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Franciscan University Thread


PhuturePriest

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p.s. my degree is Ed. M.   I have to take a financial management class with the kennedy school. BORING!!!!! Nothing to do with developmental psychology or neuroscience and the room is BRIMMING with gunners!!!! And its at 8:00 AM. I could go on. But the reason they have people take it is to build their profile in the job marketplace.

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PhuturePriest

p.s. my degree is Ed. M.   I have to take a financial management class with the kennedy school. BORING!!!!! Nothing to do with developmental psychology or neuroscience and the room is BRIMMING with gunners!!!! And its at 8:00 AM. I could go on. But the reason they have people take it is to build their profile in the job marketplace.

 

I think the first thing I should do is look at science degrees, what they entail, and most importantly, what I might end up doing with each one. The issue is, every time I do, nothing I find on the internet really helps. So, from personal experience, does anyone know what I could do with degrees in

 

Biology

Chemistry

Anthropology

Natural Science and

Biochemistry?

 

I can't say chemistry is very likely for me. I enjoy it, but seeing as how I can barely remember what Co2 means, I might struggle if I studied it full-time. :P

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The trouble with science degrees is most of the time you have to continue your education to be employable IN the science field. In other words a masters. This doesn't apply if you take your bachelors degree in natural science and get a job in sales or something of course. But that doesn't sound like what you want.

I know you are homeschooled but would the local high school let you access their guidance counselors? That's like 75% of a guidance counselor's work in high school, helping people figure out careers and majors and how they match their educational goals.

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PhuturePriest

The trouble with science degrees is most of the time you have to continue your education to be employable IN the science field. In other words a masters. This doesn't apply if you take your bachelors degree in natural science and get a job in sales or something of course. But that doesn't sound like what you want.

I know you are homeschooled but would the local high school let you access their guidance counselors? That's like 75% of a guidance counselor's work in high school, helping people figure out careers and majors and how they match their educational goals.

 

I've never even thought about that before, actually. I just figured that since I'm homeschooled they wouldn't let me use one.

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I'm a double major in Philosophy and Theology, and thinking about getting a double Masters in those, as well as looking into the Advanced program during my undergrad to get some Masters credits done. I'm in the Honors Great Books program and am used to reading dense texts, Church Fathers, and Philosophy. I already have a minor in French and am looking into any opportunity I can find to learn Latin, Greek, and German.

Will I still have a problem getting into a PhD Theology program after getting a Master's at Franciscan? I'm actually concerned now, with what you're all saying.


Also, try to find ways to network with the grad students at Franciscan who are continuing. Are they meeting with success, getting funding. What research opportunities have they taken advantage of? Can you take advantage too? Etc
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Biology - Chemistry - biochemistry:

 

In education: teach high school, work for the park service, work in science media (a lot of these jobs like you to have  experience in education -- not necessarily a degree)

In research: work in a hospital, a chemicals company (e.g. Dupont) or for a pharmaceutical company as a lab assistant (entry jobs are low paying ... most people who stay in research are Phds.

In policy/consulting: work for a government agency (EPA), do policy research for a think tank ... (once again ... usually a masters is necessary)

 

it will also qualify you to apply for medical school.

 

Anthropology - this major is a social science, like psychology. It will tell employers you can write and think critically. Applicable to a broad number of jobs ... but very few undergraduates work in the field. Most people who work in this field have phds.

 

The thing about undergraduate degrees is, unless you are doing something technical, like engineering, accounting, or nursing ... it doesn't really prepare you for anything in particular. It signals to employers that you can write, think critically and are more likely to have middle class work habits. Thats it.

 

I see a college education as something other than job prep. If you are really interested in just job prep there are well paying trades you know. My roommates boyfriend is a medical equipment welder. two years younger than me, never went to college, makes six figures. I kind of hate him.

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PhuturePriest

Biology - Chemistry - biochemistry:

 

In education: teach high school, work for the park service, work in science media (a lot of these jobs like you to have  experience in education -- not necessarily a degree)

In research: work in a hospital, a chemicals company (e.g. Dupont) or for a pharmaceutical company as a lab assistant (entry jobs are low paying ... most people who stay in research are Phds.

