I'm trying to get some sort of degree in English/writing mainly so I can get my foot in the door (of pretty much anything ATM) and to improve my chances of not having to wash dishes for a living ever again. Now, I always complained through school about why I should have to take Math classes when I was originally going for a Music major and had thoughts about English. Why would I need to know how to solve simple algebra like 4x+7y=10? My principal even gave the classic excuse, "so when you're building a deck..." If I'm going to build a deck, I'll hire some people to do it, that is how our economy works. In college, why do I need to know the Y-intercept of an equation and graph it if I know I'm not good at Math and I'm focusing on English?
One of life's greatest challenges is to understand what you are good at and what you are not. I'm semi-color blind (classic red & green or whatever), so having me choose the paint color of ANYTHING is a bad idea. I'm not good at Math and never have been, so why force it down my throat when it only causes me stress?
I think I figured out why:
It's so that the school can keep you enrolled for longer and gain more $$$. Even Math majors have to take English comp. which I'm sure to some people is much like my "Math". By keeping you at the school longer and forcing you to study subjects you know are unimportant to you, doubt starts to settle in. People change their majors many times because of doubt or "second-thought" and stay in school longer, thus causing you to pay more money.
But all-in-all, modern schooling in America is FUBAR. Something really needs to change.
If you really want to cut out the middle man known as post-secondary education, then you don't even need a degree in English to write for a living. However you may likely need to work ten times as hard as an English major just to get noticed.
But I digress. While I agree that colleges and universities are relative money sinks, I don't think there is anything wrong with a well rounded education. Electives, for me, have given me a better idea as to what I want to do for the rest of my life. Regardless, I wouldn't want to pay for a decade in education.
Also, is that Math course necessary to graduate? Is it possible to take an easier course of the same year?
The Math course I'm taking now is equvilent to Junior/Senior Math from HS. Can't get much easier and I need to take another 3 after this just to "catch up" to college lvl.
I just finished my undergraduate degree, for me, looking back, some of the required classes that i took that had nothing to do with my major felt like high school courses all over again. I took a math class, that was like 10th grade math, which is pathetic in my own humble opinion.
I agree with salty soil, that in alot of respects, there is nothing wrong with learning about other subjects that may not be your focus, but maybe cutting back on the wide variety of required core classes, and more ability to pick and choose what you want to study outside of your major.
I'm getting ready to go back and get my masters, and i have to say im a bit nervous, because the school work is going to be much tougher, but we'll see.
I'm currently studying Journalism, mostly to get my technique down pat. I really want to write short stories/novels for a living, and video games as well. In the meantime, just do something, even if it's studying, where you can polish your technique. I can't say it will work, but it will give you some sort of progress, and when people ask you what you're doing, you can just say "studying journalism" which, in Australia at least, still has some degree of respectability.
I graduated with a BS in literature last year (a fancy sounding degree for the all-encompassing "English major"), so I understand the hatred for math. Two Ds in calculus nearly made me lose my scholarships.
"One of life's greatest challenges is to understand what you are good at and what you are not."
This is so true, and is what made me switch majors from computer science. I realized that in CS I hated the people around me and had to work twice as hard to get shitty grades. Writing and editing just came far more naturally for me. Although there would surely be more money in following CS, I didn't want to be miserable for the rest of my life.
With that said, being well-rounded is certainly a good thing. Studying the humanities allowed me to take a wide variety of courses, so I could find what actually interested me. With the more rigid majors like CS and engineering, their entire world is consumed by one thing. Just generalizing here, but from what I've seen it's true for the most part.
I now work at the university from which I graduated, so I'm under no illusions about the business aspect of things. But I wouldn't be so cynical about them wanting to screw you over on purpose in order to wring more money out of you. The vast majority of people in academia who I've encountered are in it for the right reasons.
So anyway, to wrap up this rant, if you want to be a professional writer, build a strong foundation on the fundamentals of grammar and style and hone your craft through constant writing and editing. Keep looking for places to get published - anywhere, really, to start off - to build up your resume and be persistent about it, and your voice will develop through your writing.
