Every major has its pros and cons. There are times when you realize this is what you were meant to do and then there are times when you think yourself "why in the world am I doing this to myself?!?" Here are some of the hardships you experience when living life as a science major.
1. Weird Lab Hours to Credit Hour Ratio
Wait what do you mean my 3-hour lab only gets me 1 credit hour? That's cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me. Almost every lab is like this as well, so having 2 or 3 labs in a semester can make a 12-14 hour semester really feel more like an 18-20 semester worth of time commitment.2. Scheduling becomes harder (because of labs and recitations)
In addition to your labs, some classes also have a 1-hour recitation attached to them as well but without the credit hour to match. So, in essence, your 3-hour lecture and 1-hour lab really end up being 7-8 hours of your week. Now try adding two more lecture/lab duos and you only have 12 credit hours but your lectures, labs and recitations are going to start running into each other and you sometimes end up with a really funky looking schedule.
3. Not knowing how a piece of equipment works
Most science equipment is pretty straightforward. Weigh things with a scale, measure liquid in a graduated cylinder, things of that nature. On occasion, however, you're sometimes asked to use something you've never used or seen before and suddenly you feel like you were asked to invent a time machine. Luckily TA's are generally more than happy to explain it to you but it can still be embarrassing, especially if you're one of the only ones who doesn't know how it works (which you inevitably are).
4. Memorization
There's memorization to some extent in all branches of academia, but science classes tend to have massive amounts of information that are critical to have memorized. All the bones in the body? Memorized. All the structures of a cell and their function? Memorized. A list of common organic compounds and their pKa? Memorized. That can lead to some long nights of studying but it'll be worth it all once you graduate right? Right? Please say yes.
5. Listening to lab safety procedure (over and over)
Don't get me wrong, lab safety is important for sure and I bet there's a law requiring them to talk about it for every new class but it is insanely boring. If you haven't figured out how to properly conduct yourself in the lab after the first few, then maybe this isn't the major for you.
6. Lots and lots of waiting
Sometimes pop culture likes to portray science as bouncing around experiment after experiment, sciencing all over the place until some crazy breakthrough happens. Unfortunately the reality is far less exciting. Most experiments, even ones that are fun to perform, take time. That's just what it takes to do a science.
7. Outrageous curves
Oh man I got a 50 on the test?! My parents are going to kill me. Oh man oh man I'm going to fail this class and have to drop it and then drop out of college and then become a hobo. Oh wait what's this? 20 point curve? Wow there's something wrong with this picture but at least I'm passing now.
So there it is, some of the drawbacks to being a science major. I love being a biology major but there are times it can be a real pain. What about you? Feel free to add some of your own struggles I might have missed down below!
