I am currently a first year in college. All during high school I was “that STEM girl”. However, I got to college and I’m not that good at or interested in STEM. I got an A in philosophy but Bs in Econ, math, and physics, and right now the only class I even like is English. What should I do? I want to be a doctor but I’m planning on a post-bac, but what if I decide along the way that that isn’t for me. Should I try Computer science and english double major? I’m so lost. I don’t want to be homeless. I thought I loved science and now I feel as if I am losing my whole identity.
I went through a similar situation, where I was always a STEM person and then realized that I really didn’t really want to go all out into a STEM field. I would try to explore some of your school’s majors, for example if you’re still thinking medicine is the way to go, see if your school has a healthcare-related humanities major (like Health and Society), where you can still learn about science and medicine, but you don’t necessarily have to be solving equations and memorizing cell structures; instead, you would be writing essays (like in English classes) and reading scholarly articles. Also, at most schools STEM classes grade harder than humanities, so don’t be discouraged by the toughness because everyone is going through it. However, if you really don’t like the classes don’t force yourself to take them just because you think you should.
There’s always a career at Starbucks
All jokes aside there are PLENTY of jobs for English majors. You can teach,blog,write,author books,write speeches, edit resumes, become a professor, and even run for an office later on or work your way up in the corporate and finance worlds. Anyone that says Liberal Arts Majors don’t have jobs available is wrong, they are just fewer and harder to find but they are there.
Throughout high school, I thought I would want to major in chemistry. After taking AP chemistry and realizing that I don’t want my college schedule to be completely filled with science and math classes, I was at a loss. Then I found out about the Technical Writing major at the university which I applied to ED and will be attending. It’s a rare major, I’ll be honest, but I know it will suit me so well. My strength lies in English, too.
Technical writing is pretty much communicating scientific or technical information to non-experts. The classes for my major range from science electives to web and document design to computer science to creative writing. There are a ton of jobs in technical writing right now, whether it be working for a hospital or a tech company.
My advice would be to look for a humanities major that, like mine, has practical, scientific applications. Maybe you’d be interested in cognitive science or something of that ilk.
As an earlier poster mention, health-related humanities are very common.
I would take an anthropology class, and see if you like it. It’s a very interdisciplinary major with specializations in medical anthropology.
Study English then, you’re not going to be “homeless”.
If you want to become a doctor, then it makes no difference what your major is. You can get a degree in English and still go to medical school, and you will not be at a disadvantage.
Naturally, you will still need to take your pre-med courses, but that isn’t much.
English is one of the most versatile degrees. I graduated as an English and Creative Writing major and I make upwards of 100,000k/year and that keeps climbing. I have a super successful tutoring business and website where I help students make straight A’s and kick ass in college. So yes, go for it, be an English major. Have fun and laugh at all the miserable MCB students.
I think English is easier grade wise in college, or at least ppl in stem majors agree that they have a better grade in Eng even though that’s not their major and typically humanities classes have higher grade averages. But don’t let getting worse grades in stem classes bother you too much. Just study what you actually want to do in the future – even if you’re getting lower grades in that subject – it’s normal – basically try not to take grades too personally and don’t study something b/c you find it easier grade wise. But if you truly enjoy Eng – not just for the grade – go for it.