Is it bad to change your career path in the middle of college?
#career-paths #career-path #career #business
8 answers
Ken’s Answer
You should change your career direction when you find that the existing one is not appropriate. You do not want to end up in a career area for which you are not well suited. However, before making a change, it is very important to get to know yourself better to determine if the new one fits better and talk to people involved in that career area to see what they do, how they got there, and what advice and suggestions they may have - and how you feel about it.
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:
Gloria’s Answer
Bad is a matter of perspective. What would make the decision bad? It can be a good idea to change career plans during college so that you do not end up having a degree in a subject or career that would ultimately make you unhappy. Now sometimes making this decision can be expensive, depending on how many classes you have completed. I changed my major five times before I settled on something. That was probably three changes too many. The main error that I made was thinking that I needed to have a very specific degree to get a good job. In my experience, the value of a college degree is having one, any one, over not having one at all. Looking back, I might have gone for a more generic degree and just gotten it done sooner. Generic degrees to me are those degrees that can hit a large number of careers. For example, Liberal Arts and English are both programs where you can apply what you have learned to a large number of careers. English in particular, with the emphasis on written communication, can take you anywhere from teaching to sales to marketing.
You would need to ask yourself - what is the benefit of changing your major? What skill would you like to use every day and why? Think really hard about what you want to do and why you want to do it. Be brave with the selection of a college major that gives you more career choices.
Gloria
Donnebra’s Answer
No!!! It is totally ok, you dont want to graduate and have a degree that you totally arent interested in. College is about finding who you are in order to prepare for your future
Kim’s Answer
Jolene’s Answer
Kim’s Answer
Hi Ashley
You have been given some excellent advice already. One additional thought to consider is to gain insight into your true strengths. My favorite assessment is StrengthsFinder. It will not only identify your true strengths, it will also provide insight into the potential educational and career options that are commonly sought with those strengths. This along with the other resources you've been given will provide a well-rounded solution set for your decision-making process. Best of luck.
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Danielle’s Answer
No! Not bad at all! Students do it all the time!
A lot of times students go into college thinking "this is what I want to do" and then find out that's not it at all. Or, maybe they take a class that ends up sparking an interest in something they didn't know existed, got involved in a student group that inspired a committment to a cause, etc.
If you'd need to change your major, go straight to your college academic advisor and talk about the ways you can redistribute your existing credits into a new major. Or, consider adding a minor.
Today's work world is what is called a "gig" economy. People change jobs all the time. It's ok to expect your interests to change, it allows you to build more skills.
As far as making decisions about what careers might be a good fit for you, I suggest you take a look at O*Net. It's information from the department of labor. It gives tons of great information about careers/jobs including what skills are needed, education, what the tasks look like, how much they make, and is it a growing field in the next 10 years, etc.
Make use of your college's career center. They can help you clarify your goals, point you to opportunities for internships in fields you're considering, and review/advise on your resume and cover letter. The Career Center is designed to help ALL students, not just seniors. The sooner you go the better.
Danielle recommends the following next steps:
Max’s Answer
First off, congrats on deciding to change your career path! Many people in their life, even in their 30s and 40s decide to change their career path; it is actually normal to do. You want to do something that is going to give you joy, along with something that you're good at.
What was your original career path, and what are you changing careers? Why are you doing this? What made you decide to change careers?
The only thing I would be hesitant about, and I don't know your situation, is if you have to switch majors due to your career switch. I would talk to your career and academic advisor if you are undergoing that process to make sure that you are going to graduate on time, as well as getting the career experience so you can succeed.