What to Study at University?

My teenage son and I regularly discuss what he'll study at university. He plans to apply next year and I remember when I was his age I didn't know what to study. I knew what I liked but I never asked harder than that.

I tried to not repeat my mistake. I suggest him to apply to a program that suits his natural talent. We also discuss job paths. To ask how and why people become professors, businessmen, designers, engineers, and others. He gets bored sometimes when I want to discuss this issue, but he knows it's important.

I learn that parents - me included - are very invested in their children's higher education. It is difficult to separate what I want for him from what he wants for himself. If I am not willing to admit this, I am likely to repeat my mistake since my son and I share similar personal traits.

Undergraduate programs we consider in our discussion are

1. Engineering. He'll learn to memorize and use math equations, but he won't know how to get them. He'll have to study with his friends to survive grueling homework & exam schedule. Going into a program means specializing in a specific area of engineering. Mechanical engineering is the broadest and safest. Working as an engineer in the first 5-10 years means doing routine maintenance, design, or sales. Above average math and physics skills are needed, but it is not necessary to be creative. Experience matters since engineers learn by induction.

2. Mathematics. He'll learn abstract problem solving by pure reasoning and without specific area of specialization. He'll have to study alone most of the time. There is no team effort; if he doesn't get it, he will not understand it. Studying math often means also taking a minor in business or something else to make job prospect better. Above average math skills are a must and creativity is required. Experience does not matter since mathematicians learn by deduction. Engineer makes money by specialization and experience, while mathematician by generalization and quick mind.

3. Physics. He'll learn how to use math to solve science and engineering problems. Unlike engineering though, physics offers little specialization. But most what we know in engineering come from physics. He can think independently and analyze all sorts of real-world problems. Experience matters but deduction matters more. In the long run, knowing physics is more useful than engineering even in engineering companies. Taking math, however, is more general than physics since business problems do not follow mechanics axioms.

4. Business. He'll learn how to draw up a business plan when starting a company, to raise capital, to read financial statements, to understand tax and business laws. He'll learn how to run a business, the ins and outs of money. He and I agree that these skills are best studied by practice. I personally see little point of taking business courses if I am not going to use them now. He does not want to specialize in tourism, accounting, or others; they seem too narrow for him.

5. Design. I don't know any undergraduate program on design. I took a design course when in undergrad and I have to say it was not that useful unless I know physics well so that my design can be functional. Design is also part arts. If he does not draw and sketch, then he has no talent in design.

6. Economics. If the study route is mathematical economics, then studying math seems to give a better foundation for economics study. If the route is economics and one of social sciences - political, history, geography - then he'll have to read a lot. He seems more a thinker than a reader. He would waste his math talent as well.