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Whether or not to switch majors is one of the most stressful
decisions college students make. Here are some good indicators
that you’ve gotten on the wrong track and could benefit
from a change.
1. You’re bored.
Every college student experiences some degree of boredom
in school. After all, we’re only human and not every
subject or professor is interesting to everyone. At the
very least, most of your major classes should be engaging
some of the time. Your research projects, papers, or reading
assignments should feel like opportunities to learn new
things about your chosen field of study. If you could care
less about your next hypothesis or thesis statement, and
doing your homework feels like going through the motions,
it’s probably a good sign you should switch majors
to a subject you find more appealing.
2. You have no interest in talking about your major.
While you’re probably not going to pour your heart
out to Aunt Agnes at the family reunion when she asks about
school, you should enjoy discussing your major field of
study on at least a basic level. If you’re a psychology
major, you should be able to snicker at the Freud joke someone
tells at a party. If you’re an economics major, you
should enjoy debating how best to bolster the American economy
during the current recession. If the thought of discussing
something related to your major makes you want to jab a
pen in your ear, it’s a good sign you should either
become a hermit or switch majors.
3. You’re not doing well in your major classes.
Most college students have failed an exam or had to drop
a difficult class. If you find yourself struggling in all
your major classes though, take it as a warning sign. You
may have chosen a subject you’re not particularly
well-suited for. Also, failing classes in your major may
indicate a lack of interest you’re trying not to admit.
Try taking an upper-level class or two in a different major.
If you have more academic success in a different subject,
it’s time to switch.
4. You can’t picture yourself working in
your field of study.
When you’re young, sometimes the future looks like
nothing more than a big, empty slate. That’s not a
bad thing. But if you try and simply can’t imagine
yourself in the role of teacher, statistician, electrical
engineer, or whatever career your major is preparing you
to do, you should seriously consider switching majors. Why
spend your entire college career focused on something you
would never do in the real world? Instead, use your education
to work toward going into a profession you might actually
take up after graduation.
5. You spend more time on another class or a hobby.
Believe it or not, choosing other activities over your
major is a good thing. In fact, it’s an excellent
sign you already have an idea of what you really want to
do. If you secretly love reading the World War II narratives
your favorite professor recommends, you might be a history
major in the making. If you consistently blow off assignments
to make model airplanes, you might be a future engineer.
You just have to find a way to turn your passion into a
viable major and make the change.
On the other hand, if you’re experiencing any of the
following situations, it’s probably not the right
time to switch majors. There may be an underlying problem
causing your unhappiness or lack of success in college.
1. You are bored or doing poorly in ALL your classes.
Do you have trouble paying attention or sitting still in
class? Do you find yourself unable to complete any homework
assignments? Are you failing exams for reasons you don’t
understand? The issue might not be your major, but something
much deeper. You may be experiencing anything from depression,
test anxiety, or attention deficit disorder. Before switching
majors, pay a visit to a counselor at your college to help
you determine the cause of your academic problems.
2. You’re still taking general requirements.
Unless you’re attending a career college, the path
to a degree is filled with liberal arts classes. For bright
young college students, this can be a source of frustration.
Sometimes those general requirements can feel like a rehash
of material covered in high school, and other times those
classes won’t have anything to do with your chosen
field of study. Before you switch majors, take a few upper-level
classes in your chosen field of study to see if that makes
college more interesting for you.
3. You can’t imagine yourself in ANY career.
It’s perfectly normal to be unclear or undecided
about what you want to do with the rest of your life. But
if you can’t imagine yourself doing anything, it might
be a lack of experience in the workplace or because you’re
just not sure what you like or what you’re good at
yet. A counselor at your college can give you a career aptitude
test to assess what range of careers you might excel at.
A counselor can also help you arrange to shadow a professional
in the workplace or even an internship to test drive a potential
career option before you commit to a major.
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