Help with my major

[victoria116]

so i'm registering for my fall classes in about 2 weeks and i'm not sure what to take because i'm pretty much done w/ my GE's and i dont know what i want to major in. i'm pretty sure it will be something in the math/sciences because i'm more of a math/science person than humanties/social sciences. i'm curious about exploring engineering or pharmacy but i'm not exactly sure what they do. or maybe even computer science or MIS. there are so many types of engineers so i'd like to hear about your career as an engineer or what the different types of engineers do. i'm also curious about people's experiences as a pharmacist.

 

[imported_hscorpio]

Have you taken math up to differential equations already? Also have you taken all the physics and chemistry that most science and engineering majors require?

 

[victoria116]

i'm about to finish my first year of calculus so yes, i have taken math up to differentials. and i am taking chem courses right now and will probably take physics in the fall.

 

[imported_hscorpio]

Well those are usually the last classes that are shared between various engineering and science majors as far as I know. Check to see if your school has intro classes. For instance some schools have an intro to electrical engineering class where you kinda get your toes wet and can see if your interested. You should try to visit the different departments and ask to talk to an advisor or someone that you can ask questions about the major to see if your interested.

If your a female as your name suggests, then I say go EE!

 

[victoria116]

why do you recommend EE for females?

 

[imported_hscorpio]

Originally posted by: victoria116
why do you recommend EE for females?

Because I'm sick of taking classes with no girls!

 

[KevinF]

Industrial Engineering.

It's kind of half-assed engineering, which is great because it's a lot easier than all the other engineerings. I like to describe it as business engineering. It's a hybrid between business and engineering and IE's traditonally work in the manufacturing sector, but the field is much broader these days.

I'm an IE at the University of Pittsburgh and starting next semester I'll be co-op'ing with US Air, supervising the maintenance of aircraft. I don't really know anything about airplanes, but I think the job really consists database and excel number crunching, writing reports, and making powerpoints.

If you don't know what you want to do, IE is a great degree to have. You can do anything a normal business major can do as well as being able to score a 45k+/year a job at graduation without trouble.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

 

[Mo0o]

Well, i would say engineering isn't something you jsut randomly decide on doing. Some of the tougher ones like EE require a really strong math background, more so than just "being more of a science person". I didn't know schools offered pharmacy majors, i would think you'd just fulfill the requirements to go to pharm school. Anyways, regardless, have you looked into basic sciences such as biology or chemistry?

And are you sure you've taken diff eq? most intro calc courses dont involve diff eq...

 

[KevinF]

The first two semesters of calc cover differential equations, but only very briefly. I just finished a semester course on differential equations and linear algebra which was the fourth (and last) course in calculus I had to take.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: victoria116
i'm about to finish my first year of calculus so yes, i have taken math up to differentials. and i am taking chem courses right now and will probably take physics in the fall.

First year of calc != Diff Eq

At the very max, Calc I and II only cover first order Differential Equations. There should be a Math course labeled "Differential Equations" that you can take.

 

[WildHorse]

Utilize your school's career center to the max.

They have lots of ways to help you target a goal.


If feasibile, get a summer job or internship in one of the fields you're tentatively interested in.

If you're a little bit bold, you might try calling the HR people at some companies that use people in the fields you're interested in, and try to schedule appointments to visit them to discuss the types of work. They might even give you face time with functional managers who'd help you get a sense of what it's like.

 

[Dritnul]

both of my parnet are pharmacists and i will be once i finish my last few years pharmacy involoves a lot of know what effects chemical compounds have on diff parts of the body at least in a nut shell nice thing with pharmacy is ur guarenteed least 3-10 job offerings before graduating with 90,000 a year starting plus sign on bonus and depending on where u work u may not have to work nights or weekends but most pharmacists do

 

[astrocase]

If you've finished your GE's and you want to jump into engineering be prepared to spend some time just taking prereq's before you even start an engineering major. You're going to have to take at 3 freshman physics classes (mechanical, Electromagnetism, and modern iirc), a freshman chem class (maybe both semesters), and most likely Calc III, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equations (this will cover 2nd order DEs and maybe a little PDE), plus a few basic engineering classes before you can even start your junior year.

