The Future is Bright...Sorta
"So, dude, what's your major?"
It was a question that I dreaded being asked during my later years college, particularly when I was out at parties trying to have a good time. Some bright-eyed young freshman would come up to me and ask me what my major was. Every now and then, the question was genuine, but more often than not, the other person was clearly hoping that I would reciprocate and ask them their major. Then, they could go off on a long spiel about how interesting their major is and how much money they were going to make when they graduated.
I was probably guilty of this myself when I was a freshman. If my memory isn't too self-serving, I got over it pretty quickly. I realized that these kinds of people went on to become those people you meet at your high school reunion who talk about nothing but where they live, how expensive it is, and how well their jobs pay. I don't think there's any kind of conversation that's more boring or annoying than this.
For a while, I tried to argue with people on this point. They would tell me they were going to go into sociobiology and they'd make six figures right out of school. Mmmm-hmmm. Really? Are you sure? I think you need to do that research again, or re-do that math. Unless you know someone in that particular field with lots of loose cash, and that person happens to be one of your parents, then that dream is probably a long shot that will never come to fruition.
We can probably blame our college advisors for these delusions.
After a while, I stopped trying to argue with people on these kinds of things. If I met someone who really believed they were going to become super wealthy with a degree in social work, I decided it was better to let them go on thinking it. But c'mon, if you really think that your worth as a person is determined in any way by how well your job pays, then at least consider one that has a reputation for paying well, like corporate law.
Eventually, I realized that when I met people at parties who asked me what my major was, these were people that I was never going to see again. So, I could say my major was anything I wanted it to be. I could play myself off as any kind of person I wanted.
Here was a typical response of mine that, while nerdy, I used more times than I can remember:
Person: "So, dude, what are you majoring in?"
Me: "Engineering."
Person: "Whoa, really? That's awesome. What kind?"
Me: "Social."
Person: "Ah...is that hard?"
Me: "Not as hard as you might think."
It was a question that I dreaded being asked during my later years college, particularly when I was out at parties trying to have a good time. Some bright-eyed young freshman would come up to me and ask me what my major was. Every now and then, the question was genuine, but more often than not, the other person was clearly hoping that I would reciprocate and ask them their major. Then, they could go off on a long spiel about how interesting their major is and how much money they were going to make when they graduated.
I was probably guilty of this myself when I was a freshman. If my memory isn't too self-serving, I got over it pretty quickly. I realized that these kinds of people went on to become those people you meet at your high school reunion who talk about nothing but where they live, how expensive it is, and how well their jobs pay. I don't think there's any kind of conversation that's more boring or annoying than this.
For a while, I tried to argue with people on this point. They would tell me they were going to go into sociobiology and they'd make six figures right out of school. Mmmm-hmmm. Really? Are you sure? I think you need to do that research again, or re-do that math. Unless you know someone in that particular field with lots of loose cash, and that person happens to be one of your parents, then that dream is probably a long shot that will never come to fruition.
We can probably blame our college advisors for these delusions.
After a while, I stopped trying to argue with people on these kinds of things. If I met someone who really believed they were going to become super wealthy with a degree in social work, I decided it was better to let them go on thinking it. But c'mon, if you really think that your worth as a person is determined in any way by how well your job pays, then at least consider one that has a reputation for paying well, like corporate law.
Eventually, I realized that when I met people at parties who asked me what my major was, these were people that I was never going to see again. So, I could say my major was anything I wanted it to be. I could play myself off as any kind of person I wanted.
Here was a typical response of mine that, while nerdy, I used more times than I can remember:
Person: "So, dude, what are you majoring in?"
Me: "Engineering."
Person: "Whoa, really? That's awesome. What kind?"
Me: "Social."
Person: "Ah...is that hard?"
Me: "Not as hard as you might think."