I know many of you are going to be college freshies this year. Congrats, and I am so proud of you!!
I know also that some of you may be undecided or on the fence about what major you want to be. So I hope to give you some advice on how to get to a decision, or at least an idea of what path to take.
When I first began, almost two years ago (I’m so old), I was certain of two things.
1. I did not want to major in English
2. I was in love with the sciences
I was 10000% sure I didn’t want to do English, and this was hard to be certain of for a while, because all my teachers and even some of my friends pushed that idea solely because I was ‘so good’ at it. I love reading, and writing and I think we definitely need people to analyze texts and write things that contribute to humanity. But that wasn’t going to be me. I hated analyzing and I hated how English assignments made writing feel like a chore.
I was certain I was in love with the sciences because, well ... I just knew! The idea of figuring out where we are as a society, as a culture, and in the universe freaking excites me. I want to create things, I want to know what things are made of and how to make them work better. I want to make all the science fiction things that I grew up with, a reality.
And sometimes knowing what you love and what you dislike is enough to pick a track. Without further ado, I will continue with my advice for those of you with no idea on where to begin your search.
1. ASK. And talk to people, too
This is important even before you get to college, and so I hope that some of you have started doing this or have done this already. If not, it’s certainly not too late to do so!
You need to talk to people who are studying in your major of interest, and to people who have the careers that you are interested in. It’s also not a bad idea to go up to professors, counselors, or mentors what you could try, based on your interests. For example, you like video games, why not try making them? You like exercise, why not focus on being a personal trainer, or even a physical therapist? If you’re interested in other languages or cultures, why not become an interpreter or study international relations? It’s important to talk to and engage with people who are doing things that you may be interested in doing. Ask to shadow them, interview them, anything that’s going to give you insight on your future.
2. Engage in activities outside of school and in learning experiences that matter
I learned a ton more about working at a pharmacy as a technician than I ever could have in a classroom setting and as a teacher I learned a lot more about CAD software, development, and robotics programming than I have so far in my computer science degree. What I have learned is that college is really there for you to learn the basics of a lot of different things, and to get a degree that’s going to allow you to apply for any job you want. It’s about how you learn, rather than what you learn. So you can sit and get straight A’s all throughout your college career, but you can’t apply at Nintendo or NASA without ever having dealt with a real life situation, problem, or goal. Even volunteering and traveling abroad gives you a so much bigger view of the world than just reading about everything and studying. So get out of your comfort zone and look for things that will get your feet out the door. Not to mention a better insight at what you’ll be dedicating 4+ years of your life to.
3. Don’t be afraid of stepping back
I get that you want to get the good ol’ college experience. But if after a semester you still have 0 idea of what you want to do, I’d say go part-time, or take a semester off to work and do other things that will expand your view and horizons. College is scary expensive, where I live in the US, even if you have a decent amount of scholarships. So if after a semester of trying out different classes and talking to people who are in the fields you might be interested, you have no idea at all, I’d say take a break from school. There is -84373463525423567242% shame in this. It’s important to really take time and invest in experiences that will give you an idea about what you, yourself want for your future.
Even today, two years into my college career, I’m a little less than halfway through my computer science degree, and I’ve just recently tacked on a physics minor. So I’ll be in school for about another 2.5 years 😅 But I know it will be worth it! Still not sure what to do with my life, but I’m looking at virtual reality development (what a time to be alive!) Or snagging an internship at SpaceX to see if I wanna work at the company. All I know is that whatever I want to do, I know I can find a way to do it. And you know what, so can you! Just have faith in yourself and go boldly in the direction you want to follow.
No matter what, loves, I’m positive you can do it!
