I am 16 years old and I have no idea what I want to major in in college or what type of career I want. I just cannot decide.
Ever since I was little people have been asking me what I wanted to do and I did not know what to say because I had no clue and it has been stressing me out ever since. Everyone in my family is either a nurse, doctor, or in business. I do not want to be a nurse or doctor because I cringe at the sight of nasty wounds and business just does not seem right because we are having all sorts of family and financial problems just because a small business that we have. I like working with people (especially kids) or in a team or whatever, but every job I look into does not seem like the right fit for me. I get A’s and B’s in school, my only problem…I don’t really know anything I want to actually study. I know I still have time to decide, but I want to at least get a general idea of what I want to do so I don’t waste my mom’s money. I also do not want to take a gap year. I don’t have any interests or passions for much. In school, there was never a class that made me want to continue studying. I am interested in math and biology, but i am not sure i like it enough to make a career out of it. I know I should get out there and try different things, but I just don’t know where to start.
I also want a job that make money. It does not have to be a crazy amount of money, but just enough so I do not have to worry about having any financial problems.
I’m scared of choosing the wrong thing and having to do that for the rest of my life. I would really appreciate it if someone can give me advice or some ideas on how I can find a major that fits with what I like. Thank you so much!!!
Get the Book of Majors from College Board and spend some time with a couple different colors of post-its – one for “sounds amazing!” and one for “I might go for that”. Then try to get some exposure to a few of your top choices. Summer programs, classes, shadowing, internships between now and the end of your sophomore year of college. You don’t have to make a decision until then.
You need to calm down. You are 16. You do not need to have a life plan right now. You have four more years at least before you declare a major. There is no deadline to know what to do with your life. Give life a chance to happen first.
You will not be wasting moms money because you have two years of general Ed. I suggest you go to a university with a wide range of majors. You have a lot of growing up to do and in four years you will have a better idea of what to study. I guarantee you will look back at this post and laugh.
What types of classes do I enjoy? math and biology,
That indicates that you like STEM type classes. So an option is to look into Engineering. Biomedical Engineering is an option, but so are many others. I was like you in that i didn’t really know what i wanted to do, but I liked Math and Science the best so I majored in Electrical Engineering…I didn’t like hands on stuff but I got a job as a systems engineer at a Telecom company.
What kinds of problems do you want to solve?
Pre-med/sociology/public health/psychology are majors where you want to help people directly.
Business/engineering/comp sci are majors where you want to solve technical/organizational problems.
Which is more appealing to you?
Many students who are 16 know what they want to do with their life, but six months later they will have changed their mind, and another 6 months later they have changed their mind again. The majority of students who at age 18 go off to university end up changing their major at least once, and often multiple times.
Typically the first year or two of university involves taking a multiple introductory courses in a variety of fields. This is a very good way to discover more about what you like and what you don’t like.
As such, you have plenty of time to decide what you want to do.
If you are good at math and like math, then there are a huge number of careers that have a very strong math component. Many of them are relatively lucrative. Some are also related to various sciences, or involve engineering of some kind (you might think of “engineering” as a fancy form of “building things”, which to me is appealing and is clearly valuable). As a math major, one of the most “math intensive” courses that I ever took was econometrics, which involves applying strong math to studying economic systems (such as the world economy) in detail. There is also something called “operations research”, which is applying mathematical solutions techniques to a variety of real world problems. There are other options. You can get exposure to many of these fields in university.
By the way, I also cringe at the sight of blood and cringe at the thought of being a business major. However, there are LOTs of other options.
“It is also okay if you start college as “undecided” but on a STEM track.”
Yes, this sounds like it might be a good option. Alternately, you might get more ideas regarding what you want to do before going to university. The posts above have some good ideas for resources to help you explore several ideas.
Sometimes, it’s knowing what you DON’T want to do. I’m sure there are fields of study you can take one look at and say, “Nope”. That will help you narrow it down. I think going to a school with lots of major options is great advice. Many smart kids who get into top schools go in undeclared. There is no shame in that. At some point, you will have to graduate with a degree in SOMETHING, but that doesn’t have to be decided now. Once you are in school and exposed to more subjects (and professors, etc.), you may very well find something quickly that lights a fire under you.
D was strong in math and sciences and enjoyed APES in HS. Even so, applied to/admitted as L&S undecided - she’s STEM leaning, but wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to do with it. Planning to declare after next year as an Environmental Sciences major with some geo-tech minor she didn’t even know existed but that she feels will make her more competitive. Will probably have to get a graduate degree - will cross that bridge when she gets to it. In the meantime, she’s keeping her GPA as high as she can so that opportunity will be open to her.
Remind yourself: most high schoolers don’t know what they want to do. Many college kids don’t, either. AND, there are full-grown adults still trying to figure that out. Do as well as you can in HS to give yourself the opportunity to get into good schools with a nice range of majors - you will figure it out. Also, look at the positive adult role models around you. Look at where they started (college major, for instance) and where they are now. I bet that many of them wound up in very different places than their degrees - or their original life plans - would have indicated. None of us is Nostradamus, and nothing is set in stone.
You certainly don’t have to decide now! You are the norm, not the exception. One thing my D did while she was in college that proved to be very useful in her choosing a career was to shadow people in a number of different fields that she was considering.
You do not need to know your major until the end of sophomore year in college, and can enter as “Undecided.” Many many students do. I personally think you are at an advantage because too much planning ahead can actually interfere with opportunities.
You do not need to major in what you end up having as a career either. If there is something that interests you, that doesn’t have a clear prescribed career path, enjoy it. A bachelors in anything will give you access to many jobs and grad schools, as well as professional schools.
I hope you can enjoy high school without this pressure. I used to get so upset with our middle and high schools for giving kids the wrong ideas about these things. Explore and wander a bit and you’ll end up fine.