change changing places

Of the friends I attended college with, I'd say about 10-15 percent currently work in a job that's related to their undergrad field of study.

 

Does that percentage seem normal to you?

 

Here's some of how the 85-90 percent of other friends eventually landed:

 

Victoria graduated with a degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in public health; now she -- quite happily -- works as a flight attendant.

Candace graduated with a history degree; now she owns her own business. She never went into teaching, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Josie graduated with an occupational therapy degree. Now she owns and operates her own coffee shop. 

Bryan graduated with a bachelor’s, master’s and eventually a Ph.D in clinical psychology; now he works as a consultant for a state department of education.

Summer graduated with a bachelor’s in graphic design degree; now she’s a registered nurse.

Abbigail graduated with a double major in theater arts and social work; now she is a professional fundraiser and consultant to non-profits.

 

My freshmen-year roommate graduated with finance degree. Now he works as a generalist for a non-profit organization focused on improving mental health in the upper Midwest.

I graduated with a journalism degree. Now I work in ministry.

These above short descriptions actually encapsulate years of discerning that these friends of mine (and I) worked through to get where we are presently. We all enjoy our work, and it took us time to get settled in to our professional lives. Our undergrad degrees helped, and they ultimately did not foreclose on future opportunities.

 

Lots of people end up changing majors in college. Lots of people change their careers later on in life. 

 

That's how it goes.

The good news: it’s worthwhile to study something that you enjoy, that you could feasibly see helping train your mind how to critically think and could lead to a job. 

 

The better news: your choice for college degree may not quite carry all the weight you’re persuaded to believe it does. It is prudent to choose wisely, yet if you happen to not end up working in your college program of study in the long run … there’s a ton of people out there doing exactly that, and making it work just fine.

 

We can't possibly take in all the information we'd like to have when making such a momentous decision. That limitation feels like a hindrance; it's actually a blessing. At our best, we make the wisest choices we can make in the moment, with the available information we have at the time. And then we figure it out from there. 

 

The under-spoken secret is just how often this happens.