My questions pertain to a subject that many of us become familiar with
at some point in our lives:  indecisiveness.  Currently, I?m in a
dilemma which has been making me very stressed out and I?m hoping that
the answer to this question will help me with future decisions as
well.
	In the fall of 2002, I began my freshman year at a university in New
York City and stayed there until the end of my sophomore year.  As
money became an issue, so did picking a major?.and quite frankly, I
wasn?t sure what I wanted to major in?so I ultimately decided to take
a break and rather than returning home and living with my mom and dad,
I decided to take the year off and move to California to work for my
cousin in real estate.  I made this decision because quite frankly, I
did not want to move in with my parents and work at a 7 dollar an hour
job bagging groceries somewhere.
I figured it?d be better if I moved to California (a place I loved the
atmosphere of) and learned a trade that might actually come in handy
down the road; besides I always wanted to settle down in California
anyway, so I figured maybe this could be a head start.  The year has
gone by, and although I had originally decided on psychology as a
major, I?ve found that all this hassle and debt for a bachelor?s
degree in psychology is just not going to cut it.  It is because of
this that I?ve decided to go with a business degree, as I see a
bachelor?s in business much more effective than a bachelor?s in psych.
Having previously mentioned that I attended college at a university in
New York City for only 2 years, I had acquired somewhere around 40,000
dollars of debt during that time (including federal government loans
as well as private loans).  In addition to that, when I moved to
California I bought a car, which I have yet to pay off $15,000 on. 
With my total debt so far at the $55,000 mark and interest building on
top of that, I figured that I really need to start paying more
attention to expenses.  However, I also realize that college only
comes once in your life (for most of us), and I?d rather go through
the experience of living on campus and making the most of college life
than commuting to just save 5k-10k dollars per year.
When I first moved to California, I thought it?d be a cost-effective
plan to live in California for a year, then apply to state schools and
try to register myself as a resident so that I receive in state
tuition rates.  Although I got accepted to my number one choice
school, they ended up declaring me as a non-resident for the sole
reason of myself not being independent for two years on my tax
returns?and no matter how hard I try to fight it, they seem to hold
their ground.  This, translated, means that they will charge me
$39,000 per year if I choose to live on campus, minus any financial
aid that I receive (which seeing how late in the application process
we are right now, will probably be a minimal amount).  My parents do
not have a high annual income, so I know I will definitely receive
some forms of aid, but based on my own estimation, I would say maybe
somewhere around 10,000-15,000 dollars worth, max.  In addition to
that, I would have to major in Economics rather than Business
Management or Business Administration.  However, it should be noted
that it is a bit more of a prestigious school (the University of
California at Irvine).
Before moving on, it should also be noted that I do have two more
options as far as school is concerned.  One of them is to move back to
the east coast and live with my parents and attend school out there
(which would probably cost me around 13,000-15,000 dollars per year if
I don?t live on campus).  This is not appealing in any sense except
for the fact that I?d get to be close to my parents and save money for
immediate expenses, such as rent and food, and the long-term expense
of tuition.  Aside from that, I do not have many friends there, and as
a commuter on a college campus I don?t think I would make very many;
so I don?t believe I?d feel like I was fully making the most of the
college experience.  The other option is going to a California State
University rather than a University of California school, because they
tend to be cheaper but less prestigious.  It would probably be
somewhere around the 13,000-15,000 dollar a year mark as well, but the
only problems with that are I don?t have the option of living on
campus there, which means I have to pay rent, and there are certain
courses which I would need to take at a community college in the fall
semester of 2005 so that I can then transfer those courses in the
spring semester 2005 to the California State University school. 
Again, I would probably lack a social life if I took that route, and a
social life does mean a lot to me.  However, I know I?m in a lot of
debt and my only option of living on campus requires me to get an
Economics degree and would require me to take out more money than my
other options.  I do not want to drown in debt, but at the same time I
want to make sure I look back at my college experience and know that I
took full advantage of it.  I?m kind of shy, so living on campus
definitely helps me meet people rather than going out of my way to
meet them at class or organizations/clubs.
This entire dilemma has caused me to go bonkers, as I constantly find
myself in these types of situations.  I find myself getting stressed
out about them because I cannot make a decision without overanalyzing
things?and then when I finally make a decision?long past when it?s
due, I end up changing my mind and telling myself I should?ve made a
different decision.
My question is two parted:  #1?is there a cure for this
indecisiveness?  Ever since my senior year of high school I have had
problems choosing what I want to major in?and I keep changing it, then
changing it back, then changing it back again?and ultimately no matter
what I pick, I always end up regretting it?I don?t see any way for me
to learn from it, as I constantly take wayyyyy too long to make
decisions, and then usually I make decisions I regret anyway and I
wonder what would?ve happened had I gone with the other decision.  It
limits me and makes me achieve very slow progress in what I can
accomplish.  Sometimes, nothing stands out to me when I try to make a
decision, and I have no ?gut instinct? about what to do with it?so it
just leaves me to analyze, analyze, analyze to the point that it
drives myself as well as those around me insane.  And it?s not just
with major issues such as choosing a college degree, either?.I often
times have trouble deciding what to eat when I go to restaurants!  I
look at the menu, take forever, and then usually just end up getting
either the same thing I always do, or something I wish I would not
have.  It affects minor decisions such as what to eat for lunch and
dinner all the way up through where I should live and what career to
choose. And question # 2??.given my situation, what would be the best
possible solution to finish up my education?  I do not want to wait
another year or two before I am counted as resident for in state
tuition purposes?I definitely want to return in the fall semester of
2005.  I also want to state that graduate school is also a possibility
down the road, but it?s an ?iffy?.  I?d say there?s about a 50/50
chance of it happening.  Also, an answer in a timely manner would be
greatly appreciated, as this may affect what I choose to do in the
next couple of weeks; this is something that affects me personally and
I really hope I can finally get some answers I?ve been wondering for a
long time.  I also would like to state that due to the nature of my
question, I would love to pay much higher as this is a major issue in
life for me, but unfortunately being a college kid, I am financially
limited in what I can do.  If I could get a response that isn?t just a
bunch of links and is explained thoroughly by the researcher and from
experience, I?d greatly appreciate it.

