It’s never too late to change degrees

I began my university career in 2016, and have changed degrees 3 times. To begin with, this was very frustrating; I was disheartened by my indecision and wondered whether I would ever graduate with a degree.

However, I learned to be kinder to myself by remembering some key things.

No one has it all figured out

I believe it is quite unrealistic that high school graduates are expected to make life-changing career plans when enrolling in a university degree.

When I was in high school, little information was provided to me about the content of different university degrees. I found myself relying on what I thought certain courses entailed, which was ultimately the reason I bounced around so much.

After Year 12, I enrolled in a Communications degree, because it seemed to be the most similar to my best subject: English. It ended up being much different to what I expected.

It is okay to change your mind

After studying Communications for two years, I re-evaluated my expectations of a bachelor’s degree. I discovered that, ultimately, I wanted to be challenged.

However, at 22 years old, it was a daunting prospect to transfer to a different degree and begin all over again. I had to remind myself that if I graduated with a degree, I wanted to feel proud. I wanted to feel like I attempted something difficult and worked through any doubts I had about my ability.

Stand by your decision

In the end, I settled on transferring to a Bachelor of Law. I made this decision after realising how interested I was in this field, yet had very little understanding of the law in Australia.

And even better, it was still in the humanities field! I was able to apply the skills I had gathered in my previous studies, and build on them by gaining new skills.

One of the most beneficial outcomes of transferring degrees at 22 was the change in my approach to studying. I saw myself having a much better grasp on how to time-manage, and how to set realistic expectations for myself.

As a result, I am less stressed, and my results are much better.

Now, I often say to people that there is no way I would have made the decision to study law at 18 years old. And I believe that’s okay; it’s preferable, even.

I try to give younger students the message that when you enrol in a degree, ask yourself what you want out of it. If you want to learn more and challenge yourself, reflect on whether your degree will do this for you. And let go of the stigma surrounding graduating later with a degree you’re proud of.

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash