Regrets in majoring in science?

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BioDoc

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Does anyone regret majoring in science? I am in the middle of finishing my degree in bio and I feel that all the effort I put in my classes are going to waste. Endless studying. Beating the curve. Out performing other pre-meds. If I was going to work this hard, I should have done something more useful like engineering. Or could of learned something useful in business/accounting and do well with half the effort + more time to other fun EC's. Or I could of learned a foreign language which could actually benefit my career anywhere I go whether its medicine or not.

Does anyone else feel the same way?
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Not sure, I was a Humanities major :p

Well, actually, sometimes I wish I had been a science major.. I guess the grass is greener on the other side sometimes. Honestly I wish I could have taken a 5th year (I just graduated), filled out a Chemistry major, and graduated as a double major. That would have made me much happier. But, I'm happy to have been a Humanities major all the same. The experiences really shaped me as a person, far more than my science classes did. My science classes were my favorite, though.
 
being a science major helps with the board, don't ask me why, just believe it.
 
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If studying hard was really that draining for you, perhaps you've picked the wrong career path.
 
About 2 years ago, I would have said that you are crazy. I have started working on an Econ major to go with a Science Major, and I can tell you I am really upset that I didn't spent more time on my Econ major. Econ is fun.
 
No I feel you on this one. Im graduating with a bio degree in 2 months and i just feel like i wasted my time. sure some classes were interesting and i liked, but a large majority was a bunch of **** i had no desire to take but had to for my major (plant biology anyone?-_-) Overall it was a huge waste of time, i really wish i would have followed my passion and studied a foreign language. I always wanted to do that in addition to to pre med reqs but my brilliant pre med "advisors" from my school said anything but a sci major is bad for med school.............by the time i realized my schools office is full of *****s i was already in my 3rd yr :(.

I guess the only good thing is that i hear from every med student that M1 (anywhere from the 1st half to whole year) tends to be a bit easier for bio majors if you took biochem, molec bio, genetics, and other classes seriously...but still totally not worth it for me
 
VisionaryTics said:
If studying hard was really that draining for you, perhaps you've picked the wrong career path.
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It seems that the ops issue is not simply that s/he does not like working hard, but that the working hard could be better applied.

ai ai ai flamers on SDN these days!

Im majoring in public health which thus far has seemed to fall sorta between a humanities major and a science major and I love it! The stuff im learning is highly interesting and to some extent will be applicable in my future career.
You may want to look into it if your schools has it. It may not, not many schools do. At my school however some of the classes you may have taken as a bio major that are needed for my PH major are.
First Semester Chem
Bio 1 & 2
Two semesters of calc.
And offers upper level classes such as epidemiology among other, less science oriented classes..

And... I cannot lie. It is not the most difficult major in the world. But that could just be my thought on it!
Good luck!
 
I love science, but I wish I had majored in something else. I think being something like a music, or some other art, major would make me look more well rounded. I would be bored to death in those subjects, but who cares, it's all about the application.
 
I wish I majored in something else too.
 
I would not have been happy majoring in chemistry alone, but I'm very happy with my chem/psych double major. Both are very interesting, and they contrast each other.

I think I would have probably been happy with a psych major alone though, with whatever random science classes I wanted thrown in.
 
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I would have preferred to major in english, history, anthropology, or anything else like that to be honest. but i don't mind bio.
 
You're not alone on this one. In retrospect I wish I was a humanities major... comparative studies, or maybe fiinance / economics.

I didn't know you could be any major you wanted for premed... I was an idiot back in the day...
 
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Majored in Bio with a spanish minor, should have done it the other way around, with a french minor too. College is the time to learn foreign languages and relax.
 
I do. I have no interest in research or teaching and in order to make decent money with a science degree I'd have to get a PhD and the thought of spending that many years in a lab makes me cringe.

I majored in biochemistry because I thought it would help me with the med school application process. If I didn't make it into med school I would have been stuck with a pretty much useless degree (a BS or a BA in science is worth ****). The smartest thing for me would have been to get a useful degree in a field that I could actually see myself doing in the future just in case I don't end up in med school. Looking back, I was too shortsighted. I had no back up plan to speak of.
 
