Picking a major is unquestionably one of, if not the biggest decision you’ll have to make in your four years on campus. Although it doesn’t predetermine everything about your future, it can have a huge impact on the trajectory of your career and opportunities. And if you’re as indecisive as me, this is a terrifying prospect.
However, I’m here to assuage those fears. Let me start by saying it is absolutely, without a doubt, 100 percent okay to switch your major in college. As many as 80 percent of undergrads switch their major at least once. Some switch between multiple majors. If you’re considering making the switch, you’re not alone.
It’s impossible to expect any 17 or 18-year-old to have their life figured out and to know exactly what they want to do when they first enter college. Just off the top of my head, I could list at least ten different jobs I wanted to do at some point in my childhood. In fact, if you already know exactly what you want to do in the future, kudos to you! Most of us are still figuring it out.
To make a long story very short, I started out as a chemical engineering major with a biomedical emphasis, and now I’m a biochemistry and global/international studies (GIST) double major, on the pre-medical track. So I can speak to the experiences of both switching into a somewhat related field and a completely unrelated field.
As far as biochemistry went, I was fortunate, because I always loved biology and knew I wanted to do something related to that field. Some of my chemical engineering classes overlapped with biochemistry requirements (such as general chemistry and physics), so I wasn’t totally behind. My switch was more like jumping onto a parallel track instead of completely changing direction.
Ultimately, I was swayed by my own experiences in class. Without taking those chemical engineering classes, I wouldn’t have been able to definitively rule out chemE as a major. I also looked at the suggested four year plans and upper level electives for both majors, and found that I was more interested in the biochemistry electives than the engineering electives—which meant I would probably enjoy them more.
On the other hand, I also decided to add a second major: global and international studies. This was completely unrelated to both chemical engineering and biochemistry, and honestly wasn’t even a major I’d considered before I started college. I was much more hesitant about this, having had no prior experience in this area. I ended up enrolling in the introductory class during fall of my sophomore year and loved it. Again, having that positive experience in class and with the professor (who also happens to be the GIST program director) was what solidified my decision.
All of this is just to say that I think it’s incredibly important to have those experiences of different classes so you can figure out what you do and don’t like. If you’re considering a different major but haven’t committed yet, and you have room in your schedule, I would definitely suggest taking a class in that field. It can really narrow down your decision-making process and let you know if you would actually enjoy the major.
Everyone figures out their life at different stages. It’s absolutely okay to not know everything about your future, and it’s absolutely okay to explore different interests. After all, you’ll never know whether or not you like something unless you take that leap and try.
