When I chose my college major at the ripe age of 17, I picked something I thought I would be both passionate about and good at. Political science and international affairs felt right; I had a long-standing passion for politics and government, along with a desire to learn about the world around me. Now, three years (and three majors) later, I have found myself returning to the original combined major I declared as a freshman. The heart wants what it wants, I suppose.
Now, you may be asking, why would I change my major repeatedly if I enjoyed the subjects I was studying and the classes I was taking? I blame a phenomenon that I have dubbed “full-time fearmongering.”
It is no secret that the 2026 job market is brutal. Unemployment rates are skyrocketing, wages are plummeting and hope among college graduates is at an all-time low. Over the past six months, I have been urged to reconsider my academic and professional plans more than ever. Some of my favorite comments that I’ve received since starting my co-op in July include: “Might as well take five years to graduate and delay unemployment for a bit.” “What can you even do with that degree?” “Have you considered going into real estate?”
From July to December of 2025, I worked as a social impact marketing co-op for a major business consulting firm, and I was the only co-op there working in a field entirely unrelated to my major. Despite not studying marketing, I wanted to branch out and experience life in the private sector. I absolutely loved the role, but I did not love the endless questions about how I landed the position without a relevant major or what I planned to do next. What happened to the concept of a career pivot? To mobility? To studying something you genuinely love?
Many college students are understandably petrified of the professional climate we will encounter post-graduation, but those of us in the humanities face an unparalleled level of fearmongering surrounding our chances of employment. I feel nervous about my job prospects, but I also don’t feel that I would be better off had I chosen a more generalized area of study. Broader majors are still struggling to find jobs without a specific area of expertise, and seemingly no one is safe from the horrors of unemployment.
Despite the narrative that social sciences and humanities degrees are unemployable, we are not the only ones facing challenges. According to CNBC, the unemployment rate for computer engineering majors sits at 7.5%, computer science at 6.1% and physics at 7.8%. These rates could be worse, but they are also far from optimal. For some humanities students, unemployment rates are comparatively better. Sociology majors, for instance, are seeing a 6.7% unemployment rate, along with public policy and law majors, who are facing 5.5%. Again, are these numbers ideal? Absolutely not. But, they do suggest that a STEM degree is not the golden ticket to employment that it’s often made out to be.
All of this is to say that, while it’s natural to worry about your future employability, changing your major is not always the answer. The job market is unpredictable, and with the rise of artificial intelligence, what is and is not considered a “stable” career path is subject to change in the coming years. Study what you love, and the money will follow. Or, maybe the money won’t follow for a while, but at least you invested your time in something that you are passionate about. Career growth is rarely linear and change is normal, so don’t let full-time fearmongering force you into a future that doesn’t feel like your own.