STEM majors

[niaV]

Is anyone else here majoring in a STEM subject? I'm in my third year and have decided on Computational Linguistics, a switch from Computer Engineering my first year, which I had no real motivation for and only chose because it sounded a lot better than being "undecided". Not only is it in an area I have a natural talent for, but also interest, and I hate to say it, but a lot easier than my previous, so I'll be out of school sooner and with *slightly* less headaches: I still have to take several Calculus and CS courses, so not too bad.

Now I'm trying to decide what I should compliment my major with. A foreign language, Psychology, Mathematics, and Business have all been considered. I'd like to work with databases or teach ESL to adults, and freelance translate on the side; I'd like to gain a near-native fluency in Spanish, French, and Arabic in the next five years.

There haven't been too many Chicanos here with STEM majors. The few ones I knew were enrolled in Biology, Chemical Eng, and Nursing programs, but the majority seem to be going for Humanities or vocational training. That's out of the ones who plan and do finish school and aren't wasting time partying and skipping class.

[_aztec_princess_]

I am not majoring in a STEM major, I am doing social work and psychology aka the humanities.

However, all of my roommates are STEM majors, one will be attending med school in the fall, the other is an engineering major (i always forget what kind of engineering) and my other roommate is doing computational biology with a minor in Spanish, they are all Hispanic (the prefer that term to Chicano) by the way.

[Tlanelolli]

STEM majors always looking down on everybody else, I hear STEM is overhyped

[_aztec_princess_]

I do feel like they do look down on everyone else... agreed.

[niaV]

I know of three engineering majors, one in nursing, and another in math, and I'm sure I'd know more if I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit and got to know others on campus.

One is Mexican-American, majoring in Electrical Engineering.
Another Mexican-American, majoring in Chemical Engineering.
The last is a Colombian-American and the husband of my half-sister, Mechanical Engineering.

The nursing student is a Honduran-American and the math major is Mexican, who also tutors subjects up to Differential Equations. One of the 'go to' guys for those struggling in advanced mathematics.

Then I had a church youth leader who majored in, and is now teaching, Biology at a nearby middle school.

Though, it's hard to say what will happen in the future, since STEM majors traditionally have high turnover and dropout rates. Each of the engineering majors seemed passionate and determined for their degrees, so I'm not too worried, although my nursing majoring friend was struggling a bit and not sure if she'd make it into nursing school due to her GPA not being up to par.

In other news: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2...ieto-engineers

STEM isn't for me, but I have a new found respect for those who do decide to go that route. Trigonometry alone nearly killed me.