How to Choose A Major

Well... that's a loaded question. Nobody can really tell you how to choose a major, or what major you should choose, because that's all subjective. But that doesn't make it any less intimidating. The good news is: You are not alone. Pretty much nobody knows what they want to major in when they go to college, and those that do usually end up changing majors at some point before they graduate. Let me start this post out with a little story.

When I went to college, I was completely clueless. Clueless about a lot of things, but especially my major. I came in undecided and thought I'd just float around my first year and figure it out eventually. Well, at orientation, my assigned advisor told me to register for an Intro to Education class, since I mentioned that I might be interested in teaching. At her guidance, I signed up, and about halfway through the semester we had an assignment to complete a check-in with the College of Education's advisors. The advisor I visited told me that he could not talk to me since I wasn't officially an education major. Well, the period to drop classes was over and I needed to complete the assignment, so I went ahead and declared education as my major right there on the spot. I mean, I was kind of interested in it, so it couldn't be that bad... right?

Wrong. Two years later, I was about to enter my first semester of student teaching and I knew nothing. I had no idea how to write a lesson plan, I had little experience conducting a classroom, and I just felt generally unprepared to teach the next semester. I literally felt like I knew the same amount as I did as a freshman. In the meantime, I had taken a couple of history courses as a requirement for my education major, since I planned on being a history teacher, and I loved it. For some reason, history clicked for me in college in a way that it never did in high school. It was completely unexpected. But, what could I do with a history degree? That became my next dilemma.

So, there I was, an almost-senior in college who was suddenly doubting her major but also doubting that switching majors would be the right decision. I talked to so many people about it. I was really stressed. What if I started teaching and hated it? What if I was such a bad teacher that I ruined my future students' experiences? But, what if I changed majors and couldn't find a job? Or what if I ended up regretting not sticking with education? All of these questions and more were racing through my head, but at the end of the day I just couldn't shake the feeling that I would be so much happier as a history major. So, I did it. And I have never looked back.

The moral of the story is this: Trust your gut and don't let anyone else convince you that you should choose a certain major. I have always wondered what would have happened if I hadn't been cornered into declaring an education major that day. I may have discovered my love for history sooner. I may have been able to explore other programs and taken more of a variety of classes. I may have had time to add another major or minor to my degree. Who knows? But the important part is, I found something that I love and I have never regretted following my gut.

I understand more than anyone that choosing a major just because you love it doesn't always seem reasonable. You have to make money to live and some majors just don't offer much money at the end. You have to figure out what's worth it for you personally, and everyone is different. For me, switching to history turned out perfectly fine because I decided that I wanted to keep learning through graduate school and, hopefully, find a teaching position in higher education. Graduate school may not be a feasible reality for everyone, and that's okay.

What's important is that you understand that you don't have to go for the typical money-making majors like business or the sciences. College is an opportunity to explore, find something new, or rediscover something old. Something like history, which I hated in high school, can be such a different experience in college. Give yourself time to look at all of your options. Most campuses have some sort of career center, and they can talk to you about what kinds of jobs you could potentially pursue with different majors. Just don't stick with something that you know you hate because, trust me, it will not be worth it in the end.