Tell Tale Signs That You May Have Picked the Wrong Major.

A colleague of mine posted a great article today from businessinsider.com, "12 signs you're in the wrong college major-even if it doesn't feel like it". By Aine Cain

To the author's point, there are many different valid paths when choosing your strategy of picking a college major. Whether you know exactly what you want or your plan is to go undecided and explore your options, you should consider doing some soul searching and self-awareness assessments. It is wise to at least have a general idea of what you are interested in and make sure the college you choose offers coursework in those areas. This is where Majorly Me can help. It helps to work with a professional! You can take a lot of different assessments on your own, but just getting the results of an assessment may not give you insight. You need to have a dialogue in order to really get the most out of an assessment and you should always take more than one. Different assessments measure different things.

Suffering through college studies that don't suite you can cause a lot of stress, ruin your grades, waste your time, and cost more of your precious tuition dollars. If you are already in college and have not gone through the soul searching process, you may have found yourself questioning if you have picked the right major.

Here are Cain's 12 tell-tale signs that you may want to reconsider your course of study 1. Your Grades Are Terrible. As Cain points out, your GPA is dependent on many factors. If you are giving it your absolute all, and your grades continue to dive, you may want to evaluate your choices. Are you forcing yourself to do something that you are simply not good at? 2. You Can't Explain Why You Chose Your Major. Just falling into a major can work for some but if you can't justify why you are studying what you are studying you may lack a certain passion. This can catch up to you later in life. 3. You Don't Like The Coursework. Everyone can point to classes and assignments that just don't and won't interest you. All in all it doesn't mean you should immediately get that drop/add form filled out, but you should have some spark of interest in your major requisites. If you could seriously care less about any of the coursework you are taking, it is a bad sign. 4. Your Major Is Seriously Stressing You Out. Be careful with this one! College is stressful for everyone! There are many factors that can be upsetting and overwhelming and this is not unusual. However, if you are dreading all of your classes, this may be a sign that you are trying to force yourself to acclimate to a certain major. 5. You Picked Your Major Because You Thought It Would Be Easy. If you are find your major is easy for the right reasons, because you love it and you have a talent for it- GREAT! If your sole reason for studying a major is because it is simple, reconsider. Challenge yourself. You may regret the money and time you spent by just settling. 6. You Hate All The Professors In The Department. Again, make sure your expectations are realistic. You can't expect to like every professor you have nor can you expect every professor to like you. However, if you don't like or get along with ANY of the professors in your field of study, it could be a warning sign. 7. You Picked Your Major Because Your Parents Told You To. It is great to get your parents insight but at this point you should be making your own choices and taking responsibilities for those choices, both good and bad. Even the assessments and the work I do with students are meant to help them with self reflection, insight and empower them to make their own choices. There are no magic assessments with all the answers. Don't not give your decision making powers away to someone else. 8. You Picked A Major Because You Thought It Would Be Lucrative. There is nothing wrong with wanting success and financial security, but don't force yourself into something you have zero interest in solely because of its earning potential. This could backfire on you as well, and you could find yourself with major regrets later on down the road and you may not be successful if you are unhappy doing what you do. Typically we find ourselves being good at things we enjoy doing and visa versa. 9. You Constantly Need Help. There is nothing wrong with needing or asking for help, but if you need constant hand holding, you may not be cut out for your major. 10. You Are More Interested in Your Friends' Studies. If your friends professors, classes, and projects sound infinitely better than yours, investigate. Don't fall for the "grass is always greener syndrome" try to be realistic. If you have a heavier course load and a more intensive major, you might find yourself feeling jealous at times. If you are feeling a consistent draw and an interest in your friends coursework over yours, you may want to check it out. 11. You Hated Your Internship. Again, you have to evaluate all the circumstances surrounding your unhappiness. If you cannot point to any identifiable circumstances that made the internship miserable, and you just plain and simply hated the work. You may want to rethink the your major, but do consider if there are other careers that you would enjoy that involve the same course of study. Many majors can lead to various career paths. 12. You Can't See How Your Major Will Help You In The Future. Not all majors will lead you to a linear path toward your career. If you are someone who needs this defined for you, (certain personality types do, and some do not) make sure you are studying something with a more direct career path such as a pre-professional degree. If this is the case you probably wont be happy taking a lot of course work that isn't directly and pragmatically related to your career. If your major is more general or of the liberal arts type, you should still have an idea of how your degree might help you going forward. Be able to speak to what skills your major provides you with and be able to communicate this once you enter the job market. If you cannot see the value in your major, you may need to rethink it.