Expert: Sue Kayton - 6/27/2011

Question
Dear Sue Kayton

Hei. My name is Jeffrey Cheong from a little country called Malaysia (if you haven't heard of it before, it is a little country above Singapore). I am currently studying Cambridge A-Level Science Major (Biology, Chemistry, Physics & Mathematics) and in my final semester. Everybody advises me to start looking up for both local and abroad universities but my main problem is that i couldn't decide on what to major in. i have a few ideas but it become so difficult for me to balance out between interest, capabilities and future prospects. here are among the list of major i have ever considered:

- psychology: i really enjoy listening to other people's problem and enjoy even more helping to solve their personal matters and some of my peers actually turn to me for personal advises but i am not very sure the job prospect of psychology as in Malaysia, the idea of seeing a psychologist is still not openly accepted

- statistics: out of all the subjects in my a-level, i am best in statistics (under mathematics) so i thought of majoring in it. but what exactly are the job prospect of a person major in statistics? teaching?

- film: i am an avid writer and i think among my true passion is writing and film producing but once again, the film industry in Malaysia is still at a very slow pace more over, i also sincerely believe one doesn't really need a degree in film to be good at it. plus, my friends and family that my results are over qualified for this industry as i should do something for professional.

- pharmacy: my parents have been hinting me to do this as it has the best job prospect of all i have ever considered. but my chemistry results are only slightly above average. i am afraid if i do take up pharmacy, i wouldn't do so well in university and have to drop out. my parent are not the 'well-to-do' kind of family so i really do not want to burden them financially anymore and along with my average results, i really doubt i will get any good scholarships.

- veterinarian science: another major my parents hinted me to do as i like biology and animals. but same as pharmacy, my results in biology and physics are only average.

- genetics: out all the biology module, aside from ecology and biodiversity, i really love genetics. i find it easy but my lecturer said that the genetics we are learning in A-Level is only very brief and that university standard will be way more difficult. my aunt who is also a genetics advises me not to take it as well as she said job placement for genetics are very limited in society unless i study till PhD and be a lecturer.

- economical statistics: a lecturer advises me to take on this as i am good at statistics but i had never tasted economics and dared not choose is my future path with absolutely zero background in it. besides, during interviews for application, i was told that they would ask questions regarding the course we plan to take. if they ask me about economics, i probably wouldn't be able to answer a thing.

sorry if you are yawning over this letter but i really hope you can advise me on how to choose my future major. i only have half a year more till the end of my A-Level and i haven't even complete my UCAS and Common App forms to study abroad.

Your advises will be deeply appreciated

Thank you in advance

Jeffrey

Answer
Here are some idea for careers you may not have considered.

1)  marketing.  This combines psychology, statistics, and business

2)  advertising.  This combines psychology, statistics, business, and often film.

3)  marketing or advertisting biological, biotech, or medicines.  Combines all of the above, plus genetics of biology

4)  bioethics or genetic counseling

5)  social work or sociology.  Don't know about Malaysia, but in the US you can't get a job in psychology without a PhD.  Social work / sociology is similar material, but you can get a job with just a bachelor's degree.  Read the Wikipedia article on social work, or google it to get an idea of what people do with this major.  There is a wide variety, ranging from helping senior citizens, to helping orphaned children, to studying trends in a population.

6)  Gathering and interpreting medical statistics.  

7)  Technical writing

you said that your family is not well-to-do.  studying abroad is very, very expensive.  Yes, they give scholarships, but it's never enough.  You may need to work for a year or two before going to university to save up money.  Working will also help you decide what to major in.  My advice is to apply to university, and then after you are accepted, ask for a delayed admission so you can work and save up some money.  

My daughter recently graduated from a university in California, USA with a bachelor's degree in psychology.  She was not able to find a job in psychology.  She did, however, find a job as an office administrator in a small company.  It's not what she studied in school, but she finds the work interesting.

Good luck!