Hey all! I’m a junior looking for a career field/major that matches most of my many interests. I really enjoy writing, researching, and reading, so I have considered journalism, education, and editing. However, I also love history (US and world alike) and would love to be more involved in politics. Moreover, I find psychology super interesting, but couldn’t picture myself as a psychologist. I also like some parts of science, those having to do with animals or genetics.
I just have so many random interests that are making this difficult! Please offer any suggestions, and if you suggest a major I would appreciate if you recommended schools/programs as well
I totally understand because I am interested in so many things that aren’t really in the same category of each other. I don’t know what I am doing with my life but my suggestion would be to choose the major that will bring you the most joy. If you look on the degree sheet and see a bunch of classes that you dread taking, maybe choose something else. You will shine brightest where you are the most passionate.
But hey what do I know. (:
This sounds like something can can be achieved by gen ed requirements. Your major may be along the lines of journalism, but you will still take math/science/fine arts/etc. courses to fulfill general requirements for the college.
Consider what your interests are and what you want your degree in. You can take some of your interests in elective courses. Or you can get involved in clubs on campus that relate to interests you don’t want to major in.
Are you a junior in high school? You don’t have to pick a major right now. You don’t have to pick your college on the basis of your major - and in fact, you should not. If you’re a HS junior who doesn’t know what you want to major in, 1) you’re probably in the majority amongst your peers and 2) you should pick a good, solid college that has several majors that you may be interested in to pick from, as well as other factors that are really appealing to you. It’s a common myth that you have to go to an undergrad college “known” for your major or that has a “top-ranked” department in your major - but, with very few exceptions, that’s not true.
Some of the things you listed are skills. Writing is a skill; you can learn to write well across many different majors. Journalism and English seem like obvious ones, but many other humanities (e.g. philosophy, history, religion) and social science majors (e.g. sociology, anthropology, political science) will also require you to write quite a bit and hone those skills. You can also take writing classes to supplement whatever major you choose, or you can choose to minor in English or writing if your college offers it.
Researching and reading are similar - those skills are taught across many different majors, and you use those skills across many different jobs.
Also, if you’re talking about picturing yourself as a talk therapist (which is what most people think of when they think of psychology), know that there are a lot of other things you can do with a major in psychology. I am a psychologist with a PhD and I don’t do talk therapy - I’m not even qualified/licensed to do it. I’m a researcher, and I spend most of my days researching, reading, and writing (a loooooot).
I think it’s perfectly okay that you have different interests because you have time to sort through these interests.
I would like to recommend that if you do like politics and writing, have you ever considered political communications?
Also, you can always wait and just take some introductory courses in all of your interests and just see which ones you think you could continue studying.
