<p>My daughter is a current freshman who is very unsure about her major. No one in our family is college educated or has had any experience with the types of majors offered at MIT or with the careers they lead to. She picked something she thought she would like to major in (but had no exposure to) and now she is feeling uncertain. Her adviser is someone mostly familiar with that particular major. I guess she has to declare her major at the end of this year, but even if she doesn't, she does not want to waste her opportunity for a great education. She feels like she really needs to figure this out, and soon.</p>
<p>What would be the best way for her to find out about the types of careers available to her in other majors? Is there any other advising available besides with her assigned adviser? She feels like most students there came in knowing exactly what they wanted to do. Any help is really appreciated.</p>
<p>Hi SFL,
I think a lot of freshmen come in not knowing what they’d choose for a major. Your daughter can contact other departments at MIT and ask for an appointment with an advisor within that department. Even if she declares a major this spring, she can still change her mind next fall. There’s time.</p>
<p>My daughter came to MIT with a strong desire to major in physics, but she was also really interested in computer science. Throughout her freshman year, it seemed as if she could go either way, so we just advised her to declare a physics major but take courses in both programs and decide by the end of her sophomore year. By the end of her junior year, it looked as if she would double major in physics and computer science, but over the summer, she decided she wanted to take more physics courses. So she ended up as a physics major with a strong grounding in computer science. Not a bad thing! Sometimes it can be very useful to remain on the fence for awhile.</p>
<p>Your daughter just has to be sure to progress sufficiently through coursework to have SOME major at the end. The thing about careers, is that things are more flexible than you may imagine. For instance, MIT students now work at Pixar with degrees in physics, management, media studies, and math. The important thing is that she select a field that she enjoys, one in which she can excel.</p>
<p>There will be lots of departmental open houses going on during the next few weeks, and she should be sure to attend interesting open houses and ask lots of questions. </p>
<p>She doesn’t have to choose a major this spring – students can remain undeclared until sophomore fall. But I would encourage her to investigate a few majors and pick her best guess, because she can always change her mind later, but declaring a department will get the ball rolling in terms of getting an advisor in the department and getting on track with departmental requirements. </p>
<p>She could also consider making an appointment with the Careers Office – they offer appointments for career counseling, so she could go chat with them generally about what kinds of things she can do with various degree options. I would encourage her, of course, to talk with all kinds of people: upperclassmen, graduate students, and faculty members in her departments of interest.</p>
<p>Note that you can be Undeclared for a while, and this is perfectly fine.</p>
<p>Also make sure that she’s not getting too stressed about picking the “right” major. Several majors would’ve been a good fit for me. My life would’ve been a little different because of each one, to be sure, but things would’ve turned out fine. If she finds herself torn between a couple, make she realizes that she doesn’t really have a wrong choice here ^^</p>
<p>One of the things to keep in mind is that there is not necessarily a great connection between your D’s major and her future career. Our D is a graduating senior who is majoring in neuroscience. She will start medical school in the fall. She is not planning a career as a neuroscientist but was extremely excited about studying the brain and participating in leading edge research while at MIT. She was not really interested in engineering but could have majored in any number of other fields such as chemistry or biology and been perfectly happy. </p>
<p>Of all her friends in her sorority graduating this spring, few are actually pursuing careers in their specific field of study at MIT. Several will go into consulting, others into investment banking, one is going to law school, several to medical school, one will join a pharma company. Although one acquires a lot useful skills while at MIT, it is not a vocational or trade school. Sure, a lot of students will work in computer science for companies such as Google or Microsoft or for NASA or Boeing in aerospace, or Dupont in chemistry. But overall what your D will gain from MIT is creative problem solving, which many employers specifically seek out. Our D got several offers for jobs in industry and even banking even though she never took a single business class while at MIT in the event her medical school plans did not work out. She also interviewed for several MD/PhD programs. A number of student return to business school, law school or med school after a few years in the workforce. </p>
<p>I really don’t think there is a wrong choice in regards to majors at MIT. Your D should pick a field she is really interested in exploring. She will have plenty of time to think about her future career plans and nothing she does while at MIT will lock her out later. She is only at MIT for 4 short years and has a lifetime ahead of her to plan her career.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your helpful suggestions and advice. My daughter has been talking to people in different majors and will visit some of the departmental open houses, as well as possibly make appointments for advising with the Careers Office, advisors in departments she is interested in, and others. She absolutely loves MIT and is interested in a lot of things, so Im sure shell find her place. She is just having a bit of trouble choosing from among the many options.</p>