Let me outline the situation a bit: I’m going into my sophomore year of college and am currently an elementary education major, but I’ve been having doubts about my decision since the beginning of last semester. This upcoming semester is one that begins locking you into your major: this summer I was to have taken the Praxis test ($150) to be admitted into the teacher’s college, and the course line up for this fall was to be a mix of education classes, the last of my general classes, and classes toward my minor (which has nothing to do with teaching and was against the recommendation of my advisor). I took a vocational class in high school geared towards my major and enjoyed it a lot- I worked with the kids, learned and implemented different educational theories, and practiced putting together and teaching lesson plans- but the problem is that I /really/ don’t know if this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Sure, there are more options in terms of careers for elementary education majors besides just being an elementary teacher, but they’re few and far between, and the demand just isn’t there. If I wanted to work in any other states besides the one I’m going to school in, I’d have to be certified again (which opens a whole new can of worms: anything from an additional class to an additional year of schooling and extra tests, not to mention that it’s different for every state). If I wanted to work in a different country, I’d probably need to be reeducated to match their standards…there just aren’t too many options, and again, I’m just not sure if /this/ is what I want to do.
Anyways, I can’t afford to take time away from school, figuratively or literally. My family just doesn’t have the money (I’m almost entirely on loans, and if I’m out of school we have to begin paying). I also don’t want to waste time taking filler classes. Right now I’m thinking about withdrawing from my major, and finding some classes that are required by a variety of majors. Maybe an entry level biology class, a math class and a psychology course; just general stuff that can help me out regardless so that I can have some more time to choose.
Has anyone else been in this situation before? I could /really/ use some advice.
My question is - why are you having second thoughts? Is it because you are genuinely not sure that you want to be an elementary school teacher, or are you more fearful of the future?
It sounds like you enjoy teaching elementary school kids, based on your previous experiences. The only qualm you offer is a level of uncertainty about what you’ll do post-college - the demand and flexibility of the major. But let me tell you that there is uncertainty inherent in ALL majors - including the ones that are currently touted as more lucrative, like engineering and computer science. In fact, [elementary education majors have the second-lowest employment rate of all majors](Box), right after nursing and ahead of chemistry and finance - and way ahead of computer science and engineering.
Yes, working in different states often requires recertification, but you can often do that while you are working as a teacher and most states make it relatively easy for new teachers to re-qualify in order to attract people to their states. As far as teaching in a different country - well, first of all, are you sure that you want to do that? And secondly, all fields have some difficulties moving countries. You’d have to get a work visa either way, and many other fields require licensure or approvals that change from country to country. Most people end up working in the country they were schooled in, so unless you are seriously considering moving to a different country at least semi-permanently, I wouldn’t consider that a downside.
I’m not saying that you should stay an elementary education major; what I’m saying is that you should use the time you have left before the fall to really dig deeply into the reasons why you want to change, and examine whether those reasons don’t just apply broadly across fields or whether you’re really unsure about your chosen career. Also, be strategic about the classes you take - most of the classes you cited aren’t required by a variety of majors.
Psychology isn’t really required by majors other than psychology (except for a few vocational or hybrid majors, like neuroscience, cognitive science, or nursing). Biology is required for biology-related majors, and “math” is so broad as to be meaningless, but is only required by math-related majors (although math is broadly applicable). Again, I am not discouraging you taking any classes - I took classes in all of those fields in college! And liked them all! But I am saying that you should schedule yourself on the basis of interests AND what can satisfy your divisional requirements. When I was exploring majors I made sure to take classes that would satisfy my GE requirements in case I decided to switch - so my sociology class became my social science requirement once I switched my major.
I guess the “un” got missed. It should read UNemployment, I see, upon looking at the cited article and comparing the figures for Recent College Graduates. They have no figure for Computer Engineering Recent College Graduates.
Oh snap, yes, I meant UNemployment rates lol!
They don’t have one for computer engineering - I think that’s because there were too few recent graduates in the survey in that field. Computer engineering isn’t a widely available major at most places; most times the major is computer science or electrical engineering.