As Frank Drebin so wisely reminds us in Naked Gun: You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan. Exactly how risky is it to stick your head in a fan, though? For that matter, how can a corporation determine the financial risks of manufacturing shoes in China? How does an insurance company know how much to charge automobile owners for collision insurance? Do people really keep tabs on such things? Of course they do. These risk evaluators are called actuaries, and they spend their days calculating the costs to assume all different kinds of risks. More precisely, Actuarial Science is the mathematical and statistical underpinning of every kind of insurance on earth – health insurance, life insurance, property insurance, pension plans, you name it. There really aren’t that many people in the actuarial profession – less than 20,000 in North America – but they make good money their entire careers (most end up in upper management and executive positions) and they like what they do; actuaries consistently give their line of work stellar job satisfaction ratings. If you major in Actuarial Science, you’ll become something of a Zen Master in statistics and, upon graduation, you will likely take a job in the insurance industry. You should note that actuaries only achieve professional status by passing a series of hairy examinations prescribed by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) or Society of Actuaries (SOA). Examinations are held twice each year, in the spring and fall.

Preparation

Actuarial work involves lots of math. Take every available math course in your high school, particularly the ones that are intended to prepare you for the rigors of college math. Actuaries must also be abreast of business issues and trends in social science and economics, so plan accordingly.

We’re certainly not rocket scientists, but you can be one by choosing Aerospace Engineering (or Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, as it’s often called) as your major. Be forewarned, though: it will be rigorous, difficult, and time consuming. Aerospace Engineering is all about flight – airplanes, spacecraft, hovercraft, helicopters, you name it. It includes the study of aerodynamics, aerospace structures, propulsion, flight mechanics and systems, and vehicle design. If you major in Aerospace Engineering, you’ll endure four seriously intense years, but you’ll graduate with a solid understanding of the physical fundamentals underlying atmospheric and space flight and the ability to research, analyze, and design the flying machines of the future.
This knowledge will serve you well. The aerospace industry is the second largest industry in the United States, and it is definitely one of the largest employers of engineers. With a major in Aerospace Engineering, you can expect to land a fairly lucrative job with a big aircraft manufacturer, an airline, or with NASA. You’ll also be qualified to continue your education at the graduate level or to work in any number of non-aerospace (and, for that matter, non-engineering) fields.

Preparation

A strong background in mathematics and physics is absolutely vital if you want to pursue Aerospace Engineering, as is extensive knowledge of computers and computer programming skills. Take A.P. physics and chemistry, and take calculus or the highest-level math class that your high school offers.

Colleges often list a major in African Studies within a broader major of African-American/Afro-American studies. This broader context will provide you the opportunity to look not only at African culture and history, but also the relationship between them and the African-American experience in the United States. Areas of focus within the African Studies major include history, religion, cultural and social issues, literature, and the arts. Given the breadth of African history and African-American culture, there are plenty of areas from which you may choose. Whether it’s women’s issues in contemporary Africa, or the political, economic, and social effects of slavery within the United States, the African Studies major is a wonderful opportunity to explore the connections between Africa and the rest of the world.

Preparation

The best preparation for a major in African Studies is a strong interest and commitment to humanities. English courses, especially those in which discussion of texts is the normal way class is conducted, get you ready for a major that often involves polemic issues. Geography is essential, as there are over 40 countries in Africa, and learning them all has been compared to learning the periodic table of elements

Do you have a head for business and an interest in agriculture? A major in Agricultural Business Management combines the best of both worlds. Agriculture in the 21st century is a complex, multifaceted, and cutting-edge industry, and in order to ensure that the farm products Americans need are grown, manufactured, and distributed effectively, all agricultural businesses need managers to take charge. As an Agricultural Business Management major, you’ll be studying all the fundamentals of business—economics, management, marketing, finance, and others—while learning exactly how these fields apply to the world of agriculture. You’ll apply your business skills to areas like natural resources management, food systems, and biotechnology. You’ll investigate ways to maintain the delicate balance between environmental protection and profitable business. You’ll learn about the processing and distributing of agricultural commodities. You’ll also learn about the newest advances in technology and computer science that have advanced the field of agriculture and made agricultural practices more efficient and convenient. With this major, you’ll get the skills and knowledge you need to be successful in this lively industry.

Preparation

If you’re considering a major in Agricultural Business Management, your best bets for building a good academic foundation are math, biology, chemistry, business, and computer courses. Business classes your high school offers would be perfect. You may also want to get involved in agricultural clubs to see what the agriculture world is all about.

