Too many times I was told as a freshmen in college that it was, “Okay to be undecided, a lot of kids don’t know what they’re doing,” “You have so much time to figure it out, don't worry.” I took my time and changed my major three times only to realize this summer as a senior that teaching isn’t the career path I want to pursue. I have one semester left to student teach, but I’ve decided to withdraw from the program and now I’m stuck with an English Degree and no experience.
Fortunately I graduated on time, but many of my peers didn’t get to graduate in four years and of the ones who have, many of them are currently unemployed. Why? I believe it’s because of the unwise advice to take your time deciding.
You don’t have all the time in world; that is if you want to graduate in four years. Of course you can finish your degree in five to six years, but who wants to spends the extra thousands of dollars a semester?
My advice for undecided students, figure it out, you don’t really have that much time. Take a few days to sit down look up the programs your school offers and research. Research what kinds of jobs you can get with the degrees offered. Look up what the average salary is, what the job entails, and what it’s going to take to finish that degree on time.
Why do I think you need to figure it out sooner than later?
Think about what it takes to write up a good resume. You need good work experience that is related to the position you want to apply for. It needs to be related so that you can tailor your resume with keywords contained in the job post.
I never really learned how to write a good resume until I took a business writing class my junior year of college. It was in this class I realized my work experiences were unprofessional and not related to the job area I was applying for.
Throughout your college years you should be finding smalls jobs or internships related to the field you want to get into. But as an undecided major, how are you supposed to know what work experiences you’re going to need to build a great resume for the future?
You need to figure out what you want as soon as possible. That way you have the time to look for work and internships that will help you gain the experiences necessary to build a strong resume for the job you want.
Otherwise you might end up like me working in a kitchen or waitressing for four years. Don’t get me wrong, the skills I picked up in the kitchen are great, but they’re just not the skills the jobs I want are looking for.
Stop wasting your time. Figure out who you want to be and start planning now to get the dream job you want. It’s not okay to be undecided.
