Major decision. What should I study? 10 points!!!?

My central hope is to be a wife and mother. But I am going to college to enjoy the experience, have a backup (something to use if I need too) and I simply feel called there.





However, I'm going into freshman year undeclared so I can take some time to get more core curricula done. I also don't want to flip flop 10 times between majors.





My initial goal and purpose is to be able to write and have published the many novels and volumes of poetry I've worked on since I was younger. I also enjoy illustrating them with my own photography and designs. I even started writing a book of poetry with the poems based on the photographs, rather than the vice versa.





What do you think I should study?? I'm considering Journalism with a minor in Photography but my school also offers English, Graphic Design, and Public Relations.
Major decision. What should I study? 10 points!!!?
Journalism/Photography would be great. Photography in college was tons of fun. Pax-C
Major decision. What should I study? 10 points!!!?
Since you like writing you should major in english/ journalism, and then minor in art so you can illustrate your writing.
Reply:Journalism and Photography sound great. They would allow you to do what already enjoy doing and if need be they would both be good sources of income. Consider double majoring to expand your opportunities.
Reply:The English and Journalism majors will help you with your writing. Graphic Design and Public Relations may help you sell your writing. Its really up to you.





P.S. There is nothing wrong with changing your major ten or fifteen times throughout the course of your college career. A lot of people do it.





Good luck
Reply:This stuff is always so difficult to decide! And usually you dont realise what you should do till you try it out! If writing is your passion, and you want to one day publish your work i suggest prehaps English, Journalism and Photography. I dont know if you can do all of those, but having a major in journalism or english seems like a good idea. I suppose the advantage of doing your major as journalism rather than english is that there are more job opportunites in journalism. (English maybe you could become and English teacher?) Photography is a good minor as it helps that journalist have photography skills and you enjoy it. Bottom line, do what you think you will enjoy the most, if it doesnt work out simply swap. Good Luck!
Reply:You'll be able to take writing and literature courses as electives, and they are usually more fun then the majors-only alternatives.





If you really like kids, than a wonderful back (and quickly becoming highly paid) up would be developmental education. It's basically a degree in nursery and preschool education, but you can make a killing if you work for some of the private businesses. Also elementary education is always looking for good teachers.





If you are wanting something a little more "professional" I would look into the Journalism or Graphic Design programs.





English Degrees have many uses, don't get me wrong, but they generally require at least some graduate school to really become an asset, unless you want to teach.
Reply:I would go with your first choice - Journalism. Sounds like it matches your interests in the publishing/writing world best. Graphic Design is a completely different area, as is Public Relations. English would be another good option, if you don't want to limit yourself. Check out the courses required in each program and see which ones have descriptions that interest you.





PS - don't discount the value of self-fulfilment beyond wife and mother. I did it backwards and had husband and kids first THEN went back to get my degree and career!
Reply:My only advice is don't declare your major until you are a junior (which is usually when they make you declare one) take some classes in all those areas and then do what you seem drawn to. By your junior year you should have a good idea of what you want to do.





I think all of those majors would be fine and it doesn't matter what we think, but what you like.
Reply:I was an English ed./ art student in college and NOW I am a mother of 2 so I think I am somewhat qualified to help ya out... I think you know what u want to do - you want to write poetry and use your own graphics for the books; since your ability to take pictures is very natural and possibly already tuned by some schooling I would suggest ENGLISH and GRAPHIC DESIGN - In english business you will learn how to market your own writing as a self employed business and you will learn all the proper styles and techniques to improve your talent in writing.


In Graph. Des. you will learn how to asthetically place your photos in your books, how to use all the equipment you need to produce advertising and product quality merchandise.


Yup - English w/ graphic design minor and stick with it to the end so if you want to go to work after youre kiddos go to school you will have a career path - (Assuming you WILL have kids and all) ; o)
Reply:I was a journalism major in college. My school offered photojournalism and graphic design options within the journalism program. See if your school does as well.





In Journalism school, we studied news writing, reporting, news editing and media ethics. Then there were focus classes in various areas of journalism, depending on your interests (I focused on Multimedia Journalism). There were classes in magazine writing, public relations, electronic communication, advertising, etc.





The skills learned in journalism school are very valuable. You learn how to write clear, concise copy, you'll focus on proper grammar and spelling, and learn to pay attention to stylistic rules in your writing. It's practical and useful for anyone who wishes to become a good writer! Plus it may help you land a part-time job as a freelance journalist / copy editor should you decide to take that route.





However, if you like creative writing, poetry and analyzing/theorizing, then you're not going to get much of that in journalism (at least, not until you take classes that allow for more freedom in your writing). An English major may allow more opportunities in that area. You'll also get lots of writing and analyzing practice with English. But the English major is very broad. There's really not much you can do with it. That may not be an issue for you, but if you did want to get a job later or have something to fall back on, the English major doesn't provide as much opportunity as a degree in journalism does. I can see people who major in English either double major in something else, or continue on with graduate school (to become either English teachers, professors, scholars, even leading to law school, etc). The English major may help you find an outlet for sharing and/or enhancing the works you plan to publish later on.





Bottomline: both are good majors, but journalism is a bit more specialized than English. As for getting your novels published, there have been many writers who publish things who never majored in English. Writing groups abound!





I say pick either Journalism or English as your major, and then do a minor or double-major in Photography. Maybe try to take some electives in Graphic Design, but you can pick up a lot of graphic design concepts on your own time. The point is, don't overload yourself!





Also, try to get involved with organizations on campus, such as your school newspaper (possibilities: reporter, staff photographer, page designer), or other student publications; or look for clubs that need people with your talents.