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Your major = your life?

Depends on what sort of Engineering, and whether or not you're prepared to travel.

Eh, from life experience, I've realised long ago that having a certain major doesn't dictate your life's direction and career, and money matters less than passion. Of course, it's good to earn enough to survive, but working in a field mainly for the money can make you miserable. It certainly did for me, at least.
 
I find that I don't have passion in anything substantial

Occasional_Demon said:
Depends on what sort of Engineering, and whether or not you're prepared to travel.

Eh, from life experience, I've realised long ago that having a certain major doesn't dictate your life's direction and career, and money matters less than passion. Of course, it's good to earn enough to survive, but working in a field mainly for the money can make you miserable. It certainly did for me, at least.
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So what's your industry, Occasional_Demon?
 
Well, I majored in Political Science and History as an undergrad.

I guess my industry at the moment is media? Since I'm a music journalist.

However, I've also worked as a web designer and web content writer in the past, which has very little to do with my major aside from requiring good writing skills. I also managed a workshop at some point in my life, which also has nothing to do with my major.

I also studied social work for a while, before realising it ultimately wasn't for me. Social work is a worthwhile profession but certainly not something you'd enter for the money, judging by the average income. Plus, it's hard to be working in the human services field when you have problems with social cues and empathy. When I was studying social work, I was usually told by lecturers and supervisors that a) I misread people, b) My responses are inappropriate, c) I wasn't emotionally connecting with clients.

I'm currently studying for a Juris Doctor, and I'm interested in human rights law, so I guess that somewhat ties in with my political science major.
 
So, Occasional_Demon, you want to be a lawyer?

Indeed... our major could somewhat, but not completely, lead us to options in life...
 
Oh yes, from the original news source Pedro got:

It is important that Aspergers individuals pick a college major in an area where they can get jobs. Computer science is a good choice because it is very likely that many of the best programmers have either Aspergers or some of its traits. Other good majors are: accounting, engineering, library science, and art with an emphasis on commercial art and drafting.

Majors in history, political science, business, English or pure math should be avoided. However, one could major in library science with a minor in history, but the library science degree makes it easier to get a good job.
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I am a business major (phoney!) but fortunately I am working on a CPA (accounting) certification in 6-7 years' time, so it should be alright.

I understand political science, history, English, Maths and even Psychology are popular majors even amongst Aspies. But then, these Arts and Science majors - since they aren't vocational, grads in these fields aren't employable.
 
They're not unemployable, it's just a matter of being able to utilise what you learn from your studies, take on jobs while studying [i.e. internships] and not take for granted that just because you have a piece of paper at the end of the degree, you're going to step into a job. Anyone from any degree can fall into unemployment. I've known engineers who have had problems with finding work, people with business degrees who've struggled financially, and people with Arts degrees who do quite well for themselves. It's more about being able to market your strengths and abilities to employers.

Although, if someone was to study psychology, IMO they either should do it as a career - which here requires at least a Master's so they can practice clinically - or use it as a supporting major for their main area of study, otherwise I would think that they would have a harder time than most to use their degree.
 
I see. Some people have the tendency to think, I have a BA and I am great! Don't think this is the case, though
 
Geordie said:
I see. Some people have the tendency to think, I have a BA and I am great! Don't think this is the case, though
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I feel like much of my schooling has been practically useless. Some of the skills I've gained in specific fields are for jobs I don't want to enter full-time. Jobs I might be able to get with my degree are difficult to get and I worry I wouldn't care about them enough to be happy. Hopefully I find something to do with my degree and life soon.
 
I'm studying engineering right now. I got a bunch of choices of what to do with my life, as everyone does. Truth be told, no one knows what the BESTEST choice is, no one can predict how their life is going to be 5 years ahead. You just choose what you think is for the better.

I've chosen engineering because I like math, physics and tecnology. It's a hard path, they pay engineers a lot of money because few people manage to graduate (which is one of the reasons of the high demand for this profession).

After 3 years of university, and failing a lot of classes, I tought about giving up. I started procastinating, feeling apathetic. Then I realised it was just depression kicking in (which AS and isolation can make it worse). I made some wrong rationalizations, like major=life=happiness, which is absolutely not true. Before making any decisions, check your mind health.

Anyway, now I think engineering is a great path. I've been talking to some teachers, and I concluded that engineering is more of an art than a profession. An art of making things that will improve and change the life of many (think about cellphones, cars, computers, buildings, etc etc), an imperfect field (things always break) for imperfect humans, made by other imperfect humans. An art that uses many tools (like math, computers) to minimise the errors. It's impossible to be 100% right, you're just less wrong than yesterday. And I'm starting to like it.

Anyway, I ranted. I just wanted to show you my choices. And 10 years in the future it might be a mistake, or not. But I can change. A degree is definitely not who you are, nor it defines your happiness. But there is no wrong choices, just different consequences. And it's never too late to change (well, maybe when you die).
 
I majored in design engineering. For me that was really the only thing to do, since I always liked working on things and drawing cars and designs of things, and could read blueprints for as long as I can remember. My mind does not get how others can't read blueprints. To me it's not a matter of deciphering anything. I look at it and it just "is".

So I worked with one higher end company for a couple years as my internship, then moved closer to home and for the last 15 years been working as an engineer for a metal fab shop that builds bulk material loading equipment. It suits me well because I can draw and can run the shop equipment and can tinker with things as long as it's on my own time. Money isn't as good as most places I know but my 33k a year is about as good as you're going to get around here unless you're a doctor or lawyer. A popular saying here is "half the pay for a view of the bay". But I don't have to deal with big city traffic and things like that.
 
