The world puts so much pressure on going to college and picking a major that is going to determine your entire adult working life. Maybe you were smart and decided you want to be a nurse and you go to nursing school and have a beautifully clear path to all of your dreams and aspirations. If you're someone like me, you probably see those nursing majors and get a little sick to your stomach because you're a communications major who can't seem to see past the diploma.
We get judged for not having a proper plan for post-grad life, but why can't anyone just ever say, "just get that diploma and figure it out after, it will all be okay."
My junior year of college, I lived with two health studies majors who were on their way to becoming PAs, a Nursing major who has a passion for helping people and can't wait to get into a hospital, and a fellow comm major who is ready to be the best news reporter there ever was. Seeing other college students who have it all figured out is exhausting. It adds that pressure of what the heck do I want to do with my life and why don't I have any idea?
When applying to college there's two options. 1. You can either go in undecided and royally screw yourself over with the risk of not being on track to graduate by not taking the right classes, or 2. you can pick a major that will feel like it determines the next 40 years of your life. It's a hard pick and there is so much pressure on the choice, rightfully so. There is, however, a bonus third option which is my personal favorite and change your major 400 times then land on one that's general enough so you have options. The choice is entirely yours but choose wrong and you might spend the rest of your life in a cubicle with no sunlight, stacks of paperwork, and an angry boss that makes you want to rip your hair out.
While looking into the topic of majors and life after college, I found a study that discovered only 30% of the 2025 college graduates went into a job based on their field of study (ngpf.org).
Now that I am 3/4 of the way to graduation, every family event is full of questions about my plans and where I plan to work after college. My favorite part is when I hit them with, "I'm not really sure yet," and I get to see the panic rush into their eyes. I am a hard-worker and I have always had a job, and have gone above and beyond in it but I have truly never had any interest in a career past college. And that's okay! We are 18-21 years old and it's not fair that society expects us to have our lives mapped out before our frontal lobes are fully developed. As much as others panic about my lack of plans and internships and all that bs, I never reciprocate that. I know the world is tough, but it won't feel less tough if I'm pressured to work next to Susan, 9-5, everyday at a job that I hate and talk about quitting more than I sleep.
The point is, it's entirely okay if you have no plans. It's okay if you have an undecided major because you want to test out the waters and see what sparks your interest. It's okay if nothing sparks your interest right now and you just want to get that diploma. You are only human and you only have one life. As long as you're happy and understand that you might be unemployed and drowning in student-debt, who cares. This is your life and if you need time to figure your life out, take that time and stop caring about the outside voices. You can do this, plan or no plan, or even if your plan fails, you don't need to stress yourself out. Focus on you and live in the moment and give yourself grace. I have no idea what I'm doing after college and that's okay. We're in this together and we will get through it.
References
Dawson, K. (2026, April 19). Question of the day: What percentage of college graduates work in their field of study?Next Gen Personal Finance. https://www.ngpf.org/blog/question-of-the-day/qod-what-percent-of-college-graduates-end-up-working-in-the-field-of-their-major/
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