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 31 Jul 2005 20:42 PDT

wildcrazyemad...

I've been fortunate enough to have taken a course in
human potential called the Avatar course. Part One of
the three-part course is available as a workbook of 
about 30 exercises for developing awareness, will
and free attention, called ReSurfacing. You can
obtain the ReSurfacing Workbook and use it on your
own, without taking the Avatar course. It's available
on the Stars Edge site, here:
http://www.avatarepc.com/html/resurfacing.html

This page from the website of Avatar masters (licensed
to deliver the course) Bob West and Debbie Jamieson, 
quotes the text of the chapter in ReSurfacing which 
introduces the RFY (Right For You) Goal Setting exercise:

"Setting a Right-For-You Goal (RFY goal) is done by using
 your best reasoning liberally seasoned with your intuition.
 It is reasonable, because you sincerely feel you can achieve
 it. It is intuitive, because it feels right. An RFY goal
 excites you when you think about it. It empowers you. It
 brings you to life. It sizzles! It provides you with the
 creative energy for its own attainment plus a little extra.
 Just imagining what it would feel like to achieve the RFY
 goal will tap into the courage and determination to
 accomplish it."

"If you wonder if your chosen goals are RFY goals, notice
 how you feel when you pursue them. Activity spent in the
 pursuit of an RFY goal is enjoyable and absorbing. Time
 is forgotten. Work is pleasurable. The pursuit of an RFY
 goal is its own reward."