If I were a young man, I wouldn't even bother with higher education. I'd go straight to a certified vocational school and learn something that will get me a job with the possibility of nominal security in a very rough economy.

Simply chasing after a piece of paper is a myth of the past, IMO. It's a nebulous status symbol with utterly no guarantee.

You are your life- not your major, or your job. ;)
 
I have to agree as well. I actually didn't even want to go to college, I just wanted to go straight to the workforce like everyone else I knew. My family insisted, and due to a scholarship to a community college that nobody else in my class wanted, I ended up with it but applied my best with it and did well. Got a 4.0 in all the things that mattered to engineering. My internship job was working with several people from my college classes.

But when that was done, the biggest hurdle was finding a job here. Any job. Nobody in the mold/tool/die field wanted to give me a chance, they all wanted guys with 20 some years experience. I couldn't even get a minimum wage job because everyone said I was overqualified, they said they wanted someone who would stay with them forever and never want more. The bills started piling up. So I ended up doing what I would have done to start with, got a job using my dad's connections to get started at a simple fab shop where he worked. I really didn't want to resort to that, I was hoping I could be something based on being my own person and my qualifications, but around here (and probably everywhere) it's not what you know it's who you know. The job I ended up with is very simple engineering, it screwed with my head for a long time because you can't build things close tolerance or they just won't work. Use only a tape measure and old worn out machinery (drillpresses with 1/8" play in the chuck, bandsaws that wander, press brakes that aren't repeatable....) and open the clearances way up so they work. My boss doesn't even have a college degree, he just learned it as he went along just like everyone else. I don't regret getting my degree, and there has been a thing or two I learned that is applicable to what I do now.
 
"It is important that Aspergers individuals pick a college major in an area where they can get jobs. Computer science is a good choice because it is very likely that many of the best programmers have either Aspergers or some of its traits. Other good majors are: accounting, engineering, library science, and art with an emphasis on commercial art and drafting.
Majors in history, political science, business, English or pure math should be avoided. However, one could major in library science with a minor in history, but the library science degree makes it easier to get a good job."

Do I detect a hint of "steering" here? Let's substitute African-American for Aspergers in the first sentence and see what happens.

One of the reasons that vocational educational programs like shop and home economics fell out of favor after the 1970's was that people realized that disproportionate numbers of minorities and women were being routinely steered towards those courses and discouraged or outright prohibited from taking college prep courses. The problem now is that the pendulum has swung the other direction and now it seems that everyone must go to college right after high school whether they want to or whether they are ready or whether they are even suited for it. So vocational education fell by the wayside leaving large numbers of high school graduates who are not college material with a basically worthless piece of paper. They have no skills as they were not taught any.

I am afraid that many Aspies are subtly or even openly discouraged from taking chances and being directed instead into choices that are safe, secure, choices that reflect stereotypes rather than an individual's true potential. I work in a job that most career counselors would have told me to avoid due to Aspergers. Instead of falling flat on my face I am a valued team member.
 
I agree. I think there is definitely some truth to this. Our families and people around us are not doing us any favors by coddling us because they are afraid we will fail, or are not equipped to handle more.

Little secret about college. You dont really learn THAT much applicable information. But i think proving that you are capable of finishing something that big does say something. My goal was always to open a little business, and you don't really need a degree to open a business. If i would have put the time, money, and energy i put into college into opening a business,I may be more successful today. OR it may of failed miserably. I guess I will never know. It will always be a lingering "what if" question.[/i]
 
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Another little secret about college: your grades might not be worth the piece of paper they are written on. I just wrote a blog entry on my first-hand experience with grade inflation. That's when a professor is so concerned about making sure everyone gets a good grade that he or she lowers his or her standards. And/or looks the other way when there is widespread cheating. Of course this is not confined to college; it actually has its roots much, much earlier in K-12 education. Which is why so many young people graduate and find that their high school diploma only means that they graduated from high school and is not a true reflection of what they know and are capable of doing.

How can you tell if you are dealing with grade inflation? Easy. Find out what percentage of students get what grades. If you have a class where 75% to 100% of students get A's in a subject that does not have a reputation for being easy, and other, comparable classes in the same subject do not have that same skewed ratio, you are most likely dealing with a professor who is inflating grades. Another clue is if they come right out and tell their class that they are trying to make it easy so that most people should get A's without a problem. I am not sure what you do about it if you find yourself in such a situation. But one good way of determining what your chances are of being in such a situation is to find out your school's ranking and how other institutions view it. It turns out that my school is at the bottom of the heap statewide; there is only one school that has a worse ranking, and while they tell you that yes, you can transfer to a four-year school, what they don't tell you is that only a handful of schools accept classes from this school, so once you transfer you will have to start at the beginning.

I have a friend who obsesses about his Asperger's son's grades (he's in his first year of college). He obsessed with them all through high school. I keep telling him that without context grades really don't mean a thing and that nobody cares once you get out of school. Don't make your kid's life miserable for something that is meaningless. What he should be concerned with is why is his son there in the first place and is this the best place for him, not only for disability assistance but what is the reputation of the school. After all, he is pouring tens of thousands of dollars into his son's education. In my opinion he's looking at the wrong thing. And that's what fuels grade inflation.
 
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