At the age of 18 years old, students are expected to graduate from high school and decide what they are going to do with their lives. Many make the decision to attend college, but then comes the decision of what major to choose. Yes, there are students who enter into a college or university undecided which everyone says is okay...and yet those who are undecided sometimes get pestered about choosing a major immediately. Then when a student finally chooses a major they believe they will be happy with, they are often faced with the awful question, "so what are you going to do with that?" Let's be honest, at 18 years old, no one really knows. It is all a guessing game. We are asking students to decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives who just a few months before had to ask for permission to use the restroom in high school. Sometimes, these decisions take some time and exploring to figure out who you are and who you want to be.
For some people choosing a major is hard...really hard. A million questions run through your mind. Is this really the right path for me? What if I don't find a job? What if I don't like it? What if I don't know what job I want out of this? What if what I am passionate about does not land me future employment? The list goes on and on....so how do you choose a major?
There seem to be three types of college students when finally declaring a major...The ones who go for what they are passionate about no matter what it is and choose to figure the rest out later, the ones who pick something not necessarily because they love the field, but more because it makes sense to them and they know they will most likely be able to find a job with the degree after college... and then there are those who are lucky enough to be passionate about something which jobs are more easy to come by in their specific field.
Which one am I? I am the student who chose the major because it was practical and made sense. I have a love for English and writing, but I was far too apprehensive to major in it. Not because jobs are impossible to find in those fields, but more because I was scared that I would not be able to find a job in one of those fields as easily as I could find a job in some other field. I was too scared of the unknown and personally felt the need to feel more secure with my chosen career path. So instead, I chose the medical field because I knew that no matter where I end up I will be able to get a job somewhere.
Choosing a major is hard. My point is that there is no right or wrong way to do this. Healthcare may not have been something I was passionate about from the start, but I am happy with what I have learned along the way and with what I plan on doing with my future. At the same time, there are days when I still wonder if I chose the right path for myself. When I sit down to write one of these articles which I love writing every single week, I sometimes get a bit jealous of all of the English and Writing majors out there. I wonder what would have happened if I had chosen a different path...but I think we all have those "what if?" moments from time to time. That doesn't mean that any of the decisions I have made are right or wrong.
In the end, I do not regret any of my decisions. I did choose to play it a bit safe when picking a major and that's okay, many people out there would not make the same types of decisions that I had made, and that's okay too. There is no right or wrong way to think about this and no right or wrong major to choose. It is about thinking about your future and deciding what is right for you and what is going to make you happy. And if you are just starting out and have no idea what you want to do with your life, that's okay too. No matter what situation you are in, just take your time, explore different options, and sooner or later something will click.