Help picking a major/degree

[Guest xclozano]

I'm graduating next year in '10, and I plan on attending college and participating in AFROTC;

however, I'm not sure what to major. Nothing in sciences or engineering though, not for me.

Can anyone suggest anything?

[USAF Pirate]

I don't think you are going to get many positive responses, why don't you major in something you enjoy and can finish? I don't know what that is.

I'm finishing up a degree in Industrial Technology, but I regret it already. It's with a computer networking concentration. I'm a pilot select so I have no intention of using those skills in the future, so I wish I would have got a Business Administration degree or some other universal degree.

[Guest xclozano]

Business Administration is something that I'm considering, as well as Public Administration. However the colleges that I'm looking at don't offer Public Administration at the Bachelor level-only at the Masters. I've also considered Criminal Justice, but what can I do with that??

[Guest SpunkDagger]

I'm assuming you want to be pilot. With that said (if you are) make sure you have something to fall back on if incase you don't end up flying, for whatever reason, or if you don't plan on making the AF career.

[Wolf424]

I've also considered Criminal Justice, but what can I do with that??

You can become a pilot. That's what I did.

Otherwise you have just about every govt alphabet agency in front of you.

[Toro]

Background info on different majors.

[war007afa]

If you're going to a real college, major in whatever gives you the best opportunity to chase the most strange, drink the most beer, and that you interests you the most. No sense in suffering through something. Odds are if it's difficult, you're going to hate it; if you hate it, you're going to suck at it.

[Guest xclozano]

..yes, I do want to be a pilot.

Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't worry to much what I major in-seeing as that having a career as an Air Force officer is like having a management degree.

And If I go elsewhere, they'll see AF Officer on my resume, and go, "mmm,maybe we should hire this guy...".

However, depending on how things go, I might make a career out of the air force-try to go up to O-6

[Guest Andrew]

I've been wondering this as well. I plan on going to University of North Dakota this fall for Air Force ROTC and to major in Air traffic control. I want to end up being a command and control officer but am worried that if ATC is the only option outside of the military, I may be screwed if they arn't hiring.

[yerfer]

..yes, I do want to be a pilot.

Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't worry to much what I major in-seeing as that having a career as an Air Force officer is like having a management degree.

And If I go elsewhere, they'll see AF Officer on my resume, and go, "mmm,maybe we should hire this guy...".

However, depending on how things go, I might make a career out of the air force-try to go up to O-6

Careful. As much as you'd like to map out your future, the reality of things out of our control can send you down a different path without your consent. Take a look around you at your school and notice the people who are in school to learn a specific field of interest that'll be a part of their hopeful future. If the Air Force or service doesn't work out (heaven forbid), be prepared to handle other routes that will still bring fulfillment to your life.

Choose a major you're interested in. If you choose a typical AFROTC major, you will probably eek your way through school wishing you were doing something more interesting. I would recommend you use your degree link on the schools website your gonna attend and thoroughly investigate your options and then choose the one that grabs your attention the most. Remember, school costs money and time, so choose wisely.

[Vandal]

Careful. As much as you'd like to map out your future, the reality of things out of our control can send you down a different path without your consent. Take a look around you at your school and notice the people who are in school to learn a specific field of interest that'll be a part of their hopeful future. If the Air Force or service doesn't work out (heaven forbid), be prepared to handle other routes that will still bring fulfillment to your life.

Isn't that the damn truth. I did 4 years of AFROTC, got kicked out for some BS reasons, went to BMT and got medically discharged. I graduate in 6 days with a degree in General Studies and am now trying to find a job as a cop. Things don't always pan out the way you have planned. With make ROTC plan A but have plans B, C, and D ready to go. When searching for a job, they don't really care about majors, just that you have the piece of paper in your hand. The exception is if the employer is looking for a professional type with a certain degree.

For a degree, pick a subject you will enjoy and not for a scholarship and pay attention to the classes you are required to take that are outside of your major. For example Criminal Justice has a lot of psych and anthropology classes to take. It's not all just about corrections and policing. I have seen cadets select a major for the scholarship and they usually end up changing majors and losing their free ride.

I chose Political Science originally because I love the politics of Global Conflict and American Foreign Policy. I am now General Studies because I wanted to take classes outside of Poli Sci that I liked. For the love of God have fun in school and choose a major that allows you to do that. There are a lot hot girls to chase and gallons of beer to drink over your four years.

Finally, and I am surprised this hasn't been said yet, don't let ROTC run your life in college. You will be miserable and without friends on the outside who will keep you sane. I very highly recommend joining a fraternity to help maintain this balance and as a support network. The guys in my House and Pledge Class are some of my best friends and will be my friends for life. The kept me normal while I was in ROTC and gave me a supplier for booze and a steady stream of girls coming (sts) through the house.