"A non-RFY goal is something you "have to" do while waiting
 to get to what you want to do. You become exhausted and
 time drags. Work is grueling. The payoff for pursuing a
 non-RFY goal is stress."

More on the page:
http://www.avatarpath.com/rfygoals.html


The Goal Setting exercise itself is available in full
on the AvatarOverdrive website. This is a reprint of
a copy of the exercise which was published in the 
Avatar Journal, a free quarterly publication of 
Stars Edge International, the company which oversees
Avatar and its delivery:

Exercise 27: Goal Setting

OBJECTIVE: To determine a Right-For-You Goal.

EXPECTED RESULT:  A life plan that you can begin to follow
deliberately.
http://www.avataroverdrive.com/avatar_journal/vol14is2/exercise_27.htm

Spend some time with this and let me know where this
takes you...

sublime1-ga

---

Clarification of Question by wildcrazyemad-ga on 31 Jul 2005 20:59 PDT

I appreciate the overview and maybe I can look into the avatar course,
but I am looking for a more direct response that ties into my exact
situation that would come from someoneone who was perhaps in this
financial situation at an early age, as well as maybe someone that can
relate to the indecisiveness aspect and what they would recommend to
overcome it.  I am looking for a more personal response rather than a
general response consisting of just reference material.  I apologize
for any confusion I may have caused with such a long question post.

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 31 Jul 2005 22:27 PDT

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting the Avatar course
as a primary consideration, but that you sit down with
the RFY Goal Setting Exercise for at least a half hour,
right now, for free, in the hopes that it will help you
clarify what you really want. I personally don't believe
that anyone can give you any useful advice for your 
current situation that won't depend on your ability to
recognize it when you see it. Otherwise, it may appeal
to you at first glance, but then you'll find yourself
vacillating as you've done with your major in the past.

Recognizing good advice depends on being able to see if
it's in alignment with the goals you've discovered to be
most important and vitalizing for you. You need to find
out what those are first, in my opinion, and there are
few better tools for doing so than this exercise, and
you may learn considerably more than you bargained for.

The RFY Goal Setting Exercise is, again, here:
http://www.avataroverdrive.com/avatar_journal/vol14is2/exercise_27.htm

sublime1-ga

---

Clarification of Question by wildcrazyemad-ga on 31 Jul 2005 23:42 PDT

Thank you for your effort--I appreciate your advice, and even went
through and did the full exercise.  However, it quite frankly did not
do much to help me, as the questions were vague, and I was even too
indecisive what to put for some of the questions.  I honestly feel
that I've worded the two questions posted above the best way possible,
and I'm hoping to receive a bit more of a personal, direct, and
thorough answer.

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 01 Aug 2005 11:48 PDT

Hello wildcrazyemad-ga,

If you don't know where you're going, any road will do. I'm
paraphrasing some philosophers but the meat of the message is valid.
It seems to me you need to achieve some clarity about who you are,
what you want to accomplish in the world, the realities of your
skills, values, interests, experience, personality and intellectual,
emotional, physical and financial wherewithal to accomplish the tasks
that will get you to your goal. Since you're incapable of setting a
goal, it's premature to spend a lot of money on provisional plans.

Have you always had this problem with indecisiveness or is it
something new? It seems to me there are a lot of issues going on here
that you only hint at. Your question focuses on money. Is this your
most important value? What have you done about trying to figure out
your options? Have you discussed your future plans with anyone? Who?
Do you have any trusted advisors or friends? What do they think of
your formulation of your options?

Since you don't seem to be able to get going on your own, enlisting a
helper seems like a good option. From the tale you've told I can't
tell if you need a career counselor, a financial advisor, a therapist,
a psychiatrist, family advisor, kindly parent, spritual guru or a
drill sergeant. Any or all of these could help you get real about
yourself and the world you live in.

Alternately, you could quit worrying about the future and simply go
out in the world and make a living. No more loans or future plans. Get
a job doing anything that someone is willing to pay you for. From what
you earn pay for a place to live, your meals and everything else you
can afford. This will definitely put a different light on your
situation.

