Academic Major
- Thread starter Craig
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2008
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- 809
Whenever you decide what major you would like to declare, you pick up your folder from you academic advisor, take it to the department you are declaring, tell them you would like to declare x major, they will assign you a new advisor who will set up your new schedule and get you going.
There is a majors night early fall semester and again early spring semester where every major has faculty and cadets to talk to about the major.
You have to declare by October, 3* year.
There is a majors night early fall semester and again early spring semester where every major has faculty and cadets to talk to about the major.
You have to declare by October, 3* year.
The majors nights are informative but ultimately sales pitches by the academic departments. Still, there's a lot of good info there. Just don't major in something because a department puts out good cookies, has nice project demonstrations, or disses other majors as "not accredited;" majors accreditation is mainly relevant to a narrow range of engineering programs.
If your career path will be science, tech, or engineering, then obviously your choice of majors is limited and your major will be more or less an entry level requirement. For almost all other career paths, the academic major is a vastly overrated and it may be more important to come out well-rounded AND CAPABLE OF WRITING WELL. The master's degree today is really the entry-level degree for career building outside the AF--that's where the tough choice about a particular major could be critically important. There are general officers with sensational career paths with undergraduate music, English, and humanities majors. They were successful in large part because their undergraduate education provided them with a solid foundation for success--not because of the label attached to their major. Best advice for those who won't be going directly into science/tech/engineering out of the shoot: follow your passion.
If your career path will be science, tech, or engineering, then obviously your choice of majors is limited and your major will be more or less an entry level requirement. For almost all other career paths, the academic major is a vastly overrated and it may be more important to come out well-rounded AND CAPABLE OF WRITING WELL. The master's degree today is really the entry-level degree for career building outside the AF--that's where the tough choice about a particular major could be critically important. There are general officers with sensational career paths with undergraduate music, English, and humanities majors. They were successful in large part because their undergraduate education provided them with a solid foundation for success--not because of the label attached to their major. Best advice for those who won't be going directly into science/tech/engineering out of the shoot: follow your passion.
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Is your career selection based solely on your class rank? I assume class rank is based on some mixed of grades, PFT, military??
Thanks for all the input. I work with the Scouts as an adult leader and answer questions about college options/careers. I'm somewhat familar with NROTC having gone that route many moons ago. Getting up to date on current game rules. Been getting various questions about the academies lately.
Thanks for all the input. I work with the Scouts as an adult leader and answer questions about college options/careers. I'm somewhat familar with NROTC having gone that route many moons ago. Getting up to date on current game rules. Been getting various questions about the academies lately.
- Joined
- May 5, 2007
- Messages
- 294
Not entirely. Each cadet puts together a package of information that goes to a board who determines jobs. The initial rack-and-stack is by class rank, but then the exact numbers are moved based upon achievements, involvement, etc. These new ranks are then compared to what AFSCs (Air Force Specialty Codes, or jobs) are available, cadets preferences, and what their major was. There is an optimization factor to get the most people what they want, but ultimately it comes down to what the Air Force needs. Major can come into play because certain AFSCs require certain backgrounds (ie, 62s [engineers] need to have an engineering undergrad, Scientific Analysists are almost all OR majors, etc)