of be the average of what i'm studying. So you're not exactly...wasting time if you decide to switch during 2nd year...but there is the money issue though...hrm...

Oh and by the way, even after i chose what i wanted to study, i'm not even sure what i want to do AFTER i graduate, which is like in 4 months :bang:.

Another thing is...if you seriously think fashion is your thing/passion i say GO FOR IT! For if it is truly something you love to do it will show in your works .

As for bio, remember you will be studying this for around 4 years (am i right? and assuming you don't switch majors). Are you sure you will ENJOY this during the time you are studying this?

Last note:
I say both majors are on equal footing on paying bills.

 

You could always double-major in business and fashion - that way, you'll have a fashion degree, but you'll also have a "solid" degree to fall back on. You can always use the business degree elsewhere if you don't go into fashion, but if you go into fashion, a business degree will still come in handy.

If I were you I would just switch to fashion and see how you like it, but I'm insanely biased towards the visual arts and think everyone should become an artist of some kind. :icon_wink

 

I'm a business person. I do not recommend getting a "business" degree - ever. I recommend choosing something within business and getting a degree or side degree in that specific area (e.g. accounting, book keeping, marketing, advertising, legal, leadership/communications, etc.). A business degree trains ppl to work as middle management or large corporations. If you major in the arts (as I did) and have a specialty in an area of business - you can do very well.

Statistically, those in the top 2% of my arts field have incorporated their arts knowledge (whatever that is - music, visual, movement) plus their specialized business knowledge. You hire ppl to do the rest for you.

Also, what you are hearing about form Lex and others about majors and what you end up doing is so true. I majored in music and I run businesses. But! I wouldn't be successful as a businessperson if it weren't for the skills I learned as a musician.

I think your generation is dealing with things your parents never dreamed of. Many parents assume if their child becomes a Dr., they will get a pension, or make enough money to retire. This is not the case. Health care will be changing, how we retire is changing, and things will be very different for us than what our parents experienced. You need to take care of yourself. Understand they do have limited knowledge and will be passionate b/c they think know the "sure" way. There is no "sure" way. My two cents.

 

This is tough.

Definitely finish your freshman year, get a real feel for biology/science/pre-med. If you do switch, you want to make sure you're not interested in that.

If you want to work in the fashion world generally, if you feel you have a passion for it, I'd say go for it. Maybe you'll end up working in a different field, but at least you'll have studied what you love. For me, if I'm not motivated, I really do badly. If I am, I can produce excellent work.

Whatever you do, remember that people our age almost never know what they want to do or how to achieve it.

I'm 19 and I started law school this year after doing my Cegep (pre-university 2-year program here in Quebec) in communications and design. It was really tough for me to decide between the more "passion" choice (design major) or "reasonable" choice (law school). Now, what's different was that a) I did have an interest for law, politics and related fields and that b) I can't say that I have a passion for art and design, just a strong interest. Also, with the university system here, I'm not getting into debt with law school (thank you "socialism") so it's not like this choice will necessarily shape my life.

I don't regret my choice most of the time, but there are those days when I really wish I had chosen something closer to my heart.

It sounds like you're reasonably well off financially, so I would definitely go for fashion studies if you hate biology. Do try to sit in on some fashion classes and talk to students and people in the industry to get a feel for both the studies and the career options.

 

I'm currently majoring in computer science, but my real dream is to be an entrepreneur. Always has been as long as I can remember.

My advice is to pick something you can "fall back" on while you pursue your more ambitious, unconventional career paths. I as well as you probably don't want to end up working full-time for sixty years at the same job like everyone else...we aspire to be more than that, do we not? You got one life to live; live it as rich and famous as you can!! But shit ALWAYS happens...pick something you can always return to while you make your next plans after failing.

 

If you're going to do the silly thing, now's the time to do it. It's easier to get a useless degree the first time and then go back for something useful than it is to get a job in a field that you don't like and try to deal with it down the road.

 

Don't major in something you hate. Or even something you don't actively like. A lot of science majors at my school are only in science because it pays well, and it shows. They don't ever really enjoy their studies. The liberal arts kids, on the other hand, tend to be passionate and engaged, they enjoy school and get more out of it.

Does the fashion school offer a minor in design or similar? I've found minoring a great way to get in some extra knowledge and fun classes I wouldn't otherwise have been able to take, without the pressure of a huge ton of classes needed for a major.