How To Switch Majors When Your Degree Is A Major Flop

Not everyone likes their degree.

Some people might realise how much they hate it after they begin! It’s more common than you think. So many of us feel pressure to choose their degree while we’re still in high school, and that can mean we make a decision to do a degree that doesn’t really serve our best interests. Sometimes you don’t need to make such a drastic change to feel better about your uni courses, sometimes a change in Majors is all that’s needed. Either way, here are a few things you need to do before you switch uni degrees!

Do your research

Look further down the track in the course. Are the electives interesting to you? Do the next 3-6 years look appealing if you were to continue down this path? I was doing psychology in my first year, and while I found the introductory courses interesting, the courses further down the track didn’t appeal to me as much. It’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into instead of riding the wave and owing money on a degree you’re not going to use.

Look at your marks

How are your course marks? If you’re failing it can be a pretty big indicator that you’re in the wrong field. This doesn’t make you dumb, or irresponsible, we all have strengths and when we come to uni we need to find the right ones to focus on. If this course isn’t your strength, it’s a good idea to find a course that compliments your abilities and talents. You’ll do better and feel happier in a field you enjoy.

Talk to university staff

Another great way to get insight into university courses is to speak with Student Services staff. They see this every day, and they understand the issues that students face when it comes to course selections. Make an appointment and sit down with an adviser, they will look at your marks and make suggestions based on your strengths.

Talk to students in the course

A quick – and sometimes brutally honest – snapshot into a new course is to ask the students who already take it. This can go one of two ways, so make sure you talk to more than one person so you get an even set of reviews! If what they say sounds appealing, it might be worth enrolling in. Every university presents their courses a little differently, so the student insight is a valuable one to have.

Think ahead

As daunting as it sounds, we do degrees to get jobs and careers that we love! So why not put ourselves in the best position to get a job that we’re happy with? If you’re not too sure about your course, think about the kinds of careers it offers at the other end. Do they seem like jobs you’d be happy doing? If so, great! Keep going. If not, that’s great too – it means you know what you want and you can think realistically about how to get there.

Listen to yourself

Sometimes a gut feeling is all we need. Trust yourself. Your reactions to the course work are an excellent indicator of how you will fare with it down the track. If you dread going to class and the work makes you anxious (I’m not talking exam stress, I’m talking anxious and scared of the future in this field), then you need to pay attention to this. No one wants to be unhappy, even if you are worried your parents will be disappointed, they’d be much more upset if you stayed in a course that you disliked. Do what is best for you and trust that everything will work out – because it will 

See you next week,

Amy.