
Ask HN: How did you realize your ambitions? - mrfregg
Like many of you, I have multiple interests and now have to decide on what to pursue for college . What advice would you give and how did you realize your ambitions?
======
RUG3Y
I've taken the long path. I'm in my 30's and I'm finally figuring out what I
want to be when I grow up. My advice is to try lots of things, keep an open
mind, and try to enjoy life. It's a silly sounding cliche but life really is
about the journey and not the destination.

------
nicholas73
Looking back, I don't know if I can tell my former college self what the real
world is like. But, I can easily pinpoint out what isn't going to work.

If you aren't getting an A in that subject, that isn't going to work out for
you. An A can be literally be a grade in a course, or how relatively well you
think you did in some other non-trivial project.

It's not just that it's a competitive world out there. If you didn't do A
work, there is a strong chance that your interests don't line up and never
will. Your ambitions likely will only be realized what you have all the odds
in your favor.

Look at your track record and see where you have done well in the past.

------
duiker101
"what do I like doing?" -> "what is the most I can achieve doing that while
keep doing what I want?" -> do it

Important to remember that the answers can change as we grow up and learn new
things or situations change. Just because something made you happy yesterday
it doesn't mean it will make you happy if suddenly the rest of the world
around you shifted. It's a constant pursuit of happiness for me and adapting
to new circumstances is key.

------
poletopole
I would suggest just taking classes you're interested in your first year of
college to find the intersection of what you excel in and what you're
interested in doing. The downside is you lose a year, but at least there's
less of a chance of choosing the wrong career.

------
NumberCruncher
Read "Mastery" by Robert Green. You will find the answer to your question.

~~~
mrfregg
I'll give it a shot :)

------
mindcrime
What advice would I give? I'll offer up a bit that runs counter to the current
trend of denigrating maths education:

0\. You can't take enough maths and stats classes.

I'll posit this is true regardless of your major.

Beyond that, I'd offer up this:

1\. Major in something that has some relatively clear path to a sustainable
career, as opposed to something where it's very unclear how you would build a
career, or where opportunities are few. In other words, given a choice between
Computer Science, and Medieval Art History, go with Computer Science.

2\. If you do major in something like Theater, or Medieval Art History or
Womens Studies, consider at least doing a minor in something a little more
practical like Business or something.

3\. I'd put a lot of value on taking at least a few classes in the fields of
Psychology, Economics and History, even if you don't major in either of those
things. Study World History just to get an overview of what has gone on in the
world up till today. I'll help give a better appreciation for where we are,
how we got here, and - possibly - where things will go in the future.

4\. If I were starting school today, I'd probably major in either Computer
Science, Mathematics, or Statistics/Operations Research, or _maybe_ Economics.
And I'd take extra Maths or Stats classes as electives (see (0) above).

5\. Even if you don't major in CS, learn some basic programming (not "Basic"
the language mind you).

6\. If you don't major in Stats, at least take Statistics 101.

7\. Join clubs, fraternities, whatever kinds of organizations are out there to
make connections with people. Everybody talks about how the real benefit of
going to, say, Harvard or MIT, is the connections you make... but that's true
pretty much no matter where you go. Build connections with people. When you
finish school, participate with whatever kind of alumni association your
school has and keep in touch with people.

8\. Don't ignore community colleges, either to knock out certain classes for a
lot less money, or as a way to pick up an extra class here and there (even
after your graduate with a Bachelors or whatever).

9\. Don't ignore MOOC's and online education. A lot of it doesn't count for
academic credit (but there are some that do, so pay attention), but as a way
to complement your education with some specific skills and what-not, there's a
lot of good stuff out there.

10\. There's also non-MOOC online education... things like Pluralsite,
Egghead.io, LinuxAcademy.com, Lynda.com, etc. that can be useful for picking
up specific skills and certifications and what-not.

11\. Don't sweat it all too much. Most mistakes you make when you're young can
be recovered from. You still want to have fun in college, just don't party
non-stop until you flunk out, if you can help it. Yes, you can recover from
mistakes (like flunking out) but what put yourself behind the 8 ball
needlessly?

