I am a senior and I will begin applying to colleges soon, but I am going through a crisis because I am unsure what to major in? Warning This post may be a lot to read and a lot of negative energy, but pasting all my feelings helps me calm down from my existential crisis.
I was always focused on school ever since I was young, and all I did was try hard in school. Then in sophomore year, my teacher clocked me with a reality check by having us write a career paper. Up until sophomore, I had only known that I would graduate high school, go to hopefully one of my dream colleges (UCB, UCLA, or UCSD), and get a job after graduating. I never thought about what type of job specifically. I also never really thought about what I would want to major in. Even though my sophomore English teacher tried to get me (well and the rest of my classmates) to think about the future, I always was scared and just thought I would have a deeper understanding when I was a senior. I thought I had at least a year still, so I never truly thought about it. I just passed through high school without ever truly truly thinking about my future. I know I may sound like I’m dumb because if I don’t think about college, how would I even get in? But I promise I am actually a decent student and all my time was stolen by my calculus teacher.
My calculus teacher alone would assign lengthy homeworks that could that me up to 5 or 6 hours. On average doing my calculus homework would take 3 to 3.5 hours, and I had that same teacher both sophomore (for AB) and junior (for BC) year of high school. With homework from other classes, extracurricular activities, and trying to keep my sleep deprivation to a minimum, I never really had the time to think about majors and colleges seriously. I may sound like I am exaggerating how psychotic my calc teacher was, but she truly is crazy. A student from the class of 2017, who will be entering Stanford in a science major, lost his valedictory status due to a high B+ (about 89.9) in her class.
Anyway I never really tried to figure out what I wanted to major in. I blindly thought I would major in computer science, because I wanted to be an engineer. However, now that I am truly reflecting, I am not sure I want to major in computer science. I am taking AP computer science currently in high school, but I do not understand it. The subject is alright and I can follow along and do all the assignments, but nothing makes sense to me.
This leaves me not knowing what I want to do. I always thought I would do computer science, but I do not understand it at all. Also, I do not feel particularly interested. I am certain I will do major in something within the STEM field because I am strong in those areas and actually terribly weak with writing and English. Also, I have no aptitude at all for an liberal arts major, and I hate them too. Therefore, I want to major in a STEM field. However, I am unsure which field I want to pursue specifically.
I ask around, and some of my classmates say that they want to be surgeons. I ask them how they know, and they say they have always known that wanted to be surgeons. I continue asking and other classmates apparently are set on mechanical engineering, aerospace engineers, or human bio. Everyone around me seems to be so sure, while I have suddenly become unsure of what I want to major in. Some of my close friends also already their major, and some others are leaning toward one. Everyone is so sure of what interests them and what their passions are, but I seem to not know myself??
Here is my current train of thought. I am good at and understand math and sciences, so I should probably major in a STEM field. However, I did not like math as I reached the higher levels because learning was not interesting and became frustrating. I mean I understood and did well in the class still, but in terms of just learning math, I did not like it. Biology was a lot of memorizing and words. AP Biology is even harder words and harder concepts to memorize. I think I would prefer a different science to bio. Stats is also math, but not math and too many words so I do not get it.
Basically my choices I have narrowed down to are: computer science, physics, chemistry, and other types of engineering. I honestly iffy about other types of engineering because I still need to do my research. I am considering physics, but I am not too sure if I like it. I enjoyed general chem (in hs), but the jump to AP chem (also in hs) was insane. I actually did manage to understand chemistry and it was somewhat interesting, but it was extremely difficult. My other choice is computer science, but as I said before, I am unsure if I really want to do computer science.
How can I pick a major that I will not regret?
As of right now, my current job aspirations range from software programmer to a dermatologist or a nurse.
I teach at Cal State and I often have my students ask me a similar question. What should their major be; in what area should they specialize? I can’t answer that for them; they need to figure that out for themselves. But this is the advice I offer.
Go to a job-hunting website. Monster.com and dice.com are 2 good possibilities. Another thing you could do would be to attend a career fair at a local college or university. Check out the jobs available and see what interests you. What sounds like you might enjoy the work? Which companies sound good to you? This should give you some idea of where you want to be in 5 years when you graduate with your degree. When you find 2 or 3 jobs/positions that interest you, look at what they need. If you were applying for those jobs today, what would the employers want to see on your resume? What kind of degree, summer work experience, etc. are they looking for? When you think you’ve narrowed iy down where you want to end up, then you can spend the next 4-5 years getting yourself into a good position to apply for one of those jobs when you graduate, getting the qualifications your future employers will want.
So in short, my advice would be to look at future jobs/careers and NOT a major. The major should come naturally out of careers that interest you.