In policy/consulting: work for a government agency (EPA), do policy research for a think tank ... (once again ... usually a masters is necessary)

 

it will also qualify you to apply for medical school.

 

Anthropology - this major is a social science, like psychology. It will tell employers you can write and think critically. Applicable to a broad number of jobs ... but very few undergraduates work in the field. Most people who work in this field have phds.

 

The thing about undergraduate degrees is, unless you are doing something technical, like engineering, accounting, or nursing ... it doesn't really prepare you for anything in particular. It signals to employers that you can write, think critically and are more likely to have middle class work habits. Thats it.

 

I see a college education as something other than job prep. If you are really interested in just job prep there are well paying trades you know. My roommates boyfriend is a medical equipment welder. two years younger than me, never went to college, makes six figures. I kind of hate him.

 

Your roommate's boyfriend has kind of a sweet deal. I've tossed around the idea of going into civil engineering, but I don't know if I can do it. I actually spoke with a seminarian at Conception who was originally majoring in civil engineering at Benedictine, and he told me the professors will help you in any way possible to get you to pass their classes, and that I would only flunk out if I didn't put in the effort and got the help I needed. Civil engineers get paid $70,000 straight out of school, so I should perhaps look into that again.

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engineering is a great major.  I remember in undergrad the engineering majors had jobs before Christmas break the year we were graduating. This was 2 years after the meltdown.

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ChristinaTherese

One thing you should keep in mind with majors is that you could (and plenty of people do, I know I did) find that you are really a ton more interested in a different field entirely and want to switch major. What my mom suggests is to start with the hardest major first. That way, you get to switch to something easier if anything, and hopefully switch to something that has a more flexible schedule of courses if that's an issue.

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PhuturePriest

engineering is a great major.  I remember in undergrad the engineering majors had jobs before Christmas break the year we were graduating. This was 2 years after the meltdown.

 

Yeah, exactly. My sister has been really on my case on only majoring in something that pays. She is very adamant in not majoring in something that gets few jobs and pays terribly for the few jobs you get. She majored in theology and youth ministry, and she didn't get anything whatsoever. Her husband majored in history, and though he tried, he was never able to get any jobs in it. I've been thinking hard and looking at other options, but everything seems to come back to civil engineering. My only question is what is a "dual degree"? Civil engineering takes 5 years because it's a dual degree, and I don't know what that is. I assume it means it would probably be unwise to major in something else to help pass the time and make it a little more enjoyable.

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ChristinaTherese

Well, I know some schools have programs where you spend two years at one school and three years at another for engineering. Maybe that's what "dual degree" means? Do they say anything like that somewhere? I'm not actually familiar with that particular term.

 

Oh, and major in something you like. If what you like pays worse than some other things, you'll probably be happier on the less money than on more money for something you hate doing.

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PhuturePriest

One thing you should keep in mind with majors is that you could (and plenty of people do, I know I did) find that you are really a ton more interested in a different field entirely and want to switch major. What my mom suggests is to start with the hardest major first. That way, you get to switch to something easier if anything, and hopefully switch to something that has a more flexible schedule of courses if that's an issue.

 

One rule my parents have is that they don't want me to switch majors. So, pretty much, I have to look into them and decide what I want to do before I go into it. Civil engineering seems like the most viable and safe option so far. It wouldn't be as easy for me as theology, but if I want to make $70,000 a year in the field I studied compared to doing what I studied for nothing, I'm going to have to work for it.

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It usually means you spend 5 years in school and end with a Masters instead of just a bachelors. You earn your masters concurrently.

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PhuturePriest

It usually means you spend 5 years in school and end with a Masters instead of just a bachelors. You earn your masters concurrently.

 

Okay. So "dual degree" doesn't mean double major, so I could in theory have a double major whilst majoring in civil engineering?

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One rule my parents have is that they don't want me to switch majors. So, pretty much, I have to look into them and decide what I want to do before I go into it. [background=#ffffff][/background]


I am sorry, but that is a bad rule. People switch majors. It happens. Often it should happen.

 

I switched majors even before I graduated high school. :hehe: Switched from chemistry to commerce.

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