I've made so many mistakes with my education that I'm pretty much out of options. I'm currently doing an English literature major, but I realized that I only did it to please family members and impress people.

My true passion is with physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology and I'm thinking about switching majors (again) and just doing what I've wanted to do since I was in elementary school (physics).

I don't know how long it will take, but I want to end up somewhere exciting.

The classes you took for english lit are very different than what you will need for a physics major so it could take four years. You will need science level calculus series and science level physics series taken by math/chemistry/engineering majors. How you do in those classes will give you an idea if you are cut out for physics because you are going to be taking a lot of high level math classes. Unless you are really really good at math, you won't compete well in the job market in physics, so make sure you talk to counselors etc who know your test scores and make sure they think this is a realistic goal.

I was a math tutor for engineering courses and was a teaching assistant for several years in graduate school, so I have seen a lot of painful reassessment of life goals in students. If you think you are cut out for it, go for it.

From English Lit to Physics... Well now that is a wee bit of a change.

Remember life can take you in different roads. I got my degree in biology. My jobs since I left college are a bit eclectic.

First job: Statistician,
Second job: Microbiology Tech
Third job: Applied genetics (breeding)
Fourth job: Marketing and Product Management (seeds)
Current job: Seed Sales, logistics, and contract negotiation
Next job, who knows...I like surprises...

Chase what you enjoy as long as you can make a living doing so. If you can afford to swap majors, then do it. English lit. will get you into teaching or journalism. Physics without a MS or Ph.D. will get you? The combination could turn you into a badass technical writer. School is a short term job, life is much longer.

You talk about switching majors "again." How close are you to your degree? It might be to your advantage to finish off your degree while taking some exploratory classes in fields that interest you.

The bigger question is what sort of career do you want to pursue? Let's say that you had that physics major, what would you do with it? I would come up with a preliminary answer to that question before you worry about yet another change in major. And once you have that preliminary answer, I would talk to people who are working in your prospective field. Ask them how they got from there to here. What do they like about their job, what do they dislike? What would they do over again if they could?

If I could give some advice to my younger self, I would tell that younger self to worry less about my "passion" or even what I perceived my major talent to be at the time. In reality most people have a variety of skills and talents, and even a variety of interests for that matter. I would worry more about finding something employable that I would find enjoyable on a day-to-day basis, and something that was well suited to my temperament (introvert vs. extrovert, lower stress vs. higher stress, etc.)

As it is, with an English major with some interest and background in the sciences you are looking at the following types of jobs: technical writing, journalism, public relations, writing, and/or advocacy for a private company, government agency, or association, sales/marketing for a science-oriented company, etc. If none of those appeal to you particularly, then you need to figure out what type of job *does* appeal to you and get the credentials and experience to fit.

You can use an internship to explore various fields. You can also change directions in graduate school although each program will have certain prerequisites.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2016 08:38AM by summer.

You're young enough, and have the opportunity of time, to make mistakes and recover from them. So don't get overly anxious and stressed out. Every course you've taken has helped you learn and grow in some way, even if not in your ultimate career track.

You may find, some day, that you are in a science field with a high level of communication skills. This could help you in marketing, sales, product development, teaching...who knows? Some company or government agency may find you to be just the person, a scientist who can write and speak persuasively and coherently!

It could work the other way around. You complete your English studies, then decide to go after the science career, and you find you're in over your head for the serious stuff, but you have a good understanding of the concepts. Sounds like the makings of a good teacher or science fiction writer to me!

EVERY young adult has to figure out that balance of "what I'm good at" with "what I really want to do," all coordinated with "what are my realistic opportunities?" Just accept that whatever your decision is, will have both its joys and its regrets.

That's life!

RE: teaching.

