The “BIG” Question

“What are you planning on studying?”

It’s the question students hear over and over again as they prepare to step into the “real world.” It’s the moment when all the skills and knowledge they’ve built are supposed to come together, leading to a clear path forward.

For many, though, that question lingers long after the conversation ends—sometimes keeping them up at night. Why? Because at the next family gathering or casual chat with a parent, grandparent, or even a family friend, they want to have a confident answer:

“I’m studying ____ because I want to become ____.”

But that answer isn’t so simple. It feels like more than just a response—it’s a statement about who they are, what they value, and the kind of impact they want to have on the world. And that’s a lot to figure out.

The reality is that most 17- or 18-year-olds don’t know exactly what they want to do. In fact, for many, college is part of the process of figuring it out. Yet, the pressure to decide feels heavy—colleges push for it, and choosing a major seems like the first step in “getting the ball rolling.”

So, how do students actually figure out what they want to study?

Researching Options

Choosing a major isn’t about magically knowing the right answer. It’s about asking the right questions.

What subjects have always sparked their curiosity? What kinds of work feel exciting rather than draining? What problems do they find themselves wanting to solve?

Finding the right path starts with exploration. Some students begin by scrolling through lists of majors on college websites, clicking on anything that catches their interest. Others dive into career research, reading about different job roles and what they actually involve day-to-day. Some reach out to people—teachers, family members, or professionals in fields they’re considering—to hear real stories instead of just job titles.

This phase isn’t about commitment—it’s about discovery. And sometimes, the most valuable realization isn’t “This is what I want to do,” but rather, “I need to keep exploring.”

Gaining Firsthand Experience

Today, there are more ways than ever to explore career paths—a tremendous advantage, though one that requires a different approach than in the past. Decades ago, college was structured to provide students with built-in exploration time, allowing them to test different subjects over four years before settling on a direction. Many colleges today say students have a year or two to declare a major, but when factoring in prerequisites and graduation requirements, it quickly becomes clear that the traditional four-year timeline isn’t guaranteed.

Now, students have access to resources like LinkedIn, YouTube, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), O*Net, and MyMajors.com, offering instant career insights. Yet, despite these tools, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that 82% of college students change their major at least once, contributing to the over 40% of graduates who take more than four years to finish their degree.

With that being said, it’s not practical to assume that millions of students prior to declaring a major have the ability to do a bunch of job shadows, internships, or engage in extracurricular activities to the point where they gain the clarity. But making time for those experiences throughout college is essential. The more students engage in real-world exposure, the more clarity they gain about their academic and professional choices.

A New Way to Explore

It is because of this that a group of college students built a startup called Vivaday.org where students are able to explore majors in a personalized manner. College students from around the US are signing up because they get paid to share unbiased insights into what their majors are really like. Some of them were set back or have an Advisor that sent them down the wrong path. Amongst the college student community this is a very common and growing issue for years now. 

Students are able to search majors and find a video library of responses from college students who are just a few years ahead of them. This type of resource is demonstrating a new way to explore majors that, like we covered in this blog, could be a way to conveniently step into the shoes of all these different major options so that students can declare majors with more understanding of what they are getting into and if their interests truly align.

Hope this was helpful,

See you next week!