My DS (2024) really has no idea what he wants to do yet. Def not anything science related. Maybe Sports Management, maybe Sports Media, maybe Hospitality Management, etc ., etc. Hard to know what to focus on when he really doesn’t have an idea. Anyone else in this situation? He is my oldest so this is our first rodeo. I am a nurse and husband MD so we both knew exactly what we wanted to do so planned and applied accordingly…
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People find out what they’re interested in doing, by doing things! In addition to taking classes taught by the best teachers at his high school (my son’s interest in Psychiatry was boosted by his excellent teachers for AP Bio and AP Psych), he would benefit from working a job after school, and during the summers. Maybe he could get a job at a nearby hotel’s front desk? Sports writing for the local news website? Sports media stringer reporter for the local news station? Start a youtube channel for local high school sports event reporting? The reality is that the job market for high school kids is fantastic right now, because everyone is desperate for workers. The point is, he will find direction by trying things out. Your encouragement will help give him the confidence to do it.
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It’s not unusual for a HS sophomore not to know what they want to do or what their real areas of interest are. Even HS seniors can be uncertain. Many students who enter college with one major in mind end up changing course. My advice would be for your child to explore lots of things to see what he is interested in - it’s ok to be a sampler. Not every kid has everything mapped out at age 15 and that’s OK.
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I created a post for not so typical majors. My kid is in a similar situation.
D20 had no idea what she wanted to do but she had very strong ideas (and a long list) of what she did NOT want to do. She knew she wasn’t interested in science and really struggled with math. We went to an open house at a LAC and she just lit up! She said it was the first time someone really understood how she felt about learning and she knew she would likely need to go to grad school anyway. She is now a sophomore at that very school and has had the opportunity to explore 10 departments and has settled on major that combines aspects of some of her favorites and is one class away from an “accidental minor”. She has her eye on a 4+1 masters program with a semester abroad.
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If you take all the students who enter without declaring a major, add those students who change majors, then add the students who do not end up working in their major by choice, I feel pretty certain that not the majority of students entering college are uncertain.
I feel that there is far too much pressure on high school students to “decide” what they are interested in, and that it is starting increasingly early.
@coastal2024 As I said - your kid is most likely in the majority. High school should be about exploring. Let him explore. Just make sure that he takes the basic required courses for a wide range of college (by way of number of years for science, foreign languages, etc), and to take other courses to see if those interest him.
On entering high school, my kid was interested is “some type of science” and art. So she took science classes, and the art sequence, and explored. By the end of sophomore year she found an interest in neuroscience, took a summer course, had an internship the next summer, and that’s her major. But she was no more “decided” at the beginning of her sophomore year than your son.
The son of good friends had no idea what he wanted even when he graduated high school. He started as a chemistry major, changed majors, and graduated with an environmental science major. Went on to realize that he wants to be a conservation biologist, and is now close to finishing his PhD in Wildlife Management.
Good luck!
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My daughter wanted to study music beginning of sophomore year. Chemistry the end of sophomore year. Astrophysics junior year. She’s a freshman in engineering this year and in her school’s marching band. It’s OK to not know what you want to do. He should take classes that interest him (my daughter ruled out Computer Science after taking some courses in it, for example) and maybe find some people to talk to in careers that sound like a good fit for him. My daughter had to interview an engineer for an intro to engineering course she was taking and she helped steer her along the path she’s on now.
My son also wants to study music and he’s a sophomore. He also likes city planning and biology. So there you have it! No idea what he’ll end up doing. Good luck!
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Is your son already in college? That is how I read the original post.
My daughter took the assessment at youscience and that helped. It was recommended by a college coach we met with. It helped her pick a major. Prior to that she wanted “interdisciplinary studies” mostly because she is interested in a lot of things, is good at a lot of things, and didn’t know what she wanted to do for a career. She picked a career and a major based on the results and we also reminded her that it is a starting point. She can always change her major and her career path. But I’d rather she start college on a path than start undecided. The assessment shows multiple careers that are a good fit based on aptitude and interest and it has info about the education required for the career.
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No a sophomore in HS
OP here- this is helpful to know. I feel like so many people are saying he should at least have a vague idea so he can start taking the “right” classes, doing the “right” summer jobs/internships, etc. He is a happy, athletic, outgoing and well-rounded kid, just has no idea what he wants to focus on yet. I am already hearing of friend’s kids who are planning on summer internships at places in the field they want to study ion college, etc. Just makes it stressful.
My daughter took this through her high school counselor (I think she had a free trial or something) and it told her that engineering professor was a good fit but not engineer. 
Not sure how she would get to one without the other.
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It’s a good time to invest in a good pair of earplugs.
Your son sounds great. He’ll figure things out.
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Only one of my kids knew what they wanted to study in college as a sophomore in high school. They took various assessments through their high school. One of them loves to tell people that the assessment said he should be the person that directs people to the proper place at funerals. Fortunately that was the kid who already knew what he wanted to do and that was not it!
