Well I never finished a degree program, I had 5 majors, and I have worked many different jobs. Some I made good money at, some hardly any, but I liked what I did. For the last 13 years I operated my own Kitchen & Bath remodeling business, health caused me to get out of it. I was a Cheif Engineer for several hotels, this had me doing annual budgets of a million plus dollars for day to day operations and capital improvements, and acting as project manager for renovation projects up to $2.5M. I had to have the skills to hire and fire people, acting as my own personel director for my department.
I've worked just about everything from a dishwasher/busboy to Projectionist at a theater, to commercial fishing (2 years and really enjoyed it) from Cape Canaveral FL to Cape Hatteras NC.
I am currently back to being a student, still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Taking math and computer classes right now.
If I were to type every job and business I've been in since before I graduated High School, I'd have 5 or 6 pages single spaced just for work experience, so I only list the last 3, plus my legitimate businesses.

BTW I'm 55.

 

Before I give you my two cents, I'll tell you about my situation and how everything ended up.

All I ever wanted to do was fly jets in the military. I eat, breath, and sleep anything related to aviation. Well, to fly, you have to be a commissioned officer, which means you have to have a bachelor's degree. So I rushed through college as fast as I possibly could and graduated in three years with a degree in Criminal Justice. I chose this major because it sounded easy and kind of intersting, and the local university was noted for having a good CJ program.

To make a long story short, I never was able to fly in the military because it was discovered I have a red/green color vision deficiency in my eyes. Who would have guessed? But there's no fooling all those eye tests they give you.

Shortly after that happened, I had to evaluate my situation and began testing with different federal law enforcement agencies and, at the age of 22, was hired by what was then the Department of Justice (now Department of Homeland Security). I've been with them almost nine years now.

Here's the problem. I like my work - the pay, benefits and retirement aren't bad, plus there's a sense of security too. I'm not worried about being laid off. But I absolutely detest where I have to live, and I am at the government's mercy for this to change in the form of a transfer. Unfortunately, at this point with nine years under my belt, I feel I have too much invested in all this to resign and move somewhere else and start over.

That being said, here's my advice:

DO NOT major in something like business, political science, history, etc. - these degrees are too general in nature and will probably only qualify you for jobs that require any kind of degree - like many government/civil service jobs.

I think it is far better to study something that directly relates to your intended profession - pharmacology, optometry, certified public accountant, computer programming, etc. Sure, these degrees can also qualify you for flying in the military or working in civil service, but if that doesn't work out, you have something you can also use in the private sector. Had I studied accounting or pharmacology, I could resign right now and move to any city I wanted to live in and most likely find a job. To me, that is worth its weight in gold.

So, I guess what I'm saying is study something which will qualify you to work in a specific type of profession where you most likely will be able to live wherever you want. I think when people are younger and in school, they never really give much thought to where their intended profession might require them to live. That is something you should definitely think about.

Again, just my two cents...

 

I flew the F4C Phantom in the AF. Most fun I've ever had in my life. This seems to be drifting toward what have I done, not what should you do. I have an MBA in Finance and an MS in Urban Land Economics from USC. I have owned an environmental services company for 16 years. I sold another one to a major engineering firm. I'm running a business and doing science with an on-the-job training background. Life has many twists and turns. There's a good chance that, like me, you'll end up in a job far away from your training and original goals. Go for what looks good to you at the time, get good grades, and enter the real world with an open eyes and the ability to make huge changes in your life downstream. Most importantly, end up in a place where you are having fun. Life is too short. I get up every morning and look forward to going to work. There shouldn't be any other way. I make a lot of money, but enjoying what I do is more important. I know that sounds like BS, but it's not.

 

Make as much money as fast as you can!

If you set out on a carer that you "like" you'll reach 50 years old and wonder how the hell you'll ever retire!

Retire FIRST, then do what you like.