Welcome to A Quirky Twist’s college advice for sophomores! I’m excited to be continuing my college advice series for another summer you can find all of last year’s advice here. This time the advice will be split between freshman and sophomores, but that doesn’t mean the advice is exclusive to either group. Personally I have had my major declared since my first semester freshman year, its Public Relations if you were curious, however for most people that is not the case. So I have a few tips for how to handle this advice for the upcoming year. Also, remember to keep in mind these are only suggestions and no way meant to be hard and fast rules to follow. Here are 5 tips for how to tackle the major question your sophomore year.
- WHAT CLASSES DID YOU HATE?
Now you have two full semesters of college under your belt. In that time there’s bound to be a class or two you hated. Maybe it was the subject matter itself, how hard the assignments were, or the teacher themselves whatever it was probably made you never want to take a class in that department again. If that was the case then that department and its majors are not for you. Plenty of people go into college thinking they’re going into the medical field and they take Bio or Chem 101 and hate it and decide to change their plans. That’s perfectly ok if what you wanted to do at the beginning is not what you want at the end of the year.
- WHAT CLASSES DID YOU LIKE?
On the flipside of the above advice what classes did you really enjoy going to? What classes and projects did you enjoy doing, what teachers did you like? Your major should come from one of those departments that you enjoyed the classes in. You’ve probably already signed up for some of those classes for your fall semester. By the time you junior year comes around and you’re taking mostly major classes you should enjoy them, no matter the difficulty you should still enjoy the subject matter. Academically you’ll enjoy college much more if you major in something you enjoy doing.
- TALK TO AN ADVISOR
Basically the number one job of theirs is to give advice to you throughout your college academic career. If the first two points don’t help you get an idea of a major in your head they can help you. They’ll be able to tell you if you’ve completed any courses for specific majors. They could go over the different majors with you and explain the courses and credits needed to complete the major. Also you’ll more than likely be declaring your major with your advisor anyways, so you’ll have to see them regardless you might as well get some good advice while you’re at it.
- JOIN GROUPS/CLUBS
Most majors and departments have clubs or organizations, geared specifically towards that major. If you have a major or two you’re interested in joining these groups will help you with your decision. You’ll be able to meet like-minded people, who know a lot about your future field and could make great friends. Chances are the club still keeps in contact with it’s alumni, or with professionals in the field that might come and give talks or just be willing to discuss their jobs with you. Not to mention these organizations might make it easier to get internships and future jobs.
- YOUR MAJOR DOES NOT DETERMINE YOUR CAREER PATH
I think this is probably the biggest drawback for people when it comes to picking or changing their major. They think they can’t major in something because people will judge them or tell them they can’t make money with that. Which is not entirely true a person with an English degree could be a CEO, teacher, editor, accountant, or screenwriter. As you get further in your career it matters less about your major and more your skill set and experience. Also, if you’re planning on going to grad school you bachelor’s degree will matter very little to your career. I know someone majoring in history, but plans to go to grad school for accounting. As long as you complete the pre-reqs and other requirements the specific major shouldn’t matter.
I hope this will help you when you start your second year in the fall. Another college advice post will be up next Tuesday! If you liked this post leave a comment down below!
A Quirky Twist 