A Major Dilemma

From an early age I have wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. He has a good house, an okay job, and a versatile set of skills that lets him help many people in not only our extended family, but the state of Michigan as well. Some of those skills I have no hope in acquiring – such as mechanics, carpentry and, electrical wiring. However, I have picked up on his love for numbers as well as an aptitude for computers. If you were to ask me what my major is I would end up mumbling something like, “Accounting or Computer Sciences I guess.” While this may satisfy the answer, I am left feeling indecisive and unsure about my future. So my major question is, “Which should I major in: Accounting, Computer Sciences or both?” I chose Accounting because it is my father’s primary job since he audits many districts within both Upper and Lower Michigan and files taxes for much of the Tri-Valley Area. This is a dilemma in itself since I’m not sure if it’s truly what I want or what my father has molded me to be. Out of the two Computer Sciences is the one that will keep me perpetually interested. However, I don’t know which branch of computer sciences I am best suited for or will enjoy the most as a job.

My mother and I were sitting on the couch one day after coming home from work and college. Many people have mistaken us as sisters instead of mother and daughter; although she dyes her hair a light blond, while mine was a darker, dirty blond. Back then my hair was longer, cutting off at the shoulders, while hers was the same as it is now, short and fluffed on top. Anyway, I was worrying about my reasons for choosing my major, so I asked her, “I really can’t decide what I want to go into. Should I stay with Accounting, or switch to Web Design?” She amazed me by replying with, “Why don’t you do both? It would bring you better job security.” Of all the states in America, Michigan is the worst for job security so when I heard those two words preceded by “better” it caught my full attention. I knew right away that this would cost much more money than one major or even the traditional major and minor route would, yet I was enticed by the prospect (Kushion).

When I saw my counselor a few days later I brought the idea of it up and she was willing to write down some courses I could choose from for Fall Semester. Among them were basic courses I had yet to take as well as a list of Computer Science Technology classes to start with. From that list were the Windows Foundations, HTML, ecommerce, UNIX/LINIX, Network Essentials, Computer Programming I, and Visual BASIC Programming I classes. When I checked the online registrar I was able to cross off the ecommerce and Network Essentials classes because they weren’t offered in the Fall Semester. I knew that the Windows Foundations class would be very easy, but I couldn’t take the HTML one without taking the former first so now I was down to four. I didn’t want to take any classes dealing with Visual BASIC since my computers professor had hinted that it wouldn’t be offered in later years and would become outdated. I’m still not sure if that is true.

Since I’m not one to work at home because of distractions, I put off scheduling my Fall Semester classes. When Spring Session rolled around I had completely forgotten about scheduling for the fall and was quite busy with my college work. However, the first question that came to mind when I realized we were to write this paper was related to my college choices. As soon as I got the assignment, I went to the online databases and looked up what the media had to say about dual majoring. While looking I found that the starting salaries for Accounting and Computer Services Bachelor’s degrees were reasonably high ($40,993 and $46,275 respectively). They were not the highest on the chart (Engineering holding an average of $49,528), but they were higher than the lowest (Teaching at $33,000) by a fair margin (Cox, Matthews & Associates). This eased my mind a bit about how much I could potentially earn in the careers I want to go into.

I also found that, for the class of 2005, employers for accounting jobs came in second with employers of computer jobs coming in fourth. This is illustrated by these statistics: 3,000 employers for Marketing, 2,955 for Accounting, 1,000 for Management, and 700 each for Computer Sciences and Computer Engineering. Below that chart was another about the majors in demand. In said chart, Accounting took the lead with 9,375 followed by Marketing with 4,070, Management with 3,500, and Computer Science with 2,922 (iMinorities). I thought upon the significance of those numbers and came to the conclusion that the demand for Accounting was impressive and that Computer Sciences have more than likely raised in demand by now.

In another article I found in the database it discussed the pros and cons of a specific major verses a general one. In the words of Julia Barlow Sherlock, CMU career services director: “If you want to be an accountant, you need to major in accounting in order to acquire the necessary experience and skills.” I plan to do so since Accounting is the only business-related major I am interested in. Another quote I found in the article was by Scarlet Edwards, a WTCC counselor, in which he stated: “We tend to think that selecting a college major is the same as selecting a career. For most careers, however, there are several pathways or majors that can lead a student to a particular career.” This is true of the computer science career since I don’t have one part if it that I like in particular. Instead, I like the career field as a whole and wish to use it for more flexibility in a job. As a whole, this article helped set my mind at ease as to my choices in majors since one is specific and the other is general (Ezarik).

Wondering how many jobs there are in Michigan that is accounting and computers related, I went to Monster.com and looked for jobs in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. I found 1466 results from 20 occupations both Accounting and Computer related. Of those jobs 57 were in the Flint/Saginaw area, which is closest to where I live right now. All of these jobs need experience and some sort of degree before they will hire someone which I hope to have by the time I earn my bachelors. However, from the experience of my brother and his friend it is hard to find a job to get said experience. They have filled out about 50 job applications and have got none of them back. Furthermore, when they applied at the local McDonalds their applications went directly into the trash because the employees didn’t like them personally. I’m hoping to avoid this by having a degree to back up my applications, but this will mean that I won’t get a job until I get my first degree.

In conclusion, this search has helped to reinforce my choices in major. The greatest help in this search was the trasfer program lists I found at the Delta webpage and monster.com. I have decided that I will stick with double majoring and if I must, get an early job and scholarships to pay for it.

Works Cited

“SVSU Computer Sciences Transfer Program” Delta College. 18 April 2008. 11 June 2008.

Cox, Matthews & Associates. "Average starting salaries and ranges for selected majors by degree level, 2006-2007." Diverse Issues in Higher Education 24.20 (2007): 46(1). General OneFile database. Gale. Delta College Library. 21 May 2008.

Ezarik, Melissa M. "A major decision: should your choice of college major cover it all or be as specific as your goals?" Career World, a Weekly Reader publication 2007, April-May ed.: 20(5). General OneFile database. Gale. Delta College Library. 21 May 2008.

iMinorities, Inc. "The top 100 employers and the majors in demand for the class of 2005." The Black Collegian Feb 2005: 10(9). General OneFile database. Gale. Delta College Library. 21 May 2008

Kushion, Sally Lee. Personal Interview Heather Marie Kushion. 10 April 2008.

Monster. June 11, 2006 Monster Worldwide, Inc. 9 June 2008 <http://www.monster.com>.

Pritchard, Robert E, Gregory C Potter and Michael S Saccucci. "The selection of a business major: elements influencing student choice and implications for outcomes assessment." Journal of Education for Business 79.3 (2004): 152(5). General OneFile database. Gale. Delta College Library. 22 May 2008.

“SVSU Pre-Business Transfer Program” Delta College. 18 April 2008. 11 June 2008.