Breaking into secondary ed is TOUGH with a liberal arts degree. Schools hire, in order:

politically connected (wife of someone well known)
special ed (they'd prefer to dump all the spc ed into regular classrooms and will at every opportunity to avoid hiring special ed; they also try to stall getting special needs diagnosed and parents have to really push it on them)
sports coaches, especially football
hard sciences' degrees
liberal arts --bottom of the list

Lots of teachers in the "soft" classes are 2nd/3rd string athletes who majored in PE and got a teaching minor. Often they'll hire a coach and hand him a textbook out of his minor field with "and teach this." Some states (Nevada) have teaching license loopholes --justified for the cow counties having applicant shortages in their subject fields-- that allow any applicant with ANY teaching major to teach out of their specialty, provided the applicant takes (occasional) classes in that field. A lot of districts like to churn a lot of new faces every year and two just to keep down payroll, and small towns want every new hire to buy the local real estate with their financial butts hanging out when they the district declines to renew their contracts for the next year.

If you're in liberal arts secondary ed and not an athlete, best of luck.

Substitute teaching: lots of districts will load up on subs and avoid hiring contract teachers (teaching contract: full and part-time with benefits), having one contract teacher legally responsible for several subs. It's a way for school districts to avoid a $25,000 new full-time hire(s) for day labor babysitters making $50-75 a day only when used. Subs have no civil service rights and as a sub you'll accumulate "dings" that'll make you un-hireable in that district after two years of your de$peration trying to break in. You'll be watched, evaluated without being told behind your back, and you won't be informed if they've decided they don't like you--you're a mushroom kept in the dark about your performance. One sure sign you're on the outs as a sub is that they'll send you as a fill-in on everything outside your expertise and your calls will drop to maybe just Mondays and Fridays. You'll make maybe between $3000 and $7000 a year jumpting out of bed to answer the phone 6-7 months a year at 5AM.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2016 01:19AM by snagglepuss.

I don't know... There's such big money in English lit. What have physicists ever done for us?

I heard from a physisist when I asked what he did he replied physicize.

Life is too short to spend it not doing what you love.

xe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm currently
> doing an English literature major, but I realized
> that I only did it to please family members and
> impress people.

Wow, what kind of people are impressed with an English Lit major?? ;-)

> My true passion is with physics, chemistry,
> astronomy, and geology and I'm thinking about
> switching majors (again) and just doing what I've
> wanted to do since I was in elementary school
> (physics).

Go for it. I started majoring in photojournalism; my real passion was science, too. After I did much of my GenEd requirements, I realized that -- and switched. Got a BS in computer science, and a master's in math. Switching cost me, oh, maybe 1 1/2 semesters...but it was worth it.

You'll be far happier and productive doing something you're enthusiastic about. Trust me. If you can find a way to switch and get into one of the sciences you love, go for it!

I changed my major twice and what with the mission and taking a semester off so I could ski every day, I didn't get the degree of my choice until I was 25.

Now at age 70, how much do you think I concern myself with the "delay"?

But I must point out that I was able to 'pay as I learned' so I graduated with no debt.

And then as so many people do, I ended up in yet a totally different career...

I'm all for it. There's virtually no risk of adverse consequences other than incurring the costs of a couple to a few more years of tuition. If you can afford it, or don't mind the student debt you're racking up, then do this now before you're 40 and hate your job.

I can assure you, your career prospects will be infinitely better as a physics major than English lit.

I can also assure you that it doesn't actually matter all that much what your piece of paper says at the end. Nobody has ever asked to see my college transcript. The only way they've been able to verify if I know my shit is by hiring me and/or looking at past work samples. Employers care about what you can do, how you can add value to their company. Nobody gives any f**ks at all what your major was. So don't sweat the specifics too much. You know what I'm saying? If your heart is in physics, then definitely switch, but it won't matter if it's particle physics or nuclear physics or whatever.

Physics is awesome!

If you like it, it won't be as hard as you think. Go beyond a regular degree to really see things open up. I have a PhD in physics, life has plenty of opportunity.

To encourage the OP, there is no shame noawadays in picking up your degree A la carte: a few credits here, more there, and finishing some place else. Back in my day, you were expected to get your degree at one school--maybe two (e.g. Obama: Occidental and Columbia).

So consider taking a few courses at other schools and see how they fit into a fresh major. You can be much more flexible, and take more time. As ElderOldDog pointed out, try and come out of all this without college debt. Maybe some utopian politician will make all college free. I just wouldn't count on it.