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Can I change my major if I change my mind about my future?

I'm not sure if i want to do nursing or be a criminal investigator, i wanted to know if i could change my mind in the middle of a semester. #nursing #college

nursing
Thank you comment icon It depends on where you go. Usually it's not too hard to change your major, especially if the fields are vaguely related. Molly
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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Ava R. I see that you posted this question a little while ago so I hope my answer to you (or others who may read this response) is still helpful.

As I am responding to your question, it is the year 2021, summer and the globe is working it's way through a pandemic. I mention this context in my answer to you because of a particular phrase in your question "change my mind about my future". It so happens that even though your question is about possibly changing your major, I share with you that as individuals move through the impacts of a global pandemic, many of them are re-evaluating their jobs/careers and how those jobs/careers may change for them in the future.

My point here is a great part of your question is taking the time to assess, before hand, how to prepare yourself if you decide that what you originally thought you wanted to study needs to change. I offer that this important assessment can come at anytime in one's life, not just when deciding what to study for college. Admittedly, the points raised in other answers are certainly ones to consider...the cost of changing your major, additional time you may have to spend to finish a different type of degree and other important points to consider. I share too, that many times, long after an individual has gotten their degree and worked in that career for a while, they may re-assess their career path and decide that they would like to make a change. With proper research, planning and preparedness an individual can make the changes in their path, either academically or professionally, that makes them the most satisfied on their growth journey.

I hope you find this answer useful and best of luck to you!
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Ken’s Answer

The best way to determine which career area is suitable is to get to know yourself better and then talk face to face with professionals in that area to determine if it is indeed suitable and comfortable for you.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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Mon’s Answer

You can definitely change your major if you change your mind about the future, that is what college is all about. But there are just a few things that you need to keep in mind. Typically, most people go to college for 4 years. So if you are okay with staying an extra year or so, then there is no problem at all. Just because depending on the major you change to, it might be difficult to catch up in terms of credits and classes you need to take to graduate. So if you are not sure in what major to study, I would highly recommend researching and looking into the filed of study. You can even reach out to people fir interviews to see if this is the field that you are interested in pursuing. Also, it is very important to even see if the college you will be applying/attending to have the majors you are interested in studying because not all colleges offer the same area of study. I would also recommend using your freshman year of college to take a few classes in the majors you are interested in studying. This will allow you to dip you toes in the water and see for yourself. If it is hard to declare a major, you may even consider double majoring or even declaring one as a major and the second one as a minor as well! So there is a lot of different ways to make this possible. The most important thing is to do some research!
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