Reactions to your Major

[engr]

I'm an Environmental Health major. When I tell people, their reactions are usually along the lines of "Oooh cool! You save trees!"

Imagine the responses you would get if you majored in health physics. I only learned what it was during my senior year when I was taking an introductory nuclear engineering class.

[Captain Pelipper]

When I tell people that I'm a Music Theory and Composition/Physics double major, I almost always get a "wow" or wide eyes, which is flattering, but a little unsettling. They're mostly impressed with the Physics part (sometimes I only say one or the other, and I always get the same response with Physics, and never with Music Theory and Composition), which is weird because I've yet to hear anybody give a similar response when I hear someone mention how they're majoring in Chemistry or Biology, or even Engineering.

[Halcyon Days]

I go to a liberal arts university, so most people here seem surprised and impressed by the fact that I'm a dual major in Computer Science and Chinese. :p I think that's pretty normal though for people who dual major in two legitimate, but totally unrelated, subjects..

[Anonymously Famous]

I go to a liberal arts university, so most people here seem surprised and impressed by the fact that I'm a dual major in Computer Science and Chinese. :p I think that's pretty normal though for people who dual major in two legitimate, but totally unrelated, subjects..

I got some surprised looks when I told people that I was majoring in Spanish Translation and minoring in Computer Science. They may have seemed unrelated at the time, but now I'm working where both skill sets are useful.

[Halcyon Days]

They may have seemed unrelated at the time, but now I'm working where both skill sets are useful.

Woah.. What sort of job do you have that makes foreign languages and computer science come together?

[Whammy]

I can pretty much categorize almost all the reactions to my political science major as one of the following:

"I hate politics."
"...and so what do you do?"
"Political Science isn't a real science."
"I'm a Pre-Law concentration*"

*Pre-Law is under the political science department at my school, so most political science majors are one of those.I'm one of the few people in it who are pure political science (well, economics minor too *shrug*).

[RollingHead]

"Oh... I hate physics" *weird looks*
Which is still better than people laughing at me when I told them, I suppose. To be fair I also got some good reactions, especially from my high school math teacher.

[Whammy]

Your 'weird look' comment reminded me of another response I get from people. The ever classic "....why?"


To be fair half the time I'm not sure myself why I'm a political science major XD. I also get good reactions though from my high school teachers. Even the one who thought I was wasting my talents in political science eventually broke down and decided I was destined for a social science/liberal arts kind of education ^_^.

[miedvied]

Pat the Scientist (computer or otherwise)
Pat: So, what are you studying?
Me: Rhetoric.
Pat: How is that useful?
Me: You don't think studying the primary means of human interaction is useful?
Pat: Well, what I meant was how does that get you a job or produce something worthwhile to society like a toaster, or Angry Birds, or cold fusion?
Me: Um, well you see I want to be a professor and I think rhetori...
Pat: Ha, a professor? The humanities are going to be phased out of the university in a few years because they're totally worthless. SCIENCE AND MATH FOREVER BRO! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.- Sov

So, apparently my name is Pat now.

When I was undergrad, my Biology major never raised any eyebrows. But then, most of my friends were children of immigrants, and most people I met were from the same general community, so everyone understood that "biology" was code for "med school."

Since I've gone on to grad school in biostatistics (med school turned out to be too easy/boring), people tend give answers like "Whoa, you must be really smart." No one ever asks what it is, even though I'm pretty sure no one I speak to ever knows what it is. Or, of course, the classic "Math is way too hard for me; you must be a genius."

My response used to be some sort of self-deprecating humor, if I wanted them to like me. Or, if they emphasized how hard math is, I'd say that anyone could do it with effort, like any other learned skill. If they emphasized that I was born with great abilities (yes, granted, I'm smarter than the average bear, but not actually any sort of brilliant - I was also born with a flat ass, well suited to sitting in the library for many many hours) then I would usually just change the subject.

I always found it kind of insulting that if I did something they didn't, it musn't be because I worked so damn hard for it, but because I was born lucky. They never assume that math was always my weak spot in school, and that I chose a mathy grad program *because* it would be difficult and stimulating and actually provide me with fulfilling challenges.

