College Majors. Any Ideas?

[Tantum Ergo]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1352999870' post='2510599']
I've been thinking and talking about it, and I think being a high school history teacher would be a lot of fun. I looked up the requirements and everything and it only requires a bachelor's degree with teaching certification. I'm not sure what's involved with getting certified to be a teacher, though. Could someone tell me?

The thing about being a teacher is my mother will not like it at all. It won't be up to her standards in pay and she has an overall dislike of teachers (She thinks they're all snobby and liberal), even though I would plan to teach in a private school, a Catholic one if I could. But I have to think about what will make me happy, not just about what will make my parents happy. Let's just hope this doesn't make them so unhappy that they decide not to help fund college...
[/quote]

I think that's great that you're thinking so much about your future and especially that you're looking for a path that will get you a good job to support a family. There's so many young men at Catholic schools who just jump thoughtlessly into any major and also want to get married and have a big family, yet don't have any good plan for how they will provide for that with a major like drama or history.

My husband, before he went to college, thought the same as you and chose computer science, and he now has a good job. The computer science majors and accounting majors often have a good job laid out even before they graduate.

If you won't consider the sciences, it's definitely harder to find a major with a clear career path. I think you might be on a good track with teaching though. It won't make as much money for you as the sciences, but you probably can find a somewhat stable job in it. Out of all my friends that graduated from Benedictine last year, the only ones I know that have salaried jobs are the ones that majored in education and computer science. The rest, the liberal arts majors, are currently working in coffee shops, cafeterias, and the like, or went back to school to rack up more debt and hopefully find a job at the end of it.

If you want to become a teacher, Benedictine is a GREAT place to go. Their education program is top-notch. You can very easily double-major in education and another topic, like history or biology, to become a high school teacher. You also earn certification by the time you graduate, and they have some partnership that makes you certified not only in Kansas, but many other states as well. If you're interested, I'd really encourage you to visit the college on a "Raven Day" and tour the education department. You'd be lucky too - their department is in the shiny fancy new academic building.

I think if you researched it more and looked up expected salary rates for teachers, the rate of employment, etc., and presented it to your parents as a plan, they might be more supportive. Right now they may think you're just floating willy-nilly around and aren't seriously thinking about your future like they are. You can explain to them that you agree with the idea that you should major in something that can support a future family, but the sciences aren't for you, and you think teaching is a good plan because it fits your interests and capabilities and will provide you with a job. Once you show you're serious, they might be more willing to support you.

[MissyP89]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1353006870' post='2510662']

A lot of teachers may get their Master's degrees, but it is not [i]required [/i]of you to do so. That's the important thing.

But do you major in history with a minor in education, or do you major in education with a minor in history? Or do you major in history and then do a teacher certification thing? I'm confused.

I talked to my mother about it. She doesn't seem to care, so long as I don't mess up and end up not being eligible for teaching like Michael did. Preferably in my mother's world I would get a high paying job of ninety thousand or something like that.
[/quote]

It varies by school and state. See what KS requires of their teachers -- at my alma mater, you majored in either Elementary Ed, Early Childhood Ed, or K-12 Subject Matter Teaching, which would be what you're talking about. You'd take a ton of history classes together with your Education requirements.

You spend one or two semesters observing a class, then you do your semester of student teaching and take your state certification test, which you should do fine in if you passed your classes.

I have lots to say about parents who pressure their sons. But listen ... sometimes things work out perfect. And sometimes you get there and realize it's not for you. You have to do what fulfills you, whether that's teaching or blue-collar work, or even something else that pays little. The world dictates that we need tons of stuff to get by, and a huge savings account, etc etc.

But in the end, you'll learn to make due with whatever you have. And you can still be happy that way. Try not to let your mother guilt or shame you if you have different dreams than what she expects. It's your life. Not hers.