A major in Agricultural Education provides the communication skills, leadership training, and knowledge of technical and agriculture necessary to be certified as a teacher of agricultural education, particularly in high schools and community colleges. You can also find employment in agricultural development, personnel training, and sales positions in various agricultural-related industries.
Agricultural teachers need a broad background in agriculture. As such, expect to take courses in agricultural economics, animal science, entomology, veterinary science, and crop and weed sciences. You can frequently choose among several certification areas including horticulture, agribusiness, natural resource management, and agricultural production.
State teacher certification is based on the recommendations from the departments of education in individual states. Wherever you are, though, it’s a virtual certainty that you’ll participate in student teaching at high schools near campus. Keep in mind, by the way, that you should make your student teaching plans as early as you can.

Preparation

English and history courses are also a very good idea, as are agriculture courses (of course) if your high school offers them. Courses in biology, chemistry, math, and earth science will also serve you well. Courses in speech (and anything else involving public speaking) are good, too.

The history of Agricultural Mechanization is filled with exciting technological advances and complicated social issues. Agriculture, once a harrowing and back-breaking endeavor, has been vastly improved in the past few centuries thanks to inventions such as the tractor, the thresher, and the baler. These inventions—and the sweeping changes in the agricultural field that accompanied them—are generally referred to as Agricultural Mechanization. As a major, Agricultural Mechanization aims to expose you to the technological and mechanical aspects of farming equipment. You’ll study areas such as electric power and processing; construction and maintenance; and water management. You’ll learn the ins and outs of engines, combines, tractors, balers, and other devices. You’ll study building construction, and learn mechanical skills such as welding and drafting. Ultimately, you’ll gain the knowledge you need to design, build, repair, sell, manage, and operate farm equipment. There are many career options open to you as an Agricultural Mechanization major. Many students choose to begin their own business; others embark on careers in service management, product service or testing, or agricultural management. Whatever the case, know that you’re furthering a field that has allowed agriculture to come amazingly far.

Preparation

Your best preparation for a major in Agricultural Mechanization is to take as many advanced-level math and science courses as possible. You’ll be using mathematics in many areas of this field, and the broader your foundation when you get to college, the better. You might also want to investigate agricultural clubs at your school to gain some knowledge about the farming world.

The 1978 film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes opens with a fresh tomato coming to life and rolling toward the lady of the house as she does housework. In subsequent scenes, overgrown tomatoes gurgle, grunt, fly, and fling themselves at moving cars. A bioengineer’s dream come true . . . or his worst nightmare? Hard to say. But if you pursue a career in agricultural/biological engineering and bioengineering, you may well be involved in developing tools that make it easier—and safer—to produce and distribute food of the highest quality, the biggest and the best there is. Agricultural/biological engineering and bioengineering are swiftly evolving fields that integrate the principles of biological and physical sciences and use them to solve agricultural and environmental problems. Engineers in these fields design systems and equipment that increase agricultural productivity and food safety. They also manage and conserve soil, water, air, energy, and other agricultural resources. As an agricultural/biological engineering or bioengineering major, you’ll learn the skills of engineering as they relate to agriculture, food production, and resource conservation. For example, as a bioengineer, your interests might lie in working to create a breed of fatter, tastier tomatoes (non-attacking variety) or speeding up the fermentation of grape juice into wine. These majors are not for the fainthearted; you’ll take advanced and difficult courses in many different subjects, including math, physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. Laboratory work and computer science will also be big components of your studies. (A personal computer should be at the top of your list of Things To Buy For College.)
Students who graduate in these highly specialized fields often choose to continue their studies in graduate or medical school. Others go on immediately into the workforce and find that they are highly prized by government agencies, consulting firms, and monolithic corporations such as International Paper, Tyson Foods, Archer Daniels Midland, and Haliburton.

Preparation

You don’t need to be a whiz in engineering, agriculture, or biology in order to pursue these majors, but having an enduring love of math and the physical sciences will help immensely. Take all the math, physics, biology, and chemistry courses that your high school offers. Experience with computers and computer programming will also prove valuable. If your high school offers agriculture courses, you’ll obviously want to take those, too. Any extra knowledge of the field you acquire before college will only help you. If you know where you want to apply, consider contacting the university for information on their agricultural and biological engineering programs; this way you can choose high school courses that will satisfy admission requirements and prepare you for the workload ahead.

