I am currently in a computer science major. I dont like computer science at all have have zero passion for it. I have taken one CS class and did not like it at all. My passion is psychology . I have taken it both in college and in HS and loved it both and did very well. However, as of now, I am not allowed to change to psychology and must stick to computer science. I am very stressed out about this issue but do not have the courage to truly express my passion and thoughts.
Who is not allowing you to change major?
my parents
What do they say when you mention your interest in changing major?
Is their contribution to your college costs (or cooperation on financial aid forms) contingent on you studying their choice of major?
- they say its a bad major
- they are paying for it but idk if it has to be CS for my entire career or if this is temporary
If you are in the first couple years of college, don’t get bogged down in the name of your ‘major’. Just add Psychology classes around the other Geneds you are taking and the CS classes. Having a couple years of programming classes won’t hurt you even in Psychology - you may even find that there are careers where the two merge.
i am not allowed to take psych unless its part of my GEs
Since you have to have GEs then take it through that. Or flunk a CS class. I don’t know what you expect anyone to advise when you give so little info and don’t Yosef say if a stats major and psych minor would work out , that is a super useful combo.
Have you tried researching job opportunities and job prospects with a psychology major and using that information to pitch a psychology major to your parents?
Your parents likely feel like you would have better career opportunities with a computer science major than a psychology major. That may or may not be true, but it’s up to you to convince your parents that you can have a practical, realistic, and self-supporting career with a psychology major. They still might dig in their heels and refuse, but it’s worth a try. You might find through your research that you’re not really interested in jobs that require a psychology degree, or you may find a career that you really love. Either way, just saying that psychology is your passion is a weak argument, in my opinion. Everyone has things they like. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they want to or are able to make a career out of them. You are entirely welcome to explore psychology all you want in your free time, regardless of what your parents say.
Have you looked into double majoring? Or getting a minor? Or just taking courses in psychology? Even if your parents tell you that you can’t take any courses in psychology, you could try showing them your plan for graduation and show them a way that taking psychology courses won’t delay your graduation time and won’t cost them any more money. There’s no money or time lost for them, and you get to be happier taking a couple of psychology courses. How do they know if you’re taking psychology courses at all? Do you tell them? If taking a psychology course would cost more money, perhaps you can offer to pay for it yourself.
You have the option to not major in computer science, but you then have to face the consequences from your parents (whatever they might be–withdrawing financial or social support, arguing, nagging, yelling, silent treatment, it all depends on your parents). That’s your choice. You can also suck it up and just major in computer science. Or you can find a way to bargain with them so that you can also take some psychology courses (perhaps even minoring or double majoring). Or you can wait it out and maybe they’ll change their minds or lessen the reins.
Well, once you become financially independent, they don’t get to dictate anything about your life, unless you let them. So really, they can’t force you to do computer science for your entire career, if you don’t want them to.
I’ve got a cool suggestion (I think) why don’t you open the option of studying abroad to your parents? I mean, CS is pretty in-demand for some countries I tell you. It just might change your mind. Or if you’re heart isn’t in CS you could still try to study psychology in a different country. The idea just popped cause I’m actually planning on studying abroad myself Diversity abroad is helping me out on this. Try to check them out if you’re interested 
iEmmyG, you’ll want to start your own thread to ask that question.
OP, why won’t your parents let you take any psychology classes? There are some really useful and lucrative careers that combine computer science and psychology - like artificial intelligence, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and user research (the field I’m in). I agree that maybe you should do some research and then show your parents that you can, indeed, have a successful career - even in technology - with a psychology major. I was a psychology major in undergrad, and I work for a major technology company now.
I don’t blame them for wanting you to study CS - I wish I had taken more CS when I was in college. However, so many students and parents think CS is the magic ticket to riches and it’s not. You have to be GOOD at CS, and particularly at software development and perhaps quantitative analysis, to get the big bucks jobs in CS (software developer, data scientist, etc.) Most CS majors will otherwise make above-average but not spectacular wages, and the unemployment rate for CS majors is not that much lower than the rate for psychology majors.
I totally feel you there. I’ve just had a recent conversation with a family friend who studies at the same college I am for a certification of nursing (I think). But she’s my parents age and she’s very forthright about her thoughts. I told her I would do a Computer Engineering major because I enjoy it. She said it’s STUPID for me to go to school over something that doesn’t pay well, which is not true. And if there is anything that bothers me the most, it is people who always assume they know the ropes of everything and force you into other things.
