How did you guys decide your intended major?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Perhaps this would fit better on a different forum, but I've always used this one and am interested in feedback from fellow high school students.</p>

<p>I'm only a sophomore but have recently attended my first official college tour (I went to others through my older sister) and there were a lot of questions about what I plan to major in. I have some areas in mind and am genuinely interested in all of them.</p>

<p>I'm stuck between Film/Screenwriting, English Education and Journalism.</p>

<p>Being a screenwriter has always been an aspiration of mine because I love to write creatively but I feel as if a Creative Writing major is useless and I just dream about my novels being turned, in some way, into tv shows. I'm in my school's film club and have worked in the process of creating one film and will probably make around seven short films before I graduate. I also am going to take Tech Theatre next year. At the same time, I'm not completely sure it's for me because of a bad film group experience and just fear about if earning that degree would be useful.</p>

<p>I'm also really interested in being a middle school language arts teacher because I've been deeply inspired by my own 8th grade language arts teacher. I adore English and sometimes daydream about the impact I could have on students, and teaching just seems like an interesting job choice. But I also feel like teaching has made so many unhappy, so I'm anxious at the thought of if I would really enjoy the job. I'm planning to be a TA for my 8th grade language arts teacher junior and senior year (I'm a sophomore now) so I hope I'll get a better feel on if it's right for me, but as of now, I'm unsure.</p>

<p>And then there's journalism. Previously, I never thought of this as a serious major I'd like to pursue but now, after becoming a section editor in my school's newspaper (which consistently wins awards and high honors) and attending J Day at UNC Chapel Hill, it has become a real possibility (especially if I got into UNCC, which has such a renowned journalism program). There are parts of being on the school newspaper that I adore and also many that are stressful. I like the feeling of adrenaline I get when interviewing people even though I'm socially awkward and, previous to my newspaper class, very reserved and unwilling to go into many social situations. I love wording my stories perfectly after much editing and even going on ad campaigns (but that's mostly because it gets us off campus and able to get Chickfila :)). I love thinking about how my peers are going to read this and in a way, I have an impact. But again, I'm unsure if I would actually enjoy a career in print journalism (when people say newspapers are dying) or any kind. </p>

<p>So my question is, how did you guys decide (even cautiously, as we're all prone to changing our minds) on your predetermined major? And what would be your advice for me? I feel like I'm taking part in programs that will allow me to better understand my job choices, but it's confusing me even more.</p>

2

<p>I didn’t think much about biology until I was in 9th grade, but my honors biology teacher made it interactive, thought-provoking, and all around intriguing for me. I started reading articles on my own, about stem cells, mitochondria, diatoms, etc, and I guess it just amazes me to think about the complex organizations of molecules and biological processes that make life. I took AP Biology 10th grade, and I decided that what interests me the most is molecular biology. I’ve decided that I want to go into biomedical science research. </p>

<p>My advice for you would be to try and participate in activities that could apply your skill. You could join/make a writing club at your school, or try and participate in competitions. I know it’s a different form of writing, but I have a friend that was writing a story on Wattpad, and it actually got printed and published last year.</p>

3

<p>Well it was fairly easy for me because I knew that I wanted to be a journalist for sure. So the major sorta followed suite.</p>

4

<p>Wow, that’s awesome for your friend, @awakeningvenus ! I actually queried a bunch of literary agents about my most recent manuscript and received a few requests for either the partial or full manuscript so I know I have some potential at least. In the end, they all ended up rejecting me but I’m too young to be hopeless and there are still many agents to query. :)</p>

<p>I feel like I am taking steps toward participating in all the areas I’m interested in.</p>

<p>For Film:
-Film Club
-Taking Tech Theatre next year (not really the same but related)</p>

<p>English Education:
-TA for my old teacher (and obviously taking as many English classes as I can)</p>

<p>Journalism:
-Newspaper staff (hopefully going up in the ranks from this year as the student life section editor to one of the top four editors next year)
-J-Day at UNC Chapel Hill and maybe even their Summer Institute</p>

<p>And of course, in regards to my ambitions of being an author, I try to write (though sometimes fail) as much for my novel series as I can and am querying regularly. Alas, I am still perplexed. Maybe I should leave it to time?</p>