There is no other life that will commence after you decide what to do.
There is no other life after you finish your degree. This confusion is
your life. Whatever you do today is your life. If it's good enough,
keep doing it. If not, do something else.

What would be the perfect answer that a researcher could give you for
the $40 you're offering?

I'd love to help but your story is just too vague to know where to begin.

~ czh ~

---

Request for Question Clarification by nenna-ga on 05 Aug 2005 11:07 PDT

Being that this is a very long question with no paragraph breaks, it's
quite hard to understand. Could you outline for us what you want to
know. By the time we process all this information, the original
question is lost.

Do you want help choosing a major, a school or something else? 
Are you asking for ways to become less indecisive so that you can make
these decisions on your own?
How would you like the reseacher to formulate their answer, links, or
do you want a personal story/suggestions.
Also, you may want to take a look at the pricing guidelines:
https://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html


Nenna-GA

The point is you have to do something, whether you like it or not and
thats what most of the people do. You have to start something
somewhere and sometime, so start it now, start it now because anyways
you are going to start it at sometime in future - start whatever you
feel like doing. The more you delay things the more you get confused .
select something to do and stick to it -  This is only a suggesstion
and is not an answer to your question.

Good Luck.

You want specific advice, right?  OK, how's this:

1.  Attend and graduate as soon as you can, i.e., do not take big gaps
of time off for trips to Europe or to go surfing in California, from
the best, most prestigious college you can get into.  It will never,
ever serve you wrong to go to a good college.  Ever.

2.  If you have to incur debt to go to this college, so be it.  But do
not be stupid or careless with debt--you should finance only your
education, not cars, travel, iPod's, movies or anything else other
than tuition, books, food and rent.  Period.

3.  Pick an undergraduate major that you can get the best grades in. 
It does not matter what that major is.  If you can graduate summa cum
laude from Irvine with a degree in, e.g., photography because that's
what you're good at, that's far better than graduating with a 3.0 in,
e.g., economics.  What matters later on resumes and to graduate
schools (see step 4 below) is your GPA, not your major.
 
4. Go to graduate school.  Get an MBA or a law degree or a masters in
something.  Do it right after undergraduate school if at all possible,
and if impossible then work in a field that will help you when you do
go to graduate school in a few years.  You will never regret having an
advanced degree.  Ever.  Disregard all those stories about
billionaires who never went to college.  You are not one of those
people.  Accept it and move on.

5. In order to do number 3 above, I realize you will have to make a
decision, something you are apparently not good at.  Take a piece of
paper and right down the top ten things you like to do the most.  I do
not care what's on the list as long as it's stuff you like to do and
are good at.  You must be honest!  Now take your list and call a
guidance counselor at the best college you can get in to and ask him
or her to suggest majors based on your list.  Do not let the counselor
dissuade you.  Stick with your list and pick a major based on that
list.  No one ever went broke doing a job they love to do every day.

6. If you begin to vacillate, go back and look at your list. If you
were really honest, you will remember that you picked this major
because you LIKE this subject and you won?t change your mind. 
Graduate schools do not care what your major is (in most cases--some
graduate programs do require a specific major, and I understand that)
as long as you have killer grades.

I don't presume to be able to fully answer your questions, but would
like to throw my two cents in as I was a economics major at UCI (class
of '02) and worked for several years for University Housing as a
Housing Advisor.

First the major.  I'll preferance by saying I knew from day one I
wanted to be an economics major.  However, there is a considerable
difference between wanting to be an Economics major (such as I), and
choosing Economics because Irvine does not offer a undergraduate
degree in Business Administration.

