<p>One of my W’s students in nursing had switched from pre-med to a nursing major when the government of her home country - Liberia - collapsed in civil war. She had to work full time to pay her own way the last two years. US educated nurses are better trained than most African doctors (Egypt and SA excepted, maybe some others) so she could still return home to help in the hospitals.</p>
<p>I understand the usage of “downgrade” instead of switching majors. There are students who actively like a field and try it but find the coursework too difficult for them. For them there is a “downgrade” to perhaps something similar but not as challenging, or something with different courses entirely.</p>
<p>As an undergrad Chemistry major I always considered engineering as a downgrade of the pure sciences- requiring less theoretical knowledge/comprehension abilities. Engineering fields may be better for jobs, but not always for intellectual satisfaction. The two are different- parallel, not better/worse, on a scale of things.</p>
<p>I remember helping freshmen who couldn’t handle their Nursing general chemistry- their hearts were in the right place but not their ability to handle the material needed. Likewise many premeds who can’t handle the sciences at the intenisty needed (I chose medical school over grad school). Nursing, btw, is parallel to being a physician, different skills and outlooks on patient care.</p>
<p>It is hard for students to discover their skills/aptitude isn’t good enough to compete in a field they like. I imagine a fresh start on a new campus is the reason to transfer.</p>
<p>Remember, too, that someone’s downgrade major is someone else’s upgrade. The ultimate downgrade is dropping out of college altogether.</p>
<p>Wis,My husband and 2 sons are all engineers and seem to have had no problem finding “intellectual satisfaction” as I’m sure you have as a chemistry major and physician.</p>
<p>Different strokes for different folks. That was my college attitude, btw.</p>
<p>I understand it was your college attitude,wis. You did imply though that engineering was good for jobs but not necessarily for intellectual satisfaction. My husband’s grandfather was a physician in Pittsburgh in the 20’s and practiced into the war years (my MIL would talk about her dad making house calls, getting more rations with gas so he could visit people , taking whatever proud people could give him-like foodstuff, many times in exchange for services when they had no money to pay). It’s a different world now.</p>
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It’s not unusual for college students to look down their noses a bit on other fields. I’ve seen it in every field I have studied in. Sometimes rather humorous, actually.</p>
<p>I agree, sylvan , some of it is humorous and it can carry over to attitudes after college. Our crawlspace was flooded by Irene. No use for either physicians OR engineers on the scene. I needed electricians, HVAC, insulation people, water damage people, claims adjusters on the scene. I would guess they are intellectually satisfied by what they are doing or at least have all acted like they are (and care).</p>
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<p>This happens a LOT with engineering major and also with those who claim to be “pre-med.” When an incoming frosh says that he’s “pre-med,” there’s only about a 50% chance (or less) that he will ever apply to med school.</p>
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<p>Which is why some kids probably declare more “challenging” majors at first. They want to impress others/parents…even tho they don’t have the stats for the major.</p>
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<p>I think your title was quite clear. It can’t be ignored that some students start in a certain major/career path and soon find out that the req’ts are too hard for them.</p>
<p>those weeder classes can be killers.</p>
<p>My mom was originally a medical technology major but then switched to communications. It’s not because she couldn’t do the work but because she’s a giant klutz and broke a ton of stuff in the lab XD</p>
<p>“My mom was originally a medical technology major but then switched to communications. It’s not because she couldn’t do the work but because she’s a giant klutz and broke a ton of stuff in the lab XD” </p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>Engineers , physicians and technical people in general will be doing alot after the hurricane depending on what is needed.
Not meaning to devalue those roles, just saying other roles in disasters are also important-EMT’s, police, social workers, electricians, adjusters,etc. Everyone plays a role and we are all lucky for that-different strenghths translate to different roles.</p>
<p>I’ve known math majors who realized they weren’t cut out for it. I also had a friend who stuck it out, but then went to law school. My son has already said that if he hits the wall with Arabic instead of majoring in International Relations he could still major in Political Science with an IR focus and not have to take nearly as much Arabic. While I never actually changed majors, I didn’t end up majoring in what I thought I would going in. My new major seemed easy to me because I liked it so much. :)</p>
<p>Sevmom, sorry about your house - I have a feeling in a couple of days you’ll be developing a renewed appreciation for the garbage collectors!</p>
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<p>Still, “downgrade” is not really appropriate to describe generally a change of major, since presumably the student thinks that his/her new major is overall an upgrade for him/her, even if it may be a downgrade in a specific aspect, like a specific aspect of learning, or job and career prospects.</p>
<p>However, it is possible that changes of major may not be made with careful enough consideration, and what the student thinks is an upgrade now may later turn out to be a downgrade that s/he will regret in hindsight (because of lost opportunities to learn something, or inability to find a job that pays enough to pay off student loans).</p>
<p>I think “downgrade” is an appropriate term for switching to another major only because the original major was too difficult, even though the student still liked it (and would have liked to stay in it if it weren’t so difficult). The use of the term does not exclude the possibility that switching to another major could be more fulfilling or result in better job prospects (because of higher GPA, or whatever).</p>
<p>Thanks,sylvan! I have to say, I’ve always appreciated the garbage folks. They do a great job. And yes, they will have lots of stuff to pick up at our house this week!</p>
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<p>True…but you know…some students switch out of majors like engineering because the course of study was NOT what they expected it to be…not because it was too hard for them. Some students who love math and science assume they should be engineers (or premed)…or perhaps their parents think they should be engineers (or premed). Since most 18 year olds have no idea what this really entails, it’s no surprise that some students think these majors will be one thing…when in fact they are another.</p>
<p>That is a very good point, thumper1.</p>
<p>Switching for some reasons is not a downgrade- the thread was meant to address students who did change because of challenges, not an interest change et al. My brother dropped out of college his junior year instead of finishing his criminal justice major. He has worked corrections for decades now- prison guard (there is a fancier term for his job description, btw). He downgraded when he disliked some professors and chose to drop out instead of handling things. That is a downgrade- not just to another college, but completely out of it. My brother missed chances to do some jobs in his field of interest as well as chances to rise beyond where he did.</p>
<p>Not everyone wants an intellectual challenge, one reason they choose the job/career paths they do. Some fall into lifelong jobs because of circumstances in their younger years, others enjoy less thinking and more action, another group wants a steady paycheck and benefits. My brother is one of those- all three reasons. An intellectual challenge is also defined by the individual- people vary in their abilities to understand in various areas.</p>
<p>So far we aren’t hearing about many cases of students overreaching and needing to make changes as posted in #1. Is it that uncommon? Or just the crowd on CC rarely knows of those who do this?</p>