Sophomore needing help with major

Hi,

I am a sophomore in college with a current intended major of political science, but I am having conflicting thoughts and feelings about this and my future major. To put it simply, I have always had two main passions: science (specifically astronomy) and world events/politics.

I began college with an intended major in physics, because I wanted to be an astronomer or physicist. I had taken two physics courses in high school including Advanced Placement physics (where I did decently and earned a B), and an astronomy course in which I earned an A+.

However, halfway through my freshman year of college I abandoned my physics major because of two reasons. First, I’m not a huge fan of math and I do not enjoy performing deep calculations for long periods of time. When I saw the heavy math courses I needed to take in college, I became hesitant to continue because I was skeptical of my ability to stay dedicated to the math. And second, I read about the job market for astronomy and physics majors and it disappointed me.

So I changed my major to political science, which is my other passion. I have always enjoyed learning about global events, international relations, government, and public policy. I have enjoyed not having to do heavy math.

But recently, I have become irritated with the political arena, and while I still love political things and world events, I sometimes get angry with the division and hate in politics, and also, I do not want people to look at me negatively if I go into the political arena.

So right now, I am conflicted in how to finish out my college major. I need some help. I will summarize my life intentions:

I have a real passion for science (specifically astronomy and space) and I don’t think that science is given enough attention. Science should be the governing philosophy of the world, and it is too often ignored and rejected. So it is a goal of mine to be a science communicator and make science more accepted and important. I admire people like Bill Nye, Richard Dawkins, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. I also enjoy world events and I would enjoy working for an agency or international group that works for a good cause.

The thing with the science route is that the job market is smaller and tougher, and like I stated earlier, I am skeptical of my determination to sit at a desk and perform calculations all day long. But astronomy and science is such a passion of mine that I would be disappointed if I did not work to push it into a bigger spotlight.

So I need some help and advice. What is the best route for me to do what I want to do? Is a double major too much? I’m already a sophomore. At this point, it looks like I will likely have to go more than 4 full years for my bachelor’s because I have been indecisive and have changed my major.

So, you can totally major in physics and not sit in front of a desk and do calculations all day long.

I mean, yes, if you go on to become a physicist or an astrophysicist, that would take up a very large part of your day. But doing that would involve getting a PhD in physics/astrophysics and going to become a researcher in the field, and it doesn’t sound like you want to do that.

Honestly, what it sounds like what you really want is science policy or science/tech communication work. That’s definitely a legitimate field and will not involve you calculating things all day. It’ll involve writing, presenting, meeting with people, lobbying, that kind of stuff. You can do science policy work and really never do much calculating at all…at work.

The caveat is that you have to get through your undergrad major first. There are a couple of different ways to get to science policy or science communication, but one of the best ways is probably to major in a natural/physical science field in college, maybe with a minor or coursework in a writing-heavy field like English or political science. So a natural choice could be a major in physics and a minor in political science. However, if you don’t like the math and you don’t want to do it, that would be a major problem with a physics major.

Majoring in political science and minoring in a science is another route that you can take, and it would minimize the amount of math that you’d have to take. One thing to remember is that there are negatives to every career, and none is going to be perfect or only contain things that you like. So you have to decide whether your current frustration with politics is temporary or something you can get over. The other thing to remember is that political science =/= politics; political science is the study of political systems and governments. There are many people who work in government doing science policy or science advisement work who stay on through many different administrations and regime changes or what have you. Your work will be affected by partisan politics for sure, as funding and support will fluctuate over time depending on who’s in charge, but that doesn’t mean that YOU have to work as an elected official or participate in campaigns.

Interesting fact: although Neil deGrasse Tyson does have a PhD in astrophysics, Bill Nye has a BS in mechanical engineering (from Cornell). He moved into science education through his job at Boeing, where he starred in training videos and eventually did “The Science Guy” segments on a local sketch comedy show before getting his own show. Lots of prominent science writers, journalists, and communicators have only a bachelor’s in science (or maybe an MS), but no PhD.

Another thing that honestly sounds up your alley is being a science teacher! You say you want to do good in the world and help people, but you also love science and believe people should espouse it as a way of seeing the world. That would make a perfect science teacher.

That was extremely helpful! You couldn’t have laid out my options any better; I needed someone to make my options clear and you went beyond that. I will think about it and weigh my options, but I thank you so much for describing the “science policy” route that I had in mind but had trouble seeing clearly or describing. I have more confidence now for sure.