You might be suprised to know that most ecnomics majors at UCI fall in
the boat of choosing economics as an alternative to Business
Administration.  The problem is that this logic is flawed.  Economics
at the University of California will teach you next to nothing about
Business Administration.  You will graduate with a degree in Economics
having never taken a single class in accounting, having no better
understanding of finance then a person who has read a couple issues of
Forbes and Money magizine, having no understanding of marketing and no
understanding of organization behavior.  In short, you will know next
to nothing about business.  What you will learn in a over-simplified
nutshell is that human decisions are driven by the weighing of costs
and benefits and you will know supply and demand like the back of your
hand.  This is obviously a valuable apsect of business, but you could
argue that majoring in Mandarin is just valuable given today's global
economy.

Once again, for me, I loved economics, so I was very happy learning
the precise details and micro and macro economics.  However, I did
know people rather bitter towards the system because what they really
wanted was a business education. The graduated feeling like what they
learned was a waste.

Is what you will learn in Economics at UCI valuable? Certainly.  Is it
practical? No.  But is was never meant to be practical.  The
University of California system as a whole is a research institution. 
What that means is that nearly all undergraduate programs at UC
campuses are not meant to directly infuse you with practical
information you will use in a career.  They are instead meant to give
you a sound base of theory on which to continue your education at a
graduate level.  Even if you don't continue on to get a graduate
degree, you will have honed your critical thinking skills, which will
come in handy for the rest of your life, regardless of what you do for
a career.
 
Now, with that being said, Irvine does offer a Minor in Management. 
There is a huge demand for the minor, but if what you really want is
business administration, go for it.  I personally did not go that
route, but that is because I choose instead to earn my Masters in
Business Administration instead.  I hope I'm not confusing the
situation, I just want to make sure you are choosing economics for the
right reason.

In terms of housing, I assume that even though you are undecided about
what to do, you have stayed on top of all deadlines with UCI and have
submitted your on-campus housing applications which were due several
months ago.  It is very important that you maintain all due dates if
you want on-campus housing.  Even though new housing communities have
opened, on-campus housing is still rather full.  Don't ever make the
assumption that just because you were admitted to the University,
you'll get housing.  You have to do your part and get everything in on
time.

I hope that I have not discouraged you from attending UCI.  I loved
the school then, and I still support it today.  It is a beautiful
campus in a great area of Orange County.  I have not once regretted
the decisions I made.

If you have any other questions for a UCI Alumni, just let me know.

vpolhemus

Just a little advice from someone who has been (and still is, more or
less) "There." I will graduate with my BA in November, right before I
turn 30.
First, don't worry about picking a major to carry you through your
whole life. Pick something you're good at, do the coursework with
enthusiasm, and get good grades. You need to be more worried about
getting the degree than about what the degree means.
Secondly, a bachelor's degree today holds about as much value as a
high school degree did 20 years ago. It's a necessity for a productive
life. Period. Focus on that.
Third, education-related debt is more of a reality than ever before.
You can't afford the alternative. Student loans are relatively easy to
deal with.
Fourth, very few people actually doing whatever it is they're degreed
to do. Some do, then realize they don't enjoy it. Some do, and stick
with it. Either way, it doesn't really matter. I read somewhere (I
believe it was the Houston Chronicle) that people in today's workforce
change careers at least 3 times in their lifetime.
Fifth, don't overlook post-grad work. A bachelor's is the bare minimum
these days. Getting a master's will make you more marketable and give
you a leg up.
Sixth, you can't be afraid to make a decision. Nothing you can do will
be permanently disabling, as long as you commit to staying in school.
Housing isn't life or death - you'll just have to make a decision and
ride it out until you can change it, if you must. You have a lot of
options, you just have to think rationally about it.
Lastly, have confidence in yourself and faith that everything will
work out just fine. Try not to get overwhelmed. Make a list,
prioritize it, and deal with one thing at a time. Put your education
first and everything else second - at least until you graduate. Worry
about everything else later. This is an investment in your future and
there will plenty of time to fret over life later. Like when you
approach retirement age!
Good luck!