Most people honestly have no clue even as graduates. Most students change majors. Many students go to college wanting to be a stem major and find out its not for them. Also be aware that just because you don’t like something in hs you may have a change of heart in college. Go to college undecided and take a variety of classes and you will find something. Do not over think it. What you majored in at college does not necessarily have anything to do with what you end up doing in life. It just kind of works out.
Check out the “Occupational Outlook Handbook”. It lists numerous career options that exist and gives descriptions, salary, and projections for the future. It can be found at the library or you purchase your own copy.There is also an online version (see below). It’s a government publication. I made sure my child reviewed it.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
The caveat about picking a major for SLO is that it is much easier to switch down then up. So if you are leaning towards an Engineering major, I would apply for one the Engineering disciplines. All majors are impacted and competitive, but some majors are easier to switch into later if you feel you selected the wrong major. The issue with SLO is that before you can change majors, you will be evaluated on your original Freshman stats to see if you were qualified to get accepted into the new major in the first place, that is why “backdooring” at SLO is ill advised (picking a easier admit major and then trying to switch into a more competitive major). Changing major is definitely possible at SLO but keep this information in the back of your mind.
If you are really unsure about what you want to study, you might consider schools with more flexibility in changing majors or schools were you do not have to declare a major immediately. Many of the private schools admit not based on major. UC Santa Cruz allows up to end of Sophomore year to declare your major but all the Cal States admit by major (although many offer Undeclared) and several the UC’s especially in the Engineering disciplines.
Given that you’re not too fond of biology and chemistry…nursing and dermatology probably wouldn’t be your cup of tea.
CS and any form of engineering will force you to take math at a higher level, ie multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and possibly more. If you really don’t like math and don’t want to take hard math classes, don’t do these majors.
@MaryGJ Sorry, my wording must have been bad. I am more neutral about biology. It’s not that I dislike biology, I simply don’t like it. I would prefer a different science. I had a hard time in chemistry, but I liked chemistry.
@anxiousenior1 I meant I do not like math as I do not want to major in math and only study math. My stronger suit is math and I am okay with it, but I do not like it enough to major in it.
@scubadive I have considered going undeclared, but both computer science and chemistry are usually impacted. I am afraid I will not be able to get into those majors if I go undeclared because they are so impacted.
Find something you really like and excel at. Stem is not the only choice. Not saying you won’t find a stem major but its not the only thing.
@scubadive I’m very grateful for your advice and I do not want to sound like I am refusing to listen, but STEM is what I I excel at (compared to other subjects). I just am unsure if I only excel at StTEM or if I excel and enjoy STEM.
@rednotebook3 , after reading this thread, I think some of the best advice is to stay flexible. I’m a high school teacher and I see and hear the pressure placed on students to make life-long educational and career choices at a time when kids simply aren’t capable of doing so. Don’t be over-anxious about lacking certainty regarding your future. It takes time. At least it should.
For many people, college is the time when they find their true calling. For others it might be the second or third career change in adulthood. Don’t put pressure on yourself to choose. Rather, put pressure on yourself to explore and progress. Keep moving forward and giving yourself options. If you can’t make decisions long-term regarding majors and careers, then focus on things that can be determined like time-frames, location, and your educational budget. If you don’t know what you want to do, then don’t rack up huge amounts of debt over many, many years in a place far, far away.
So…as has been said, look for schools where exploring and then switching majors is practical. I watched a friend of mine have a melt down in college about his major (English). I mean PUBLIC. He was in the quad yelling about all the B.S. involved. He walked into an office building and came out FIVE MINUTES LATER as a history major. Not all schools and majors have such flexibility.
@AMCdad Okay okay, thank you for the advice
You might want to consider taking a gap year and working or volunteering in some fields to figure out what you want to do, or even consider going to a CC and taking some real classes to figure out what you enjoy while researching the type of job you might enjoy and what majors or advanced degrees you would need to do it. I don’t mean to be discouraging but Computer Science isn’t about engineering. Many science degrees if you don’t end up teaching in high school, or going for an advanced degree don’t offer much job potential. Cal Poly, for example, offers some wonderful summer opportunities in Engineering and other fields to give you an idea what you might want to do. You might also consider looking at some Career Aptitude testing. Do you know people in engineering or computer science or sciences or professions like law, architecture, and health services, you can maybe talk to about their jobs and what they like or don’t like about them? Sadly many student graduate with some degree and still have no idea what they want to do or realize what jobs are open to them with their degree, so you aren’t as late as many. Do you like working alone, do you like working with people, selling, designing, etc., would business or accounting interest you. It is more about a career than a major.