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about me
I live in a fairly small town in Oregon which makes being a part of the larger gaming community a little difficult (thank you Destructoid!). The nearest EB Games/Gamestop is about 35 minutes away in the next town. I'm 24 and have come and gone through several colleges, but none of them ever seemed to work for me. Currently I'm going to a Community College to brush up on some of the basics and hopefully get some type of career in the gaming field.
My very first memory is of playing Mario and Duck Hunt (separate cartridges) on the NES back in 1987 or so. My dad bought us a NES before we even had a VCR, so gaming has always been a part of my life. I'm open to playing any type of game as long as it can hold my interest.
Current Games Being Played:
Team Fortress 2
Rock Band 2
I also love music. My original major was going to be in music until I found out that Music Theory = Sucking the soul out of music. My favorite musician is Frank Zappa. Everything else is second compared to Frank. I know how to play several different instruments but my favorite is an Electric Bass.
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
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If you really want to cut out the middle man known as post-secondary education, then you don't even need a degree in English to write for a living. However you may likely need to work ten times as hard as an English major just to get noticed.
But I digress. While I agree that colleges and universities are relative money sinks, I don't think there is anything wrong with a well rounded education. Electives, for me, have given me a better idea as to what I want to do for the rest of my life. Regardless, I wouldn't want to pay for a decade in education.
Also, is that Math course necessary to graduate? Is it possible to take an easier course of the same year?
The Math course I'm taking now is equvilent to Junior/Senior Math from HS. Can't get much easier and I need to take another 3 after this just to "catch up" to college lvl.
I just finished my undergraduate degree, for me, looking back, some of the required classes that i took that had nothing to do with my major felt like high school courses all over again. I took a math class, that was like 10th grade math, which is pathetic in my own humble opinion.
I agree with salty soil, that in alot of respects, there is nothing wrong with learning about other subjects that may not be your focus, but maybe cutting back on the wide variety of required core classes, and more ability to pick and choose what you want to study outside of your major.
I'm getting ready to go back and get my masters, and i have to say im a bit nervous, because the school work is going to be much tougher, but we'll see.
sorry to digress, but goodluck with writing
I'm currently studying Journalism, mostly to get my technique down pat. I really want to write short stories/novels for a living, and video games as well. In the meantime, just do something, even if it's studying, where you can polish your technique. I can't say it will work, but it will give you some sort of progress, and when people ask you what you're doing, you can just say "studying journalism" which, in Australia at least, still has some degree of respectability.
I graduated with a BS in literature last year (a fancy sounding degree for the all-encompassing "English major"), so I understand the hatred for math. Two Ds in calculus nearly made me lose my scholarships.
"One of life's greatest challenges is to understand what you are good at and what you are not."
This is so true, and is what made me switch majors from computer science. I realized that in CS I hated the people around me and had to work twice as hard to get shitty grades. Writing and editing just came far more naturally for me. Although there would surely be more money in following CS, I didn't want to be miserable for the rest of my life.
With that said, being well-rounded is certainly a good thing. Studying the humanities allowed me to take a wide variety of courses, so I could find what actually interested me. With the more rigid majors like CS and engineering, their entire world is consumed by one thing. Just generalizing here, but from what I've seen it's true for the most part.
I now work at the university from which I graduated, so I'm under no illusions about the business aspect of things. But I wouldn't be so cynical about them wanting to screw you over on purpose in order to wring more money out of you. The vast majority of people in academia who I've encountered are in it for the right reasons.
So anyway, to wrap up this rant, if you want to be a professional writer, build a strong foundation on the fundamentals of grammar and style and hone your craft through constant writing and editing. Keep looking for places to get published - anywhere, really, to start off - to build up your resume and be persistent about it, and your voice will develop through your writing.
I hope this helps. Take it easy.
Longest comment ever.