Hello again wildcrazyemad-ga,

I'm offering this as a comment instead of as a clarification or answer
because I think you'll be unhappy with the course of action I
recommend for you.

You said:
"I also would like to state that due to the nature of my question, I
would love to pay much higher as this is a major issue in life for me,
but unfortunately being a college kid, I am financially limited in
what I can do.  If I could get a response that isn?t just a bunch of
links and is explained thoroughly by the researcher and from
experience, I?d greatly appreciate it."

Your lengthy description of your situation is encapsulated by these
closing remarks from your original post and holds the key to your
finding a solution.

You claim that your status as a "college kid" should give you special
consideration regarding payment for your question. Unfortunately,
that's not how the world works. Google Answers is a business where
researchers offer their services for payment. They do the work to
support themselves and their families or buy trinkets or whatever use
they may have for their earnings. You are in the market to buy their
services. I suggest that you review the Google Answers pricing
guidelines and FAQ so you can see how the customer/researcher
transactions work. You have to pay for these services, as you have to
pay for most everything in life. I'm sure you had to sign a contract
and agree to a payment schedule when you bought that $15,000 car. If
you can afford that car, you can afford to pay for Google Answers too.

http://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html
http://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html


In his clarification, sublime1-ga offered you some excellent exercises
to help you grapple with your issues. You said you completed them but
didn't get anything out of the effort. You said, "I'm hoping to
receive a bit more of a personal, direct, and thorough answer." This
is the problem, we can't give you a personal, direct and thorough
answer if you are not willing to grapple with your personal and career
issues. It seems you may need professional help because you are
unwilling to do the work yourself -- which will cost money, of course.

You insist that you don't want a "bunch of links" but want something
"explained thoroughly by the researcher and from experience." 
Learning is about wading through the bunch of links. I would have
thought you'd have figured this out in two years of college. If you
don't want to process information for yourself, don't bother with
finishing your college degree. It will require a lot of work and you
don't seem interested in doing any work. At the price you've set, a
good collection of thoughtfully chosen links from a researcher would
be a very good deal.

As far as a researcher explaining things "from experience" goes, this
too wouldn't be much use to you. The researcher could talk about their
own experiences and guess how this might relate to your questions but
the real problem-solving regarding your indecision and career choice
dilemma will come from you reflecting on your own experience.

There are hundreds of website dedicated to career choice that offer
thousands of articles, exercises, discussion forums and counselors who
can help with you working through your particular career choice
dilemma. Most of these will cost you nothing but time and effort and
no out-of-pocket expenses. If you're still confused about your options
after you've done the necessary self-reflection, you could then ask
some pertinent questions and researchers could give you some
meaningful answers.

So, I hope you don't consider my comments too harsh, but I think your
best bet will be to read some links to educate yourself about your
situation and then reformulate your question.

http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/Business-stat/opre/partXIII.htm
Leadership Decision Making
(This is an excellent collection of essays from a college course on
decision-making. The section on "How People Avoid Making Serious
Decisions" is especially pertinent to your situation.)

http://home.nyc.rr.com/bcmnc/Bennett/MensQuestions/Decisive_Indecisive_intro.html
Indecisiveness in Men
(This collection of Men's Questions is interesting and the discussion
of "Indeciveness in Men" as illustrated by stories and movies is
accessible and entertaining.)

http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap13/chap13o.htm
DECISION-MAKING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING
(This article discusses the psychological issues involved in decision
making and might be especially helpful to you in figuring out your
reluctance to make decisions.)

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3752/is_200205/ai_n9078714
Factors related to indecisiveness and career indecision in undecided
college students
(This is an academic paper written for career counselors to help their
clients with their career decision making issues. The discussion
should help you get some relevant information about your own career
indecision.)

Best wishes for coming to resolution on your indecisiveness.

~ czh ~

wildcrazyemad-ga?

