Thinking about changing my major

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Yep, thinking about doing so. Wasn't planning on it I suppose, however, I began to recognize that even if I got my degree in Electrical Engineering I wouldn't want to work in my field. Anyway, my thoughts are maybe going into Finance or Economics or both. I will have to talk to my advisers first at my university to see if it is possible but I am seriously considering doing it. Any thoughts?

Seems wasteful to change majors of all of a sudden.

Stick with it.

You may just be going through a "funk"

Are you in college or in grad school? One of my acquaintance majored in EE in college and applied for Economics in grad school....
If you are almost finished with your degree, maybe it's better to complete one major and then consider applying to grad school with a different major...that is if you plan on going to grad school...

I am up a little bit later than I would have hoped so I will answer whatever concerns that are to be had.

I will have already invested 2 semesters of college into this field as well as a good portion of my high school studies. There is a question on whether or not this will push back my graduation date, if it will do so then I will likely not change.

I am concerned with the "funk" theory: the supporting evidence would be that EE is a very difficult major with a lot of competition and that upon hitting some weed out classes there is a temptation to bail. The other evidence might suggest that a shift in interests has caused me to be disinterested in such a degree and the evidence for that is the strong interest in outside fields compared to the relative disinterest in the field of current study where dissatisfaction has been growing for I suppose over a year and where the consideration for changing my major has popped up multiple times. There is an additional vague factor of the question on whether or not my conceptualization of electrical phenomena is weak because I have lost interest or because I am in a funk.

I am in undergraduate. I have thought somewhat on this actually, and that was my original plan. I was originally going to major in EE and then go onto grad school in a different field, however, I am finding the interim waiting period to be annoying and I have doubts on whether the EE degree will be that desirable given a lack of desire to work in the field of EE. Continuing the degree on the grounds that you have outlined is actually my other plan.

Then change to Econ or Finance.

If your looking for a science where we pretty much have the basics covered I'd suggest genetics.

I don't tend to think I like biology. Perhaps it isn't as bad in later classes, but many early biology classes tend to rely heavily upon memorization. I suppose my problem is that even though I like concepts, I tend to not seem to get the electrical concepts as easily as there is no intuition for such things.

Hmm...I am a bit partial to economics myself, but as it turns out, I am also thinking of changing my major. Economics is just so boring--all maths and numbers and regression analysis and graphing--and not enough theory, which is what I really like about economics. I am considering getting a history degree or a general education degree and just taking the maths as electives. I don't know how many more econ lectures I can take at my current school. But enough about me.

Before acting, I would identify all possible reasons you feel you ought to change your major and all the possible reasons to stay in your major. Then, in true econ fashion, assign a value to each and do a cost/benefit analysis. But even if the numbers say you ought to stay the course, if you really feel that another course of study would benefit you or be more interesting, then just do it. A lot economics classes are really just finance classes disguised with new vocabulary, anyway.

Or if you have to graduate on a certain date, no exceptions, then changing your major now, after just one year of school would be better than changing it further down the road. I would see what classes you have in common with the degree requirements for the other majors and see how much ground you have to make up.

A point worth considering, though, is that you want something to differentiate you from other graduate school candidates, and a BS degree in finance and/or economics isn't really going to make you stand out if you want to get into a business/economics graduate program while a degree in electrical engineering would, even if it was just a slight positive adjustment.

Or maybe next semester don't take any electrical engineering courses and just get some electives in your schedule. That way, you can pursue courses on both finance and economics just to test the water (because college econ classes are way different than AP classes) and see if you like it. If you find yourself still interested in pursuing an EE degree, then you know that it was highly probable that you were in a funk.

Or not.

Learn a little about genetics and try a tetrahybrid Punett Square and try and trace genes through your family tree, then tell it's not puzzle fulled.

Genetics is more chemistry the biology.

Finance might be more practical than an Economics major, in the job market. But given your intelligence and mathematical acumen, graduate school in Economics (or a related field) may be an option for you that would maximize your job opportunities. Be sure to find a major you enjoy and can get a well-paying job with.

I answered finance - or was it economics? I don't know much about either of them. I think if you only have one year done it's the best time to switch. You'll only get more disgruntled as the years go on, and you'll resent school...

I had a professor tell me that I had chosen the wrong path, and I was annoyed with him because I of course thought my chosen career (nursing) was exactly what I wanted to do. He was right. Horrible job for somebody OTS. I think it's good you're also thinking about what type of job you'll have once you have your degree. That's the most important thing. Get that figured out and you're golden.

You can always use your two semesters towards a minor in EE. That might impress prospective employers.

I would stick with engineering. That's a valuable degree; even if it is not what you do in the real world. Employeers don't care the kind of degree you earned; they care that you finished. A degree proves...that you went from "point A" to "point B".

If your interested in another field; then don't change....add a minor in that field.

OR even add a minor in psychology. Sounds odd, however, what an employeer would look at is diversity in your capabilities. So, if you have both engineering and psychology... it shows that you can handle diverse subjects and understand people, becuase that's what psychology is....understanding people.

I work with a lot of people that aren't in the same field as their undergraduate degree. My degree is psychology and I work in computer engineering. It's very handy; becuase I work with technical folks.

Go figure....

Right, well, all maths and regression analysis won't be too bad to me compared to an EE degree which is a lot worse than econ in terms of mathiness.
Right, well, I know that finance and econ have a lot of overlap. I have been trying to identify reasons to change or switch and can analyze just about all aspects of this to death pretty much.
Right, I am fortunate to have taken so many AP tests that I worry a lot less about this.
Well, I know that is true to some level, however, the other thing to consider is that engineering is a GPA killer, and that getting a degree in something I like less might hurt even worse.

Won't work too much, I am weighing pushing something back vs also pushing it back. I am somewhat deep into my major, the only reason I can consider a business degree now is because they have less requirements and have easier classes.

Right, I was tired when I wrote that and was therefore not considering the fact that genetics would be more chemistry. I just would likely find the initial memorization in chemistry or biology annoying. Too many exceptions.

No minors in EE are offered at my school, otherwise I would consider this idea a good one. I might try towards a math minor as that is somewhat impressive.


That is true, engineering is a valuable degree. That is why I am so reluctant to switch it. I know that it would be valuable despite not wanting to work in that field. Degree obtaining is a lot of signaling.

I would not be very interested in adding a minor in psychology. Not because it is hard for me, but rather because I like understanding markets. Economics is understanding markets, which I figure would be interesting to employers and I like the field.

Right, the fact that I could get an EE degree and switch fields makes it tempting to me. The major problem I have is that I am getting a difficult, competitive degree for a field that doesn't interest me in order to get a job in the field that does interest me which is in a different department. I am almost tempted to get that other degree in that other field which does interest me, get a job in that sector, and try to make up the difference through working hard at uni to maintain high grades, get into extra-currics, and do things.

Sometimes I wonder if I should change my major. Geology doesn't allow a great deal of flexibility as to where to live.

Tim

Markets are made up of people. Markets do not exist without people.

Right, that much is a given! However, I just mean that the phenomena that I am interested in usually is studied by this group and not that group. This doesn't mean that I am opposed to taking psychology classes as that could deepen my economic understanding, however, I should focus more on what I am truly interested in as opposed to what I am uninterested in.

You're joking, right? Geology is all around us! I live in a very interesting area, lots of geologists here (Kilauea volcano has been actively erupting for over 30 years....)