As you finish up your senior year of high school, everyone will begin asking you what you want to be or do with the rest of your life. Well, at 18 years old, deciding what you want to do with the rest of your working life (which is a really long time) can be a daunting task. Most seniors have no clue what profession they would like to enter into. A lucky few know that they want to be a teacher, doctor, or such. However, if you fall into the majority of not having a clue, then choosing a major in your college freshman year is unrealistic.
If you are unsure what you want to do, it would be wise to pick out a few of your top choices. You can then arrange to shadow someone in this profession. By actually spending the day working with a radiologist, you will see exactly what they do from day to day. You can decide if this is something that you could do everyday. Shadowing is a great way to rule out certain professions. You may want to be a surgeon, but pass out at the sight of blood on your shadowing day. It is better to find out now, than after many years of medical school. Shadowing is a wise idea for any high school senior before they make a major choice.
If you do enter college unsure of what you want to do, you can spend the first year or so taking pretty general classes. You can work to get out the general education classes such as Math, English, History, etc. You can also use this time to take a few entry level courses into specific fields. You could take an entry level music, philosophy, chemistry, etc. class to see just how this field would be for you. By the end of your second year of college, you should be ready to make a decision about your major. If you aren’t, you should be aware that this is when you start to take classes that may not be needed or even count toward your major.
If you know that you are unsure of a major, consider attending a community college first. Most of their courses are general education ones that can be counted toward many varying majors. You won’t be paying high tuition costs for classes that you may not need. It will also allow for two years of a variety of classes, which may give you a better idea of what you would like to study.
If you still aren’t sure by your sophomore year, it may be time to do some more shadowing. You may also want to take some time to visit the head of several departments at the college. They can often offer advice into where and what their students tend to do after graduation. I wouldn’t recommend quitting college with the intentions of coming back after you have made a decision. Most people do not return. However, you may want to consider dropping to a part-time status while you make some decisions.
Deciding what you want to do for the next 40-50 years is a huge decision. It should be given plenty of thought, research, and consideration. If you experiment with several different major offerings at a college, you may just find the perfect one.
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