I don’t know if this applies so much in America, where you don’t choose your degree (“major”?) until after starting university (“college”?), but I’m sure there are other UK/elsewhere people reading too, and perhaps this has some broader relevance as well. So… one thing that I wish I’d borne in mind when I was making decisions and torn between going into several different fields. Switching between fields (mid-degree, after your degree, for your graduate degree(s), whatever) is totally possible and loads of people do it, but a general pattern I think I’ve observed is that it’s a lot easier to switch from a more technical field to a less technical field. So, all else being equal, if you find yourself wavering between two or three choices of study area, I would be inclined to advise you to pick the most technical one. (I’m aware that there’s some potential handwaving here about what “technical” actually means. I think the useful interpretation of it probably correlates very strongly with more maths.)
I was completely unaware of this pattern myself and have now managed to orchestrate two successive switches from a less to a more technical field, so it’s absolutely not impossible, and I don’t regret the path I’ve ended up taking for various reasons. But I reckon academically/career-wise I’d have made things a bit smoother for myself, and given myself more choices, if I’d started out with the most technical of the things that I love.
I don’t know if this applies so much in America, where you don’t choose your degree (“major”?) until after starting university (“college”?), but I’m sure there are other UK/elsewhere people reading too, and perhaps this has some broader relevance as well. So… one thing that I wish I’d borne in mind when I was making decisions and torn between going into several different fields. Switching between fields (mid-degree, after your degree, for your graduate degree(s), whatever) is totally possible and loads of people do it, but a general pattern I think I’ve observed is that it’s a lot easier to switch from a more technical field to a less technical field. So, all else being equal, if you find yourself wavering between two or three choices of study area, I would be inclined to advise you to pick the most technical one. (I’m aware that there’s some potential handwaving here about what “technical” actually means. I think the useful interpretation of it probably correlates very strongly with more maths.)
I was completely unaware of this pattern myself and have now managed to orchestrate two successive switches from a less to a more technical field, so it’s absolutely not impossible, and I don’t regret the path I’ve ended up taking for various reasons. But I reckon academically/career-wise I’d have made things a bit smoother for myself, and given myself more choices, if I’d started out with the most technical of the things that I love.
If you don’t mind, I have a few questions to ask you:
What field did you switch from each time, and what is your current field?
How did you academically prepare yourself for the switches?
How would you rate the level of difficulty involved each time?
What inspired these switches?
Any information would be helpful, as I am currently considering a switch myself. Thank you.