I’m a high school senior and am trying to decide what I want to do. I’m applying to a lot of engineering schools, but I am not sure if my heart is in it. I fear I might get bored of computer science if I pursue that, although I’ve been considering cybersecurity work for a while. I’m pretty interested in law, but am not for the entire competitiveness of the field. Also really considering becoming a pilot for the AF through AFROTC.
How do I narrow it down? How did you?
I chose to major in science education. I wouldn’t say I “regret” it per se, as I enjoy learning about science and my ultimate goal is to become a teacher. However, often I find myself wishing that I had gone with what I was more interested in at the time, doing History and Classics and pursuing social studies education instead (the problem is, I have always been so torn between science and social studies, because I think they are both really awesome!). The only reason I ever wish that I went with history, though, is because I find I enjoy history/geography/classics/archaeology courses MUCH more than my STEM classes (STEM can get really HARD).
Basically, my ultimate decision came down to employ ability. I know that is not such a glamorous reason, but as I knew I wanted my career to be in education, that made things easier. I chose science over social studies because there tend to be more jobs for science teachers in my area, and I would love to teach either subject. Plus, once I get teaching experience under my belt, I can chose to pursue additional certification in social studies if I want to. For you, I would suggest choosing something that you will enjoy, and be happy to study, but also something that can teach you the skills that you will need for your career. Not that you need to know what that will be right now, as you will likely end up switching careers at some point anyway; but if you have your heart set on being an engineer than go for engineering. If not, you may find yourself miserable having to take such a rough courseload that you are not truly invested in. If you think computer science will be boring, I don’t suggest that because it will be hard to do well if you aren’t into it.
Where you are applying, is there an undeclared option where you can try out a few different areas before you decide? This can be enormously helpful if you are unsure.
I went to college with no idea about what I might want to do for a job someday. I thought maybe I might major in biology, my favorite subject in high school. During my first two years of college, I took a lot of interesting classes in a lot of subjects. In spring of sophomore year, I decided I liked English the best and declared it my major. I enjoyed it intellectually and have no regrets in terms of either intellectual fulfillment or career success.
It was not related to what I chose to do as a career, but that did not matter in the slightest. A major in the liberal arts is good for pretty much any career. Some careers, like law or medicine or education (my field), will require you to go to graduate school; others, like a career in banking or consulting, will be happy to employ someone with a BA who majored in classics or history or philosophy or physics or whatever.
If you think you might want engineering but are not sure, there are many schools (e.g., Lehigh, Union, Lafayette) that offer engineering as a possible major but also offer a whole bunch of other majors, including the typical liberal arts majors. Definitely pick a school that includes an engineering major, though, if engineering is a possibility.
I guess you also will need a school that has AFROTC. That should narrow the search somewhat!
Pick a college that offers all the majors you think you might want. Then decide on a major once you get there. If your college requires you to apply naming a specific major (none of my son’s prospective colleges do, but I believe there are some that do), pick the hardest one to switch into later— probably something in engineering. Start out on that path, and veer off it later if something on another path attracts you more!