Opinion Graphic
Hello, I attend NC State, and I am not a STEM major. Yes, I am here. Yes, I exist. I’m an English major. Whenever I tell people I’m an English major at NC State, I get a confused look, a wrinkled up nose or a launch into a long lecture about how I will probably not find a decent paying job. It’s true, graduates from a STEM major will likely earn more money out of college than non-STEM majors will and, in fact, I initially intended to study biochemistry at NC State, but I’ve switched plans and it’s all because of a dream.
Knowing I’m attending the #20 STEM school in the nation, I have still decided to switch from biochemistry to English, and if it wasn’t for the negative responses –– I’d feel good about it.
Trust me, I tried (really hard) to convince myself I would be happy in the STEM field, and I desperately wanted to be a part of the roughly 32 percent of intelligent females who are studying in a STEM field at NC State (NC State is #2 in the nation for having one of the highest percentages of women in STEM programs, by the way), but I just cannot bring myself to join that large percentage.
Not to sound dramatic, but I would be miserable if I had to work in a lab all day or evaluate a bunch of numbers for hours. I am incredibly grateful that some intelligent STEM students experience those passions and carry out those tasks everyday so people like me don’t have to (in 2010, 16.5 million employees held in STEM degrees). I would much rather know that I will be happy with my career than know I will be unhappy in a high-paying career that I don’t like.
I don’t know if we’re allowed to talk about dreams anymore. It seems like once you reach high school and beyond, all anyone wants you to think about related to your career path is practicality or success or how much money you’re going to make.
Yes, the amount of money you’re going to make is important, sure, that’s part of the reason I’m attending NC State right now, but I’d also like to consider more heavily my happiness, my genuine interests and my passions. Notable people who followed their passion in a liberal arts education include: Emma Watson, Mitt Romney, Ken Chenault (chairman and CEO of American Express Company), even Steve Jobs studied poetry and literature before he ultimately dropped out of college.
I’m choosing to follow my dream, which is pretty vague, but, regardless, my dream. I want to study and work with looking at words, writing them down, analyzing literature and how sentences are put together, and examining why this word is more effective than the other. And with developments in altering the STEM program to integrate arts and design (the acronym for this is now STEAM), there’s more of an influence from respected universities on employers to hire non-STEM majors in order to further development and innovation.
I’m choosing to stay at NC State rather than a liberal arts school. If you’re reading this and you’re a student here, you can understand why I make this choice. I love this school. I love what we stand for here. I love all these bricks even when they cause me to stumble and fall.
I want to be a well-rounded student, and by attending a top STEM school I know my professors for the introductory science and math courses are only the best instructors in all things STEM-related. Not to mention NC State ranks 16th in graduate employability on Times Higher Education’s list. Maybe I’m taking a risk with my major, but I’m just trying to live my fullest life and, yes, also, think and do.