How did you choose your major?

[KSUViolet06]

I didn't put a ton of thought into my major selection. When I started college at 17, I liked English, thought I wanted to teach high school. So I came in declared HS English Ed (Integrated Language Arts Ed is the technical term.)

About halfway through undergrad, I got WAY into my English courses and was bitten by the "terminal academia" bug. Thought I wanted to get a Doctorate and be a professor. Made the switch from English Ed to just English.

Graduated from undergrad. Had a "what am I going to do with my life?" moment. Decided I wanted a grad degree in a more professional field (not liberal arts.) Liked people and talking to people. Got an M. Ed. in Counseling.

I worked with people with mental health issues for awhile. Including kids and teens. Decided that I liked that aspect. Started working in schools specifically with kids with disabilities (where I work now.) Really liked it. Decided to pursue a 2nd M. Ed. in Special Ed (which thanks to my previous degree is not going to take me forever) at 26 years old.

And looking back, my liberal arts major wasn't worthless. I couldn't go to grad school without it. I can write reports and stuff at work without sounding like a complete moron (can't be said for everyone.) Reading 50 pages per night for school or writing a 10 page paper doesn't freak me out like it does some of the other peeps in my grad program (my senior seminar paper in undergrad is still the longest paper I've ever written at 25 pages.)

All of that to say that your undergrad major doesn't determine what you end up doing for the rest of your life. Very few people I know (at 5 years out of college) are doing something related to their undergrad major. You also never know how your undergrad major may end up benefitting you. Liberal arts degrees give you the background to do a lot of different things (ex: many of my lawyer and law student friends were liberal arts majors.)

Hope this helps you in some way.

Sidenote: typing all of that out makes me feel ancient.