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I'm studying computer science right now (2 years ago I liked mathematics and wanted a cool career, so I decided computer science would probably be best), but after a year of paleo I'm starting to hate computers more and more. They are just boring. I also find myself listening to podcasts while I should be studying, and I actually spend a lot of time writing things down, looking stuff up, experimenting, ...

When going to the libray at school I can't help but reading biology text books instead of what I really should be reading : computer science stuff. This is my third year at the university, but I'm suddenly considering different studies. Maybe even in a different country.

Have you considered studying biology, nutrition, ... as a result of your health journey?

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 You would probably get bored and frustrated withe mainstream,brainwashed nutrition classes too.Paleo nutrition classes are hard to find,so stick to the computers and if you so desire,sign up for a class in nutrition. – desi Apr 15 2012 at 12:24
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 LOL You sound like me except I'm a highschool student. I was gonna go for nutrition / life sciences then decided on mathematics instead. But I don't think I could ever do nutrition because of the conventional wisdom in the industry. – Celton Apr 15 2012 at 14:07
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 Through and through, my life. I'm a junior in CS and I loved math, so hell yeah comp sci...but now I want nothing to do with technology. – smackles Apr 15 2012 at 15:55
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 I decided to go to a Holistic Nutrition School and while there are some things in the program I don't wholeheartedly agree with, at my school at least they are much more open to alternative diets and lifestyles. It might be worth looking into, because at the end of the day once you have your degree you can base your practice on what you deem scientifically relevant and applicable. I'm personally loving my program and switched into it after 7 years pursuing English (BAH and MA). I found myself doing a lot of the same things you do and don't think I could go back to what I was doing before. – Cait Apr 15 2012 at 17:29
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 Yeah, haha, so many people suggested naturopathy to me, and while I love the integration of traditional and alternative medicine, nothing makes me want to shoot myself more than pseudoscience, and unfortunately that is still an integral part of a lot of the colleges still (at least the ones in my area). – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 22:56
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7 Answers

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I worked for 18 years with great pay and excellent benefits and had a stable job and a comfortable environment. My boss loved me. But I started hating what I was doing, my heart was not in it. So I quit and now I am going back to school.

There is no amount of money in the world that would compensate for doing something you no longer love. I am a different person now that I used to be before. You absolutely have to love what you do.

I am not going into nutrition though. It is going to be too boring for me to deal with food all the time.

Do what makes you happy.

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You are part of one of the largest problems in our society. You can't hate what you do, if you hate your job and it's heavily impacting your life outside of work too then by all means you have to leave. But, you can't NOT work anywhere unless you love it. Strive for what you love and be zealous, but you have to be reasonable and live in THIS reality where life isn't fair, you're not so special and unique, and not everyone is just as good as the next. – cbucker Oct 17 at 21:36
I am very unique and special (just like everybody else yet in my own way). I am extremely talented, intelligent, creative, supportive and a great colleague. It is impossible to find people like me nowadays, I am a rare find. I always knew it in my heart, but so many people told me this - I don't even get embarrassed anymore, I take it as a given. Not that I am better than others - I am just very different. You should see the letters of recommendations I got - they bring tears to my eyes. I am sure you are unique in your own ways as well. – VB Oct 17 at 21:57
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Same here. Currently doing my masters degree in computer science. But maybe this will some day get me a good job to pay tons of high quality food :-).

I often sneak into biology/anatomy/psychology lectures at the university and spend every minute of my free time listening to podcasts and read paleo books etc.

Just make sure to get vitamin d unless you're programming your laptop at the park ;)

All in all: considered to study biology yes, but there's also the chance to combine computer science and medicine/biology later, so I'll stick with computer science.

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 You sneak into lectures? That's a freaking awesome idea! I'll definitely will start doing that. – Bruno Apr 15 2012 at 9:50
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 A friend of mine used to sneak into lectures all of the time in college. Granted, he could really only sneak into the bigger 100 and 200 level class lecture halls, but he did learn some interesting things that did not apply to his major. – Clint Apr 15 2012 at 10:25
Yeah, don't try to sneak into little lectures. I got torn up and down by a prof once for trying to sit in on a biochem lecture (I'd even already taken the course, I just wanted some review for a microbio course). 100 is the min size I sit in on now! – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 22:54
In undergrad, all my classes were less than 35 people...I would never have gotten away with that! I'm jealous. – Sunny Beaches Apr 15 2012 at 23:42
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 Steve Jobs got most of his undergrad education sitting in on lectures he wasn't officially taking. See if your university has an "audit" option for courses taken not for credit. – gydle Apr 16 2012 at 5:10
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Well, I'm in an RD program because of this stuff. But I HAD to keep my stats minor, because I couldn't completely abandon math (my first love...). Plus, stats will be very useful for graduate studies! I honestly don't think it has to be completely one or the other, and people shouldn't be afraid to play around with their degrees. You can get a minor, a double minor, a double major, honors etc. I started off in honors microbiology and biochemistry, decided it wasn't what I wanted to do forever, transferred to dietetics, decided I wasn't happy ONLY doing dietetics, picked up a stats minor and boom, long degree but in the end it'll be worth it. I have dietetics friends minoring in computer science, food science, biology etc, it pretty much only adds 1 year at most to your degree. If you are interested in it, I'd recommend dietetics as your route because "nutritionist" is a totally ungoverned word- you can go to a holistic school of nutrition and be competing with people who completed one online course, and still not be taken seriously by any scientist or medical professional you come into contact with.

