Are you realizing that your chosen career path simply isn’t for you? Are you at the point in your college career where it’s too late to change majors? Not to worry because you are not alone!
It is very common for students to second guess their career choice. This commonly happens after a student has had an internship related to her chosen major, and she didn’t have a positive experience. Unfortunately, many students don’t have internships until their junior or senior years of college, so if she decides it’s just not for her, it’s often too late to change her major.
First things first. It is important to keep in mind that an internship is usually only a preview of the very basic tasks you would be performing throughout your career. Before you completely discount your current major, look at the bigger picture; visualize your long term career goals. A lawyer would never be a lawyer unless she passed the bar exam. A judge would never be a judge unless she was first a lawyer. Every career path involves baby steps and climbing the latter to your eventual dream position.
If you leave your internship with a lack of self fulfillment or are having trouble seeing any kind of future for yourself in that industry, then you know it is time to explore different options. Even if you want to steer your life in a different direction, you can always find value in what you’ve learned through earning your degree. For example, any student majoring in communications can graduate with a strong skill set in written and verbal communication. These are skills that are valuable in nearly every career path. Perhaps a theater major decides she wants to become a teacher. She is graduating with the ability to stand in front of a group of people and present whatever material needs to be taught with confidence and enthusiasm.
Another option that can be explored is graduate school. Most graduate programs do not require that you have a strong background in the specific subject you want to learn about. This means that a journalism major can receive their masters degree in nursing, or a biology major could apply for their MFA in creative writing. As long as a student has completed an undergraduate degree, nearly any focus of study is open game for graduate school.
Even if you decide to work in your chosen field for a few years, it is never too late to change your career path. Although it is easy to stress about the future, and our plans don’t always work out the way we wanted them to, we have to believe that everything happens for a reason, and we will all eventually find our place in the work force. It is also important to keep in mind that there are no wasted experiences. Everything we learn and every experience we have transforms us into unique, diverse and skilled individuals.