Picking Your College Major (no BS rankings, just the truth)

Here's the ultimate guide to picking your college major. I even wrote out a diagram for potential majors and subsequent career paths based on your academic interests and strengths! I wish I knew all of this earlier on in college; I really hope this video will help you in picking your college major. The right one - one that's tailored to your interests!
This won't be a BS 'best college majors' and 'worst college majors' video. Just the unfiltered truth so that you can choose the right path.
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Welcome to my channel - College Tips From the Almost Astrophysicist! I'm Priya and I'm here to help you get into college. I'm a University of Chicago grad with an Astrophysics degree that currently works as a Data Scientist and I want to break down the college application process and tackle all of the misconceptions about college for you! Let me know in the comments section down below if you have any video requests, or just want to say hi! :)
LinkedIn: / priya-l-520311145
Instagram: / plingutla

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

It feels like we're conditioned to pursue certain majors and career paths because they're lucrative, not pursue them out of interest and genuine curiosity. Your major doesn't define your entire career path or determine your quality of life, it's a stepping stone that sets the foundation for your future. Hope my video shed some light on college majors; let me know what you want to see next!

[@PaulomiMukherjee]

Hi! I am the friend :D that majored in animation and is now working in advertising/marketing :D SO PROUD OF YOU PRIYA!

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

Hello!!!! Thank you for watching and thank you for ALL OF THE SUPPORT, thumbnail and content wise but also morally lol. ❤️

[@elisaortiz1000]

I don't feel smart enough to pick the majors I want, I never been good at math. I always struggled with it.

[@tasniahhoque6545]

as someone who has a deep interest in astrophysics/cosmology and english equally all while having zero confidence in where they will lead me - especially when math is literally such a weakness for me - your channel is really helpful and i love that you explained it so well. thank you so much!!

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

I'm so glad I could help! I genuinely believe it's about following your interests and you'll learn as you go. :) Everyone's interests change as they grow up so as long as you keep loving learning, you'll be golden. Good luck to you!

[@nycto16]

Business is the only degree which opens thousands of career paths... you can do anything from UX Research to Data Science, Corporate Law to Art Direction etc.

[@journeyawaits1771]

I think declaring yourself as undecided is quite interesting. I think personally for me that I wanted to figure out my passions/interests throughout high school and luckily junior year I found my love for psychology! I know some think it's unrealistic to be an undecided major but there a lot of benefits, I personally feel that people aren't transparent about the consequences that come with being undecided tbh. When I finally decided I wanted to major in psychology a lot of people around me said I should major in Biology just because I was doing pre-med. I love getting advice but never cross the line of losing my own voice! I think as long as you are certain in yourself and can make a realistic and effective pathway towards a career, lifestyle, or job then you will excel in college! I am glad I learned this early when in high school and as a senior now very certain of what I want to do.

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

Oh, 100% about being undeclared. The truth is that, at least on my campus, a lot of people switched majors after a year or so in college! I think exploring all of your options is so important, especially when college is our first real opportunity to do so and take classes we never could before. Also, two of my best friends majored in psychology and they loved it! You're completely right about being certain in yourself, and never letting others' opinions cloud your thoughts. You have a great mindset about this already!! :)

[@crustyseashell8848]

You're videos are so in-depth and helpful, thank you! I'm so used to hearing, "And here's why your major is useless."

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

Of course, I'm glad I could help! I can't believe people say that about majors, especially when each one has its own depth of knowledge and cultivates a broad range of skills. Don't let others put you down. :)

[@pritikamodhukuru7998]

Your videos are always so detailed and helpful!

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

Thank you so much!! And thanks for keeping up with my content! :)

[@theschoolofhistory6126]

You're a lifesaver, all of your videos have helped me out on my applications!

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

I'm so glad I can help you!! :) That's the goal!

[@darylhopkins9796]

Outstanding video.

[@prettyme4387]

Pretty good video!

[@madhavilingutla4031]

GREAT INFO!!!

