OS X Finder customize default folder display
You can do it on a per folder basis. From the folders you care about - I would imagine this is just your users and root harddrive on your desktop. That'll cover most cases.

Open them, and hit either command-J, or View -> Show View Options.

If you're in Column mode, you'll see a check box to then alway show the folder in that mode.

If you always start finder from a couple of pre-defined places, eg. your desktop double-clicking your drive, this ought to cover your most frequent usage.