How I Knew It Was Time To Change My Major

When I came to college, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to study. I had a set plan in my mind and I was not keen on changing it. As time passed, I realized that maybe what I thought was for me was not actually the path I was meant to take.  

Going to a large university, there are so many choices for what to major in. If you’re in a position right now where you’re unsure if what you’re currently pursuing is meant for you, you are not alone. I was in the same place and I’m here to share some of the things that made me realize it was time for a change.

Interest or career?

Originally, I started as an astrophysics major. I loved — and still love — math, science and pretty much everything about the major. Even though I loved it, I started to realize I couldn’t see myself doing it forever.  

The people around me in my classes seemed like they had it all figured out. They knew what research they wanted to do or where they wanted to work. That’s what made me realize that astro wasn’t quite “sticking” for me. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it or that it was too difficult, it just didn’t feel right when I thought about the future.   

This was further shown to me when I went to a presentation about research opportunities and nothing seemed to really grab me. Noted, I knew that there were other opportunities out there, but it made me think. In fact, I even told my friend who was with me that I wanted “to be the one who builds the things being sent up,” which looking back makes me realize I knew I wanted to do engineering all along.  

It was difficult deciding whether or not to switch out of it. I spent a lot of time thinking about it and talking to friends about it until I decided that I needed to focus on putting in the same amount of time and effort into something that I felt like I could have as a career.  

The first pair of majors

I still wanted to stay in the general field of physics, so I talked to an advisor and decided to switch to physics as a major. I have always been interested in quantum physics, so this seemed like a great plan.  

At the time, I also knew as a 100% fact that I loved math and I knew that no matter what I did for a career I would be happy if I could do math. So, I added that as a concurrent major. 

I finished out freshman year feeling confident in my decision, but as my sophomore year started, I got the same feeling about physics as I did astrophysics.  

The big change

It was around a quarter into the fall semester when I decided that something had to change. I talked to friends, looked into different programs and really took the time to think about what I love doing academically and just in general.  

The writing was quite literally on the walls. I’m sitting in my dorm, thinking, and when I turn my head, I see all the pictures of cars and race tracks I had put up. That’s when it clicked, and that night I set up a meeting with a mechanical engineering advisor.  

To say the meeting went well would be an understatement. I left there knowing that this is what I want to do. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m confident that it will be worth it. 

what I learned

The biggest takeaway I got from the whole process is that if you feel like something isn’t right for you, don’t be afraid to try something new. It’s unlikely that you’ll know exactly what you want to do your freshman year of college.  

Don’t be afraid to go and talk to people about new opportunities. If I hadn’t gone and talked to as many advisors and professors as I did, I wouldn’t be where I am now.  

Another big thing is to not ignore the signs. If there’s a part of you that thinks you may want to do something, at the very least look into it. Find what you love and go after it.  

I’m grateful that I got to where I am now and that I found my path, but I’m also grateful for the process that got me here. I met so many people and learned more than I would have if I didn’t start in astrophysics.  

No matter where you start, you’ll find where you’re meant to be. If someone would’ve told me that I would be majoring in both math and mechanical engineering, I never would’ve believed them. It’s important to trust the process until you find what’s right, even if it takes a minute.  

• academics
• change majors
• college
• engineering
• major
• school
• science
• switch majors