Nowadays my answer's usually just a simple "Yes." I'm sick of bearing the work of all the conversation awkwardness 'cause of their own damn retarded responses.

[RollingHead]

Tuesday night someone asked me a serious question about my physics course... I think I'm in love

[PerchloricAcid]

Pretty much nothing new.
I'm getting a major in physics and often hear stuff such as:
- "Whoaaa, smaaaart!"
- "Why'd ya pick that? Ya'll study day&night!"
- "Is it true they're gonna make a black hole in CERN?" (this is a bit outdated, but you get the point)
- "Oh, that's the one subject I was never good at in school."
- "My uncle was a physicist and he went crazy."
- "Wow, you're my hero!"
- "How come; I mean, no one in your family was a physicist?" (I have lawyers in my family)
Etc...

Of course, I get a "normal" answer from time to time, but those aren't interesting

[Kick]

I'm majoring in Security and Risk Analysis with a focus on Information and Cyber Security. Now, that's a mouth full, so whenever I'm asked, I usually respond with either:
Computer Security
or
Security and Risk Analysis ... (pause) ... think of it as computer security

Quite often, people just respond with the generic "Oh cool" *changes conversation to sports, then changes to something else after they realize I don't follow sports* but when the conversation goes any further it usually involves them asking which government agency I'd work for, specifically the CIA or FBI. I usually just agree and say that I would probably enjoy a job at the CIA some day.

That's now, back in High School it was...different. When asked, I replied back "Security and Risk Analysis" (because I was still really enthused about the prospect of going to college for something I genuinely find fascinating). The most common response was "Oh cool, so like a cop or something?" To which I would respond, "no..." and before I could mention anything about it being computer security they seemed to always jump in with "Oh, so like a security guard or something?"

Gosh that was frustrating, although people did seem interested (if only slightly) after I explained what it was.

[delibelly]

When I tell people I'm a PharmD major(I don't know if it's really a major, I'm in a guaranteed 0+6 program that goes right to doctorate), I usually get something like "Oh, you're gonna be making a lot of money, huh?" OR "Future drug dealer of America! HIGHFIVE!"

[pensive bosom]

Philosophy. I've never personally encountered any of the predictable bad reactions. Most people seem interested.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Everytime I say I study journalism people think I wanna be on TV.
Nothing further from the truth T_T

[jmorgan3]

Everytime I say I study journalism people think I wanna be on TV.
Nothing further from the truth T_T

So you want to write for a website?

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Everytime I say I study journalism people think I wanna be on TV.
Nothing further from the truth T_T

So you want to write for a website?

Well, yes. I also wanna work at double fine as a bunny.

[Oflick]

People: So what are you doing with yourself these days?
Me: I'm studying law.
People: Really? I always thought you were an idiot.

Not always those words, but this is the general reaction.

[Mad-Slick]

Me: I'm a math major.
Other: .... why? Do you want to be a teacher?
Me: No. I just enjoy listening to the ignorant responses I get from people when I tell them I study math.

[PerchloricAcid]

Yeah, I also got the "so, future teacher, huh?" kind of response several times. when I try to explain that I'm interested in an academic career (research), I get the impression that they don't even understand

[Spambot5546]

I had never heard that before last night. It was especially bizarre because I told her I was majoring in Computer Science and Math.

[Whizzkid1024]

When I told a family member I'm gonna study for agricultural engineer, he wondered if we could start a weed plantation ^^ other reactions are 'ah, you're just gonna be a better educated farmer', I've got to say, the first reaction is the most common one

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

That's like how people ask all the time if I'm going to emulate Breaking Bad because I study chemistry. Although that was one of the reasons I decided on chemistry,

1. I prefer inorganic and physical chemistry or organic and biochem
2. I wouldn't sell meth; I'd've done research into new pharmaceuticals (psychedelics, presumably) not yet banned. (or just make LSD for my friends)

[nehpest]

True fact: people love them some drugs.

[Puppyclaws]

Combined sociology/psychology major, with a concentration in organizational behavior (aka courses from the college of management).

Them: "So, you're going to be a counselor?"
Me: "Dear God I hope not."

Not that I don't understand that a lot of people perceive sociology and psychology students to be on the path towards counseling, but when you hear it over and over and over....