[-Roll-]

Business Admin or Criminal Justice then.

Don't sweat it too much.

Most likely you are going to change your major before you finish college, or wished you had.

[Guest 055-NOS]

Do some research and pick a solid major that will interest you and that will get you a good job after college. College is expensive and its going to be work no matter what major you pick, make sure it's a worthy investment. Might not be a bad idea to see which jobs are still doing well in this economy (although hopefully it won't matter as much by the time you graduate).

Like the guys above said - don't count on a guaranteed gig as an officer after college and certainly don't count on being a pilot because there's plenty of shit that can go wrong on the way there. Approach this as if ROTC wasn't even a factor.

Have something good to fall back on:

-Pick a good degree

-Put time (over summer at least) in at internships that apply to major (like normal college students).

Don't let a heavier workload scare you away from a good major - if you keep your shit straight you'll have plenty of time to chase tail and have fun.

[outbreak]

I didn't read the whole thread, but from what I've seen now that I've arrived in the real world, you can fly planes with a PhD in Calculus Astro Physics Theory, or a Bachelors in Underwater Basket Weaving. If you have a high GPA in UBW, you can get a rated slot. I don't have a technical degree and I have wings on my chest.

[Bronco130]

Engineering

Pick something that'll make ya lots of money when Brooks DQ's ya for something stupid.

[Goblin]

Where do you plan on earning said degree from? That could be the basis for a major selection.

I'm doing Meteorology at ERAU and love it, not too hard, not too easy, got a badass internship this summer with NOAA, and still applies to flying.

YMMV

Edited May 11, 2009 by 100LL

[Guest palmettopilot]

If you're going to a real college, major in whatever gives you the best opportunity to chase the most strange, drink the most beer, and that you interests you the most. No sense in suffering through something. Odds are if it's difficult, you're going to hate it; if you hate it, you're going to suck at it.

+1 I think this is really solid advice.

[FalconXtreme]

I'm assuming you want to be pilot. With that said (if you are) make sure you have something to fall back on if incase you don't end up flying, for whatever reason, or if you don't plan on making the AF career.

2

no matter what have a back up plan. 1. major in something that you like because no matter what the degree if you dont like it you wont apply yourself in it. 2. major in something pretending that your going to need to find a real job out of college and the AF wont be an option.

i say this because you never know what they will find wrong with you at Brooks when you get your physical. you can lose your aviation slot or get DQd from the AF all together. If that happens what are you going to do with your basket weaving degree? i myself might not be in the air force altogether because of my results from taking my FC1 physical. although it sucks because its my dream. I still have my degree in Computer Science and i am already entertaining job offers just in case my waivers dont work out.

so i say again have a backup plan and dont major in something easy just because you "think" you'll be a pilot or AF officer. anything can happen and you'll still need a real job.

[TailWind]

Don't listen to all these guys telling you not to major in something b/c its difficult and you'll hate it. Out of the 4 pilots selects at my det this year, I was on the only engineer. And guess what the other's form 53's looked like?

They all went a little something like this...Security Forces, Logistics, Maintenance, Intel, Air Field Ops, Communications, Space & Missles. Out of all the AFSC's offered, they were able to put down these and maybe 2~3 others.

Here's what mine looked like....Dev. Aero Eng'r, Dev. Astro Eng'r, Dev. Mech. Eng'r, Project Engineer, Acqusitions and Scientist. I had 20+ choices to submit. It's money in the bank. If I ever were medically DQ'd, at least I would be able to buy the Cirrus or Cessna of my choice and fly GA.

Don't get me wrong, if you're cool with those first group of AFSC's then major in something easy. But if you wanna fly and have a great fall back so you can have money to fly GA, stick out the engineering thing.

Disclaimer: 4 years in the program and I never seen an engineer who wasn't a douchebag get turned down for a pilot slot because of grades

Edited May 15, 2009 by TailWind

[HiFlyer]

Don't listen to all these guys telling you not to major in something b/c its difficult and you'll hate it. Out of the 4 pilots selects at my det this year, I was on the only engineer. And guess what the other's form 53's looked like?

They all went a little something like this...Security Forces, Logistics, Maintenance, Intel, Air Field Ops, Communications, Space & Missles. Out of all the AFSC's offered, they were able to put down these and maybe 2~3 others.

Here's what mine looked like....Dev. Aero Eng'r, Dev. Astro Eng'r, Dev. Mech. Eng'r, Project Engineer, Acqusitions and Scientist. I had 20+ choices to submit. It's money in the bank. If I ever were medically DQ'd, at least I would be able to buy the Cirrus or Cessna of my choice and fly GA.

