1. Business Administration

Business administration is one of the most generic-sounding and misunderstood programs that a college student can major in. Unlike other business-related degrees like accounting, business administration doesn’t offer a single plan of study. Instead, you will learn about several subjects related to business:

•   Accounting

•   Finance

•   Information Systems

•   Management

•   Marketing

The benefit of studying all of those subjects is that they prepare you for an entry level job in their related fields. For instance, if you really excel in your accounting classes, then you might get a job as an accounting clerk. Plus, studying business administration can prepare you to be an entrepreneur.

2. Communications

There was a time when communications majors were made fun of because the coursework wasn’t viewed as rigorous as other fields. However, today the skills that communications majors acquire, especially soft skills like critical thinking, writing, public speaking, and research, are viewed as extremely valuable by employers. In fact, one of the complains that many employers have about a lot of other programs is that they don’t focus on those important soft skills. Therefore, many college graduates from other disciplines have trouble finding a job. A communications degree can enable you to work in the following career fields:

•   Advertising

•   Media

•   Public Relations

•   Content Creation

•   Social Media Marketing

•   Journalism

3. Computer Science

It’s true that a majority of computer science majors end up working in the technology industry. However, there are a growing number of opportunities for computer science graduates that don’t involve traditional technology jobs. That’s because the underlying analytical, problem solving, and technical skills that students gain are highly sought by employers. The next time you do an online job search, list those skills in the description to learn more about the kind of jobs you can find. Many of the biggest tech startups were founded by computer science graduates. Furthermore, you can use your programming skills acquired from a CS degree to build and sell apps.

4. Engineering

There was a time when engineering majors mostly led to engineering careers. However, that’s definitely no longer the case now. Engineering graduates can find a plethora of jobs in many “new economy” career fields. For example, design, user experience, supply chain management, logistics, and operations management. Furthermore, engineers are being sought by companies both big and small, government agencies, and even the military.

5. Math

Finally, a degree in math no longer means you have to take a job as a math teacher or engineer. Thanks to the rapid growth in big data and personal finance, there are a lot of career options for graduates with advanced math skills:

•   Economics

•   Data Analyst

•   Market Research

•   Business Analytics

•   Actuary or Statistician

•   Scientific Research

•   Financial Management

A math degree can also be a good background for those students who go on to graduate school to earn advanced degrees that require lots of number crunching and analysis. For instance, graduate programs in economics and finance require that students have a strong background in mathematics.

In short, if you are looking for a highly versatile degree that can prepare you for a number of different business-related careers, then you should consider majoring in business administration. You can gain many of the valuable soft skills that employers want by studying communications. A degree in computer science can prepare you for traditional technology jobs, as well as positions that require a lot of analytical, problem solving, and technical skills. Even studying engineering opens up many possible career options. Lastly, majoring in math can prepare you for several professions.

1.) Suspicious Photos

Most romance scammers use fake photos – typically of models – for their online dating profiles. If the person in a dating profile looks like they are a model, then you should definitely be suspicious. However, not all romance scams use photos from models. A growing number of con artists are stealing photos from real dating profiles to use for their scams. Luckily, you can research the authenticity of anyone’s picture by conducting a reverse image search on Google. A reverse image search will let you know if the same photo has ever been used anywhere else online.

2.) Quick to Profess Love

Most online romance scammers will be quick to say that they love you without really knowing you very well. The scammer is hoping that they can appeal to your emotions (and that your emotions will cloud your better judgement). Therefore, before you let yourself fall in love fast, make sure that you know the other person is real – and that their love for you is real.

3.) Taking the Conversation to Another Platform

Every online dating site features a way for members to communicate with each other through the site (either by chat and/or email). This is to protect members so that they don’t have to reveal their personal contact information. However, a romance scammer will often immediately want to take the conversation to another platform like phone or email. Therefore, you should be very cautious about conversing with someone you have just met via phone or email. Instead, you should keep the conversation on the dating site until you are sure the other person is real.

4.) Unable to Meet

Most users join online dating sites to meet someone to date (in person). However, a romance scammer will never be able to meet you in person. Therefore, if you have spent a long-time talking to someone who claims to really care about you, but they aren’t interested in meeting, then you should question whether that person has genuine, romantic interests in you.

5.) Poor English

Many online romance scammers operate out of foreign countries like Nigeria. That means their English writing skills are often bad. If you come across a dating profile with a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as awkward wording, you should be suspicious. Likewise, if someone sends you messages that contain a lot of mistakes, then you should be suspicious as well. International scammers will often pick random cities to list on their profile. Therefore, you can ask them questions about the city they list on their profile to get a feel for if they are really from there.

6.) Requesting Money

Finally, the biggest red flag that should alert you to a potential romance scam is if someone asks you for money. Remember, you joined a dating site to give your heart to someone, not your life savings. Just make it a policy that you will never send money to anyone that you meet on a dating site. Then, if someone gets mad at you for refusing to send them money, you know that they aren’t really in love with you.

In short, when it comes to matters of the heart, people often make poor judgements, especially when it comes to money. Therefore, when you join an online dating site, you must err on the side of caution. If a user’s photo looks suspicious, conduct a reverse image search to find out who they really are. Those who are quick to profess their love to you – and requests that you take the conversation to another medium – are often scammers. If you have been chatting with someone for a long-time and they refuse to meet, there is a chance that they are a con artist. Poor English skills are another red flag that a dating profile might be an international scammer. Last but not least, if you meet someone who wants money, they are (likely) trying to rip you off. Don’t send them any money – and report their profile to the dating site.