I?d like to offer some free advice regarding your two questions and
comment on some of the advice that others have offered. But first, let
me preface my comments and advice by telling a little bit about
myself. One of my titles is Human Resource Manager, so I have some
concept of what HR people are looking for in the people they interview
and hire. I work for a company that, at last count, has 69
manufacturing plants and multi-billions of dollars in sales. So we?re
not exactly a Ma & Pa Kettle operation. I?m an active member of SHRM
(Society for Human Resource Management), so I get to meet a lot of
other HR folks and exchange ideas and information.

sublime1-ga and czh-ga have offered you some exceptional advice. My
recommendation is that you re-read the advice they?ve offered and then
act on it. neutralobserver-ga has also offered some advice; some of
which I agree with and some that may not be the best guidance. I?ll
address his advice on a point by point basis.

1) I couldn?t agree more. Get your degree and get it now. The longer
you wait the more difficult it becomes to get back into school. And
yes, while graduating from a prestigious school will never hurt you, I
doubt that it will really ever help you. I?ve never met a HR person
who said ?Wow! I interviewed a Harvard grad last week.? In short, HR
folks really aren?t impressed with where you went to school. But they
will be impressed that you have a degree.
2) I couldn?t have said it better myself. Manage your debt well now
and for the rest of your life. Debt can actually be a good tool when
it?s properly managed.
3) HR folks aren?t so shallow as to not realize that getting a 4.0 GPA
in Under Water Basket Weaving is less of an accomplishment than a 3.0
GPA in math or physics. We also went to school and we remember what
the hard classes were. Your resume can look nice and glossy, but at
some point you?ll have to sit across from someone who wants to know
about you and what you have to offer. And if all you have to offer is
?knit one, pearl two? then you aren?t likely to be hired.
4) Super advice. Particularly if you want to make a lot more money
than the average Joe does. The statistics are on your side if you have
a masters; you will make a lot more money.
5) Pretty good advice. I would just add this. Include things that you
think you might like to do.
6) Again, pretty good advice. Although I?m not convinced that the
killer grades are all that impressive. Remember that 50% of the
doctors, lawyers, scientists, accounts, etc. were in the lower half of
their class.

And some advice on your two questions. 

1) Most people suffer from indecisiveness from time to time and in
varying degrees. But at some point they, and you, must make a
decision. And yes, not making a decision is a decision. In short,
there really isn?t a ?cure? for indecisiveness, but there is a way to
make a decision. You say that you over analyze things. Not good. But
analyzing is good. Write down the facts, desires, goals and all of the
major points that are relevant to the decision. Now this next step is
most important. Define what you desire to achieve from the analysis.
Then, approach the analysis from a scientific/business perspective and
do the analysis, always being mindful of what you desire to achieve.
Once you?ve made your decision, stop the analysis and execute the
decision. And remember, even if, in hindsight, you may not have made
the best decision, ask yourself this; did I make a bad decision. The
answer is almost always no.
2) This question is only a symptom of your first question; your
indecisiveness. No one here can really make that decision for you.
Well, we could, but is that really what you want? I doubt it. You
simply need to get past the indecisiveness and make a decision.

Best of luck to you.

Wow after reading some of these comments I feel I should have had to
pay to read these. Great stuff and advice! This advice really
motivates me to raise my GPA in the next 2 years before I graduate
with a degree in computer science so I have a shot at grad school. You
think a 3.0 GPA in computer science would have a shot at a grad
school?

I am going to suggest an alternative approach

While I have a prestigious degree in Economics, a subject that I
thoroughly enjoyed, both the 'prestige' and 'economics' have been of
little use.

It is a big world out there, the chances are high that whatever your
background, you'll land up living with and mixing with the bottom 90%.

For example, your cousin obviously offered you a chance to work in his
real estate business - how did it work out ? Are you still there ?

Is there some sort of pressure on you - perhaps from your parents ?