5

<p>@CE527M I guess my challenge is that I can picture myself in any of these careers and being perfectly content (with writing on the side). In a way, I want to be all of these things.</p>

6

<p>Well, you could always double major. You don’t have to major in journalism to be a journalist, so don’t feel obligated to choose your career now.</p>

7

<p>I found what I didn’t want to do. Then I worked backwards. Eventually, I ended up at engineering :)</p>

8

<p>I considered just about everything under the sun: linguistics, biomedical engineering, opera, veterinary science, etc., but ended up choosing elementary education at the end of the summer before senior year. (convenient timing, huh?)</p>

<p>How did I make this decision? That summer I had worked at a small water park, and came to enjoy all my interactions with the children that came to visit. They were inquisitive, not afraid to speak their minds, creative, worriless, and just overall refreshing. I had always liked children, but I realized that I especially liked finding out what made them tick, how to get them to think about things, etc. And in very little time, I decided to become an elementary teacher. You should also know that I have always loved school. I had no greater joy in my life than elementary school - not exaggerating. I also enjoyed high school but often forgot this due to the stress of getting good grades. Being an elementary teacher puts a lot of my skill set in use: music, art, general creativity, caretaking and academics are all utilized. It wasn’t a decision lightly made - teachers make little money and are often underappreciated. However, my passion for learning is what drove me to education; I wanted to share this passion with others. </p>

<p>My advice to you is to explore all your ideas fully, and even ideas you’ve never thought about. Exhaust the list of possibilities until you can narrow it down to things that are interesting or things you don’t completely hate. Then try them on, and compare them to what is really important to you in life. This is different for everyone. What truly motivates you on most aspects of your life? I know this sounds like a huge question, and impossible to answer. Not everyone knows going into college. Tons of people don’t know as they go through their entire lives. It’s okay. Just explore the career world and eventually you’ll figure it all out.</p>

<p>If you can get a summer job (it can just be part time) I think that can give you an idea of things you do and don’t like about work environments (i.e. fast paced, free-flowing, etc.) For me, I don’t mind needing to be flexible, but still want my environment to be ordered, and put a lot of stock into being in control of my environment. That’s another reason teaching is a good fit - while your day is often unpredictable, you establish rules and order to create a comfortable environment. I know a guy who was a physics major but is changing to communication. Why? Well, it’s not because he’s not smart enough - he’s brilliant. It’s just that a lot of physics jobs require lots of working alone, and that’s not a good fit for him.</p>

<p>My biggest piece of advice, though, is not to stress. Work diligently towards finding a major, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Everyone does, but many people change their majors, and aren’t any worse for wear. Many roads lead to Rome. Your road to finding a major is not anyone else’s, although looking at their maps might help you draw yours. I sincerely hope you pick the best possible major for you, and wish you the best of luck doing so.</p>

9

<p>I really want to major in Secondary Education of Math.</p>

<p>I found out that I wanted to be a high school math teacher when I was in the 8th grade. I took Algebra I/Math I and I really loved the way my teacher taught! Whenever we would go up to the board to answer some problems, I would ALWAYS have to raise my hand. I loved talking out the problems and doing them in my own way. Of course, there were some embarrassing times when I would accidentally add too much to the overall problem, but I didn’t really care. </p>

<p>I didn’t know that I could public speak until I was in 5th grade. I had to read my D.A.R.E speech out-loud to the whole school, and it didn’t bother me! I’m not typically a shy person, so I think that I could handle being a math teacher. I really want to teach Algebra I though. I want to teach the introductory class so that I could try and help the kids to actually like math, because if they don’t like Algebra I, then are they going to like the rest of the material? Of course, it depends on the teacher, most of the time, but I think the subjects could be quite boring at times. </p>

<p>I may change my idea of a major, but teaching math really intrigues me. I don’t think that I’ll change the major, but I guess time will tell. </p>

<p>Oh, and one more thing. I’d want to teach the honors kids xD But, I’ll more than likely be stuck with the non-honors kids. It wouldn’t be bad, but honors kids are usually SO much more funnier and they don’t take things too literal, </p>

