I'm about to lose my mind here. I very much want to specialize in herpetology, but looking across the interwebs, I'm noticing that all jobs in that field bring home about the same level of income that I'm making now. Getting a PhD to earn entry-level pay goes so far beyond insulting that it can't be placed into words.

Option 2 is law. Law's always intrigued me, but it involves direct involvement in the exact type of moral dilemmas and drama that I try my hardest to avoid. Aside from that, my analytical and psychological skills can team up to turn me into a kick-ass lawyer, and I'd probably not hate the job. Oh, and it pays out the ass.

Option 3 is Microbiology. I'm good at it, I enjoy it, and if I rise to the level of researcher, I'll be considered one of the academic elite of the world with at least a six-figure salary. The only downside is that I won't be able to work with animals, which is my passion beyond all passions.

Option 4 is the perfect, ideal option. Therefor it's practically unattainable. It involves me going for a dual-major in microbiology and herpetology. Herpetology will allow me to attain permits to own, breed, and care for large numbers of reptiles and amphibians, including exotics and dangerous species. Microbiology will allow me to earn the money to maintain said beasties and the prestige that everybody I know seems to think I'm destined for. The danger: going for a dual PhD while at the same time maintaining a full-time job runs the very real risk of me burning out and retiring when I graduate college.


I'm honestly at a complete loss here. Any advice would be deeply appreciated. (Don't advise me to try to mix law with any of the other majors. The variation in coursework would make it almost impossible to pull off in less than 20 years)