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

Thanks!!! 🌝💓

[@natcatastrophe]

This is a great video! However, is it possible that there's some survivorship bias from your perspective? I definitely respect you a ton and appreciate the time and effort put into this video, but I see so many stories online about people who went into an obscure major and came out unable to find jobs... I recently got into UChicago and am really interested in environmental and urban studies, but i'm not sure if I can find a job afterwards, and even if i do, if i will make enough money in it. With a major in something like economics comes a ton of security, and career options are a lot less dependent on luck. (at least that's how i see it)

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

Thanks so much for your comment - I completely agree that my thoughts with inherently come from a biased standpoint as a physics major. I think my major taught me so much that's easily applicable to other fields, and while I am confident that other majors do the same, I think when it comes to a pay disparity, there is one when it comes to STEM vs non-STEM. If I majored in a social science/humanities, I may not have the computational skills to have the Data Scientist role I have now. I will say though - a Public Policy major from UChicago joined the same program I did as a Data Scientist at my company so... I won't say your major defines your pay. :) It's more of the marketable skills you acquire. I think, in your case, as someone going to UChicago, it may not be as hard not finding a job because you will have learned a lot of campus and there is a lot of credibility to the institutions name in the job market. Also, career advancement is SO helpful in facilitating the process and getting a job during career fairs on campus is much easier than applying elsewhere. I agree that not everyone would have the exact cross-functional opportunities I did, I certainly had a computational major and 'reputable' institution to my name. Pay is something I grapple with when thinking about, but if someone is optimizing for only money, some majors do have direct career paths that are more lucrative than others. It depends on what you choose to optimize your major for - mine was out of pure interest and I ended finding a lucrative path after, it certainly can be different for others though since I did have a privileged background. 😊

[@krishnarao4840]

Useful video

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

Thank you Tata!!!! 😀

[@swaggamuffin2171]

Hey i am wondering how important the school i go to is important for job opportunities afterwords? Do i need to go to like stanford or U Chicago in order to have great job offers? And also after looking at salaries online i was wondering if you know what causes some people to only make like $50,000 a year in astrophysics and others $150,000 a year? Great Video too, your content is very helpful.

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

That's a great question! So for your first question, It's a nuanced answer, but I do believe that *where* you get your degree does play a part in terms of campus opportunities. From my personal experience, going to UChicago and learning a lot on campus/using their resources really did benefit me. In many cases, private schools just have more funding for career resources, paid internship options, pay for campus research, etc. In terms of prestige, it certainly doesn't hurt your application to have a top school on there. But top candidates come from all colleges. :) College prestige doesn't determine your career path though, you do! For salaries, it really depends on what kind of job you go into. Most people, out of astrophysics undergrad, go to grad school where they only get a research stipend and are not salaried, per se. Some may go into aerospace engineering, where the pay is much higher. It just depends on the job you choose to go into after your major. :)

[@swaggamuffin2171]

@@TheAlmostAstrophysicist thank you so much, im doing applications right now and there is a lot to consider when looking beyond graduation. You have been extremely helpful through this all though, thank you!

[@THEskepii]

Hi i need a bit of help , if anyone is seeing this even tho its a kind of old video. I want to follow my studies in litterature but i also want to do cs, both are my top interest , but if i choose one i betray the other andi cannot choose its driving me crazy

[@Sariine436]

Wheres health?

[@timelapsed1688]

There's one big glaring problem with this video. Your advice would be fine if a college major didn't cost between 30k - 70k. I wasn't a trust fund baby, I had to work two jobs to pay off my tuition. The simple answer is this, only go to college for stem or accounting. However, I don't even recommend going to college. The trades are where it's at right now! The guy who became an electrician at 24 is leagues ahead your typical liberal arts major.