Now here’s a down-to-Earth major: studying what the good Earth produces, and what we do with it to survive. A major in agronomy and crop science will take you all over the map of crop production, soil management, and food-producing plants. The focus of agronomy, historically and presently, has been on growing crops and providing safe, edible chow for the people of Planet Earth—from a shiny red apple to a spongy yellow Twinkie. To that end, crop science is the study of the fairly complicated processes plants go through to become food for humans, feed for animals, and other important products (like shampoo and pajamas). Crop science involves the application of biological, chemical, and physical science principles to the cultivation of these plants. The use of biotechnology and agricultural engineering in the agriculture industry is becoming increasingly important as nations’ economies come to increasingly depend on one another and the prospect of genetically engineered foods becomes more acceptable. What does all this mean for you and your major in agronomy and crop science? Well, in addition to tastier, juicier strawberries, you can expect to see more math-, physics-, and engineering-related course matter. As an agronomy and crop science major, you’ll be immersed in biotechnology, cell biology, plant physiology, genetics, turfgrass science, crop quality, chemistry, computer science, animal sciences, botany, agricultural economics, entomology (that’s the study of bugs), plant pathology, and the conservation and improvement of natural resources. Get set to investigate the growth and behavior of crops, the development of new plant varieties, and the soils and nutrients that serve them best. You’ll also learn about the production of quality seed, different soil environments, and control of weeds, insects/pests, and plant diseases. By the time you graduate, you should have a solid understanding of the interrelationships among the physical and biological factors inherent to crop production. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be ready to craft cutting-edge solutions to all manner of modern-day agricultural problems. This major offers a wide variety of career paths—agronomy and crop science majors are highly sought after in today’s economy. Another plus is that agronomists and crop scientists are able to spend a great deal of time outdoors and in cool laboratories (i.e., not behind desks).

Preparation

You don’t need to know anything about agronomy and crop science to major in it, but having an enduring love of biology and the physical sciences will help you immensely. Take all the biology and chemistry courses that your high school offers—as well as any available agriculture courses. Learn everything you can learn about climate, soil, water, and plants both in and out of the classroom. And get used to working outdoors and in laboratories. Familiarity with computers helps. Seek out volunteer opportunities that might offer hands-on experience in the field.

An American History major is really just a specialized version of a regular history major. In practice, if you decide to major in American History, you’ll take several American History courses but you’ll also be required to take a wide variety of other kinds of history courses within the larger department. No matter how thrilling (or dull) your high school American History and Civics classes have been, we can pretty much guarantee that American History courses in college will be a lot more exciting. You won’t have to memorize a bunch of names and dates. No, there will be few – if any – matching quizzes in college-level history courses. Instead, you’ll pursue major developments in American foreign policy from colonial times to the present; analyze the unique and fascinating contributions of the American West to the evolution of the United States; and discuss Jacksonian Democracy, Reconstruction, Progressivism, American Imperialism, and many other -isms. Yeah, but can you get a job with a major in American History? Absolutely. If you major in American History, you’ll learn how to think clearly and critically, to write clearly and convincingly, and to read intelligently. These are exactly the things all employers want.

Preparation

History in general involves lots of critical thinking and a great deal of reading and writing. If you think you might major in American History, you obviously want to take as many courses in American history, civics, world history, and geography as you can. You should also take English composition so you can get good at writing essays. And, finally, take foreign language classes because you are almost certainly going to be required to take several foreign language classes as a liberal arts major.

A theater background couldn’t hurt when you enter into the study of American Sign Language because often you’ll find all eyes on you. But this language is not about theatrics, of course, although it can be rather dramatic to watch. The set of hand motions that make up ASL is as varied and intricate as any spoken language, and the study of ASL is, in many respects, similar to studying French or Spanish or German. As an American Sign Language major, you’ll not only study the signs themselves but also the accompanying facial expressions and body language that are crucial pieces of this unique communication system. Like any other language, it will take time, patience, and dedication to become fluent. Courses will cover translation and transcription as well as the culture of the deaf—their challenges, communities, and perspectives and interpretations of the world. Some programs employ deaf instructors for the language courses, giving students an enhanced opportunity to truly communicate with the deaf and ask questions about the experiences of the deaf community. If your program offers a concentration in interpreting, you’ll gain the skills necessary to become a competent, professional interpreter—a job that could take you around the world. Other programs might ask students to combine their studies in ASL with another academic field such as psychology or education. However you choose to put it to use, ASL is a challenging major that offers abundant rewards for both you and those with whom you interact.

Preparation

Like any other foreign language, ASL requires knowledge of more than just “vocabulary.” Studying another foreign language in high school would be useful, as would any studies in culture, history, English, psychology, and philosophy. If possible, try to get involved in the deaf community in your area through volunteer work—you might even get a head start on learning ASL.