10

<p>Well for Mech. E., I played a lot of Kerbal Space Program. </p>

<p>No but seriously, I’ve been building robots and rockets and crap in my shed since I can remember. My dad was the one who started this with me, and now it’s just kind of part of my life. In Odyssey of the Mind as well, there’s a lot of building props and balsa structures, both of which I find much more fun than writing scripts or painting.</p>

11

<p>I want to be a Music major.</p>

<p>I have always been extremely interested in music, to the point where it’s always sort of set the tone in my life. I initially thought majoring in it would be too tedious, difficult, and impractical and therefore would not be worth it. I now realize that majoring in it is too tedious, difficult, and impractical, but that I would never want to study anything else. And taking AP Music Theory, advanced vocal ensemble, and Music Appreciation (which is really hard at my school) has taught me that putting in long hours for the sake of music is 100% worth it. When I think of myself majoring in something else I enjoy, like a social science, it’s tolerable but not ideal…but when I think of being a bonafide music major, I feel excited, anxious, and determined.</p>

12

<p>I’m still undecided between bioengineering, biomedical engineering, chemistry and biology. I worked backwards. I want to be a surgeon so in college I will have to be on the pre-med track and those are the topics I find interesting. Most likely, I will choose biomedical engineering.</p>

13

<p>I have an unpopular opinion, I guess: do what you love and don’t worry about finding a major.</p>

<p>As a first generation college student, I’ve obsessed over colleges and finding a major and a career since the sixth grade. Ever since middle school, I wanted to go into the sciences - what exactly I wanted to do changed frequently (I bounced around from neurology, pharmacology, chemistry, physics, aeronautical engineering, and even equine dentistry), but I always thought that I wanted to go into the sciences. I even did a two-week, residential physics programme at a STEM university, and I was still convinced that was what I wanted to study.</p>

<p>During my senior year, the college application process was a success for me only in that I learned a lot about myself. When forced to confront who I was through essays, I realised that, even though I was talented in math and science, I had been focusing on those types of occupations mainly through pressure, conscious and unconscious, from my teachers, parents, and peers - that the only way to be successful and make a decent living was to go into the sciences. While I still love math and science, I no know that my true passion and talent lies with the humanities.</p>

<p>Throughout my senior year, I kind of gradually discovered what I really wanted to do - study literature and write. After begin admitted to research universities and STEM colleges, I said no to everywhere I was accepted and took a gap year to work at my school as an archivist (I was interested in library science at the time) and an English teacher.</p>

<p>I’m currently on my gap year, which has taught me a lot about what I want to do. My work as an archivist has taught me that I do not want to be a librarian or an archivist - as great as it sounded, I realised that I really wanted a job with human interaction (as someone who was determined to go into the field that required the smallest amount of human interaction, this was a big surprise to me). I didn’t want to sit down all day.</p>

<p>This is where my experiences teaching came in. I’ve worked as a tutor before, and I’ve had a lot of people tell me that I should be a teacher. I always said no, that it was fun for me the first time, but that if I had to teach the same thing year after year, it would get too repetitive and boring for me. However, this year in particular, I’ve developed pretty strong and rather radical views on teaching, and I kind of came to the realisation that, if you teach “correctly,” no year and no lesson is the same.</p>

<p>I really fell in love with teaching this year, and I now want to become a high school English teacher. I plan on majoring in English and educational studies, and, since I’m interested in teaching in an American school overseas in a country like Austria or Germany, I plan on minoring in German.</p>

<p>You’re going to face a lot of pressure to decide what you want to major in. If you’re not sure, don’t feel like you have to decide. Deciding when you’re not completely sure leads to situations like mine, and while I am so grateful for my entire gap year experience, it would have been a lot more convenient for me to go to college right out of high school.</p>

<p>The best advice I can give is not to tailor your college choice to what you think you want to study now. Get a well-rounded education, and participate in the extracurriculars that captivate your interest, regardless of what you think you’re going to major in. And don’t feel pressure to decide in high school. Good luck. :)</p>

<p>[Sorry about my novel haha]</p>