What do I do if I have no idea what to do with my major?
I’m currently a sophomore majoring in psychology with a minor in family and human development. I chose psych because in high school it was the only class I genuinely enjoyed. I despised math, and every other topic was okay to me. But I really liked learning about people and behavior. Now that I’m in college, I got a job working with children, done an internship working with middle schoolers in title 1 schools, gotten more exposure, and I’m realizing I don’t actually know what I want to do with this degree.
I know I’m not interested in being a therapist or going to med school. A bachelor’s in psychology alone doesn’t lead to many stable jobs, so I know I’ll need graduate school.
I’ve been considering skipping a master’s and going straight for a PhD to become a school psychologist or a professor. I talked to one of my professors during office hours and she told me about her path. She said the early years were stressful because of research and publishing, but once she got tenure her schedule became flexible. She only goes to campus a three days a week, teaches some online classes, and reuses most of her lecture materials each year. The lifestyle sounded really appealing to me. There’s flexibility, work life balance, and I like the college environment.
But I’m worried that I’m not passionate enough about one topic to write a dissertation or if I get deep into a PhD and realize I didn’t really want it.
I’ve been applying to internships outside of child-focused work like maybe marketing, nonprofit program work, or something more corporate just to explore. I also plan to be a research assistant because there’s some really interesting labs in my college. I hope I could get an opportunity to shadow a school psychologist soon to see what that job actually looks like day-to-day.
I really need advice about the psychology field or someone who has a PhD.
Posted Jan 14, 2026, 12:05 AM UTC