How to decide on a major?

Question

well.. I am in my 2nd year of college.... and I have had at least 5 different ideas on a major... I am just doing the gen ed. classes to get my AA but, I have NO idea what I want to do... all my ideas of what Im interested in are COMPLETELY different, and I know I need to hurry and choose.. How did you decide on your major? and how did you know that is what you wanted to do for the rest of your life? any other advice for me? Im so confused! Thank you!

Answer 1

I knew since 9th grade what career field I wanted to enter. You need to give the subject some SERIOUS thought.

Answer 2

Ahh...the age old question. I too had no idea whatsoever in what to take as a major. In my first year I had the array of Law, Psychology, Sociology, History and Women's studies, with the intention of getting a degree in Law. When I found that class too boring (how many lectures on HLA Hart and theory can one sane person sit through?!?!) I decided that a change was needed.
In the second year, I took courses based on what I thought I would be interested in- and again that didn't pan out. Then I started thinking about what subjects I usually do good in, which subjects I have a true interest in, and then eventually narrowed it down to history. History has always been a strong subject, and the course that I have here is open enough to work in almost any sector.
My advice to you would be to reevaluate your interests, and maybe try to ask career councellors at your school. They can be a BIG help. Even though most people tend to ignore them during school, they usually go through your likes and dislikes in what you like to learn about, what you prefer to lean towards career-wise and match those intrests up in a category with interests of people with similar interests (I hope that made sense lol).
I hope that helps!

Answer 3

Well, I don't have specific advice (I've been fortunate in the sense that I've managed to choose my major and career path pretty effortlessly while people around me have agonized over the choice), but maybe my experience will be helpful.

I started out as an engineering student. I quickly came to the conclusion that engineering wasn't for me (the curriculum was very structured and there was no opportunity to take a broader courseload), so I applied (and was accepted) for the liberal arts school six weeks into my first semester. At this point, all I knew was that I vaguely was interested in the sciences, with computer science and physics being the two likely targets. I eventually decided to major in computer science and minor in astronomy (I've liked astronomy since I was little, what can I say). I enjoyed the computer science curriculum, but in my junior year took the first classes for my astronomy minor. I had a really good professor, and it really awakened my interest in the subject. After a bit of contemplation (and a fair amount of negotiation with my dad), I switched to a double major between computer science (I had made a lot of progress and it was still fun) and astrophysics, which necessitated a fifth year.

That was how I chose my majors, but there's an epilogue. As graduation approached, I had to start figuring out what to do after college. There were two choices really: get a job programming or go to graduate school. The former wasn't really my thing, so I decided on graduate school, but I still had to choose between grad school for computer science and grad school for physics. At this point (the second semester of my fourth year) I was taking a course in computer science that was supposed to be useful for those bound for graduate studies in computer science. I found it dry and boring (it was a more mathy course), and came to the realization that grad school in computer science would either consist of that dry and boring math research (which I had no interest in) or of programming research. And while I liked programming, it didn't appeal to me as a research field. On the other hand, astrophysics did seem like an interesting thing to do research in, a feeling which was reinforced by my fifth year courses in the subject. So I decided on astrophysics, and now I'm finishing up my first year of grad school in physics.

So, what's the moral of the story? Dabbling in the subjects you're interested in can help give you a good idea. At every step, it was taking a certain course which prompted certain decisions. Now, you're in your second year, so maybe you've dabbled a little bit. If not, then admittedly the decision will be harder. In the end, listen to your gut feelings, they tend to be pretty honest.

Answer 4

I was in the same boat as you my sophomore year of college. I had started as a music major, (if you major in music you have to declare before you even enroll) and by the end of my first semester, I hated being consumed by it. I took a look at what I was interested in. At that point, I didn't know about anything else, because music had been my life for the past 8 years. So, I did what you are doing, took all my gen ed classes to see if anything struck me as interesting. The thing to keep in mind is that even if you're interested in something, it doesn't necessarily need to be your major. Say, for example, you really like English, but you've never gotten above a C- on a paper in your life. As an English major, you would be writing lots of papers. Conclusion: Not the major for you. If you have a passion for art, but not the talent, don't go for studio art, try art history. If you find something you're passionate about and good at that should be your major. Regardless of whether you think it will be an easy major to find a job in, you should do what you love. I ended up majoring in psychology. I chose it because the research side really appealed to my inner scientist, and I found all of the subject matter totally fascinating. Not to mention, I loved the faculty in the Psych. department. They all even came to my graduation party. I graduated almost a year ago and didn't get a job in my field. That was okay with me. I didn't want to work for DSS, I was a reasearch nerd, not focused on the clinical side. I need to go back to graduate school to get a job in research. The thing is, most jobs today aren't really concerned with what degree you have as long as you have a degree. Some ridiculous percentage of people don't end up working in the field they majored in. If your main concern is finding a job in your field there are a select few majors I would suggest: Education, Computer Science, Business Administration, Pre-professional (pre-med, pre-dental, pre-law). Otherwise, if you choose a liberal arts major, you do it because you love it, not because of job security. Good luck in your search. I hope you find something you can be satisfied with. In the long run, that's all that matters.

Answer 5

All campuses will have career counseling centers. Take your five ideas and research and list all the different jobs that could be related to each. By having these possible starting points, it will make it easier for a career counselor to help you. You might take a career aptitude test too.

Talk to your professors and advisors because as they've worked with you, they may have some suggestions based upon what they have seen as your strengths.

Become an "investigative reporter" and make it a habit to ask people about their jobs and what they enjoy/dislike about their work. Maybe also ask them what other job they would do if they weren't in their current career.

Remember that most people make several major career shifts during their lifetime so you aren't permanently locked to whatever direction you select. Knowing that might you avoid being stressed about making the"perfect" decision. Good luck!

Answer 6

if you are unsure, just do liberal arts- that way, when you are sure what career you may want to pursue, you already have a degree, you just need the specialized work (if any).