What major would I choose, if given the choice again?

Theoretical question

For those who went to college, if given the choice again what major would you choose? Knowing what you knew now?

I always asked myself this question and the answers keep getting more clear as I discover/recover more of myself from the depths of darkness. The murkiness of my life throughout the years of covering up my true self because gender dysphoria and unknowing depressed state. So if given the choice again, what major would I consider?

Here’s how this post will go - I will list off four majors, in order of desire, which I would consider in this theoretical scenario. Then I will give my perspective on why I wouldn’t consider my major or why I chose my major and kind of regret it. Why four? I honestly couldn’t think of a fifth major I’d choose.

Geology

I’ve always been fascinated by rocks and minerals in primary school. Earth Science was such a fun class every year for me and I thorough liked handling the samples of rocks and minerals. My first cool rock was a chunk of anthracite I picked up off the side of the road in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, that one was lost during my recent westward move. I considered trying to major for Geology after quitting my Chemical Engineering major path, but never went any further. Mind does some awful tricks to push you into a path eh?

Even though the pay would be significantly lower, I wouldn’t care- okay I would, but the overall feeling of doing what I loved sounds awesome. Less stress and more motivation from an actual interest. Even to this day I’m huge into rockhounding, analysing geological changes in the landscape, and understanding the planet’s geological history. I still have my original rock pick from when I considered going into Geology as a major and occasionally bring it out for some sunshine and water.

Archaeology

Also deals with cool digging, rocks, and soils. I would totally go down this route if given the option. When I was younger, I was always fascinated by the Indiana Jones and The Mummy films. Additionally, I played in sandboxes and with whatever stuff my friends and I could find in the debris piles near our houses. Some things I would pretend had magical properties- such as sticks. Other things I pretended were artifacts- I sketched on a piece of brick tile like it was some sort of ancient slab. Funny enough I still have that piece of brick to this day, sitting on my shelf with my rock collection depsite the sixteen years of moving around and cleaning out my room.

Primary school me had significant interest in history, people, cultures would have steered me into the field, but sadly no one really brought up this major as an option for me. I knew archaeologists existed, but no one mentioned that you could major in such a thing (like other majors). Again it’s one of those fields that don’t get paid enough, but I will explain later why that wouldn’t have mattered to me.

GIS / Data Science

During my final years of college, I realized I had a pretty good eye and mind for data analysis. My airline research paper dealt with hundreds of thousands of data points, using complex regressions to correlate market conditions with competition. All of these were done with my coding skillset and self-taught understand of what the heck my professors were suggesting I used for that research paper.

This was a case of too late- I realized and refined my skills too late into the game (ironically still ahead of my colleagues) to make any meaningful course correction.

Chemical Engineering

Okay this one was tricky to put on this list because I had a bad taste from my experience early in the major. Though now I chalk that up to just bad college support and mental health. Let me explain:

• I had an advisor who was overworked and overbooked to answer my questions regarding courses
• My gender dysphoria induced depression meant I didn’t want to ask for help and kept floating through failure
• I wasn’t motivated by anything the college offered nor had any support group to motivate me. I ended up in the major without much explanation nor reason.

I’m sure if given the choice to retake the courses or major today, I’d do much better. I’m more confident in myself and reaching out to see how I can improve my work. I enjoyed the lab setting, I quite enjoyed the data and complex mathematics. I still use a bit of those today in a number of my personal projects. Sure, it wouldn’t be easy, but I think it’s doable.

Why I regret my major, and why I chose it

Soooo I openly admit that I regret my major. We’re in such a political environment that mentioned your politics-related degree is apparently an invitation for a debate. Additionally, there’s not much use for a degree in politics unless you plan to continue to graduate school. I loved the experience at my college, enjoyed my time with my colleagues and people I met, and my professors were awesome! I don’t regret those moments. I just regret making such an irrational decision in my major.

The problem I have is that the major is no longer a niche in the world. You need to compete against different majors and the market dynamics to use the major to your advantage. The classic Starbucks worker with a Political Science, Psychology, etc degree? Yeah, in my experience it’s way too common. Most jobs require a specific field/major these days. Even though Political Science degrees try to include data analysis or other rigorous courses, that doesn’t negate the simple fact that your major reads “Political Science”. You can have the bulk of skills and experience on your resume and it will automatically be binned because of your major. I know because it has happened to me many times.

So why did I choose International Relations? Well- when I was getting sick of being stuck with a low GPA in my path towards Chemical Engineering, I chose something that sounded good and would get me out ASAP. I visited the United Nations multiple times and otherwise no other options were mentioned to me once I’d entered college. Oh yeah- that. No one ever goes over which majors are available or makes a thorough discussion on what might interest you. That’s up to eighteen year old you. You know, the one who signed tens of thousands of dollars of private student loans?

Finally, while my salary is higher than some majors (geology and archaeology included), it doesn’t negate the fact that I spent time in a major that I no longer want. It’s not fun, it’s just work at this point. Getting anywhere in political science you basically need to follow the leadership ladder whether you like to or not. If you want to move to other companies or types of work, you’re heavily restricted because you’re competing against everyone in the field and in a more specific major (as mentioned earlier). I would enjoy studying rocks or digging holes for lower pay, rather than whatever low paying jobs us political science majors can scrounge together. Likely the service or retail sector, which no offense to anyone in those industries but the vast majority of college graduates didn’t really plan to end up in those jobs.

Am I bitter? Probably. But that’s my honest opinion and experience. Welcome to my personal blog!

What I’m doing to mitigate the regret and mistake

Since I’ve already graduated and going back for a second degree would be expensive, what am I doing to alleviate that constant regret? Well- just move on.

I know it’s a broad statement, but you have to work with your available resources. My plan is to continue into graduate school and steer closer towards a geology side of things (GIS courses and impact of geology on climate change of a region) through careful research of the potential graduate programmes. A decent number of graduate schools accept any major or political science similar majors into their programmes. While that won’t get me into geology directly, it does help me go deeper into a field I would better enjoy.

More importantly I plan to keep improving my other skills through hobbies. Graduating college with just a degree isn’t good enough these days unfortunately. You need a stand out skill to compete in the market. I’m lucky that I began coding when I was 12 years old. Yeah, that’s right 12.

I also plan on attending local associations and groups related to geology and archaeology. I’ve recently signed up for a few trainings related to soil analysis and a crash course on archaeology in the Pacific-Northwest. While they more than likely won’t count towards my resume, it nudges me towards my actual interests by understanding them fully and also maybe one day volunteer in some regional/local digs. Again nothing meant to entirely change careers, but a good bit of fun things to learn and maybe be involved in one day.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I know it’s theoretical, but it can be practical too. This theoretical scenario is something I constantly think about because while you can’t change careers overnight, it gives you some idea of where your interests are and what you can do to achieve them.

With rock pick clacks and trowel scrapping,
Kathryn