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='Tantum Ergo' timestamp='1353007295' post='2510671']
I think that's great that you're thinking so much about your future and especially that you're looking for a path that will get you a good job to support a family. There's so many young men at Catholic schools who just jump thoughtlessly into any major and also want to get married and have a big family, yet don't have any good plan for how they will provide for that with a major like drama or history.

My husband, before he went to college, thought the same as you and chose computer science, and he now has a good job. The computer science majors and accounting majors often have a good job laid out even before they graduate.

If you won't consider the sciences, it's definitely harder to find a major with a clear career path. I think you might be on a good track with teaching though. It won't make as much money for you as the sciences, but you probably can find a somewhat stable job in it. Out of all my friends that graduated from Benedictine last year, the only ones I know that have salaried jobs are the ones that majored in education and computer science. The rest, the liberal arts majors, are currently working in coffee shops, cafeterias, and the like, or went back to school to rack up more debt and hopefully find a job at the end of it.

If you want to become a teacher, Benedictine is a GREAT place to go. Their education program is top-notch. You can very easily double-major in education and another topic, like history or biology, to become a high school teacher. You also earn certification by the time you graduate, and they have some partnership that makes you certified not only in Kansas, but many other states as well. If you're interested, I'd really encourage you to visit the college on a "Raven Day" and tour the education department. You'd be lucky too - their department is in the shiny fancy new academic building.

I think if you researched it more and looked up expected salary rates for teachers, the rate of employment, etc., and presented it to your parents as a plan, they might be more supportive. Right now they may think you're just floating willy-nilly around and aren't seriously thinking about your future like they are. You can explain to them that you agree with the idea that you should major in something that can support a future family, but the sciences aren't for you, and you think teaching is a good plan because it fits your interests and capabilities and will provide you with a job. Once you show you're serious, they might be more willing to support you.
[/quote]

That is really great knowledge about the program at Benedictine. Thank you so much. It really brightened my day. I'll definitely try to go on a "Raven Day" and tour it, as well as ask the questions I need to ask.

And thank you for the advice. So far my mother is supportive of it so long as I actually get certified, so that is a good sign. I'll just continue to talk about it and show that I am very serious about it, as well as do what you suggest and show the salary rates and everything, and I think they will support me. To be honest, I have always thought about being a teacher because I really enjoy it, I just didn't take it seriously because I figured college would be too hard for me. College will probably still be hard, but I'm sure with enough trips to the chapel in my dorm building I can pull through.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1352990382' post='2510515']
Haven't read it all

I have a cousin at Benedictine, actually. Sounds like a lovely school.

I dislike choosing a major based on what will make money. I certainly wouldn't have majored in archaeology, minored in history, and gotten a Master's in Egyptology had I thought only about salary after. But I enjoyed it and don't regret it, even though I don't work in those fields now, though I did for a bit. I dislike the debt, but no state schools had my major. Anyway, find something you enjoy. I graduated early, which helped some, and I did have scholarships and some money of my own to help. Taking classes at a community college can also help a lot, especially if you also work during that time. I don't know if Benedictine has work study, but look into it.
[/quote]

I've never heard of Egyptology being a major but that would certainly be interesting. I've often thought, "I wonder if there is a program for Greek Mythology?" I took Mythology in Arts and Culture several years ago and got an "A" in it. I LOVE learning about Greco-Roman Mythology because it's fascinating.

I'm taking a class this semester (that is almost finished) called Concepts of Disease. I have over a 100/A average in the class (I think it's 100.4 now) even after all the tests and papers. I was definitely thinking I should incorporate it into my major somehow because I didn't think I'd enjoy it that much. I'm now considering a career in Public Health Nursing. The only issue would be working in Sex Education and having to teach about contraception. I don't know if that's required or not...

[Slappo]

You can do a lot more with poli sci then be a politician. Politicians require lots of staff at all levels of politics. Even our commissioner's have special assistants that are liasons between our departments and the legislature. You could get into political reporting if you do a journalism/poli sci double major.

