So I'm 16 (almost 17) Junior in HS... trying to decide what to think about majoring in college

[Ja Rhule]

Having a business major is a joke these days in my opinion. It's almost to the point that it is a negative on a resume especially if it is from a below average college/university. Same with MBA. If you are an MBA from a top school then welcome to bank otherwise you are a dime a dozen.

Accounting is interesting. I worked in a big 4 firm for 6 years (not as an accountant) and the accountants get a ton of experience but work way too much and are basically box checkers. Accountants don't make a company run, they just make the numbers add up. It's a donkey job and keeps getting worse as regulations keep getting more complex. BUT it's a solid desk job and there is a ton of demand for accountants. And many accountants branch out into general business later.

You don't want to find yourself running an accounts payable department.

My advise would be to avoid locking yourself in for as long as possible and do something fun. Unless you are gunning for law school it will probably not matter that much what your major is.

Major in chicks and beer is my advice.

Accounting is so much more than tax and audit... Ever heard of GAAP? Well, operation people have no idea about GAAP and lot's of times accountants have to tell what they can and cannot do. Accountants also responsible for establishing internal controls and pretty much all internal investigations. Have to be smart about manipulating numbers so financial statements look better. I looked at pay rates for operation people and accountants and accountants make more money in general. Cool thing about accounting, you can use that degree to do almost anything. You can move to operation from accounting, you can become financial analyst or even an FBI agent while operations do not give you that flexibility. I was just like you when I went to college. After much research I decided to go with Accounting because of job security and paycheck.

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

I'm still drunk but I'll help you out man in a little.

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

Also science sucks man, I totally feel you. But all this "I wont earn money if I don't do sciences" that I think I read is silly talk bruv. YOu gotta do stuff you like man, it makes the world go round. Screw the paycheck, if you're good at what you do someone will surely pay you to do it. Also just marry a doctor, I know they are pro bably a bit weird but I'm sure there are hot ones, even if they are Asian, Asians can be very attractive more often than you think!!

But moral of the story is do what you like to do. People talk down on me for being a geography major at UNC lol because what do you do with geography? But you know I'll find something and I'll actually like it probably moreso than these doctors and politician ass people that think they're all smart for getting some hard ass degree.

Also you have a long time to think about it still, chances are you will change majors like 5 times in college because your preset major is a little silly and you didn't realize before hand how you weren't fit for it. So just calm down and take a deep breath and make sure you get as many young women as you can while still in high school. If you're a nerd, that's okay, cause nerds are totally a fad right now I think. Chicks dig a dude who knows his calculus and sh*t, trust me.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and as Jesus said to his many apostles, "Keep up the good work dude, you're a boss and you totally know it also f*ck bitches and get money". Amen.

[CardiacCats]

Hahaha thanks. Will do

I will say I am going to a 4 year University right after high school, pretty much forced on by my parents. Thanks for some of the other suggestions but they aren't even real possibilities

[CardiacCats]

I also want to add if I don't have a fiancé or something when I graduate college I want to live in NYC for a few years. Experience different cultures and whatnot

[pantherfan82]

You should look at careers in a couple of different ways. Look at the future demand for the job and the average salary for the job. And find something you will actually enjoy doing. You could also try a personality career test to help guide you. http://www.careertest.net/index.htm

[pantherfan82]

Also look at the cost of school compared to what you can make doing the job. Don't borrow $150,000 for school to get a job that pays $25,000 a year. You'll be un debt forever.

[fitty76]

Major in accounting. Get your CPA. And you'll make good money. Also grad school isn't necessary for accountants. So you don't have to worry about saving up fo that.

[Davidson Deac II]

Fwiw, just because you get a degree in something doesn't necessarily mean you are stuck in that field forever. When I started working at Wachovia in information security years ago, almost none of the people I worked with had degrees in anything related to information security or IT. My group contained one chemistry and biology major, one teacher who didn't want to teach anymore, a political science major, a english major and a couple of people with legal degrees. They all became familiar with computer security over the years, and finally started working in it.

Btw, information security is a very good field to get into these days.

[Ja Rhule]

Major in accounting. Get your CPA. And you'll make good money. Also grad school isn't necessary for accountants. So you don't have to worry about saving up fo that.

This. I got 4 year degree but I qualify to sit for CPA exam. Pass CPA exam and automatically get $70k salary. Get few years of experience with CPA license and you talking about salary in six digit range.

[SOJA]

Here's what advice I wish someone have given to me: Don't have any expectations. Take a variety of classes freshman year and see what interests you. Don't limit yourself and don't worry about declaring a major off the bat. No matter what, just work hard. Your undergraduate major isn't crucial to what your next step is, but your work ethic always will be.

Also look into what your university specializes in or if research is available in something your are interested in. I'm really happy I gave undergraduate research a shot because now I know I definitely don't want to do that.

[MadHatter]

Major in accounting. Get your CPA. And you'll make good money. Also grad school isn't necessary for accountants. So you don't have to worry about saving up fo that.

Grad school is not necessary, but is often a big plus if you want to move into more executive roles.

I majored in acctg...hit my CPA....worked for a Big 4 firm fir a while...then went back and got my MBA.

Work us often stressful, but I do get paid very well to do it.

[Doc Holiday]

I also want to add if I don't have a fiancé or something when I graduate college I want to live in NYC for a few years. Experience different cultures and whatnot

If you want to experience different cultures there are far better ways to do it then NYC, I've Spent the better part of 8 month out of the last 2 years in Brazil and Australia, if you want to experience somewhere else go there you will never regret it.

And going to school right away is not being forced on you by your parents for the reason you may think, they just don't want you to lose focus on finishing school, but I'm sure if you go to them in a thought out manner, and explain to them that you are not wholly sure what you want to do for the rest of your life and how you feel it would be better for you to spend some amount of time be it 1 or 2 years doing an internship at a few fields of work that you have interest in before you go to school and before they end up spending all that money on you going to school for and education in a field you have no interest in.

Hell you're 16, whether you believe it or not you have your whole life ahead of you, your personal interest will change greatly in how you feel about things and what you care about, heck I'm almost 27(a month and 1/2 away) If you told me 5 years ago that I would lose 95 pounds become a very active outdoorsy person and spend great amounts of time travailing in Australia and Brazil I would say you were freaking crazy, but here I am now.

don't worry about tomorrow too much, it will get here in due time.

[SCP]

Major in whatever you want and then go into sales.