A few days ago
Andrew M

Feeling trapped in my major, what should I do?

I’m 20 years old and a junior at Georgia Tech. I’m majoring in Civil Engineering and have completed 71 of 128 credits toward my major. I have a 3.94 GPA and am receiving all kinds of honors because of it. However there is one problem, I’m no longer interested in my major and I have no idea what to do about it. I had an internship in the field of Civil Engineering last summer and I’ve decided that I don’t want to do that type of work after college. I’m more interested in kinesiology, which Tech does not offer. I fear that transferring is out of the question at this point because I’m so far into my major and that my parents would be extremely opposed.

I realize that lots of people don’t end up using their majors in their jobs, but I’m still wondering what I can do now to help my situation. If I were to finish my degree at Tech could I use that to get into a kinesiology program somewhere? Or would my degree be a waste? Anyone with a similar story, what happened / what did you do? Thanks!

Top 7 Answers
A few days ago
professorc

Favorite Answer

Finish and then take your education to grad school. I actually think your major and kinesiology are very compatible. Make sure you take plenty of anatomy courses. I can envision you doing things with both degrees in the ergonomic area.

My ed is varied and use all of my degrees in combination.

ASN – nursing of course

BS econ

MS urban studies

MPA public admin

PhD management

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A few days ago
octohen
Hi! I am a 26 year old recovering engineer. When I was about your age and finishing up a degree in aerospace engineering, I realized that this is NOT what I wanted to do for my career, but I didn’t have a clear plan of what to switch to. I let everyone else’s practical advice steer me to finishing out the degree and then trying to “find my niche” in engineering with a 1 yr grad program! I ended up getting a job offer at NASA and not being strong enough to turn down NASA, I worked for them for 2 years. It was like the living dead. I quit about a year ago, and am now just taking time to have fun and explore jobs that sound cool to me. I want to be a writer about philosophical topics. I wish so much that I had taken some more time in college to at least explore classes of some of my other interests (for me, philosophy, religion, psychology, and womens’ studies). If I were you, I would finish your degree, but maybe take your time and take some other classes that sound fun, maybe anything similar to kinesiology. This is a great time in your life to learn and explore what makes you excited. In the meantime, start formulating your idea for the career you would like and an action plan to getting there (ie join kinesiology organizations in your community, look into grad schools for it, etc). Most of all, don’t stress out. Life is a journey, and you are free to make of it what you will. Good luck to you!
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A few days ago
hottotrot1_usa
Is there a major that covers kinesiology at GT? Can you switch to it and meet all the requirements by graduation? Is there a course in it that you could take? Really, only you can decide this one. If you are sure that you want out of Civil, then switch to something else. Your parents may give you a hard time, but you have to decide and do what you want to do. Are there careers where civil eng. and Kinesiology intersect?
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A few days ago
Anonymous
Hey i’m 21 and a senior at UCLA…my major is microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics and I went through the same thing as you last year…I just realized after working in a research lab that labwork just wasn’t for me…there was no way that I was going to do that for the rest of my life (med school was out of the question the year before that)…so I decided to finish my major there and pursue my MBA for graduate school and I am happy with this decision…the background info of all those science classes is not going to do me any harm and i’m almost done..so i think you should just finish it because throwing away all youve worked so hard for is not worth it…starting all over will be very hard…good luck
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A few days ago
Rabbit Emperor
I would finish my degree if I were you, if only because you are so far into it, and who knows what life may bring in the future, but if you truly don’t want a future in it, you have to go with what you want. Job security and the pursuit of money for the sake of money, or even just for the sake of living will not, and could not lead to self satisfaction or the attainment of happiness, and if anything is worth striving for in this world, is it really money or security? Should the path be difficult with hordes of obstacles, if in the end it leads to happiness then isn’t that the most important thing of all?

That is not to say that satisfaction is not subjective and that perhaps and easy life, long and purposeful would just as easily be the better alternative. It’s your life, do what is logical, and do what you feel strongly about. They may not seem to be the same thing, emotions and logic, but if you think about, they lead to the same place.

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A few days ago
Anonymous
Talk to an adviser at your college and see if there’s any major you could change to, or if you could pick up a minor in something that you might find more interesting. You’re doing awfully well to walk away from it, and it will cost plenty if you have to take more classes to fulfill another major.

Maybe your internship was just a bad experience. You seem to be doing quite well for someone who’s not interested in the subject.

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A few days ago
Essa L.
Hey I would finish my degree for sure, dont turn back now. If by chance you are interested in teaching, no matter what your degree is in you can get certified in a subject of your choice, and teach it like being a coach for example. Think about that.
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