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

tl;dr: Financial aid was given to 100% of those who needed it at the University of Chicago, in the capacity that they needed it. College is affordable if you apply to 100% meet need schools (All top schools (t20) and many publically funded schools meet need based on a tax calculator that includes various aspects of family life taken into account). Community college is also actually free in over 20 states in the US, you just need to apply for the right state-funded scholarships. Respectfully, I understand your opinion but I do want to mention financial aid as a BIG factor in why college COULD be for everyone, and not just a select few who're "rich." I completely understand that trade school is an option, and think it's a great option if you want to go that route. But this video is based on my personal experience in college. I'm not a trust fund baby either, and I went to a college that gave me financial aid. Financial aid is absolutely available to most who need it, but the issue is that FAFSA and the notion of 100% meet need schools and several scholarships available to those who are minorities, low-income, POCs aren't known by all. I went to a T10 but got over 70% of my tuition covered by financial aid. My best friend in college got 100% of her tuition covered, and they even paid for her plane tickets to and from college for breaks. I completely understand your opinion because we all have different experiences when it comes to tuition. I got lucky with my school and didn't have to take a job to pay anything off, but there are always several options out there that I wish were talked about more when it comes to financial aid.

[@timelapsed1688]

@@TheAlmostAstrophysicist I'm personally against taking money for ideological reasons. However, don't you think it's kind of an unstable system when people are just getting bailed out of their bad decisions? And then the taxpayer has make up for their financial mistakes? I don't personally think you're a trust fund baby, it seems like you worked very hard for your degree. However, a lot of people don't do research about their career prospects only until after they get their major. All I ask is that people do basic supply-and-demand thinking. Your sociology, communications, anthropology, political science and other liberal arts majors have fields with high supply and low demand. On the other hand, engineering, bio tech and accounting degrees have carreer fields with very high demand. This isn't an attack on anyone personally, I just want people to see reality for what it actually is.

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

​@@timelapsed1688 So given the way our economy works, I think much more taxpayer money should actually go towards education and healthcare (which I feel are basic necessities) so publically funded scholarships/FAFSA is great in my opinion! So for financial aid at my university/many others, it's actually not taxpayer money at all that's paying for tuition, it's alumni donation/private school endowments (which again presents its own problem, because richer universities have more financial aid options but may be harder to get into). I think our education system is set up for failure because of a lack of affordability and accessibility for all, but I don't think people should have to tailor their majors to the economy's needs. What I was trying to say is that they can major in whatever they want, and THEN decide which 'lucrative' job they gained skills for (which is unfortunate that they have to do that), but at least they can learn what they love and still put it to good use. Such as the way I majored in physics and ended up a bit farther from it, in data science, and learned the relevant skills to do so! I definitely appreciate your viewpoint though about trade school and how college may not be for all, it's always good to hear different educational viewpoints and give everyone watching a more robust idea of how education works (college vs trade school) and how it's thought of for those with different experiences! :)

[@timelapsed1688]

@@TheAlmostAstrophysicist I appreciate you being open to having a conversation about this subject. I have to repectfully disagree on some of your points. I've known way too many people who earned a degree (usually in the liberal arts) who make less than 30k a year. Private donations from willing participants is fine but when taxpayers are being footed with the bill, I think we should have say in what is and isn't a skill-based major. We are going to have a bleak economic future if half of the careers are make-work government jobs. If you want economic freedom (6 figs) you have to suffer early on and choose a hard degree!

[@TheAlmostAstrophysicist]

@@timelapsed1688 I think you present a pretty good side of the issue that I didn't touch on in the video about salaries - median salaries right out of college do kind of depend on which college you go to. In the second half of the video, I did try to present some potential lucrative career paths for liberal arts/social science majors (ux design for art majors, consulting for social science), but getting a job that pays upwards of 60k starting out may depend on opportunities presented by your college too! That all goes to say that if people major in 'lucrative'/hard majors that they don't like, they certainly won't enjoy it and might actually not get through the 4-year degree, right? So it's definitely important to stay cognizant of the economy/where the money is because of capitalism, but it shouldn't be the only factor. :)