I (still) don't know what to do...

[BPH]

1. Go to UNCW and pursue something along the lines of pharmacy? I wanted to change my major to something along the lines of engineering, only to find they don't carry any engineering majors. Pharmacists make a great starting salary, but I don't know how much work this is and don't want to hate my job.

2. Go to UD and pursue engineering without knowing anybody or anything. Might have to commute from home instead of living on my own and isn't much cheaper than UNCW, especially considering the advantages of going to school near a beach.

3. Take a semester off and hold a job or two, maybe take some night courses/online courses. Live at home and likely continue my 5-month dry spell. Visit Atlanta, New York, among other places and pursue the possibility of modeling or acting.

This is a continuation of this thread: http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=206995

I just really don't know how to make up my mind because I'm so pressed for time and don't know what the right answer is.

 

[BPH]

A better question might be Pharmacy vs Engineering?

 

[Upside]

When I went to school I was undecided at first. I knew I wanted to do something regarding finance/economics so those were the classes I took at first. I declared for economics (as I was leaning for that when i first started anyway) at the end of my sophomore year, but I really should have just done it right away. It only took me three and a half years to get my degree (multiple 20+ credit semesters).

My point is I would have finished in the same amount of time if I went with finance or economics. They both share the same principle classes so I had some wiggle room. Pharmacy/engineering does not give you that wiggle room. You need to choose one. You are wasting time and money if you end up taking classes that serve no purpose when graduating. Don't go back to school until you decide if you want to work in MEDICINE or engineering.

So assuming you have no clue as to what you want to do, I suggest taking the year off. It's the better option versus ending up like one of my distant friends who went back and forth for two years, declared after her sophomore year, and will probably spend another 2 -3 years getting that degree. Consider trying to find an internship/job in an industry you are interested in and go from there.

 

[backseatjuan]

Just flip a coin.

 

[switch]

pharmacy tops any engineering course.
engineering is all maths and formula,models ,virginity protection and hours of staring at a calculator which might have come from another galaxy

pharmacy is chemicals , biology,feeding rats with carcinogens and some lab-tests.you can work for a company or open a meth lab in your parent's basement

both are incredibly boring. high paying jobs are always boring man,especially when you have to work as an underdog .

medicine is ab-so-lute-ly meh, unless you like putting enemas in a 80 year old swollen hemorrhoid inflicted anus.the money is good but yup,its got its very own virginity protection.

dentistry is so fvcking boring that we have the highest rate of suicide after lawyers and doctors.i swear i sleep while digging cavities or dream about some randome porn i watched the night before,its that boring and repetitive.also comes pre-packaged with virginity protection.

you want an exciting job? train to be a pilot.

 

[Fatal Jay]

I went to school for pharmacy tech, just for the simple reason I wanted to be in and out of school, because now all college students are paying student loans, and not even getting jobs.


Going to college is not worth it these days to be honest, it better to get a trade, and keep it moving.

 

[AAAgent]

pharmacy tops any engineering course.
engineering is all maths and formula,models ,virginity protection and hours of staring at a calculator which might have come from another galaxy

pharmacy is chemicals , biology,feeding rats with carcinogens and some lab-tests.you can work for a company or open a meth lab in your parent's basement

both are incredibly boring. high paying jobs are always boring man,especially when you have to work as an underdog .

medicine is ab-so-lute-ly meh, unless you like putting enemas in a 80 year old swollen hemorrhoid inflicted anus.the money is good but yup,its got its very own virginity protection.

dentistry is so fvcking boring that we have the highest rate of suicide after lawyers and doctors.i swear i sleep while digging cavities or dream about some randome porn i watched the night before,its that boring and repetitive.also comes pre-packaged with virginity protection.

you want an exciting job? train to be a pilot.

Engineering is IMO and experience one of the most beneficial degrees to get. You can transition an engineering degree to go into consulting, Investment Banking, trading, Analyst, Scientist, any engineering field, and more. The math and science that you learn from Engineering is applicable to many part of the professional world.

