While I understand that I still have time to decide what I want to study in college, I can’t shake off this feeling that I’m choosing the wrong major.
I’m really into history and I’ve grown close to the idea of being an anthropologist. But is it worth it? I don’t want to come out of college without a job and just have a useless piece of paper hanging on my wall.
I have this massive fear that in going to lead myself on the wrong path when the time comes. I want to do something I love but will also be able to get into a good career. I also really love science and find subjects such as psychology/studying people past and present to be interesting. I know that ill never major in something like finance or business, because I hate that stuff. What should I do? What is available out there? I want to be able to work around the world or for a big organization/research institution. I need some help and I’m worrying myself too much. If anyone can help I would be so grateful!
It’s a common misconception that social science majors don’t get job. But honestly, I have heard that said about nearly every single major offered at your average college. If people are to be believed, only engineering, CS, finance/business, and maybe physics majors get jobs anymore!
Well, obviously that’s not true because unemployment would be massive. Unemployment for social science majors mainly happens if you don’t develop any skills outside of the classroom that would be appealing and useful for employers. If you do that, though - through summer internships, part-time jobs, personal enrichment, maybe classwork or volunteering - then you should be employable.
I currently know a philosophy major who is the COO of a business, a psychology major who works at a marketing firm, an English major who works for a major magazine, a music major who works in educational tech at a private school, and a French major who’s in graduate school for nutrition and food policy after having worked at a farm cooperative for a few years. The thing that they all share in common is that they had internships and part-time jobs while in school that helped them get to the jobs they wanted to be at. Many of them also took a chance on something they hadn’t originally envisioned themselves doing, but tried it anyway.
(Myself, I was a psychology major; I ended up getting a PhD and I’m currently a postdoctoral research fellow at a large public university.)