Choosing a major or career path in life can be pretty tricky and a bit daunting. There is a lot to choose from with a large variety of types of education and jobs out in the world. There is a lot of pressure put on you from a young age to pick what you want to do, which job you choose to pursue, and what you want your future to be. It’s okay to take you time and choose your path later in life.
In high school, I was aiming to become an engineer. I was a part of my school’s STEAM magnet program and took all the classes for engineering. Since San Jose is in the heart of Silicon Valley, engineering is the common ground. I’m Filipino, so for me, it was a choice between a nurse or an engineer, and I chose engineering. It was okay in high school. I met my best friends in the program, and the majority of the classes weren’t that bad.
It was senior year when I thought to myself, Do I want to do this as a career?
I was never good at math and science and was too clumsy to work at a place with machinery. I started thinking about it more. I preferred English and always loved reading and writing. This was when I started shifting towards Journalism and decided that it should be my major. People were against it when I told them about it.
They wondered why I decided to change and why I joined a STEAM magnet at school if I was going to be majoring in something else, especially at a school more focused on STEAM like San Jose State University. I had the experience that’d be good for an engineering career but not for Journalism. It was a worry I had senior year, especially since I wasn’t able to get out of the STEAM program that year.
Then I thought that it was okay. It was fine that I changed my mind. It wasn’t something that made me jump in excitement, but it was just a calm moment. I don’t have to worry. I realized that even though I had all these experiences and the education fit for an engineer, it shouldn’t stop me from changing the path I want to go into. It’s never too late. It’s never too late to change your mind about where you want to go in life.
If you’re worried about changing your major to something entirely different than your original choice- it’s okay. If you feel like you would enjoy something else instead of what you’re currently studying, change it. Nothing bad will happen to you. It’s better than pursuing something that will make you miserable in the long run. Some things weren’t meant to be.
There is a lot of hesitation and pressure when it comes to choosing. Sometimes people make it seem like what you want to do is ridiculous and that you shouldn’t take the chance of changing majors. They’re wrong. It’s absolutely valid that you want to change things and it’s never too late or too early to focus on something else. There’s no one stopping you except yourself. You just have to take the first step.