Just because you have a degree of something written on a piece of paper, doesn’t mean that you will automatically get a well-paying job. Although comp sci job opportunities are growing rapidly, it doesn’t mean you’re going to land on a superb job opportunity. You always have to start somewhere and for most people they don’t hit the high salaries right off the bat regardless of their field. A computer science degree only says you studied computer science and it’s required courses but your performance on your job position would be affected if you don’t even have a passion for what you’re doing or you weren’t interested enough to even remember what you have learned in college.
I think you really need to sit down and talk to your parents again. If you’re passion is for psychology, I’m sure you’ll do wonders to get to the job you want and earn a good chunk out of it. People just need to realize that majority of the information about “good careers” doesn’t exactly guarantee an individual to actually have a good experience in that career.
Your parents control of your life is IMHO to much. You are an adult and entitled to live your life. Your parents feel like they only want to spend their money on something that will pay off.
What I’m going to do is to show you a way for you to study psychology without needing your parents support at all.
Look up extension.harvard.edu,
Look under courses and you can see all of the psychology courses. This is an area where Harvard Extension can really shine.
Look under undergraduate admissions, and you can see what you have to do to be admitted and what you need to do to graduate. You can also see what you can use from your current university as transfer credit. I think that they even accept CLEP, so you can do some of those if you need credits. Best of all, is that the cost is only about $1350 per course. You can get a whole liberal arts degree for $42,000.
Now of course this is generally a night program for non-traditional students, but very high quality, likely very acceptable to graduate programs in clinical psychology. You would need to move to Boston, get a job, find a roommate situation where you can live indoors, etc, but will give you the flexibility to study at night.
A great way to find such a job is to study just enough computer science to get hired into one of the gazillion software firms in metro Boston. Get an internship, excel, and then ask to stay on while taking a leave from your current school. If you can be valuable enough, it can be done. Then go to Harvard Extension at night and pursue your passion.
Now you may not have to actually go through with this plan, but just formulating the plan, and knowing that it exists and is something you can do with or without your parents permission is empowering and should serve to give you the confidence to stand up to them. It can potentially allow them to view you as your own person with mutual respect instead of the disobedient child. Even as a disobedient child, you are still entitled to live your own life.
^I agree that it is empowering to think about one’s own choices, but I do not think that this is a realistic plan for a college freshman. Boston is an expensive area, and I don’t know many jobs that a recent high school graduate could do that would allow them to live comfortably in the Boston area AND pay the money necessary to earn a full degree at the Extension School. There are lots of software jobs in Boston - but Boston is also a very highly educated city, with a high percentage of college grads and workers with grad degrees. Technically the OP might be minimally qualified for some of these jobs with a little CS, but there will be many other potential employees who have degrees already who may beat them out for positions. And that’s not even including the scores of other graduates who want to move to Boston and have degrees.
I think another plan is - in case the OP cannot come to a compromise with his/her parents - is to do the CS degree, and then while working, take some classes in psychology as a part-time student. After taking 5-7 (but ideally more) part-time classes in psychology, the OP could probably apply to an MA or PhD program in psychology and work from there.
You also might emphasize to your parents that you are unlikely to do well -academically and professionally - in a field you don’t like.
But Juilet, look at OPs username bostonforever95!
If you are in CS but like Psychology, look into Cognitive Psychology…that crosses the line between the two and studies stuff like Artificial Intelligence
thanks for everyone’s help. I actually dont live in Boston, im just a boston fan. . My main issue is i dont like CS at all
since you love and did very well in Computer class, why stop? HumphyDumpy got a good point. Before, I keep on reading on forums about studying abroad since I still want to learn and challenge myself, and yes Diversity abroad is one of the websites that helped me realize that I should pursue this goal. I took BA in college and realized that I will improve myself once I take MBA and after reading some programs being offered based in abroad. you are still young and I believe that you’ll enjoy your endeavors once you try achieving your dream.
well since you said that you did good and you love dealing with computer stuffs then why stop? HumphyDumpy got a good point in studying abroad. Before I tried asking different people and they suggested Diversity aborad. First, I’m afraid since I don’t want to be alone and the culture difference. But since diversity have an MBA program, it really pushed me to consider studying abroad. you are too young to handle this kinds of problem. if you really enjoy what you’re doing then I believe no one can stop you in your endeavors.