[Gabriela]

I suggest going to ted.com and searching "happiness" and "success" (separately). You'll find that a lot of recent research suggests that doing what you LOVE is what will make you successful (not the other way around). It is also what will make you happy. So, I wouldn't worry about the money. When you graduate, you can get all kinds of creative about how to apply what you've learned. In the meantime, doing anything just for the money isn't likely to motivate you sufficiently to do well in it. Only passion motivates success.

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='curiousing' timestamp='1353040915' post='2511112']
I suggest going to ted.com and searching "happiness" and "success" (separately). You'll find that a lot of recent research suggests that doing what you LOVE is what will make you successful (not the other way around). It is also what will make you happy. So, I wouldn't worry about the money. When you graduate, you can get all kinds of creative about how to apply what you've learned. In the meantime, doing anything just for the money isn't likely to motivate you sufficiently to do well in it. Only passion motivates success.
[/quote]

Of course. But I really do love teaching.

[Gabriela]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1353041517' post='2511118']

Of course. But I really do love teaching.
[/quote]

Then take some classes in each of the disciplines you're interested in. You can usually enter a college "undecided" and declare a major after a year or two. Typically, the classes you love being a student in are the ones you'd most love to teach. (I know, as this is how I discerned what I want to teach!) Perhaps more importantly, though, ask yourself: What is it you want to teach your students? Not in terms of course content, but in terms of life, themselves, spirituality, "practicality" (worldly stuff), etc. When I was trying to decide whether I wanted to get a PhD in Religious Studies or Communication, I had this epiphany:

"I want to teach students that science and religion are not at odds. I want to teach them to critically analyze messages they receive about both. I want to teach them to value what both have to offer. I want to teach them to ask themselves honestly where they place their faith. I want to teach them to articulately and powerfully justify their views—whatever they are—regarding morality, God, science, and anything else of import in the private or public sphere. I could do this in both disciplines. But in Religious Studies, I would focus on teaching world religions, of course. In Communication, I would focus on teaching critical processing of messages (of all sorts, but I could emphasize science/religion messages from the public sphere, media, etc.) and communication of one's own beliefs."

Once I realized that I could achieve my teaching goals in either, the question was: HOW do I want to achieve them? Where do I have more flexibility? Where can I focus more closely on what I want to teach? And that solved my problem. I made my decision. And now I teach Communication.

Critically examine not just the content but the teaching methods and focii of every class you take. I was honestly more interested in my religious studies classes, content-wise. But in viewing them from a teaching perspective, I saw that my pedagogical goals were better met by the flexibility of a communication class, and that I could incorporate my content interests and still use those methods. It was the best of both worlds, in other words.

It will take time for you to figure this out—if you're like the rest of us, anyway. What's important is how you look at the experience of each class. You have to do it honestly and through the frame of your ultimate goals, not just your current interests.

I hope that helps!

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1353014233' post='2510756']


I've never heard of Egyptology being a major but that would certainly be interesting. I've often thought, "I wonder if there is a program for Greek Mythology?" I took Mythology in Arts and Culture several years ago and got an "A" in it. I LOVE learning about Greco-Roman Mythology because it's fascinating.

I'm taking a class this semester (that is almost finished) called Concepts of Disease. I have over a 100/A average in the class (I think it's 100.4 now) even after all the tests and papers. I was definitely thinking I should incorporate it into my major somehow because I didn't think I'd enjoy it that much. I'm now considering a career in Public Health Nursing. The only issue would be working in Sex Education and having to teach about contraception. I don't know if that's required or not...
[/quote]in the US, there are only one or two universities that offer Egyptology, I think. But my MA wasn't in the US. Greek myth would fall under a "classics" major.

Nursing is an admirable profession!

[LaPetiteSoeur]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1352999870' post='2510599']
I've been thinking and talking about it, and I think being a high school history teacher would be a lot of fun. I looked up the requirements and everything and it only requires a bachelor's degree with teaching certification. I'm not sure what's involved with getting certified to be a teacher, though. Could someone tell me?

