Yes. Our DD is already deeply frustrated by this. I'm amazed that she has so clearly seen this already--
How on earth am I supposed to know what will make me happy and fulfilled when I'm forty?? I don't know who I will BE when I'm forty. I don't even know who I might be when I'm twenty... How am I supposed to choose the right major??
She wrongly interprets this as a lack of maturity since so many of her academic peers (who are 16-17) seem to know full well what they intend to do with their lives and express few doubts.
We tend to think it entirely possible that the opposite is in fact true. Our advice to her is to "choose what you can love, and choose BROADLY, not narrowly in terms of preparation."
Interested in Particle Physics? A math undergraduate degree can take you there-- or to teaching-- or to chemistry, or biophysics, or engineering, or law school, or even med school or an MBA program...
If you are interested in becoming a doctor, spend undergrad making sure, and for heaven's sakes choose a major that will allow you to be employable with that undergraduate degree, because that is one very specialized skill set after med school.
I think that we're teaching kids to specialize earlier and earlier, and that is not at all a good thing. Breadth is a strength all its own-- in any field or endeavor.
Jon, you're absolutely right. You can't know what you have no way of knowing. Unfortunately.