The most helpful suggestion we received was to have the student look at a list of majors for a large state university. Go down the list and cross off all the ones that they are not interested in, and then look at what’s left for ideas. I think we did this junior year with our oldest.
One kid wanted a major with the same name as the job it led to because she only wanted to have to decide once and that’s what she got in the end. The second kid was all over the place major-wise but leaned social sciences, generally. She want into a liberal arts college undecided and ended up with a major in economics and a near second major in math. And she graduated early so it didn’t cost her to decide later. Third kid is indeed studying what has wanted to be since junior high so some kids do actually know what they want.
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When DD’19 was a sophomore she was set on Musical Theatre because nothing else sounded good. She’s never had a dance lesson in her life. Then Geography because she had a good DE class in it. Or maybe History but she wanted a major that was connected to a type of job, not just a major in whatever and then work at whatever.
We read through the list of majors at the local public and Parks & Recreation Management caught her attention. We’d started going to National Parks and she was getting more interested in that type of thing. She had also worked at a camp summer before senior year. Then summer after she worked for our town Chamber of Commerce (we don’t have an actual Parks & Rec department). So she did start getting into her major before college but you don’t have to.
I mention this because some of the things you listed as his interests are similar to her major. Depending on the offerings you can make it more sports oriented, nature oriented, hospitality & tourism, business-like (corporate wellness), or even medical (Therapeutic Rec). Just thought I’d throw that out there in case he would find it of interest. The major is not found everywhere, so it did really narrow down where she could go.
I hear you but there really is a difference. In my field (psychology) there are many who have no interest, aptitude, or plans to be a practicing psychologist. They just get their PhD and teach psychology. Their career plan is psychology professor, not psychologist or counselor. They don’t even bother getting licensed to practice. I do both. I have a counseling practice and teach at a college. But many have an academic interest in a subject but not the application of the subject matter. Teaching and researching psychology but not counseling people. So they make a good psychology professor, but not a good psychologist. My husband is an engineer. He is a good engineer. He would not be a good engineering professor. Doing and teaching are two very different things.
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Our son had no more than very general ideas about what he might want to focus on in college and he expressly wanted to use college as a chance to sort that out. He did know that he wanted a smaller school with smaller classes, so we focused on LACs. As a parent, I could see that the things that had most excited him in high school were psychology, theater and sports, so when we were developing his list, I tried to make sure he included schools that would enable him to explore in those areas. (His interest in sports is more on the athletic/coaching side rather than sports management.) The LAC he ultimately chose does have a strong sports science department (as well as theater and psychology, but those are more common majors). I don’t think the sports science program was necessarily a deciding factor when he chose the school, but now sports science is one of his double majors and a sports-focused career path is becoming more visible. I guess my point is that if you can see a direction, or multiple directions, where you think your son might eventually want to go, based on all of your experience of his interests and talents, keep those things in mind when looking at schools. He doesn’t have to decide on sports management, for example, while he is in high school, but it might be good to look at schools that have that area so he can check it out. To give you an example, you could look at Miami University (Ohio), which offers an undergraduate Sports Leadership and Management program. There are lots of others, but it is the kind of major that not all schools will have, so if you think this is where he might end up, it is reasonable to consider this as a factor in developing his list.
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If he were a sophomore in college, he would be figuring out a major. A high school sophomore should be exploring and enjoying high school. Too early to worry about college and career, It sounds like the culture in your town/school might be a problem.
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I understand your points I just don’t see how a survey done by a 16-17 year old can determine all that. I’m an engineer also, but do neither engineering nor teaching at the moment but research (in a lab). I have worked as an engineer and I have also taught at university. I knew of none of these proclivities when I was 16. I actually was considering becoming a ballerina back then. My point was that you cannot become an engineering professor before becoming an engineer. And by engineer I mean someone who has studied engineering, not a licensed, signature on building projects etc. engineer.
These results confused my kid, I’m just sharing them for a laugh more than anything else.
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High school sophomore is still very young to know what they want to be. Some kids do early on and that’s great. But I don’t think they are in the majority. I had one kid that excelled in math and loved to make money. So we at least had some sort of idea with him. The other is a generic good at everything but had no real idea what to do type of kid.
What does your kid like to do? What are his interests? And note that he still has a lot of classes between now and college. Something new may pop up and great. More choices! But I also encourage you to help him notice other skills. Does he have an analytic mind? Is he creative? Does he like to research? Is he a good people person? Does he prefer being inside or outside? And, most of these traits you can see in people outside the classroom. Actually I think it’s better to identify them outside the classroom in a more natural state.
With my youngest when it came time to apply to colleges, I had him read the course descriptions of various majors. See what makes him go “huh. That sounds kinda cool” or “Ugh. Just no.” But I think your kid is still young for this. Give it time.
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