Being a STEM major is the latest trend. Nearly every person I've met at university is some string of complicated biochemistry or the ever so popular computer science. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are currently regarded as the most lucrative fields to go into with the most career opportunities... but what about the social science majors? Well, we're commonly scoffed at and told that we'll work at Starbucks for the rest of our lives.
Throughout my high school years, both teachers and my parents told me to go into a field that I feel passionate about -- if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life, right? But what if I'm not passionate about the chemistry of medicine? What if working with computer code isn't what interests me? Naturally, one would just say to go into something that interests me. But instead, I fell to the pressure of wanting to be in one of those well-respected fields.
I applied to five University of California schools and one California State University the fall of my senior year of high school as a computer science major. With a 4.33 cumulative GPA and over five extracurriculars, I expected to be accepted and begin my engineering studies. Did I ever feel passionate about coding? Honestly, probably not.
Because of the competitiveness of these fields, I was accepted to one out of the six schools I applied to. I was accepted to the University of California, San Diego, as an undeclared undergraduate. I was good enough to get in but not up to engineering school standards.
When I was accepted undeclared, at first I did not know what my plan would be. But after a summer of researching majors, I decided that political science was for me and that being accepted undeclared was a major blessing in disguise.
During my first quarter of university, I began to pursue my political science (Public Law specialization) degree at UC San Diego. Surrounded by a group of biology, chemistry and math majors, I was automatically regarded as the one with the "easy" major. But since when has endless hours of reading, studying and keeping up with all of this new information been regarded as "easy"? Since when has a 3.5 GPA only been regarded as successful for a STEM major? When finals came around, my stress was downplayed by friends studying for math and chemistry tests, talking about how "lucky" I am to be PoliSci.
Of course I don't have to take hard sciences or a calculus series, but I am taking rigorous classes focused on political interactions in the U.S. as well as the other countries of the world. Scientists aren't going to run this country from the White House, mathematicians aren't going to end terrorism and engineers most definitely aren't going to handle important policy at home and abroad. While STEM is equally important, especially in the medicinal and technological fields, social science is no less significant.
Basically, all I'm trying to say is that social sciences aren't the joke that everybody wants to make them. We won't end up as baristas or fast food workers like everybody would like to say if we don't want to. And if you're not at university yet, do not feel compelled to be a STEM major if you do not want to be a STEM major. Follow your heart, as cheesy as that sounds.
Congratulations to the political science, psychology, history, sociology, communication and all other social science majors who are doing what they love regardless of what STEM majors say.
Do what you love, and love what you do.
