I suppose I'm interested in a really broad spectrum of subjects; how would one get exposed to a variety of topics like that during college? Are study-abroad programs worth looking into, or is that more cultural immersion/tourism?

Most high schools have guidance counselors who can offer tests to see what
you might like to get into.

I think a lot of college students are in your position.
One plan is to take a wide variety of course your first year to see what you like.

I am in Computer Science and do technical design someone brought up.
If you enjoy solving puzzles, I think design would be a good fit.

[QUOTE=jvang;492157]I suppose I'm interested in a really broad spectrum of subjects; how would one get exposed to a variety of topics like that during college? [B]Are study-abroad programs worth looking into, or is that more cultural immersion/tourism?[/B][/QUOTE]

Although traveling sounds pretty nice; I wouldn't mind a career that A) supports me enough and gives me the free time to travel a lot, or B) lets me make a living while traveling.

[QUOTE=bgbeuning;492162]Most high schools have guidance counselors who can offer tests to see what
you might like to get into.

I think a lot of college students are in your position.
One plan is to take a wide variety of course your first year to see what you like.

I am in Computer Science and do technical design someone brought up.
If you enjoy solving puzzles, I think design would be a good fit.[/QUOTE]

I'll see what our counselors have, but they haven't been helpful in the past :max:

So you're taking classes in Computer Science? What's that like?

[QUOTE=jvang;491857]
In addition to that, I think that something science-based would be cool too. I always see news articles about students working with their professors to discover new biological agents/quantum particles/other things. What do you do to end up in a lab environment like that? Or just engaging in cutting-edge research in any field?[/QUOTE]

1. Attend a research university, i.e. one that grants PhD's.
2. Sometime after your first semester, show up at a Professor's lab and ask if they need undergrad help. You're a volunteer, but some schools grant course units for undergrad research. You do really menial stuff, but if you take enough busywork load off a grad student, you might be granted co-authorship on a paper that writes up an experiment you helped on. It's not quite fun, but it's the best path at a non-elite university to get to graduate work (and understand what graduate work entails).

[QUOTE=VBCurtis;492220]1. Attend a research university, i.e. one that grants PhD's.
2. Sometime after your first semester, show up at a Professor's lab and ask if they need undergrad help. You're a volunteer, but some schools grant course units for undergrad research. You do really menial stuff, but if you take enough busywork load off a grad student, you might be granted co-authorship on a paper that writes up an experiment you helped on. It's not quite fun, but it's the best path at a non-elite university to get to graduate work (and understand what graduate work entails).[/QUOTE]

Hmmm, I think that the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is the only university in the state that is classified as an R1 research university, so that's good. Although the way you describe that process sounds kinda lame and necessary at the same time :ermm: I'd need to make sure that I got a bit of course units/credits for that sort of thing.

Don't restrict yourself to R1 schools; if you take advantage of REUs, a smaller college can be quite rewarding.

[URL="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2015/04/10/why-small-colleges-are-great-for-science-students/#3781e5267b9a"]chadorzel/why-small-colleges-are-great-for-science-students/[/URL] (a lot of this is relevant beyond science)

Are you restricted to Arkansas for in-state tuition reasons? If so, you might investigate if they have reciprocation agreements with neighboring states.

P.S. [URL="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2017/01/10/small-college-astronomers-predict-big-stellar-explosion/#2c7d300221d4"]Here's another link from same author about some cool astronomy work at a small college.[/URL]

[QUOTE=masser;492230]Don't restrict yourself to R1 schools; if you take advantage of REUs, a smaller college can be quite rewarding.

[URL="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2015/04/10/why-small-colleges-are-great-for-science-students/#3781e5267b9a"]chadorzel/why-small-colleges-are-great-for-science-students/[/URL] (a lot of this is relevant beyond science)

Are you restricted to Arkansas for in-state tuition reasons? If so, you might investigate if they have reciprocation agreements with neighboring states.

P.S. [URL="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2017/01/10/small-college-astronomers-predict-big-stellar-explosion/#2c7d300221d4"]Here's another link from same author about some cool astronomy work at a small college.[/URL][/QUOTE]

I'm sticking to Arkansas public universities since I have free tuition, room, and board to one. Turns out that the U of Arkansas also has some REA programs that I might want to look into. Pretty sure that none of the private universities in Arkansas are worth going to even if they were free, and the other publics around here are drastically inferior to our flagship institution.

[QUOTE=jvang;492157]I suppose I'm interested in a really broad spectrum of subjects; how would one get exposed to a variety of topics like that during college? Are study-abroad programs worth looking into, or is that more cultural immersion/tourism?[/QUOTE]


I've known a few people that did a semester abroad; they all speak very highly of the experience.

In Febr. I decided changing my job. Away from assembly; going straight forward into an job close-by where I life.
Any way, these new job...failed. After 2,5 months I received the info that they have to fire me.


So...I´m back on assembly! (for the same company, again. I´m happy about that; so I´m not loosing my certificates.)
For now I´m working in an big chemistry park near Dresden (Germany). I´m looking forward to get into the nuclear power sector. :smile:

[QUOTE=MisterBitcoin;493087]In Febr. I decided to change my job. Away from assembly; going straight forward into an job close-by where I live.
[/QUOTE]
There's always some risk when you change jobs.
I'm glad you got your old work back again!

[QUOTE=jvang;492231]Pretty sure that none of the private universities in Arkansas are worth going to even if they were free[/QUOTE]

Out of curiosity, would this also apply to Hendrix?