Abuse Me for being an English Major (Then Suggest Something Better)

So I am having a real existential crisis. I'm coming back to school as a first year junior after a bit of a break and I foolishly chose to continue as an English major. Some godawful classes and good advice have finally made me see the light.

I was going to do a pre law certification with my english degree but everyone seems to think law school may be just as useless as anything these days.

What major should I switch to? I sadly cant do much in the way of advanced math or physics and everything I'm good at/enjoy (art, poetry, performance) seems to be equally useless. Right now I'm thinking one of the practical design fields (like furniture design) has a lot of appeal but that would mean switching to an art school where the tuition would be much higher then my modest state school.

Computer science / software engineering. Very little actual math involved. Mostly adding by 1 and multiplying by 2.

Get involved in politics. You can then major in any bullshit discipline and go work in the political world. No one in that field cares about your degree, they care about who you know/where you've worked/what you're willing to do.

What do you consider advanced math?

Originally Posted by Connemara

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Get involved in politics. You can then major in any bullshit discipline and go work in the political world. No one in that field cares about your degree, they care about who you know/where you've worked/what you're willing to do.

Yeah, obligatory . You knew it was coming.

Originally Posted by Magician

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So I am having a real existential crisis. I'm coming back to school as a first year junior after a bit of a break and I foolishly chose to continue as an English major. Some godawful classes and good advice have finally made me see the light.

I was going to do a pre law certification with my english degree but everyone seems to think law school may be just as useless as anything these days.

What major should I switch to? I sadly cant do much in the way of advanced math or physics and everything I'm good at/enjoy (art, poetry, performance) seems to be equally useless. Right now I'm thinking one of the practical design fields (like furniture design) has a lot of appeal but that would mean switching to an art school where the tuition would be much higher then my modest state school.
first - congratulations on getting back in school, and seeing the benefits of adding some professional direction to your study.

second - I don't think anyone thinks a law degree is useless per se, it's just that in the current market, the universities are spitting out like a thousand law grads for every worthwhile job in the field, and then upping their intake the next year in response to a seemingly never ending demand for placements in law schools.

To your question, rather than having us spit random course topics at you, why don't you tell us what you are interested in doing, what kind of career you would like to find yourself in, and then maybe we can help align what you have done in the past with what you'd like to do in the future.

Magi, good on you for getting back to studying and now with a thought to actual employment post-graduation.

Are you looking for employment with just and undergrad or is the plan to go on to graduate school? Maybe something along the lines of an MPA or MPH?

Nuclear Engineering

The math isn't really all that hard if you apply yourself and you'll be a better person afterward.

Also, make more money.

Go with a hard science. Something helped me get my next teaching job was that I was a science major capable of teaching biology/health as well as an English teacher. In the interview they told me that none of the other applicants had science degrees.

I can't believe I'm the first person to ask this - what are you actually good at?

There is little point in recommending you go into Engineering when you can't calculate the square root of the distance between your taint and your asshole.

Originally Posted by Connemara

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Get involved in politics. You can then major in any bullshit discipline and go work in the political world. No one in that field cares about your degree, they care about who you know/where you've worked/what you're willing to do.

Sleep 4 hours a night for a year? Oh my god, why do I know who I know?

Originally Posted by thenanyu

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Computer science / software engineering. Very little actual math involved. Mostly adding by 1 and multiplying by 2.
Eh. I don't know about when you graduated but most reputable CompSci programs I've seen have mathematical logic as foundational classes (typically in the form of Discrete Math). That being said, it's not hardcore arithmetic.

Originally Posted by Matt

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To your question, rather than having us spit random course topics at you, why don't you tell us what you are interested in doing, what kind of career you would like to find yourself in, and then maybe we can help align what you have done in the past with what you'd like to do in the future.

+1

pick a field you'd like to work in then choose a course of study and engineer your life until you are on a path to that career.

Helps to focus on your destination, even though it can(will) change over time.

I can't stand people who tell other people to study accounting/petroleum engineering/nursing because "that's where the jobs are".

What do you like doing? Do you see any jobs in the future that you would like to do? Find out what it is you want to do and tailor your path accordingly.