I have 3 pharmacist in the family and they make good and easy money. Outside of medicine which they dispense, they know very little. Pharmacist have very little room to grow while engineers can fix cars, create new things, etc.

 

[BPH]

Thank you for the replies, I was really hoping I would get some insight soon.

Just as a frame of reference, are any of you comfortably wealthy?

 

[speed dawg]

1. Go to UNCW and pursue something along the lines of pharmacy? I wanted to change my major to something along the lines of engineering, only to find they don't carry any engineering majors. Pharmacists make a great starting salary, but I don't know how much work this is and don't want to hate my job.

So you don't to work? Let me break something to you buddy - EVERYTHING is going to take work. Might as well make peace with it.

2. Go to UD and pursue engineering without knowing anybody or anything. Might have to commute from home instead of living on my own and isn't much cheaper than UNCW, especially considering the advantages of going to school near a beach.

3. Take a semester off and hold a job or two, maybe take some night courses/online courses. Live at home and likely continue my 5-month dry spell. Visit Atlanta, New York, among other places and pursue the possibility of modeling or acting.

This is a continuation of this thread: http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=206995

I just really don't know how to make up my mind because I'm so pressed for time and don't know what the right answer is.

The stuff in bold is stuff that doesn't matter.

If I were you, I'd pick the school that has pharmacy and engineering. Start taking your core classes that apply to both. If neither has this, take a semester off and get a job, possibly take some elective courses. Research both pharmacy and engineering, make a decision, and stick it out. Make it happen.

Both are good fields. Now quit whining and do something. You may discover a talent you never thought you had by taking on that job that you think is beneath you.

 

[Bible_Belt]

My cousin's wife just graduated pharmacy school and got her first job. She makes $80k/yr in a poor area of the country, but also has about that much in student loan debt. The job seems overpaid as hell. You're basically a street level drug dealer for the big pharmaceutical companies.

Physician's assistant is my pick for the best med degree right now. Some of them clear more money than doctors, and with a lot less work and stress. Medical jobs can be gruesome, or they can be boring. It depends a lot on your specialty. If you are someone like me who passes out at the sight of gruesome wounds, you probably want to avoid the med field altogether.

There's a guy on here who doesn't post a lot, Fuglydude. He is, I think, becoming/is a nurse anesthetist. The pay is damn good.

Physical therapy is another high-paying program. You'll get paid $80-90k to coach people to do simple exercises. Some of them smell, though.

Engineering requires being good at math, another skill I don't have. I was in AP and accelerated classes as a kid, but from the time of calculus on, I hit it like a brick wall and suddenly felt pretty stupid. Although the starting salary after graduation for engineers is not great, if you have any people skills or entrepreneurial spirit at all, there are a lot of opportunities in management and consulting after you get enough work experience.

 

[BPH]

My cousin's wife just graduated pharmacy school and got her first job. She makes $80k/yr in a poor area of the country, but also has about that much in student loan debt. The job seems overpaid as hell. You're basically a street level drug dealer for the big pharmaceutical companies.

Physician's assistant is my pick for the best med degree right now. Some of them clear more money than doctors, and with a lot less work and stress. Medical jobs can be gruesome, or they can be boring. It depends a lot on your specialty. If you are someone like me who passes out at the sight of gruesome wounds, you probably want to avoid the med field altogether.

There's a guy on here who doesn't post a lot, Fuglydude. He is, I think, becoming/is a nurse anesthetist. The pay is damn good.

Physical therapy is another high-paying program. You'll get paid $80-90k to coach people to do simple exercises. Some of them smell, though.

Engineering requires being good at math, another skill I don't have. I was in AP and accelerated classes as a kid, but from the time of calculus on, I hit it like a brick wall and suddenly felt pretty stupid. Although the starting salary after graduation for engineers is not great, if you have any people skills or entrepreneurial spirit at all, there are a lot of opportunities in management and consulting after you get enough work experience.

