Life, no one really has it figured out. Which is okay especially in the case of figuring out a major before you go to college. For each school that you apply to there is that one little section about a potential major which oftentimes seems like the biggest choice of your life besides figuring out what school you want to go to.
In my case, I picked a major that I had a small amount of genuine interest in but wouldn’t exactly give me a job after college. Not to say that you won’t become more interested in the major you’ve chosen after a couple of years. But here’s the thing. I am a current freshman and thought that before coming to college I needed to have my life figured out. Boy, was I wrong.
This is only my second semester, but I’ve changed my major two times. The first time was after I submitted my application to Purdue, then realized during the summer that I had no interest in the major I’d chosen. The second time was after winter break. I didn’t like the classes I had taken that were required for my major and I really didn’t see myself having a career with the major I had chosen. So, I did what any indecisive teen/adult would do. I panicked.
I thought, if I can’t figure this out now, then I never will. Which is my typical response to anything that I can’t decide on. Yet, when it came down to figuring out my next choice for a major, I had to look at myself and my personality. What do I like to do in my free time? What things do I want to accomplish? And that’s when it hit me.
I didn’t need to have this all figured out before coming to college. Heck, I don’t even need to have it figured out now that I’m at college. Sure, having your major figured out is nice because it gives you some sense of where your life is going. But guess what, no one can honestly say that they knew what they were going to do with their life as soon as they got to college. Yes, I now have a major that I think suits me better and will most likely help me get the job of my choice once I graduate. But I didn’t need to know as soon as I got into Purdue what my major would be.
My advice for picking a major is to start with something that you are genuinely interested in. If you’re into engineering, great. Want to be in theater? Go for it. If you think for even a minute that something you’re interested in is something you could turn into a career, then do it. Don’t worry about what the future might look like if you don’t declare a major your first year of college. Just get a sense of who you are and what you like to do because this is college. You can literally do anything.