My major in college

[Me Died Blue]

In the process of thinking about what to major in during my college years, I came up with three basic long-term career goals I have:

-Teach theology at a college or seminary level
-Do some political, partisan and/or governmental work
-Write some good books, speeches, journalism, etc.

I'll need to go to seminary in order to teach theology, and because of that (and the advice of people on this board awhile ago), I'm definitely not going to major in a religious field of study during my undergraduate years. I was thinking about what would help me with my three career goals, and I've come up with the idea that a communication studies major would help in all three areas: It would prepare me for teaching, doing public relations (for political work), and writing effectively. Then I thought it also might be a good idea to either minor or double-major in political science.

Since most of you on this board have already completed college, and some are still attending, do you think a communication studies major would be a good choice that would effectively prepare me for my three career goals? Your input is highly valued.

In Christ,

Chris

[Edited on 5-20-2004 by Me Died Blue]

 

[Christopher]

Chris,
those are great goals and you are doing well to think things through first. However, make sure you have a undergrad degree you can make a living with, one that you can use to support a family and live off of while at seminary. I can not begin to tell you how many seminary men struggle financily through school in trying to support their family on min. wage jobs. I would trade my B.A. in Biblical Studies for something else I could make a living at in a heartbeat if I could. You can always get theology education through a variety of means. However, if you are going to teach sem. then you will need a sem education. Get a money-making, family-supporting degree first. Look how amny of us on this board are struggling in jobs and finances because some of us have nothing but theology degrees. Not the way to go. A non-theology degree will give you and your (future) family security so you can stress about your Greek final in seminary rather than worrying about how you are going to catch up on rent.
My :wr50:

 

[KayJay]

Just a question....

What sort of undergraduate degrees are there that can get you a well-paying job w/o grad school of some sort?

I haven't come across many....just curious if anyone has any ideas...

Personally I majored in psychology - I would not tell ANYone to EVER do that ...but I probably wouldn't tell them to do that even if there was good $$$ in it haha...

 

[Me Died Blue]

I absolutely see the wisdom in that, which is precisely why I am looking for a "secular" undergraduate major. However, while communication studies would possibly be a good degree to assist me with my three long-term career goals, do you think it is a good enough degree to get me a sufficient income in the meantime, before I achieve those goals (like when I'm at seminary)? What kind of jobs and pay ranges are typically available with a communication studies major?

In Christ,

Chris

 

[Christopher]

Well, I know that folks with a BS in electrical engeneering are starting out at $65-80,000 in San Diego. There are good undergrad degrees out there that you can make a living from.

 

[Christopher]

That last post was for Mary.

Chris, I am not sure. You need to do some research on that. There are some good sites out there. I would also recommend the book "What color is your parachute."

 

[Puritan Sailor]

Nursing is always a good degree. Of course I am biased. But you can get a job pretty much anywhere, and way over the minimun wage. They are usually pretty flexible too. As for communicating skills, again nursing can help in that area too. You need to be able to communicate to be a nurse. OF course you need to be able to stand the wretched smells and sights the human body can produce, especially as a nursing student, without passing out or puking

 

[Christopher]

Remember, some semenaries want you to have a BA rather than a BS so keep that in mind too.

 

[sastark]

[quote:f819f4ad5e][i:f819f4ad5e]Originally posted by KayJay[/i:f819f4ad5e]
Just a question....

What sort of undergraduate degrees are there that can get you a well-paying job w/o grad school of some sort?
[/quote:f819f4ad5e]

Pretty much any engineering degree will do this for you (civil, mechanical, electrical, computer, etc). I got my B.A. in Geography, and believe it or not, landed a very well paying job right out of college. Of course, the job is more on the technical side of Geography (GIS, if anyone knows what that means).

 

[Mary]

[quote:34474dcb1a][i:34474dcb1a]Originally posted by KayJay[/i:34474dcb1a]
Just a question....

What sort of undergraduate degrees are there that can get you a well-paying job w/o grad school of some sort?

I haven't come across many....just curious if anyone has any ideas...

Personally I majored in psychology - I would not tell ANYone to EVER do that ...but I probably wouldn't tell them to do that even if there was good $$$ in it haha... [/quote:34474dcb1a]

Yes, I have an equally useless degree. It's a good feeling, isn't it? Oh, for a time machine...and if I get the chance to do it again, I WILL NOT wear leg warmers...(Flashdance was really popular when I was about 12).

Mary

 

[Mary]

Christopher wrote...
[quote:cf4aa1d389]
That last post was for Mary.
[/quote:cf4aa1d389]

Huh? I just got here. Do you mean Karen? If not, you want to think twice before you let me "engineer" anything...isn't there math involved? I can barely balance my checkbook. Actually (terrible confession) I don't balance my checkbook, because it's so hard for me. When something frustrates me to the point where I cry, I just stop doing it. But, listen, that's a secret. Don't tell my dad!

Mary

 

[Christopher]

I meant Karen. Sorry.

 

[Mary]

[quote:9201921952][i:9201921952]Originally posted by Christopher[/i:9201921952]
I meant Karen. Sorry. [/quote:9201921952]

That's OK. I've done it. I was actually afraid I had completely forgotten some conversation with you about this, which is possible...

Still don't tell my dad about the checkbook thing, OK?

Mary :bs2:

 

[Puritan Sailor]

[quote:3d78a64bd5][i:3d78a64bd5]Originally posted by Christopher[/i:3d78a64bd5]
Remember, some semenaries want you to have a BA rather than a BS so keep that in mind too. [/quote:3d78a64bd5]
Of the seminaries I have visited or checked out, none of them had a problem with the BS instead of the BA. As long as you have plenty of english, history, and philosophy in your transcript, then you should be fine. These would be good things to fill your electives with. For me, my school required these classes anyway for every degree, both BA and BS. Even if you are deficient in these subjects, it's usually not a problem though they may require you to do some extra study to make up for it while in seminary.