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Here's my impression, as gleaned in part from my friend the Polymer Science major, who once told me that she had to spend a lot of time explaining to prospectiv

Here's my impression, as gleaned in part from my friend the Polymer Science major, who once told me that she had to spend a lot of time explaining to prospective employers that, yes, it really is a superset of chemistry, she really had taken all the tough chem coursework and really did understand chem: Get a real major. One endorsed by a department and whose name everyone understands. Do not invent the name of your major. A major is a brand. (Believe me: It need not have anything to do with your future career, let alone what you actually do in your own time.) When I say that I have a degree in "Physics" people know for a fact that I have formal training in quantum mechanics and electrodynamics, that I have enough math background to navigate Maxwell's equations, and that I've probably seen an oscilloscope before. If my degree were in "Computational Physical Sciences" they would harbor doubts. They would be justifiably suspicious that I was bullshitting them, that I had dodged around grabbing easy electives and had never done any heavy lifting. You only have to spend so much of your time taking courses in your major, so get one and finish it. Indulge your whims with electives -- go ahead and spread those around; it is good that you want to do that. As for what to study, I'll adopt my usual advising tactic and tell you to study something hard. Your major is your brand; let your brand be "interesting, hardworking, and smart". Sciences and math are hard. Statistics, mathematics, accounting, economics. Biology, chemistry, physics. Electronics. Mechanical engineering. Linguistics. Dare I say it: Computer science. Philosophy is actually pretty good. Music can be pretty good -- both technical and artistic; takes a lot of hard work and determination; a good way to practice communication and get over your stage fright. Things that make you read and write a lot are very good -- I minored in history, it was great -- but do not major in "communication" (though if there's an elective lab course that lets you run pro-level audio and video equipment, that would be great fun) and do not waste time studying creative writing in college. (You really can't learn to write like Roald Dahl by taking a course. Very few of the great writers ever formally studied writing, and Dahl appears to be no exception. Great creative writing is mostly about practice -- you must read a lot, and you must write a lot -- and you can get that without paying tuition, though it certainly does take time. Just go read Stephen King's On Writing, and/or the essays and forums on Wordplayer.com: http://www.wordplayer.com/ http://www.wordplayer.com/ and/or Learn Writing with Uncle Jim: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6710 http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6710 and save the tuition money for something else, something you can't get on your own.) Lab courses, for god's sake: Take the opportunity to get your hands on every piece of expensive equipment that your school owns, be it a piano, an electronics lab, or a machine shop.

jholman 16y ago
I agree with the "a major is a brand" sentiment, but getting a degree for its paper value is only one of several reasons to get a degree, and I think the paper value of a degree, to an entrepreneur, is minimal. (With exceptions for businesses where the core competency is technology transfer.) Obviously the OP has chosen to focus on skills, which is a valid approach. It's also worth noting that "cheap city college" is a crap brand, and the OP must know that, and doesn't seem to mind. Riffing on the "brand" theme, I claim that Linguistics is a crap brand, and I agree with you that Communications is a crap brand (although some CMNS students I've seen have learned a LOT in a what-you-make-of-it way). Philosophy has highly variable brand value depending on who you're talking to.
pmichaud 16y ago
This comment is pretty much what I was going to say, but let me drive it home: For someone like you, you will not learn anything in fluffy courses. Your goal in college should be to become "certified impressive" and the way you do that is by taking on a major well known to be hard. Generally that means hard science, physics is a good choice. Once you are certified impressive in a difficult subject, you will have maximized the credentialing value of college, while dodging a lot of the fluffy bullshit other, less rigorous departments would put you through.

jholman 16y ago

I agree with the "a major is a brand" sentiment, but getting a degree for its paper value is only one of several reasons to get a degree, and I think the paper value of a degree, to an entrepreneur, is minimal. (With exceptions for businesses where the core competency is technology transfer.) Obviously the OP has chosen to focus on skills, which is a valid approach. It's also worth noting that "cheap city college" is a crap brand, and the OP must know that, and doesn't seem to mind. Riffing on the "brand" theme, I claim that Linguistics is a crap brand, and I agree with you that Communications is a crap brand (although some CMNS students I've seen have learned a LOT in a what-you-make-of-it way). Philosophy has highly variable brand value depending on who you're talking to.

pmichaud 16y ago

This comment is pretty much what I was going to say, but let me drive it home: For someone like you, you will not learn anything in fluffy courses. Your goal in college should be to become "certified impressive" and the way you do that is by taking on a major well known to be hard. Generally that means hard science, physics is a good choice. Once you are certified impressive in a difficult subject, you will have maximized the credentialing value of college, while dodging a lot of the fluffy bullshit other, less rigorous departments would put you through.