Picking a major for college is a very important decision in your life and can be even more challenging to stick to once you make the choice. What you want to do with the rest of your life is mainly focused on what you actually like to do. Don’t let your parents or friends lead you into a major that you don’t want. It is your future and a lot of times they are trying to help by making suggestions and wanting you to do something that they wish they would have done. But many times what they want is not what you want. Everyone puts emphasis on the salaries that you make after college, but in the long run it is better to enjoy life and what you do and make less money, than hate what you do and make a lot of money. Course material is also a big issue when picking a major. When you study to do what you like to do and you are interested in, everything seems to go smoother in class. If you have a bad semester, wait it out and work through it. You should never decide to change majors in the middle of the semester. Just because you have one bad semester doesn’t mean that you are down for the count. Often the issue isn’t the material in your major, it’s your discipline and maturity. There are all kinds of ways to get help with studying and different strategies for succeeding in the major that you are in.

Many times your sophomore year will be the hardest, because you are usually starting in your major and getting a taste of what it will be like. If you don’t “like” your major, get some advising to help pick one out that fits what you want to do. The term “like” means you have actually worked hard at the curriculum, and it is just not what you thought it was going to be. Be honest about if you are thinking of switching majors because the major was hard and you wanted something easier. The right reason to switch from one major to another is not because the material was harder, but because you don’t find the material interesting at all and you don’t see yourself happy with this major later in life.

To deal with many issues in finding a major you have to make a plan for your future. Your plan should include where you want be at in 5 to 10 years. This helps to set goals. Make sure that you don’t let others or short-term problems keep you from achieving your plan. You may need to go get help before it turns into a waterfall of multiple cascading problems. Also make it a point to talk to advisors about your decisions for a major and listen to their advice. They will be able to help make a plan with you as well. Talk to people who are in your major. If you are struggling, talk to people who were in your situation and see if they have advice in dealing with your problems. Sticking with a major in college is hard, but it is manageable if you use all of the resources that the college provides to your advantage, stick to your plans, and major in what you want to do..