What are some good "fallback" majors?

[nysegop]

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I was thinking finance but then I thought that it might seem like I was just trying to make money. Then I thought neuroscience. Is this good? Can you get a job after graduation? Any other ideas for "fallback" majors? I like just about every academic subject so it really doesn't matter.



Edit: Anybody heard of dietetics, nutrition and food sciences? Is that good? What about Italian Studies (lol)?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Accounting ( CPA), economics, engineering, etc.
Problem is that these majors are harder and you might screwing your gpa over. But I can honestly say that if I wasn't premed I'd have done probably accounting, economics, or a statistics major.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Nutrition even with a certificate RB? Will cap you at 50k a year.

 

[nysegop]

Nutrition even with a certificate RB? Will cap you at 50k a year.

Uh oh never mind that thought.

 

[deleted462159]

What is a fallback major--one that is easy? I know at my school, the most popular majors for biology-dropouts are business/economics, psychology/social behavior, or public health.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

What is a fallback major--one that is easy? I know at my school, the most popular majors for biology-dropouts are business/economics, psychology/social behavior, or public health.

A fallback major is one that you can use if you decide that medicine/etc. is not for you. Overall psychology is a decent fallback if you want to get a doctorate and like clinical work as the salary far exceeds that of other strictly academic doctorates like biology.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

Good rule of thumb: Majors that end with "Studies" (American Studies, Gender Studies, Italian Studies, etc.) are not good choices for majors. Minor in it if you are truly interested.

Also, don't forget that the major you choose won't determine necessarily what career you end up in. Obviously, an Arts Degree or a Dancing Degree won't do much good. But it isn't the end of the world. My father originally majored in Accounting, changed to biology later on, and is now an optometrist. You still have time to choose a major, and it isn't the death-day decision that some here make it out to be.

 

[nysegop]

Good rule of thumb: Majors that end with "Studies" (American Studies, Gender Studies, Italian Studies, etc.) are not good choices for majors. Minor in it if you are truly interested.

Also, don't forget that the major you choose won't determine necessarily what career you end up in. Obviously, an Arts Degree or a Dancing Degree won't do much good. But it isn't the end of the world. My father originally majored in Accounting, changed to biology later on, and is now an optometrist. You still have time to choose a major, and it isn't the death-day decision that some here make it out to be.

What are your thoughts on neuroscience?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

What are your thoughts on neuroscience?

It is a strictly academic major, without graduate education it generally will not open you any doors to employment outside of NIH or a job teaching Biology and Psycholoy at a High school.

 

[nysegop]

It is a strictly academic major, without graduate education it generally will not open you any doors to employment outside of NIH or a job teaching Biology and Psycholoy at a High school.

Hmmm, it just seems more interesting than biology. I don't know.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

If I could do it over again I would major in psychology, family studies, or even sports management. Take your pre-reqs and add it in biochem and genetics. Adcoms really only care about those classes, let's be real.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

If I could do it over again I would major in psychology, family studies, or even sports management. Take your pre-reqs and add it in biochem and genetics. Adcoms really only care about those classes, let's be real.

Yup, make life easier for yourself and give yourself plenty of time to do EC's and get A's.

 

[nysegop]

If I could do it over again I would major in psychology, family studies, or even sports management. Take your pre-reqs and add it in biochem and genetics. Adcoms really only care about those classes, let's be real.

So I assume you majored in Bio?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Hmmm, it just seems more interesting than biology. I don't know.

Then major in it lol. I majored in a intermediate psychology/neuroscience major in college and had a blast. But I knew that I wanted to be a doctor or clinical neuropsychologist so for me it wasn't too difficult to rationalize the major.

 

[DrBowtie]

SeminoleVesicle, as someone who is in medical school and looking back, your advice works.
Ask the other pre-med who majored in psychology that didn't get in how his life is going working retail.

Stable back up majors: Engineering, Accounting/Finance (Not marketing or any other general business really), Math/Stats can be solid, Teaching. Bio/Chem is fine if you would go on to get a masters in education or complete a PhD.

Basically you should major in something with a defined end job if you think medicine isn't for you. Med Schools will take pretty much any major, but most good jobs straight out of college require specialized skills or majors.

