So you entered college thinking you knew exactly what you were going to do.  Well, life ended up proving you wrong.  What once was, without a doubt, going to be your major now bores the living hell out of you.  Some students will worry that they can’t change their major, that when they said psychology was going to be their major it was etched into stone.  If you think you can’t change your major then your wrong, it is as easy as saying “I want to change my major.”  To be truthful, I don’t know of a single friend who hasn’t changed their major.

How many times can you change your major?

You can change your major as many times as you want.  I have changed mine about three times now.  But there does become a point in time when it gets a little overboard.  If you are finishing up your third year, chances are you may decide to just go ahead and finish up.  Usually the reason people change their major is because they are too quick to declare a major.  All students think that they have to declare their major the first year.  That isn’t true. You can take your general education courses and then decide.

I know my major is not fit for me, but how do I go about choosing a different one?

There are three resources you can go to, and you should eventually go to all three of them.  The first one you should consider is the career office at your college.  Most colleges have some form of career advisement.  You can probably take a personality test, they may give you a few possible career choices.  (Remember these are just generalized test, they too are not set in stone.)  Once you have researched some of the possible fields the career advisement office suggested, you should head on over to your college adviser.  Your adviser will be able to tell you what courses you will need to take.  When you are leaving your advisers office and he/she asks if you want them to change your major in the system, tell them no.  Tell them you will get back with them.  If you tell them yes, you will feel tied down to that major.

Now you think you know what you want your new major to be.  So you need to talk to one of two people.  You should contact a professor within the major.  Schedule a 30 minute meeting with them and discuss the field and what possibilities it holds in the future.  Or if you are more interested in the industry side of the field than the academic side, you want to find a professional to speak to.  Check with career advisement department to see if they can hook you up with someone.

College isn’t easy, and it is harder if you are working on a major you don’t enjoy.  If you need to change your major, do it.  Life will be much easier.