MECHATRONICS ENGINEERING: Standing at the juncture between mechanical and electrical engineering, mechatronics is an interdisciplinary field that teaches students how to build and control mechanical devices like motors and robots and how to take sensor data and turn it into commands.
BUSINESS: Besides taking courses in accounting, finance, marketing, business law, and management, business majors often work on team projects involving real-world case studies and participate in internships or hands-on experiences, including working with industry partners. It’s one of the most popular areas – and for good reason.
COMPUTER SCIENCE: Gone are the days when the field was practically synonymous with computer programming. Now, computer scientists have their hands in everything from creating cutting-edge educational tools and driverless vehicles to doing sophisticated data mining in health care to making advances in cybersecurity, robotics and artificial intelligence.
DATA SCIENCE: Data runs the world now. Those steeped in the subject are at the forefront of predictive analytics – helping companies like Google and Yahoo improve their search engine functionality, or giving doctors and clinicians the tools to more effectively customize medical treatment to individual patients based on specific data points. Data scientists also play an important role in risk assessment within the credit card industry and in allocation and optimization of resources in environmental science and public policy.
COGNITIVE SCIENCE: This relatively new interdisciplinary field blends elements of psychology, computer science, philosophy, neuroscience and linguistics. In other words, it studies the mind, its processes, and the nature of intelligence. There’s an emphasis on how to think critically and engage in constructive problem-solving. Cognitive science majors go on to work in health care settings, such as in hospital administration or as research coordinators in labs, neuropsychological testing centers, business-related careers such as marketing, and the technology sector, among others. The major can also be good training for medical school, law school, and business school.
PHARMACEUTICALS: Undergrad programs in this field aim to prepare students for technical positions in the development, production or sales divisions of drug companies or for a career as a pharmacist or pharmaceutical researcher. With a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences, you can work as a pharmacy assistant or technician or in sales for drug companies. Clinical pharmacists work in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings, dispensing prescriptions or working with doctors in making patient medication decisions when it comes to selection, dosage, and combining medications and type of administration.
HUMAN RESOURCES: Even in an increasingly automated world, there’s no taking the “human” out of human resources – these are the professionals who handle hiring, training and other employee relations tasks for companies or organizations. Going into the future, human resources looks to have more demand than supply given that any organization that has employees needs HR majors to help recruit, retain, and engage its employees. The field is another one that is transforming because of data. It is one that requires good communication and interpersonal skills. HR degrees are often offered via the business faculty at universities.
BIOINFORMATICS: Bioinformatics is the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data such as genetic codes. It is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combines biology, computer science, information engineering, mathematics and statistics to analyze and interpret biological data. This field is closely related to data science.
CYBERSECURITY: Subverting international espionage. Protecting invaluable data. Defending computer networks. This is what it’s all about. These may sound like scenes from your favorite prime time thriller. But believe it or not, a career in cybersecurity could put you in the position to do these things on a regular basis. It may sound exhilarating and glamorous on the surface, but there’s a lot more to it. A career in cybersecurity clearly has its allure. There’s a significant demand for security professionals, and the work you do can be incredibly important. You’re on the front lines of defending private information from all kinds of trouble.
PUBLIC HEALTH: Those majoring in this field work to improve the health of communities through education, marketing, policy, and advocacy. The focus of this profession is on prevention. Students can focus on the scientific aspects of the discipline, the statistical angle or policy, and find work in hospitals, nonprofits and community health centers.
ECONOMETRICS: This is the use of statistical techniques to understand economic issues and test theories. It is the technical branch of economics, using mathematical methods (especially statistics) in analyzing economic systems, and testing theories and hypotheses. Without statistical evidence, economic theories are abstract and might have no bearing on reality. Econometrics is suitable for students who are very enthusiastic about financial modelling, mathematics, statistics, and demography. Econometrics students take courses in economics, statistics, high-level mathematics, and programming. They may choose to focus on theoretical econometrics or applied econometrics. Those specializing in econometrics work as programmers or in the actuarial sciences field, helping companies forecast their future performance.
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