Transfer student, deciding on a new major. help!

College Majors
1

<p>I'm a college junior who has recently transferred to a new university and will be starting this fall. But I have no idea what I want to do with my life or major in. I feel like this is my chance to start over.</p>

<p>It started this summer, and I began to reevaluate my life and try to figure out what interests me. I like writing... But I really don't mind most things. But that's just it. I 'like' a lot of things, but I'm not passionate about any of them. In fact, I can tolerate most subjects and just work hard period. </p>

<p>My mom and dad suggests that I pick a major that can lead to career options. I've looked at computer science, economics, political science, and business... but I just don't know. I'm getting to the point where I just want a career with job opportunities and financial prospects. I always tell myself, "maybe if I have money, I will have time to figure out what I want". But there's no telling how much time I'm going to have when I graduate.</p>

<p>I just really want to do something that I can be passionate about. I've been seriously thinking of pursuing computer science. But I don't really care about computers at all... I don't think about "what new technology can be created?" but "what can I do to optimize my creativity"... I like the idea of becoming a problem solver and being able to creatively come up with solutions... But I might not be 'wired' to think in a computer-science-kinda-way. I'm the more spontaneous, creative, type (an ENFP for the MBTI)... I just feel like if I'm not passionate I will be found out, won't be able to compete with the competition, and feel like an impostor on the inside.</p>

<p>My main motivator to do anything is always to discover a new insight, to be able to bounce around ideas, and to teach other people. I find myself having short spurts of passion, but after that I soon become bored and lose motivation (though I power through anyway). I wish I could find something that I loved. If not, I would really like a career where I can work in teams, have a supportive work-environment, be able to be creative, and have some freedom. </p>

<p>Anyone have any advice? </p>

2

<p>When you hear about successful people, they always talk about how passionate they are about what they do. A sad fact is that a lot of people out there don’t have a burning passion inside them for an area of academia. Most people don’t love their jobs, they do it so they can survive and support their family. Some of the worst advice I’ve heard tossed around from parents and teachers is to “follow your passion”; if kids knew what their passion is, they probably wouldn’t experience the uncertainty of what they want to do.</p>

<p>If you’re not sure yet, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Then, evaluate what you like most in school and what you like least. Compare those to a list of potential majors you’re considering to get a better idea of what you want. Your major is not necessarily what you’re going to do with your life, but it is definitely going to have an impact.</p>

<p>“I would really like a career where I can work in teams, have a supportive work-environment, be able to be creative, and have some freedom.”</p>

<p>Computer science could definitely fall under this. While computer science is technical in nature, coding is a very creative process–there is no one way to code anything. </p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

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<p>You said you like teaching people, why not aim to be a teacher? Salary’s for teachers may not be the best, but it still pays, puts the food on the table, etc, and is a rewarding job in itself. To teach generally you choose a subject to teach during undergrad and major in that subject, then get a master’s in that field and in teaching a certain grade school such as middle, elementary, or high school (or some schools even offer combined masters in both teaching and a subject matter such as math, science, and history).</p>

<p>Besides that, from what you’ve said I also think having a more artsy job sounds like something fitting, such as a web page designer, video game designer, etc. You’d have to do a bit of digging, but I think those such things can come from a major in comp sci. Good luck and I hope this was helpful!</p>