ReApper24 said:
College is the time to learn foreign languages and relax.
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QFT. And *do* study abroad also. Why wouldn't you?? (I am forever kicking myself for not studying abroad, even though at the time it was logistically impossible and I met the girl of my dreams by staying)
 
I'm majoring in science (undecided between chemistry or physics) and I like it so far. If I majored in biology just for medical school, I'd probably kill myself. Biology is the driest, most boring science there is. :barf:
 
I do. I bust my ass much, much harder than all my non-science friends, and for what? A degree in Biology is more or less worthless. Hello 30k/year jobs after a rough 4 years of school. Should've done engineering.
 
i was a bio major and i wouldn't change it to another major except maybe for physics

for me science classes are easier and require less effort then the non science ones so there is no point to change it to have an easier college life
 
Some of biology was interesting but BLEH. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAJOR IN BIO, DON'T!!!!!! Fair warning.
 
I loved my classes in my Physiology major. My only regret is that I have a year off right now and I cant get **** with my major. I wish I would have gotten a major that would have allowed me to get a job with my major for one year. Other than that no regrets.
 
DirtyJustice said:
I have started working on an Econ major to go with a Science Major, and I can tell you I am really upset that I didn't spent more time on my Econ major. Econ is fun.
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+1.

I found certain Economics courses way more difficult than Bio coursework. In fact, my bio grades are a lot better than my econ grades. Just my personal experience.

My issue with solely majoring in Bio is that I found a lack of really deep problem solving, and applicability in everyday life. Whereas in Economics, I can hear about current issues in business/law/politics/sociology and have a good framework for understanding what the hell is happening in our crazy world.
 
bussandmed10 said:
I regret and I'm not afraid to say it. I went to college with the whole pre-med dogma about myself. Everything was pre-med this and that. I graduated in May of 2008 with a degree in Biology. I found myself unemployed and forced back into my parents house. I couldn't get hired for a lab tech job in my area. I eventually got a third shift job making $15.50/hr. That isn't that great of a salary. I drove a shuttle buss in college and got paid $14/hr. So, i went to school to make $1.50/hr more? :laugh:

I got sick of being unemployed. So, I started my own small company. I got some advertising and I'm working hard at growing the company into whatever I can get it to become. I find this more rewarding and harder than anything I did in college. ****I work at my business after I wake up from my third shift job.

Some day I could grow this company that could lead me to making $500k/year :luck:

In the end, I didn't hate the material for the more human related bio courses. I hated the job prospects afterwards. There are thousands of science gradautes every year and there ARE NOT thousands of jobs waiting for you at the end of the tunnel.

I wished I majored in accounting and finance. I was stupid in college though. Now that I'm older and wiser, i would have gotten that econ/accounting/finance/marketing degree and just did my pre-reqs.
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So why didn't you go to medical school?
 
It bugs me how people always say, "major in something that you can get a job in." The fact is, very few majors are career oriented. The bottom line for me is; major in what you like, then, if med-school does not work out, find a way to apply the skills you learned to whatever kind of job you want to do. One must learn how to promote themselves, instead of just saying, "I majored in (your major here), and there are no (your major here) jobs available. Instead, I would put on said job application, "My major in (your major here) allowed me to hone my skills in writing, math, and communication, and I believe that would be an asset to any company, blah, blah, blah..."

I would say that most people do not end up working in the area of their major.
 
SirGecko said:
But engineering is also way way cooler than everything else! :cool:

(but yeah engineering majors are generally more work than any other majors)
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I wish! Being an engineer has never helped me get a date! Bio, however... there's gotta be some law about being thrown into a sea of something and ending up at least getting a little wet.

(mostly kidding)
 
SirGecko said:
But engineering is also way way cooler than everything else! :cool:

(but yeah engineering majors are generally more work than any other majors)
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Before I say this, let me say that I am not trying to insult any engineers, and this is just a generalization from my experience and my parents.

However, my parents, who are both architects, actually discouraged me from going into engineering because they said almost every engineer they worked with seemed to be rather boring and unhappy. I did not believe them at first, then I did a project where I took a tour at an electrical engineering facility and I had to concur with my parents.

