Parents of STEM kids- how to pick the major?
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Anonymous
| I have a sophomore that's been obsessed with all things science since he was a toddler. However "science" is broad and he doesn't know what area is his favorite, partly because he doesn't know what careers in microbiology, bioengineering, nueroscience, ecology, etc. actually mean. Are there any books, websites, videos or other resources that helped your STEM kid narrow down what they wanted their major to be? Any STEM summer camps for high schoolers that give them exposure to different areas? Thanks! |
Anonymous
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This site is a quick way to get an idea about different careers. We used this for my arts interested kid to start think about careers and majors, and then look at schools that had many options.
https://roadtripnation.com/roadmap |
Anonymous
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What are your kids favorite classes? Favorite assignments? Hobbies?
What would they read about if they had 12 hrs of nothing and were forced to “learn” something - anything. What would it be? |
Anonymous
| At most schools, what they put down on the common app isn't binding. The most important decision is engineering or pure science (such as would be taught in a school of arts and sciences). Then they have some time to explore. |
Anonymous
Obsessed with evolution, ornithology, Natural History Museum, Zoo, Aquariums- unfortunately I don't think there are many jobs that pay a living wage in these fields. Really liked his biology class, geology and architecture electives have been good as well. Likes building robotics but doesn't like the computer programming part. |
Anonymous
I wouldn't be worried about identifying a career path right now. Identifying an area of interest is good enough, and it sounds like he has done that! |
Anonymous
| Eventually Op, many decide: health/medical or more engineering of some kind. Chemistry may decide it. Liking physics may decide it. Only in HS Junior Yr did I feel a different university choice might be made depending on which path was more likely. |
Anonymous
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I agree with PPs that high schoolers have plenty of time to decide on a major. During my college orientation (back in the dark ages), I remember a speaker telling us that most were undecided, and even those who thought they were certain of their major, would most likely change it along the way.
Let him see how his courses go, and he can explore further along the way. Youtube has college lectures, science podcasts, demonstrations of experiments, footage ranging from deep space to deep sea and everything in-between. Government agencies, museums, publications/media channels, academic organizations, etc. have websites and/or Youtube channels. Here are some resources that he might find helpful: Hoagies has links for enrichment for all ages and subjects. https://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm MOOCs - Massive Online Open Courses are actual courses, from some highly respected universities, that can be accessed for free. While most don’t offer credit, some may offer credit for a fee. https://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/slideshows/10-things-to-know-about-moocs-in-online-education?onepage Crash Course and Study Hall offer video classes on various subjects. https://m.youtube.com/@studyhall/featured https://m.youtube.com/@crashcourse/playlists Feynman lectures on physics: https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=feynman+lectures |