It's the dangerous topic no one wants to talk about, but one that sparks a conversation in a lot of student's heads.
"Should I change my major?"
Of course, this isn't much of a problem during freshman or sophomore year. The real issue is when this thought comes up after you've already settled into your junior or even senior year. Naturally, some students shake off this kind of anxiety while others will stay up all night toying with the thought in their heads until their alarm goes off to get ready for that class at eight in the morning. This article is geared toward them.
If you're someone who just can't stop obsessing over whether or not you should do the dirty deed or even a transfer student who's having second thoughts on what you came into school as, use these steps to see if you're really losing all that sleep in vain or if your brain really is on to something. (I suggest getting a pen and paper to take a few things down, if you're that kind of person.)
1. Consider your personal interests.
I have mentioned this before in a previous article and for good reason. This is the most important step to start with because essentially this is what you will use as a base for the following steps. Finding your personal interests usually involves asking yourself basic personality questions ("Are you introverted or extroverted?") and questions about your own likes and dislikes ("Do you like working with people?"). Once you can get a pretty good shape of who you are and what you like, you can move on to the next step.
2. Research future job prospects.
Using the information from step one, look up some jobs that you might like. Using a search engine, look up some simple phrases pertaining to your personality in particular (for example, "jobs for extroverts"). From those results, look up a few of the jobs that fit you and see if they sound appealing to you.
If you can, look for what kind of people actually get these jobs. This would be phrased something like "How do I become a/an X?" or "X job openings." You'll be able to find information such as what kind of people get certain kinds of jobs and what qualifications are typically needed. The best search results you can get are resumes of people who have those jobs because you can find what real people did to be qualified and hired for such jobs. (Even better, you can find what majors those people were in college, or even what their education levels are, period.)
This step and step one is probably the most tedious steps on this list but also the most important. All this information is relevant to step...
3. Think back on past/potential classes.
Think back to your classes you've taken so far and evaluate them on a few levels. How did you do? Did you like them personally? Think about the content here and not just the instructor or the TA(s). Do you feel like taking the class was fulfilling? Write these things down. If you particularly liked the content as opposed to just going along with the flow of the class, that counts as well. Also, look at the classes you'll have to take to finish your major if you haven't finished already. How do those classes sound?
Then think about what field(s) your selected jobs from the last step are in and what major(s) the people who would have those jobs did in college. Look up those majors at your school and see what classes those majors require. As you go through, think about if the content of those majors sounds either appealing or grueling (or more in-between).
4. Compare your results from points two and three.
Look at the results side-by-side. You have to compare where you've been to in school so far, and where you will go if you do or do not change your major. This step is quite the deep step because I really can't help here; you have to choose whichever option is the one you really want. Essentially, you should ideally choose the option that aligns with your interests.
If you're lucky, it could be that your current major will lead you into the field(s) you're interested in. In that case, congratulations! Keep your major!
Even then, if you find out that another major sounds more appealing to you to possibly lead you to where you want to go, go on to the next step.
5. Do some personal calculations
This is where you take into account opportunity cost and the cost of time. If you were to switch majors, how many more classes would you need? How long would you have to continue at school? How much would that extra time at school cost? For example, think about if you would need more loans for more terms or if switching majors might just be a few more classes from some other departments. Maybe you might not be able to afford it. Or maybe you could even get some of the prerequisites done over the summer at your school or a local community college to save money. If you're OK with all of that, think about how you would feel. Remember to think about yourself too, since all of this work is meant for you. How would you feel spending some extra time at school? All more deep questions that you might consider talking over with close friends and family. After this step, you will definitely know whether or not to switch majors.
Going through this list should give you some more definite answers; hopefully it's tipped you closer to leaning toward either changing your major or staying put where you are. Even through all of this, my most important piece of personal advice that is not on the list is this: if you ever see switching majors as a burden, just don't do it. Unless you're planning on going into medical school, many jobs these days only require a bachelor's degree, period. Whatever happens, you can still be in successful in life, no matter what you choose.
As long as you work your hardest — even counting that "Cs get degrees" — you can achieve both academic and personal success.
