After 36 hours awake, I finally got a decent night's sleep. I feel so much better now.
When I was looking for schools, I was pretty sure I wanted to go into Computer Science as a major. I like computers, I like working with them, and I enjoy the light level of programming I've done so far. I figured that a CS Degree would allow to explore these areas of interest further. However, since coming to school, I've been having my doubts about that choice. While I do enjoy working with computers, and tweaking their inner workings, I find that I'm not really the type to stay up all night trying to get some obscure bit of code to function properly. I'm also not sure about how well I would function in a normal development environment. I hear that people on the development teams put in crazy hours, in order to complete the project. Now, I would be OK working in this environment if I was making something cool, like a revolutionary new RPG or an AI system for a spacecraft. However, if I was developing accounting software, I'm pretty sure I would wind up hating my job pretty quickly. Also, most computer science type jobs involve staying inside all day and sitting down at a desk.
While I could do all this, I am coming to realize would much prefer a job that would allow me to get outside, see new places, and travel around a bit. CS wouldn't really allow me to do any of this. However, I would still like to be directly involved with science and technology, as they have always been my greatest interests(and it's not like my school offers anything else). The question is, what sort of jobs would allow me to do this?
I've been considering geophysics(the science of figuring out whats underground), since there is a good opportunity for field work, yet it still allows me to work directly with cutting edge technology. It also involves computers and programming(have to process all that data), and electrical engineering(to build the devices used). Also, it's a field where there is a lot of room for growth. The bottom of the ocean remains largely unexplored. Who knows what sort of resources may be found down there? What lies below the surface of other planets? Before space travel can advance further, we need to figure out what resources might by available underneath the surface of other planets. It will take geoscientists to figure out problems like these. Also, if I wind up not going into a geophysics related job, I still have some EE and CS skills that I can take with me. The downside to the whole thing is I might find up patroling a bunch of oil fields in Texas for the rest of my life, which wouldn't be much fun. I also have little experience with geology and such, so I'm not sure how well I would do with the actual work.
So, I'm sure there are many other options I need to consider, and I will. That's where things stand at the moment, and I need to start figuring out what to do. I'm trying to talk to people who do both, and see what the work environment is like. I just wish I knew what I was going to be doing.