P.S I know I that I should know better than to write this on a forum with countless engineering majors.
 
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If you have a passion for something, study in that area. This is not hard, people. If you majored in bio just for med-school, you will probably not like it very much, and won't do as well in your classes. Same if you pick a humanities major just to look well-rounded. I for one am just finishing up my degree in Microbiology and LOVE it! The science of life is so interesting to me. Don't get me wrong, I love my history and literature classes, but there is absolutely nothing more fascinating to me than how a gene can be transferred horizontally from species to species, causing the pathogenicity of an organism to increase, or how our bodies can create millions of different antibodies just by recombining a few little genes (among other mechanisms).

There is so much beauty and complexity to biology that I don't understand how anyone intelligent enough to be in college, and in the realm of applying and matriculating to medical school especially, could not find at least something interesting about it. I won't bash other subjects, because I wish I could have also majored in a bunch of unrelated subjects given unlimited time and money. However, if you think biology is boring, you need to seriously reconsider your choice of career, because as a doctor you will be immersed in this stuff for the rest of your life.

And besides, all the people I know who graduate bio who don't go to grad or professional school make at least 60k a year starting, which is really not bad for a 4 year degree. That is why you have to go through the "drag" of doing research work while in undergrad. A degree in anything (including business, history, you name it) is worthless without experience to go with it, especially in this job market.
 
ouch that was pretty harsh ^^.. anyways im just now choosing a major and doin my pre med pre reqs.. I was going for bio just for med school.. but it seems like a bad plan for what I can see here.. I like psyche and humanities.. specially mythology.. what should I do?
 
I regretted being a science major after freshman year of UG so I switched to music and I am really happy I made the change.
 
My regret? Biochemistry is really hard. Biochemistry is really boring. I have to study too much. I don't enjoy it as much as philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, arabic, or regular chemistry. It's too late for me to switch majors. I will have no regrets the very instant I am accepted into medical school. It's like instantaneous regrets = a lot. But I will have negative regrets once I get into medical school making the total regret zero out.
 
TriXStar said:
ouch that was pretty harsh ^^.. anyways im just now choosing a major and doin my pre med pre reqs.. I was going for bio just for med school.. but it seems like a bad plan for what I can see here.. I like psyche and humanities.. specially mythology.. what should I do?
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Major in English =o)
 
bussandmed10 said:
Now, now, now son. Let me bring you back to the land of reality.
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LOL :thumbup:

If the guy enjoys his major and the Bio classes, more power to him.

Personally though I'm glad to hear other people also dislike the plant studies in General Biology...whenever we talk about pathogenic bacteria I'm like "SWEET" and start paying really close attention and then the next slide is like "Photosynthesis in Algae" :sleep:.

Hopefully going to change to Psychology(My most interesting classes) tomorrow, have a meeting with the Pre-Med Coordinator on Friday :)
 
Yeah I am currently struggling with the idea of turning my double minor in Nonprofit Business Administration and Psychology into a double major with a MINOR in Bio. Although I do enjoy most of my Bio lectures.
 
No regrets. Bio major here.

Of course, I've never had to take a biology related to plants (Gen Bio II was the closest to that). Gen bios, genetics, microbio, cell bio, basic biochem, parasitology, endocrinology, immunology, histology, and neurobiology will sum up the bio courses I will have taken.

Engineering would have been interesting, but I could see myself hating the math, physics, and statics courses. Only other majors that are remotely interesting are PoliSci and Econ, but I couldn't ever see myself taking more than a few intro classes before I would get bored of it.
 
The only time I had regret was when I took my first public health class. The girls were a lot more attractive and laid back. It's nice to have something to look at every once in a while.
 
bussandmed10 said:
- Had no money

- Had no free time to study for MCAT

- Had to get a job to pay bills and buy myself some food so I don't die

Why not just ask momy and dady for help? They don't have money.
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That sucks. Are you going to eventually take the MCAT and apply?
 
BioDoc said:
I am in the middle of finishing my degree in bio
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BioDoc said:
Endless studying. Beating the curve. Out performing other pre-meds.
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Hold on here. That does not compute. The only reason to ever major in biology is to sit next a cute asian girl who failed as a pre-med. Wait, thats not a reason to major in something!

