Hi all, I’m currently a sophomore business admin major with a minor in Spanish. I entered college with a biology major but decided to switch to business before I started my first semester of college. I honestly don’t know why, I really don’t enjoy anything in business and can’t see myself being happy in a career in this field. However, I’m not sure what else I would major in. I’ve thought about PA school, but if I change to a science degree right now I’m not sure if I would graduate in time, almost none of my classes would apply to that degree’s requirements. I also kind of enjoy computer science, I learned html/css and python in middle school and loved learning it, I also took a class last semester in python and got an A+ and enjoyed it. But I don’t know if that’s an indicator I would be any good in a career in it. I also have passions in art, I’m pretty creative and I was in art classes since middle school, not sure if I could do it full time but I like art. I’m feeling a bit lost, because I have a lot of interests, but don’t know where to go. I’m not happy in my major, but I don’t know what to switch to, because I’m worried that no matter what I major in, I’m not going to end up in that career path. I’m also worried that if I ended up wanting to go to PA school, I’d have to spend years back at college or community college getting my pre-requisites, and without the scholarship I have currently to help financially.
I know this is a long read, but I could really use any advice you have.
Can someone actually comment with advice I’m really discouraged and having a bad day I need help.
It is relatively common for students to change their majors during freshman and sophomore years. It is not unheard of for students to change their majors later than this. However, the later that you change your major, the more likely it is that it will take more than four years to graduate.
I have heard of cases of students taking a class at a community college over the summer to catch up on their required courses due to a change in majors.
I also have heard of students transferring to in-state public schools due to a change in majors. The issue here is that most scholarships only last for (at most) four years of classes. If a change in major results in a student needing more than four years to graduate, the fifth and any subsequent years can for some become unaffordable. However, in-state status and in-state tuition will generally last into the fifth and if needed sixth year.
Usually people who do well in computer science were good at math. Does this apply to you?
Art is IMHO a tough way to make a living.
Also, some students take time off from university and work for a year or two to figure out what they want to major in. Life is not a race. It is more important that you get to the right place, and not important that you get there quickly. It is however, important that you do not run up too much debt before your figure out your major and graduate.
Thanks for the response! Yeah, I think right now would be a good time to think about changing majors, because if I wait longer I’ll be further behind. And yep I was good at math during school. I agree art is hard to make a living off of, I don’t think I could do it as my career, maybe it could be involved in some way but not just art.
And thank you, you’re right, it’s not a race, I think I’m going to make an appointment with one of the career advisors and see what they say about changing my major.
Thank you!
Good to talk with an academic advisor, not just career folks. You can calculate what a different major requires in credits (major and core,) what you have so far, and what you’d need to complete, to graduate in that other field.
And before deciding, maybe speak with the actual other dept, to see if your background so far makes you a right fit for their program.
The irony here is many students who don’t like a business major still endup in a business job.
Well, you’re not far off. If you enjoy coding, just keep doing what you’re doing. You really don’t need a degree in CS to get your foot in the door. Technology is very diverse. You could make a switch to IT, which is normally a business degree anyway. Having a business background is very useful in the corporate IT world and it’s just as employable as CS. If your school doesn’t offer an IT degree, you don’t need to transfer, just get proficient at a language, meaning take a level 1 and level 2. You picked up Python. I would suggest getting proficient at SQL or C#. You could learn Java too.
Thanks everyone, I emailed my academic advisor to make an appointment to discuss my options and see where I would be credit-wise. I think it’ll be better for me to change to something I might actually be passionate about so I don’t regret it.
The other thing to remember is that your eventual career does not have to be - and probably won’t be - a straight line from your undergraduate major. It might not even be related. It’s good to pick a major/take classes that will help you learn skills that will benefit you in the work force, but there are lots of people doing jobs that are seemingly unrelated to their undergraduate major (especially when you look 10+ years out).
Also…the thing about “business” is that it’s an omnibus term. Practically everyone who goes to college and works some white collar job is going to be working in “business.” I work in “business.” My technical job is consumer/UX research but I’m middle management. So when you say you can’t see yourself being happy with a career in the field of “business”, what do you mean? Do you mean the actual business administration component?
Computer science is about a lot more than coding, just as a note.
Have you job shadowed a PA? What about shadowing any other healthcare professionals like nursing or therapists (PT, OT, ST)? Before a drastic switch in major make certain it’s a change you can use towards your goal. PA requires upper division science courses plus experience in direct patient care. If that’s a route you’re really interested in start researching how to get those hours in your community. I’m a respiratory therapist and work with lots of different healthcare professionals if you have any other questions.
Double majoring or adding a minor might be an option for you to look into as well to explore other interests.