When Your Major Doesn’t Fit You
By CollegeAdvisor on 02-26-2008
Timing is a key element if you are concerned that the major you chose does not fit you.
If you are a freshman, you probably need to take various courses to see which ones you like the best. Be sure to try out various possibilities. Also check the career center for testing which can look at likes, dislikes, and important values.
If you are a sophomore, evaluate which classes you liked and which you didn’t. See a college advisor to discuss your options. They may have some very good suggestions. Remember, they have dealt with many students and can help you evaluate your options.
If you are a junior, you may now run into some very challenging classes. For every student there are some classes which are required, but are not fun to take. If you are finding too many classes are like this, visit both the career center and advising center. Don’t just sit and suffer. Also, see if you can change your curriculum by adding a minor so your class distribution is different.
If you are a senior, you are probably best off to finish the degree you started. Many companies hire people for positions that do not exactly fit the major of the applicant. Also see your advisor to see if you could declare a minor. Some people even add a summer session and/or an additional fall session to complete requirements so that their degree better fits what they want.
If you have graduated, but don’t like the careers open to you, be sure to come back to visit the career center. Some people add a second bachelor’s degree or go on to graduate school in a different field. Also look around for other job opportunities that could be more interesting.
Guardians may try to stick out a major to please the family and can see changing as disloyalty. It is worse to have an unsatisfying career which lasts many years. Phong, a Protector, did not like his accounting major, but graduated and then hated his job. He eventually went back to school for a teaching credential and teaches high school business courses.
Artisans may need to experiment to find a place that fits. Remember to choose a major where you will find freedom and action. Annie, a Performer, had enrolled in Computer Engineering, but enjoyed courses in Performance and Communication, so switched majors.
Idealists need to look at the money-earning potential of their career. Many will ignore this aspect and be dissatisfied later. If you can live on less and be happy, then money earned will be less of a concern. Derek, a Counselor, was attracted to Social Science, but found he needed a master’s degree to be earning more money so he returned to school.
Rationals usually have developed a strong interest during high school. However, many do find that other areas can be even more fascinating when they are exposed to the college atmosphere. Be flexible.
Charlotte, a Fieldmarshal, became the main breadwinner when her parents died and she was left to raise three younger siblings. She worked as a bus driver until she could enter college after her siblings finished. She had once thought of being an economist, but now chose the field of geographer/map maker using GPS systems.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Posted by oogleboogle14 on Feb 26, 2008
I'm a College Freshman at UCSD, and just last night while I was trying to go to sleep I started thinking about my major, and whether or not I made the right choice. I'm an International Studies - Econ major, but I'm thinking that I might not want to do that. Previously, I've contemplated switching a few times: first, I was thinking Anthropology, and then I was thinking Music, and now I'm thinking about Religious Studies. I'm kind of lost here... |
 |
 |
Posted by Keillan on Feb 27, 2008
I have had a strong affinity with mathematics and knew that I wanted to learn more. However, I wasn't sure that I wanted to pursue a career in maths as mixing this love with work seemed dangerous. (Fear of being burnt out, I suppose.) It then made sense to choose a major in something that I felt employment was likely and could still keep a professional detachment with. The result was a double major in chemistry and maths. Just to show that I wasn't satisfied with merely that, I got a minor in history as well! |
 |
|
Posted by estanford on Feb 27, 2008
I'm a pure maths major -- would have minored in music, philosophy, history, biology, political science, computer science and religious studies if I could, but sadly there are only so many hours in a 4-year program. |
 |
|
Posted by andert on Feb 27, 2008
In undergrad I started out as an Electrical Engineering/Computer Science major. My Guardian father was an EE and I had wanted to do it since I was 6 years old. When I took EE courses, I realized I could not understand circuits, so I switched to Computer Science only. I wasn't really happy with that, but I wanted to make enough money, so I stuck it out, even though I enjoyed it less and less. It struck me as being too comercialized and rule based, molded to the corporate structure. I graduated, and, after a year as a research assistant at an industrial research lab working on wireless networks, I went to graduate school in Applied Math. I ended up doing my PhD thesis in an area of mathematical physics which I really enjoyed. Since then I've been working as a consultant at a very flexible company, but I get most of my enjoyment from my side projects, writing and working on proofs. |
| |
 |
Posted by CollegeAdvisor on Feb 28, 2008
Sometimes people decide to change their major almost completely in their junior year. While this can be the best in the long run, it is likely to require more time and more classes to finish the degree. One Rational found psychology fascinating, so he majored in that. As a junior, he realized that wasn't what he wanted to spend his life doing, so he switched to Environmental Science. It took him an extra term to graduate, but he was then able to get the kind of job he wanted. ................... William, have you taken classes in anthro, music, and religion? If not, go ahead and try them so you can get a better idea of what you want for the long term. ..................... Erik, you sound like a Renaissance man, perfect for that INTJ/INFJ duality. |
 |
|
Posted by KipParent on Mar 4, 2008
It seems to be getting tougher and tougher for students to have adequate time to explore potential majors in college. With both tuition and enrollments skyrocketing at most good public schools, its hard to get all the classes you need to make it through in 4 years, but awfully expensive to take more time. |
 |
 |
Posted by Vesper on Jun 26, 2008
Not to mention some colleges have very tangled policies. William and Mary has a "10 semester" rule which means that you have to graduate within 10 semesters or go through a petition process to be allowed an extra semester. I had a rough start in college due to family issues that were going on at the time. So I had to take some time off, and then when I returned it was really tough to get classes in my desired major. So eventually I end up declaring a Linguistics major and Film Studies minor. But last semester, my junior year, I decided that I'd really rather pursue Film Studies. I'd been shying away from my love of film because it seemed too impractical to pursue. But it's the subject that excites me the most, so I decided that I'd rather pursue that in Grad. school than Linguistics. So just last semester I changed my minor to a major. However, in order to complete this major I'll have to apply for an extra semester. I've got my fingers crossed that it goes well! |
I changed my major at least once a year until I graduated. I never changed it really far, but my course went something like Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Pure Mathematics, Mathematics Applied to Statistics, Mathematics Applied to Business. After I graduted, I had hoped to get a job as a Systems Analyst. I got a job as an assistant to an Industrial Engineer. After a year in the 'real world,' I realized I was in the wrong place. I went back to college to get my teaching credential. Now I teach high school math and love it. My career combines my skills in math and love of math with my passion for helping teens develop.