How the fuck is it normal to choose a college major that will

>>17158377
>How the fuck is it normal to choose a college major that will determine the trajectory of your life without knowing how you would fair in such an environment?
It's not, unless you're following meme degrees. What's normal is to study a subject that you already have some interest in, and done a little reading on. In this situation, the "risk" is drastically reduced.

>I'm getting great grades in community college but I'm changing classes every semester because all I have to go from is my imagination and naive notions.
I don't understand. Why is this causing you to keep switching?

>Counselors haven't been helpful. They seem to push agendas or try to tell me to pick the "best" major without helping me find a good choice for me.
Yeah, they'll do that. I'm sorry to hear that it's happening to you. But I still don't understand how this came up as an issue.

>>17158377

the world is unfortunately flawed. generally speaking in the first two years of college you are supposed to get your Gen ed out of the way, look into degree options, take classes from the ones that interest you, then proceed to spend your bachelor years working towards that.

its still hella flawed. but thats the way life is at the moment. you can do a more general exploration by working at and interning at all the fields that interest you.

>>17158419
I don't understand what you aren't understanding. I'm indecisive because when I decide on something I usually build up expectations to motivate myself, always to be torn down later once I've put in a fair amount of study and realize how dull the acedemia is once you pass surface level. When I realize that I've been working hard towards goals that I have no real incentive besides money, I become unhappy and feel compelled to make a change, continuing in a cycle.

>>17158535
If you recognize your goal is only money then your major choice should be whatever can net you the most income for the least amount of work. You won't have any fun doing your schoolwork or working once you graduate but if you don't think you really enjoy anything past a surface level then that's your best bet.

>>17158535

Don't you have any genuine interests, talents and/or ambitions? What are your long-term goals, do you have a dream career?

>>17158535
Academia is usually not the glamorous lifestyle outlet that people make it out to be. Scientific papers and philosophical journal aren't fun to read, unless you happen to get off on thinking about that stuff.

I'm guessing that it's not so much that you're primarily concerned about finding a major that will guide you toward lucrative careers. Honestly, I have no idea why you came to this conclusion. If you *just* cared about money, then you wouldn't be here asking this question.

What you (probably) want is a major that will lead you toward careers that will allow you to maintain your current lifestyle (probably with some improvements down the line) while also making you feel fulfilled. This is what almost everybody wants, and the truth is that most college majors are not going to do that for you.

People that are able to find jobs like this went searching for those positions on their own. In many cases, their undergraduate studies didn't reflect the jobs that they'd eventually hold, or at least not to a great extent. This is mostly because majors are *not* designed to get you jobs. They're designed to educate you about something you're interested in.

>Why bother getting a fucking degree then?

Degrees are a useful filter for employers. If you have a degree, in basically any subject, it's just a good indicator that you're not a total fuck-up. If you happen to do well in a subject that's really hard, it can say a lot about your work ethic, intelligence, etc...

TL;DR just pick something that you like rather than trying to conform to what other people perceive as the 'best' majors. You'll enjoy your time in college, you'll pick up a few useful bits of information and fresh perspectives, and it could end up guiding you toward something that you really enjoy studying. Try to think about the last time you enjoyed going to class. If you can't remember feeling that way, then it might be time to look in other departments for new major ideas.

>>17158780
My point was that money is not enough of a goal in itself.

>>17158786
I like playing guitar and writing music and lyrics as a hobby and a personal creative outlet. I really like making people happy and having a positive impact on people's lives. Psychology and biology interest me and are probably my most likely choices atm.

>>17158825
Thanks for that. I feel like I've been subconsciously coming to this conclusion, that I should just hunker down and get the least boring degree that I can and decide where to go from there. Probably Bio because it feels comfortably broad.