BioDoc said:
I should have done something more useful like engineering.
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Yeah you should. Don't you wish you could have stood next to this sign?
3479610032_e4113cf5dc.jpg
 
I wish I was a business major so that I could brag about having a 4.0
 
I'm a political science major. Had I decided to major in like chemistry of physics, there is probably a 0% chance I would have the grades to get into medical school. I probably would have changed career paths years ago, since my grades would be so low. However, you should major in whatever your good at and think you can get a high GPA in. My buddy who does really well in biochem would probably have a lower gpa majoring in a non-science. But the key is don't feel obligated in any way to be a science major because you think it will help you get in or help with medical school work. Actually, non-science majors get in to med school at higher rates, and score on average higher on every mcat section.
 
ronaldo23 said:
Actually, non-science majors get in to med school at higher rates, and score on average higher on every mcat section.
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I beg to differ. I read 3 posts in a row where a liberal arts student asked ridiculous 8th grade questions. Think about it, if liberal arts was clearly a better choice, then why are all the top paying jobs engineering or science majors and liberal arts majors end up as office assistants?
 
ChemEngSoonMD said:
I beg to differ. I read 3 posts in a row where a liberal arts student asked ridiculous 8th grade questions. Think about it, if liberal arts was clearly a better choice, then why are all the top paying jobs engineering or science majors and liberal arts majors end up as office assistants?
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Finally, someone who doesn't live between clicheville and makebelieveland
 
Oh man, hearing all the regrets is making me teeter again on my major choice!

I'm entering college as a Bio major in January (probably marine bio to specify.) I LOVE bio and just got scuba certified which I'd be able to encorporate in research/for fun, but my other passion is Music (which, naturally, happens to be one of the most awkward majors to transfer into....).

So now I'm sort of bouncing back and forth again. I love music, play 3 instruments, and consider it one of the biggest aspects of my life, but the music courses I took in high school weren't the toughest, so I'd sort of be going in blind material wise (although me and my music teacher are friend-status now that I graduated and I'm sure he'd help me out if need be).

Ohh man....desicions, desicions.....
 
DirtyJustice said:
About 2 years ago, I would have said that you are crazy. I have started working on an Econ major to go with a Science Major, and I can tell you I am really upset that I didn't spent more time on my Econ major. Econ is fun.
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ECON WOOO! lol sorry, just always have to represent when possible :cool:
 
i think there is always a way to combine your interests. i double majored in an engineering field and humanities, with a minor in a social science. it was a fantastic experience, and i do not regret it at all. i have also been able to combine all three into coherent goals, and plan to use all three in the future. i think the best bet if you're pre-med is to major in what you want, even if its not a science, but make sure to know how rigorous the sciences are so med school isn't a shock. if youre not sure about pre-med, i say you should also take practicality into consideration too, and double major - one in what you want and one for practical purposes or minor. if what you want and what's practicle are perfectly aligned, then no need to worry about regrets!
 
That's why you don't get a flat out bio major, you pick one of the 'specializations'. Microbiology, bacteriology, neurobiology, immunology, biochemistry, etc...

Like me, I'm doing a neurobiology major, and although it's tough as hell, the classes carry over. My last two years now all my bio/major classes are ALL dealing with the nervous system.
 
Not at all. I love Biology, I majored in Molecular Biology and minored in chemistry and loved it. I never had to take Botany or really any class I felt was worthless. I got to take an advanced human anatomy class where 8 of us spent a semester dissecting a cadaver. I have taken upper level classes such as medical microbiology (using a textbook used in medical schools) advanced physiology, immunology, virology (emphasis on viruses that affect humans. I feel as prepared as I can be for medical school and I don't think I would say the same had I majored in a humanity or social science.

I wish I had time to take a few other classes but I feel I was able to as you say "develop myself as a person" by doing extra carricular activities such as Run Track and Cross Country all 4 years in college.

I wish I could have taken a few more psychology or philosophy classes but thats what I am doing now in my year off as I wait to hear from schools :)
 
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