 

[SirSamAlot]

Like many others have mention, I believe a business major is a great fallback major. Besides healthcare being important in people's lives, business does too. The drawback is the potential for your every important GPA to be ruined for medical school. For me, my fallback, hopefully, is to double major in finance and accounting. It may not be doable if I'm doing pre-med. I don't know yet for sure because I'm not in college yet.

Plus, right now, I'm going through a little thought process of whether I should work in finance instead of becoming a physician. The two big problems with being a physician for me is the loans I have to repay and the time after undergrad to train to be a physician. In my mind it seems better to only have to be in 100k to 200k in debt (just MBA school), be in a school environment for 2 to 4 years after undergrad, and only be 24 to 25 years old when I can really work full time at a designate job, such as investment banking, then to be
250k to 400k in debt, be in a school environment for 8 to 12 years after undergrad, and be 30 to 34 years old when I can really work full time. I'll figure it out by the time I get to the college.

 

[Lactobacillus]

Nutrition even with a certificate RB? Will cap you at 50k a year.

You can make much more than that in management positions. I know of a couple dietitians making 6 figures, but I hate management. Also, working renal pays better than 50k.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Like many others have mention, I believe a business major is a great fallback major. Besides healthcare being important in people's lives, business does too. The drawback is the potential for your every important GPA to be ruined for medical school. For me, my fallback, hopefully, is to double major in finance and accounting. It may not be doable if I'm doing pre-med. I don't know yet for sure because I'm not in college yet.

Plus, right now, I'm going through a little thought process of whether I should work in finance instead of becoming a physician. The two big problems with being a physician for me is the loans I have to repay and the time after undergrad to train to be a physician. In my mind it seems better to only have to be in 100k to 200k in debt (just MBA school), be in a school environment for 2 to 4 years after undergrad, and only be 24 to 25 years old when I can really work full time at a designate job, such as investment banking, then to be
250k to 400k in debt, be in a school environment for 8 to 12 years after undergrad, and be 30 to 34 years old when I can really work full time. I'll figure it out by the time I get to the college.

Well generally an MBA is a degree you want to get after having worked in business for some time, and occasionally your company will subsidize the process. Then again finance or accounting alone will break you into a strong starting salary.

 

[SirSamAlot]

Well generally an MBA is a degree you want to get after having worked in business for some time, and occasionally your company will subsidize the process. Then again finance or accounting alone will break you into a strong starting salary.

I thought they only do that for executives, which is where the EMBA comes from, and not for lower level workers, but thank you for telling me. I may have to choose between one or the other to do if it seems to hard to do both. If I do have to choose, I'll choose accounting because it gives you a wider opportunity to get a job in finance. I just believe both is good because it shows I have the ability to do accounting, but also jobs outside of accounting and both majors usually overlap each other in some classes, though it depends on the school. Hopefully this plan won't backfire on me to double major.

 

[nysegop]

Although it is common for MBAs to have experience, some people may choose to pursue an MBA directly after college. But, keep in mind that MBA schools (especially top schools like Harvard) will give preference to people with previous business work experience. Also, you don't need a business degree to get into an MBA school. Getting an MBA is common for people pursuing any career including doctors. There are MD/MBA programs which I have considered.

 

[deleted462159]

Good rule of thumb: Majors that end with "Studies" (American Studies, Gender Studies, Italian Studies, etc.) are not good choices for majors. Minor in it if you are truly interested.

👍

 

[davidbm95]

But I can honestly say that if I wasn't premed I'd have done probably accounting, economics, or a statistics major.

How do you go from pre-med to accounting and economics?

Some good fall back majors are the branches of business. There are like 20 different business majors.

 

[SirSamAlot]

How do you go from pre-med to accounting and economics?

Some good fall back majors are the branches of business. There are like 20 different business majors.

I believe many people usually who change to business from pre-med do it before junior year (that is when I believe you have to declare a major) and they try to catch up to people who have already decided to do a business major from the beginning by taking the prerequisites that their fellow students took in their freshmen and/or sophomore year. Some are able to catch up and some aren't. It possibly increases more if you double major. I believe accounting majors need more credits than finance and economics. This is what I know.