The thing about being a teacher is my mother will not like it at all. It won't be up to her standards in pay and she has an overall dislike of teachers (She thinks they're all snobby and liberal), even though I would plan to teach in a private school, a Catholic one if I could. But I have to think about what will make me happy, not just about what will make my parents happy. Let's just hope this doesn't make them so unhappy that they decide not to help fund college...
[/quote]

Most good teaching programs involve education courses, student teaching, and observations. You'll have to take the PRaxis I and Praxis II (for history) as well. It's not terrible.
Just a fyi: Catholic school teachers make less than public school ones. It's very difficult to raise a family on a Catholic school salary, especially if your wife doesn't work and you have a couple of kids. I only know one Catholic school teacher who was the only income in her household, and she was a single parent with a single daughter.

[sixpence]

I think you should study nursing... I TA microbio for nursing majors...it can't be THAT hard.

So you are saying you are terrible at all math and all science? Are you sure? There is a LOT of variety in those areas...
ex. I hate chem/physics but do well in bio/ecology; I hate stats and trig but do well in algebra and calc. I also thought I would hate teaching (cause I HATE public speaking), but then I had to try it and it was fine.

Are you allowed to go in undeclared?

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='sixpence' timestamp='1353079341' post='2511259']
I think you should study nursing... I TA microbio for nursing majors...it can't be THAT hard.

So you are saying you are terrible at all math and all science? Are you sure? There is a LOT of variety in those areas...
ex. I hate chem/physics but do well in bio/ecology; I hate stats and trig but do well in algebra and calc. I also thought I would hate teaching (cause I HATE public speaking), but then I had to try it and it was fine.

Are you allowed to go in undeclared?
[/quote]

I'm not bad at all math and science. As I have learned, I'm good at math, I just need to practice it a few times to get it down. And I like quite a few subjects in science, I just don't want to do that professionally.

[Lilllabettt]

I would hesitate on the education thing. If you decide to go down that path, please be sure to talk to teachers who work in the schools you would most likely work in - the poor rural and urban schools. There is extremely high turnover in these places for a reason. But no matter where you teach, education as profession is changing ,and is moving in a strange direction. In Teach for America I have a front row seat to these changes ... I don't want to discourage, and a certification is always a nice thing to have in your back pocket ... but please look into it carefully and talk to teachers. I'm sorry to say that of the few dozen teachers I know, I don't know any who would recommend it to someone just beginning

Edited November 17, 2012 by Lilllabettt

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' timestamp='1353124400' post='2511622']
I would hesitate on the education thing. If you decide to go down that path, please be sure to talk to teachers who work in the schools you would most likely work in - the poor rural and urban schools. There is extremely high turnover in these places for a reason. But no matter where you teach, education as profession is changing ,and is moving in a strange direction. In Teach for America I have a front row seat to these changes ... I don't want to discourage, and a certification is always a nice thing to have in your back pocket ... but please look into it carefully and talk to teachers. I'm sorry to say that of the few dozen teachers I know, I don't know any who would recommend it to someone just beginning
[/quote]

Could you tell me why? What changes are happening that make it such a bad profession to get into?

[Tally Marx]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1352953978' post='2510347']
Teaching is not a stable job right now. Plus, I would need a master's degree to become a teacher, and I'm not interested in debt, especially if the job is not stable. I'm looking for something I can do with a bachelor's degree.
[/quote]

Do you live in the United States? Go for a major in Education.
Become a certified teacher with an add-on certification in Special Education, and you are pretty much guaranteed a job. Even more so if you are a guy and are certified on the primary level, because there is a shortage of male primary teachers. You do not need a Masters to become a certified teacher; a bachelor's degree would do.
I have spoken to teachers who would try to discourage me from it. But when they heard that I do not plan to go into the public school system, but intend to teach at an experimental private school, they gave me a thumbs up and said they would do the same in my place.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Tally Marx