If you are worried about making money, then don't worry.
- If you want it you'll get it - unless you are a bit thick.

I thought about doing an MBA a long time ago, no problem getting in,
the only snag is that the good MBAs that I've worked with were good
before they went in.

It is amazing how much one can pick up about most areas by picking
peoples' brains, reading primers and keeping ones eyes open.

Qualifications are useful, as is the brazen arrogance that one can
acquire, but they are only 'keys' - they let you in without kicking in
the door or sneaking in the window - but they do not guarantee a
friendly reception.

Write down a list of things you hate.
When in doubt about decisions, flip a coin, if you feel hacked of that
'tails' turned up, then turn the coin over.

Hi there!

If this doesn't motivate you, nothing will. A brilliant (yet never
delivered)speech by a brilliant man, Paul Graham.

What you'll wish you had known
http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html

Read it all the way through and ignore the fact that is it was meant
for highschool grads. It applies to everyone.

Good luck with your dreams ...

-K~

I have had very similar problems with making decisions and course choices. 
I also get caught up trying to make long term plans and get very
worried and stressed about whatever I eventually do.
I'd suggest doing some counselling with someone you can trust.
I found I had a very poor self image which I wanted courses/education to "fix".
The detail of what you study / where / is less important than getting
a bit happier with yourself.
There is some excellent advice here as well.
The only thing I'd disaggree with is the urgency of deciding something soon.
Have a chat with a counseller and take life at your own pace.

I hope this doesn't sound too intrusive or I'm making personal
assumptions. I mainly basing it on my own experience.

Hello there,

I am a retired career counselor after 21 years in the US Navy I have
dealt with these problems with people a lot.

To get to the point you need to do a couple of things.  One is to
actually decide what you want to be when you grow up? and how do you
get there?

Unfortuantly as many folks try to lay out there lives from start to
finish, that is just not realistic.

The one thing I also would think about is things that you like to do. 
Even if it is a hobby or a desire.  There is a job for it somewhere
you just need to find it.  Going about a career decision with such a
broad spectrum of choices is impossible.  Your resume would like just
like a broke college student looking for work rather than someone with
a plan.

Maybe if you looked at life in a different light such as what makes you tick?
Do you like kids?  Then teach go to school for teaching and the
Department of Education will pay you back some of your tuition if you
agreet to work in a title one school for a certain amount of time.

Do you like computers?  reading, writing, whatever makes your heart go
pitter patter is what you should do.  You can' base a decision on what
degree if you are not interested in the subject matter which it seems
to be in your case.

There are a lot of jobs in the world and you need to find the one for
you but your indecision is part of growing up is holding you back. 
You moved away from mom and dad and it seems you like it, so that was
one decision you made so it possible for you to make a decison right?

If you don't want anyone to give you advice through books or web sites
then you truly do not want to find out what you want to be when you
grow up, you simply want to be told what to do.  No one can answer the
question of "what do I want to be when I grow up but you!"

If you do not make a decison you will end up like me taking 20 years
to finish my bachelors degree while being in the Navy and deploying
for 6 months at a time for 13 times.  I am now working on my masters
and will be done in Jan.

So you need to stop trying to get an answer to this question and do
research as to what you like.  There is no way you will get a
meaninful job without research and the ability to know what the job is
about so my advice is to get up, brush off the old indecisiveness and
think for your self.

I am 45 years old and even though I have retired after 21 years in the
Navy, I am know working at an East Coast College as an admissions rep
and I see this every day.

Sorry for this long post but I think you are wasting your time waiting
for the career fairy to appear.

I hope I did not insult you.

Well, while studying in college, you should do some activities or join
some of the professional clubs that you are interested in. It will
help you gain more experiences by actually doing it. And you will get
the chance to know people in that field which can provide you more
info about your dream job. Then you can make a decision easier for
your future career.

If you are interested in latest recruitment news, you can visit
http://e-jobs.blogspot.com

Good luck...