Growing up, my friends would be upset with me because I could never pick out the movie we should go see or which restaurant we should eat at. I’m just a very indecisive person, so naturally, when it came college I was no different. For starters, I couldn’t figure out which college I wanted to go to and eventually transferred. You can probably imagine that deciding my major was far from easy.
I’m just starting my sophomore year and have already changed my major four times. Yep, four. I’ve always envied my friends who have known what they want to major in since they were eight years old. For me it was a little different. I’ve changed my life plan more than anyone I know. When I was applying for college, I was set on going into Physical Therapy, and that quickly changed as I arrived at college. Next, I was set on Nursing.
But as time went on, I thought, “Why stop there?,” so I became more interested in Pre-Med. Then I experienced a college Chem class and learned quickly that it wasn’t the field for me. I later discovered my passion for writing and decided Journalism was the field to go into. However, last semester I discovered that I love Elementary Education and I love watching kids learn. But starting out this year, I’m more lost and undecided than ever. I truly have no clue what I want to major in.
And that’s okay.
See, the thing about deciding a major is that it doesn’t always equate to your career. The greatest piece of advice I’ve ever received is to major in something you’re passionate about and something you enjoy learning. It doesn’t have to be in the field you plan on having a job in. It’s not a bad thing to have many passions. If you can’t narrow it down to just one thing you want to study, consider that a blessing. It’s good to have many passions!
The U is great at helping you explore your options and find a major that you are interested in. They have an office dedicated to undecided majors called CAPE: The Center for Academic Planning and Exploration. CAPE has countless online resources along with workshops, plans, labs, networks and major coaching. Try taking a class in different fields you’re curious about and see which one you like best. As always, your academic advisor is there to answer questions about your major exploration. You can even talk to a major advisor in every single department if you need to!
You’re young. You don’t have to know what you want to do with your life coming out of high school. That’s just unrealistic. How can you know what you’re passionate about when you haven’t explored the real world yet? It’s okay to not know what you want to do. People can take time to decide what they want to major in. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 80% of students in the United States will change their major at least once, and on average college students change their major three times over the course of their college career.
Additionally, don’t pick a major that you aren’t passionate about because you think it will earn you more money in the future. You can make a lesser amount of money with a “high-paying” major or a lot of money with a “low-paying” major. It’s important to learn about what you like, not suffer through classes you hate just to potentially earn more money. No one wants to hire someone who isn’t passionate about their job! We’re in school for one reason: to learn. You might as well enjoy your time here.
Sure, I get laughs from my friends, pity from others and constant questions from my family. But I know that I will figure it out with time and it’s okay to not know. It’s a big decision, and nobody ever said there was anything wrong with taking your time to decide your passions.