Don't get me wrong, if you're cool with those first group of AFSC's then major in something easy. But if you wanna fly and have a great fall back so you can have money to fly GA, stick out the engineering thing.

Disclaimer: 4 years in the program and I never seen an engineer who wasn't a douchebag get turned down for a pilot slot because of grades

I could say this is BS, but I won't because I'm too polite. Actually there are two separate issues here and you need to recognise the difference. Issue one: will being a graduate engineer be more attractive to the AF (or other employer, since you may change your mind and not go into the Service) and help you get selected for a "good job". Absolutely (assuming the job required an engineering background)! Tailwind is on the money there. But, issue two: should you pick a major because you think you will have a better chance at an AF slot? I say NO!!! I firmly believe that you have a better chance at getting a great AF job at almost anything with a 3.5 in Political Science than a 2.2 in Engineering. The problem is that college is hard enough if you enjoy what you're doing...sitting in a field you don't particularly like tends to make your performance questionable, and your attitude poor, both of which will probably be reflected in your Commander's Evaluation. Nothing like low grades and a less than enthusiastic attitude about life to make the Det Commander hammer you on the evaluation. Try getting a pilot slot with low grades, a poor attitude, and a mediocre endorsement from your commander!

Now, if you are equally adept at engineering and social sciences, then I'd probably pick engineering for a multitude of reasons. But if not, pick a major that you enjoy and can excel at. I did quite well in UPT as a Poly Sci major (top 20% of my class), and my UPT T-38 instructor was a music major (hell of a sax player!!!). I did well enough to fly in some capacity for nearly all of my 30 years and retire as an O-6. The key to most jobs and in a successful career is enthusiasm and superior performance, not your college major. That's my opinion. I respect Tailwind's opinion...I simply disagree with it.

EDIT: Oh, sorry, I missed this ...

"I plan on attending either Texas state university or the university of Texas at San antonio...." Sorry, there's a classified AF Reg that forbids Texan's from getting any good jobs...they are reserved for Oklahoma grads.

Edited May 16, 2009 by HiFlyer

[war007afa]

I agree with a lot of the points on here, but to be honest, no matter what you do, unless you USE YOUR MAJOR IN EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE AIR FORCE, IT WILL LIKELY BE USELESS TO YOU IF IT IS TECHNICALLY ORIENTED. Technology changes so fast that if you try to walk into an employers office and say "here's my engineering degree; the last time I did anything with it was 5 years ago", they will likely look at you like some sort of alien. You'll likely need some spin-up time/classes and would have had to maintain some sort of consistent "book learning" while you were doing your everday AF life. And unless you're a MPF or Finance troop (sorry FinanceGuy), you won't have time in your day to do that. You WILL however, be marketable based upon your leadership skills/experience/evaluations and more importantly to a lot of companies, your ability to hold a security clearance or to fly an airplane if that is the route you choose.

This is why I say pick a major that makes you happy.

[brabus]

But if you wanna fly and have a great fall back so you can have money to fly GA, stick out the engineering thing.

This is a very misleading and somewhat false statement. Good for you that you like engineering and have that as a backup. Really, that's great. However, in today's world, millions of people work in jobs that have little if nothing to do with their college degree. Most places of business (minus specialized ones such as medicine, law, engineering) only care that you have a degree, not what it's in. My wife has a degree in international affairs. She worked as a writer/editor for the last couple years and now is working for the federal court. Her degree has nothing to do with either job. Each employer only cared that she had a college degree. She also makes more money than I do. Bottom line, engineering is only one degree that will not get you better places or more money just b/c it's an engineering degree. I'm not saying it's a bad degree, but it's not something that a person should do b/c they think it gives them a better backup. It simply does not...unless engineering is something said person actually enjoys and wants to do. Many of us have no interest in that stuff, therefore it'd be stupid to do it as a major.

Edited May 16, 2009 by brabus

[Vandal]

Disclaimer: 4 years in the program and I never seen an engineer who wasn't a douchebag get turned down for a pilot slot because of grades

I never saw any person with good grades and no real problems get turned down for a slot. I have also seen a lot of douche bags get pilot slots. I am thinking you can't see others as douche bags because you are coming across as one right now. Nice to see you ragging on those of us who chose to have degrees in stuff other than being an engineer. I just got mine in General Studies, was in a frat and had one helluva social life. I am out of ROTC and the military now and I am off to pursue the career of my dreams, cop. From reading your entire post I am happy to know you see me as below you.

Here is a plug for General Studies, Political Science, or Criminal Justice.

For the OP, find something you are interested in and will enjoy. If you hate your degree, your grades will suffer and you lessen your shot as becoming a pilot candidate. Remember, college is supposed to be the best 4 or 5 years you kind of remember.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Vandal