If you asked any of the closest people in my life how this dilemma pertains to me, I can safely assume that they’d either laugh about the memories of me rambling on about my concerns, start the conversation with an “Oh my god, you have no idea,” or respond with a rolling of the eyes.
In my time at college, I’ve considered a good quarter of the available majors at UC Berkeley, making the process of picking a major one of my greatest enemies since 2019. It was the topic I wanted to avoid the most, whilst also being the thing that felt most important to me for a good chunk of my college life. Now looking back on it, that was just because I was anxious about what finally making an official decision would mean for my future career options when I didn’t even know exactly what I wanted to do post-grad.
I came in as a freshman Materials Science & Engineering major in the College of Engineering, shifted to pre-law my sophomore year when I caught myself wondering why the heck I was even in an MSE class (no offense to the MSE community; these are just my personal feelings), and finally added data science into my life by the last half of college. And that’s just the short version. To give you a better idea, I have had a pre-nursing phase, a bioengineering phase, an economics phase, a molecular and cell biology phase, a media studies phase, a sociology phase, and more. Even making that list just now, I almost went into panic mode deciding which ones to share with you amongst the numerous options I considered. Major trauma, literally.
Going through this process and speaking to tons of people about it, I’ve learned that everyone has a different approach to selecting a major. This sounds extremely obvious, but decision paralysis and striving for the most linear path possible (because you don’t yet realize that it’s not as common as you think) can make you lose sight of this.
The key is to know what your priorities are and not allowing others to sway your personal reasoning or decision. And if you have absolutely no clue about what kind of field you want to study or work in, just start with using what you do know about yourself.
This would mean knowing what you’re okay with and what you’re not in regards to working styles, salary limitations, and prestige. With this also comes an acceptance of the fact that things may change again soon or later down the road in your career. And if you have any unenjoyable work/school-related experiences, you can use that as getting a step closer to figuring out what you really want, rather than feeling frustrated that you seem to like nothing thus far.
“With this also comes an acceptance of the fact that things may change again soon or later down the road in your career.”
Lois Yoo
There are still other areas of study and career options that intrigue me such as journalism, biology, entertainment, etc. However, I have found myself to be most content with the choice of my Data Science and Legal Studies majors because I feel I get the best of both of my worlds by satisfying my itch to read and write, while also leaving college with a solid understanding of a technical skill. I feel these both have given me a set of skills that can take me into various kinds of careers, which is what I think I need in the beginning stages of my career-building. Plus, I have found they’re a good mix of actually intriguing me and teaching me how to do things that are not always easy.
Think about what your fair trade would be in this regard because it’s very difficult to have it all one way. As for any of those self-imposed duties or untapped interests you fear that you won’t have time to give attention to, remember that that’s what clubs, internships, volunteering, personal research, and even post-grad life are for. Your career as a whole doesn’t have to be reflected solely through your major.
Even my dad, who has successfully been an electrical engineer for almost 25 years and has always visibly enjoyed the pursuit of his career, has told me that even he doesn’t know precisely whether this was ever really the right choice for him in the end. To hear that from someone who has always represented my concept of hard work and ambition and set my standards for life in general, is at the same time a reminder that all of this can easily be seen as a sham (so we can lighten up on the pressure), while also shows that regardless of what high-achieving or “mediocre” choice we make, we can find meaning in it through our own understandings of what kind of career or life is “right” for us personally.