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Thats some great advice Jenny. I'm starting out on a new career path in massage therapy and loving it, but I can tell that it's not something I want to be limited to forever so I think it's best for me to slowly built up my skill base and just do some expansion within the health field, maybe I could use dietetics to complement what I already know about holistic health through massage. Can I just ask do you find the theory in dietetics to be drastically against the grain of paleo/non mainstream theory? If so how do you get yourself through it? – Rob Apr 15 2012 at 22:50
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 Yeah, dietetics is just the food guide. I mean, it is the basis of all eating recommendations, so it is pretty much just SAD. It's a lot of food management, food safety, counseling skills, biochemistry, animal physiology etc too though. I don't find it too much of a challenge- I know what I know, and I don't believe everything I told, but I still put the right thing down in the test in order to get an A. The way I see it, it's kind of like "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" deal- by doing this, I know where we still have to go, what we are up against. – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 22:59
That sounds a little malicious, but I mean that in as nice and educational way as possible. I look at it as learning where we are at now, and then I can see where I want things to go. It isn't that hard- if people can't grit their teeth and write the tests we will NEVER have paleo RD's and therefore will never be taken seriously. I learn so much because for everything we do in class I can research it and form my own opinions. In an ideal world EVERY student should question what they are taught, not just went they have a preformed dissenting opinion. Learning would progress a lot faster. – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 23:02
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 I don't go out of my way to be crazy confrontational- I need to make a living in this field, I'm not going to get any respect or interesting conversations going if I run around saying how wrong everything is. When people ask me what I eat, I say it, and nobody finds it that crazy- I mean, I eat veggies, meat, no gluten, no processed foods. When they see my lunches, they exclaim how healthy it all is. We can have real conversations about processed foods and get the dialogue going, and nobody is looking at me funny. Most people realize that eating whole foods is better- including dietitians. – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 23:06
A lot of people here like mathematics :). – Bruno Apr 16 2012 at 5:19
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I think it is a very good option to consider! We need more Paleo nutritionist/dietitians! =) Good luck!

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Hey man, I've been playing around with this idea for a little while as well. I used to work in a corporate job before I realised it was shit for my life and health. I am now studying massage therapy and becoming more and more inquisitive about the biology, health and nutrition. I think I would enjoy learning about nutrition, but currently in Australia (not sure where u are from) it is an unregulated industry, so basically anyone can legally call themselves a nutritionist or a dietician regardless of their qualifications, therefore the problem of being able to find work and make a profitable career out of it is limited.

Secondly, I'm not sure what sort of nutrition would be taught in uni, I'd hate to get started on the course only to discover they are teaching CW and SAD philosophy. I just wouldn't be able to see the course through. I'd be more inclined if they taught more the science and biology side of things but I really don't know what to expect, which is why I'm hesitant.

Maybe someone on here has sat through a degree in nutrition and dietetics.

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I'd love it if they would start teaching CW and SAD. Debates are fun. On the other hand, it is true that nutrition and dietetics in my country is a bit ridiculous I've heard. I wanna have fun though, don't care that much for degrees and career etc., just want to learn at my own pace and what I really want to learn. – Bruno Apr 15 2012 at 9:52
I'm in Oz too. One of my bests friends studied naturopathy and had to leave because she couldn't make a career of it. I considered it too however am also worried that I will disagree with a lot of what they teach and will fail because of my inability to regurgitate outdated BS. – Jeannine Apr 15 2012 at 10:49
Honestly? In my program you have to sit through bullshit, but it's kind of like the "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" (but less malicious). We can all rave and rant on here on the errors of SAD, but since immersing myself in it I can really figure out how we got to this point. Sitting through it and learning it inside out is the only way that paleo will be considered legitimate- when there are RDs who believe in it. – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 22:53
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I used to be a community pharmacist (for 15 years). I lost my job and now there isn't any way that I would want to go back to that...I can't even tell you in how many ways! Since starting paleo about 8 months ago I've read a lot of books and blogs and think my calling is in nutrition. I am so impressed with how much a lot of you hackers know (!!!) and hopefully someday I will be able to share what I know too. Only problems are finding a suitable program and being a much older student. If I wait too long I'll be retirement age and won't be able to find a job. However, I believe you are never too old to learn.

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 F*ck retirement, just do whatever you like. I see so many people around me get depressed when they retire, and the positivity in your answer really made me smile! – Bruno Apr 15 2012 at 17:57
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 I hope you also choose to do what makes you happiest. Good luck! – MiMintzer Apr 15 2012 at 21:31
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 My mom is back to school at 50, in a 5 year program. She's having a blast! I wouldn't worry about it, there are plenty of dietetics students who are in their 40's in my program. We live so long now, there is no point in waiting around if you feel great and want to get back in there! – JeJ Apr 15 2012 at 22:53
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Bauman College

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 Being a nutrition consultant doesn't give you any authority to prescribe diets though. Only an RD can legally do that. – Jeff Apr 15 2012 at 19:16

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