Did I choose the wrong college major?

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Butterfiend
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07 Dec 2014, 3:06 pm

I chose network security as my major. I liked it at first but now I find it boring and now I'm completely lost on the material(I'm probably gonna fail one of my final exams Wednesday 8O). Did I choose the wrong major or am I just lazy?


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Smoke152
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07 Dec 2014, 5:33 pm

I feel like I've chose the wrong major all the time, but then again I would feel this way no matter what I would have chosen, so Im sticking with it, I dont even know if I'll be able to work with this..



shlaifu
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08 Dec 2014, 8:24 am

possible.
I liked what steven levitt, author of freakonomics, said about the route to success:
find something you love, and try for it to be something that other people don't like doing.
Network security sounds good in the second category, but apparently not so much in the first.

If you can't love studying it, working in the field might be hard.
However, I for my part loved what I studied- so much, that the economic restrictions of the the free market are crushing me and my love.
"I know how to do it really well, but sure, let's make it cheap."


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Jezebel
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09 Dec 2014, 9:58 pm

I don't think we can tell you if you've chosen the right major or not. You'll have to decide that on your own, and failing an exam very well may be how you come to that realization.

If you're not interested in your major, I'd change it. I love all three of my majors (psychology, interdisciplinary sciences (neuroscience and forensic science), and art & fiction writing and I could never give them up. I think you'll know if you've truly found the major for you or not because it's likely going to be one of your passions.

Good luck ;o


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AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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12 Dec 2014, 4:18 pm

What are your high energy times of the day? (for example, even though I tend to wake up late, I have the most energy for big complex projects the first hour or two after I wake up)

What are your middle-of-the-road, sloppy energy periods? Where you still might be able to get some work done, but just not your premium energy.

Do you tend to be more of an abstract thinker, story / narrative thinker, or a visual thinker? And of course there can be overlap and combinations.



tcorrielus
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14 Dec 2014, 7:27 pm

If you're a college freshman, it's not too late for you to change your major. You should major in a subject that you really enjoy, and see if there are great job opportunities for people in your chosen major. Talk with your academic and career advisors about this.



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14 Dec 2014, 7:59 pm

I have my Associates in Applied Science (Cyber Security) and feel that my degree was a mistake. From what I've seen, there is no such thing as an entry level Security related job unless maybe you start your own business.

I do personally enjoy working with computer though, I just wished I had gone for more general skills in IT instead of something so specialized like Security. Something like Web Developer probably would have been better and more practical especially if it including programming. One other thing I did enjoy from college was being introduced to Linux/UNIX. I wonder if I could've done much better seeking a UNIX Admin path.



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15 Dec 2014, 8:12 am

VIDEODROME wrote:
I have my Associates in Applied Science (Cyber Security) and feel that my degree was a mistake. From what I've seen, there is no such thing as an entry level Security related job unless maybe you start your own business.

I do personally enjoy working with computer though, I just wished I had gone for more general skills in IT instead of something so specialized like Security. Something like Web Developer probably would have been better and more practical especially if it including programming. One other thing I did enjoy from college was being introduced to Linux/UNIX. I wonder if I could've done much better seeking a UNIX Admin path.


I understand that.
I loved my old company and tried to transfer into the IT department numerous times over the years. But, their only entry-level positions were front line tech support (and I wanted to work on the dba team).

Finally left the company for a new one, where I can do system administration in a department that is not IT.
(if my role was in IT, I'd never have been hired, because I'm not that familiar with js and still somewhat inexperienced with sql, but, my department had no idea those skills were needed. :lol: )

Security seems like a good specialty, if you could get your foot in the door somewhere.



deafghost52
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14 Jan 2015, 10:03 pm

Well I'll be a S.O.B. - I just happened to come across this thread, and thought to myself "Oh, I've been in college for a number of semesters now and I'm going through something similar; I bet my input could be of some use." Turns out, I'm changing majors and going into network security as well. Small world after all...

Anyways, I was a Music major for several semesters (I should be graduating this spring, but I've been far too lazy/unmotivated and getting poor grades, so I'm not gonna graduate for a little while). I love music TO DEATH and would consider myself a music savant (I have perfect pitch and an extensive understanding of music theory). That being said, the program at my university just wasn't...stimulating enough. I kind of got bored, and seemed to know just about everything the professors were trying to teach me, so I just stopped doing the work, and eventually stopped going to class. Only reason I'm still in college is because I've been fluctuating between good AND bad semesters - if they all had just been bad semesters, I would have been pulled out AGES ago. And, because I need to take a pass/fail, 0-credit recital class FOR SEVEN SEMESTERS (and I haven't even passed it ONCE, due to apathy, in the five semesters I've been at my current school - I transferred, btw), just to get one stinking B.A. in Music Composition, that means I've still got seven semesters left...for a total of fourteen semesters (counting the two from my community college before I transferred). So seven years in school - for one Bachelor's degree. Yeah, I kind of decided that wasn't really worth it. So I thought to myself, what's the next best thing for me to make a career for myself?. Computer Science! And, since I've recently taken up an interest in cryptography, network security sounded pretty good to me. So, starting this semester, I'll be a Computer Science major specializing in network security, just like you (I'll also be minoring in Music, which I can easily knock out in two semesters). Will I be as happy as if I stuck with Music as a major? Most likely not, no. But nothing's stopping me from composing, and I could always get a Music degree in Grad school.

Basically, the point I'M trying to make is this: pursue something you love, and you're good at (hopefully you'll find something that meets both of those criteria, like I initially did). If that doesn't work out, try the next best thing, but still keep the original subject in your life - make it a daily part of your practice. Now, I don't know how Computer Science will bode for me (frankly, I'm quite intimidated by it just thinking about it), but I know that with enough determination and willpower, I won't quit, and I'll get that degree - and it won't take me seven more f***ing semesters to get it. This is what I live by, and I hope it helps you. Godspeed, my friend. :D


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alomoes
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20 Jan 2015, 10:37 pm

So this is what I have to look forward to. Great. A life of network security. XD



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24 Jan 2015, 12:39 pm

I always feel like my program is wrong. It probably is.


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25 Jan 2015, 1:48 am

Maybe.

Though your difficulty could be how it's being taught or the speed at which you blow through the materials.

I've had to retake classes when I was an undergrad and I learned the material better and did better under different professors.


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