Obviously check with your counsellor to see what the exacts are on your campus. Odds are you'll be in college for longer than you planned.

I worked in a pharmacy when I was 16. They take pills and put them in bottles. They translate the latin gobblygook that doctors use into english. They know enough about the medicine to be able to give professional consultations.

 

[Dritnul]

I worked in a pharmacy when I was 16. They take pills and put them in bottles. They translate the latin gobblygook that doctors use into english. They know enough about the medicine to be able to give professional consultations.[/quote]

lol my parents r pissed with all these misconceptions about pharmacists


yea though if u have all ur undergrads then u can start on a pharm degree but thats another 4 years assuming u get accepted to a pharm school at UNMC they get around 270-300 applicants per year and accept 62

 

[astrocase]

Don't get me wrong. I know they're educated. But the actual job is what I said above.

 

[Juno]

we do have female EE majors at RIT.

 

[JinLien]

It all depends on what you like and dislike.

Engineering or computer science if your are good with people and a problem solver, business or accounting if you enjoy counting money, law if you like arguing/debating, pharmacy if you want a stress free lifestyle that doesn?t require problem solving, or med school if you like challenges and love to help people (write MCAT & PCAT to see where your academic standing is at).

It maybe wise to find out what careers is in demand in your area, and tries to match your personality to the education that is easily marketable.

Good luck!

 

[Dritnul]

i hate to start some sort of fight... but doctors dont write any latin just the name of the drug as well as dosage and how often it should be used pharmacists have to figure out if it could have negative side effect when used in combination with any other current drugs a patient maybe taking as well as be aware of any allergies a patient may have.
they should also inform patients on how to use it as well as the importance of taking the entire bottle or so not quitting when the symptoms go away except for advil and "habbit forming drugs" along with many other responsibilites.
my mother works in a hospital has gets/has to make IV's all the time
my dad manage a retail pharmacy and has to deal with employees and schedules and corperate goons etc.

still the nice thing with [[pharmacy over engineering aside from pay is that pharmacy is expanding rapidly(also listed as #8 on best 100 Jobs) while many engineers are worring about lay offs im related to 2 aeronautical engineers which really sucks for them because of 9/11 and all those layoff boeing and other companies made my uncle is some other kind of eng grad but he works for lucent(spelling) technologies which is also going downhill

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: hscorpio

Originally posted by: victoria116
why do you recommend EE for females?

Because I'm sick of taking classes with no girls!

This man speaks the thruth

 

[astrocase]

Originally posted by: Dritnul
i hate to start some sort of fight... but doctors dont write any latin just the name of the drug as well as dosage and how often it should be used pharmacists have to figure out if it could have negative side effect when used in combination with any other current drugs a patient maybe taking as well as be aware of any allergies a patient may have.
they should also inform patients on how to use it as well as the importance of taking the entire bottle or so not quitting when the symptoms go away except for advil and "habbit forming drugs" along with many other responsibilites.
my mother works in a hospital has gets/has to make IV's all the time
my dad manage a retail pharmacy and has to deal with employees and schedules and corperate goons etc.

still the nice thing with [[pharmacy over engineering aside from pay is that pharmacy is expanding rapidly(also listed as #8 on best 100 Jobs) while many engineers are worring about lay offs im related to 2 aeronautical engineers which really sucks for them because of 9/11 and all those layoff boeing and other companies made my uncle is some other kind of eng grad but he works for lucent(spelling) technologies which is also going downhill

Well technically the QID, QD, PID, TID, Q H etc is latin. They might not be fluent in the language but the prescription terms are from latin.

 

[Dritnul]

yes but basically EVERY science involves something derrived from latin the lil manes in parentasis are chemical name which arent latin but may contain the latin names of some elements