Need to decide my major in the next couple of days-help!!

College Majors
1

I’m currently in my 4th year of college but still have two years left no matter which major I choose. (I transferred schools and also took some classes I didn’t need) I am currently in Elementary Ed with a focus in TESOL. I decided on this major a little over a year ago because I needed to pick a major and was out of time. So what did I do? Picked something that I was interested in but didn’t do a ton of research on. When I wanted to do TESOL I was excited because I really enjoy other cultures and languages so it seemed like a good fit. This is embarrassing to admit but I didn’t even know I had to be an Elementary Ed teacher until I was a couple months into my first education class. I really don’t like the courses so far and have been struggling to find any motivation. I don’t want to be an Elementary Teacher and have a general classroom, I wanted to do TESOL and work with students individually. The more I’m taking education classes though I have realized this just doesn’t seem like a good fit for me even though I love international students.

I talked with a counselor on campus and they suggested that I look into International studies. It would be a max two years, but I would have to study abroad. While studying abroad would be fantastic, financially I don’t think it’s possible and might be very stressful to try and fully learn a language before then. I have already taken a couple of intense Japanese courses and so if I did that I would finish that and study abroad in Japan.

My other option is getting an Art degree. I would love to make art my career and have a small audience on instagram and have sold about a dozen commissions in the past couple of years. I love art but I’m not sure if an art degree would be worth it either since I’m more into illustration and my school only offer visual and studio art and all the classes are about fine arts. My thought was to drop out, work part or full time and really push and work on my art. This is sort of risky though.

I just feel like I should try and get some sort of degree. I don’t feel very good about just dropping out because just thinking about it makes me feel like a failure. I’d prefer to finish if I can but why waste more of my money and time if it’s in a field I’m going to hate being in or a degree I wouldn’t be able to use for anything?

TL;DR : I am trying to decide whether to stay in Elementary Ed with TESOL, drop out, or change my major to either International Studies or Art. Thoughts?

2

You said you’re interested in language and culture correct?
Have you ever considered a general history degree or maybe linguistics?

3

Well, if you don’t want to be an elementary school teacher then elementary ed doesn’t seem like a good choice for you.

Does your college have majors in area studies - like Japanese or East Asian studies or something? That could be a potential area to major in. If you are interested in international studies you might also consider another social science like political science or sociology.

You don’t have to be fluent in a language to study abroad; in fact, many students use study abroad as a way to become more fluent in their language of choice.

4

Can you do TESOL as a minor you add to international studies or East Asian studies?
If you’ve already taken Japanese classes take a placement test to see which class today be in at your college.
Japan hires TESOL teachers every year, no need for an elementary education certification but TESOL really helps. So a TESOL minor with international studies or East Asian studies would fit your interests.
You’d take classes in English and in Japanese while abroad, you don’t need to be fluent before you go. And that stay could turn into a more permanent offer after graduation.