This is based off of the Exercise Science major right? Because that was my original intention, to take that degree and become a personal trainer, but I thought that with that job I would spend a lot more time paying off school debt than making money.

 

[speed dawg]

This is based off of the Exercise Science major right? Because that was my original intention, to take that degree and become a personal trainer, but I thought that with that job I would spend a lot more time paying off school debt than making money.

H*ll no. That's Personal Training. Do some research.

 

[BPH]

H*ll no. That's Personal Training. Do some research.

I've never seen Personal Training listed as a major. I've seen Athletic Training.

 

[backbreaker]

every time i go to the pharmacy there is some bad HB behind the desk. it never fails.

doesn't really matter which one i go to.

therefore i would probably be a pharmacist if i had to chose between the 2.

 

[AAAgent]

Engineers develop life skills that are applicable in any place or time and if they aren't directly applicable it atleast gives you the underlying foundation you need to quickly understand and adapt to the situation. So in response to Brads comment, an engineer can fix a car even without prior knowledge of automobiles given time to brush up on the subject while it would probably take much longer for any other individual not knowledgeable about cars.

Engineers fill the broadest range of positions from my experience of traveling the world. They work in the Oil industry, chemicals industry (chem engineers), mechanical engineers, industrial/civil engineers, computer engineers, and many computer engineers and other engineers become Investment Bankers. Why and how? It's because bankers value the mathematical background that engineers need to understand. Engineers can make starting from 50-60k - virtually uncapped. Gates, jobs, and wozniak were all engineers. Engineering skills are needed in almost all fields and the more technical ones are highly valued and sought after.

Pharmacist make good money but their salaries are capped. The profession is very specific and has little room for growth and salaries start and end in low 6 figures. You may get higher salaries/sign on bonuses for crap areas to work like Alaska or Arizona but those are exceptions since there's nothing to do in those areas no one wants to take those jobs. The healthcare industry is also privatized in America which results in higher demand for healthcare positions such as nurses and Pharmacists. Outside of the US, Pharmacists aren't paid nearly as well and make average salaries, their skills aren't highly sought after and aren't applicable to most real world scenarios. Also, the Pharmacist market is a bit saturated right now, especially on the east coast.

From all the pharmacists i know (many of my friends are and i have 3 pharmacists in my family), it's a very low satisfaction job as there's no room for growth and very little impact.

 

[reorex]

this guy whould get himself shot! i find my self laughing watching this..but if some punk from the street whould do this to me i whould break is hand!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZQGP-fkAwo

 

[BPH]

BPH, you don't need a degree to become a personal trainer. You can do this on the side as long as you keep working out. Get a degree in something else. My vote is for either engineering or pharmacist. If it were up to me, I'd pick pharmacist. It's easier than engineering - which is one of the hardest subjects you can take in school, though chemistry is no cake walk either - and pays very well from what I've heard.

I'd also go to UNCW, and think of some logical (ie non partying) reasons to convince mom and dad to let you go.

Both me and my brother are independently wealthy. He's an engineer making mid six figures, but most of his job doesn't have much to do with engineering any more (more management) and I got a good laugh out of what AAAgent said about engineers being able to fix cars because my brother wouldn't be able to do this if his life depended on it. But he would be easily pay someone else to do it for him.

We can talk about you getting a job as a lawyer but only do that if you get extremely good grades in undergrad and high scores on your LSAT, otherwise going to law school is a waste of time since the odds are hugely stacked against you unless you get into a top 25 school.

Is that what you do?

Otherwise I'm at UNCW right now setting up my apartment. It's a single where I share a kitchen with a guy next door. It's not much, but I have privacy, it's close to campus, and my roommate can buy me alcohol.

Not many cute girls in the neighborhood though, it's cheap so it attracts a few undesirables.

 

[BPH]

yup.. it's great for picking up chics but you really have to look out for the hot golddigger type there's lots of those around.

So did you decide on a major?

Nope. I'm trying to knock out my pre-reqs but otherwise I have no clue what I want to do for the rest of my life.