Uh, hi guys. I know I don't really talk to anyone here, but I'm needing some advice. I am not too sure where I am going with this, but I am at my wits end. I picked the wrong major. At first, it was just a small thought that I pushed aside but it kept creeping back and before I knew it, it became something that occupied my daily thoughts. It has caused me to feel like absolute shit. I literally spent hours googling "I picked the wrong major" and researching on what other majors I could transfer into. Unfortunately, it was too late. All the other viable majors required extending my college years, which is something I cannot financially afford. I was lucky enough to get an almost full-ride scholarship for 4 years, and it's one of the only reasons why I'm able to be in college right now. I'm currently a sophomore double majoring in Social Work and Psychology and I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life. I went into these majors because I love helping people. Seeing them happy from something I did literally brightens my day. But as I progressed further into my major classes, I got this immense sense of dread -- I can't do it. The comments on how a liberal arts degree is useless keeps replaying in my head, and how I'm not learning anything "quantitative" like formulas or coding just makes it all the worse. My social anxiety keeps on getting in the way, no matter how much I try to work with, and around it. Being around vulnerable people makes me super uncomfortable. I just don't know how to communicate nor help people. I've tried countless times to work on these issues, and I don't want to give up but I'm beginning to lose hope. I feel like I'm wasting the money given to me. It's funny how I'm in a major revolved around helping people when I can't even help myself. I know there's people here with more life experience than me, and those that are even college grads. Any ideas on what I should do / how did you overcome this problem? TDLR; Picked the wrong major, cannot financially afford to extend college years, any ideas on how to go about this?
It's fairly common to see people having second thoughts on what their majoring in. It requires a lot of commitment. Though it's also common for people to have resorted to switching majors midway. Of course, it's never easy to do that. Most would thank themselves later on knowing that they had switched, but the opposite is also true. Spoiler: If you want to stay. Consider getting more involved with things relating to your major. Network with people in your industry to obtain insight beyond your education and try becoming hands-on with situations that deal with your major. Social Work and Psych require strong social skills, if you feel confident in your skill, by all means do it. It doesn't sound like much, but getting involved can definitely boost your own morale and confidence. The only thing stopping that is yourself. The greatest perk to staying is that you're not paying back anything because of your scholarship. I assume you're still fairly young, so you could use that major as a means of stable income and use it to fuel something you're more passionate about later on. Spoiler: If you want to switch. It's going to be a much harsher path. Financial aid is your possible saving grace as switching majors might endanger your eligibility for your scholarship. It'll be hard and you'll have to carry that burden. However, it will bring you closer to something that you're more passionate about doing. If you value that more than the money, just know that you're taking on more responsibility with this decision. I apologize if this is too blunt, but there isn't really an easy way through it. You will have to move forward somehow. I hope this can help you in some way. And whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck.
Thank you. You are right -- the only thing stopping me is myself. Next semester I'm starting the practicum portion for my Social Work courses so hopefully it will give me some insight on how the profession works out. If it doesn't end up being my cup of tea, I'll consider switching to some other major. No doubt it will be hard, but I rather extend it a couple semesters, than to return to college years later and having to complete the GEs all over again.
Ryonari is absolutely correct. All you can do is trudge through and move forward. I chose the creative major of film and I'd be lying if I said I was totally certain this would make me successful and I never second-guessed/regretted my decision for a moment. What I did was apply my videography skills to more than film, like journalism, sports, commercial, and photography even. Suddenly, what I wanted to do became more fun and I felt better/more confident about my choice. The world is so much bigger than we think, and there are many ways to apply the skills you've learned in college/from your experiences in college than you think. Just gotta keep an open mind in addition to aggressively reach out for opportunities and not just wait for them to come to you. Complete what you can while you're in college and still young! I wish for the best of luck, my friend. c:
