I Didn’t Switch My College Major

I graduated in May 2019. My college major was Mechanical Engineering. If you had asked me in the middle of getting my degree, I would have told you that I wanted desperately to change my major to Biblical studies. Engineering was tough. It took a lot of time. I wanted to be a pastor. Technology didn’t excite me. But I didn’t switch my college major.

Why didn’t I change to a major I would enjoy better? The immediate reason was the advice I got from the Elders at my Church. They said I should finish my degree. I could get a MDiv later if needed. Not everyone could get an engineering degree. Finish what I started. The advice frustrated me at the time, but it kept me in Mechanical engineering.

But the ultimate reason I didn’t switch my college major was God’s sovereign will in my life. Looking back now, I can see several reasons why He led me to stick with engineering. I know a lot of people who struggle with whether they should switch their college major or not. I hope some of the lessons I personally learned will help you or help you counsel those in your Church who are having to make tough decisions about college degrees and future career choices.

God has purposes beyond what you can see in the moment

A question I asked myself often in college was “why am I in engineering? Why did God lead me to choose this major starting out?” After all, when you are a new high school graduate, you barely know what the world is like, much less knowing what career you want to pursue. I chose engineering initially because it paid well and I was good at math. That was it. Nothing overly spiritual at all.

Then as I went through college, the Lord grew me through local Church involvement. I read rich theological books. My passion was for the Church, for teaching, for studying Scripture. I met one of my best friends who was getting his Biblical studies degree. And let me tell you, our conversations about the Word were far more engaging than anything I was doing or learning in engineering.

I asked God “Why would you have me in a degree I’m not passionate about?” I came to realize this was the wrong question to ask. God’s will, not my passion, is the ultimate driver in my life.

Looking back now, the question I should have asked was simply “Lord, how can I glorify you in my degree I am currently in?” I could have switched my college major at any time. But I didn’t. And it is only now, two years after graduation, that I begin to see God’s purposes for keeping me in engineering. Purposes which were invisible to me at the time. An engineering degree:

• Allowed me to get a job out near my local Church so I could serve as a deacon there
• Gave me an income to support a wife and family right out of college. Which is good, because I got married a year after graduating and my wife is having our first child this coming fall.
• Enabled me to get a job I do, in fact, love. I never ever dreamed in a hundred years I would find an engineering job I would like. God proved me wrong.

There are more reasons, but these three serve to illustrate a principle.

Don’t judge where God has you based on what you know now or feel now. God has plans and purposes for your current circumstances beyond what you understand right now. Trust Him.

Serving God is a present-tense activity. And you can serve God no matter where you are at.

I was almost certain in college that the best way I could serve the Lord is by becoming a pastor as soon as humanly possible. Of course, I wasn’t really certain of God’s will. I was just certain of what I wanted. And what I wanted was to “do big things for Jesus” by becoming a pastor. It was so simple! If God would just let me get a bible degree, I would go off to seminary, then serve Him.

Serve God on His terms, not your own terms.

What God has taught me looking back is I can’t put conditions or timelines on when and how I would serve Him. Serving God is a present tense activity. Saying you will serve God tomorrow or sometime in the future isn’t obedience. Today, with what opportunities God has given you now, you must obey Scripture, follow Christ, and preach the gospel.

I thought I had to have a certain degree to serve the Lord well. That wasn’t true. All I needed was to wake up each day and say “Lord, how would you have me glorify you with this day?”

I know a lot of people who switched their majors based on some abstract idea that a certain major would equip them to serve God better. Maybe that was true. But having graduated, I find that the thing you need most for serving God is present-tense obedience. Specific skills might help you to be sure.

But at the end of the day don’t switch your college major because you feel that you need a certain one thing you desire to serve God. When I look at my local Church, I see a combination of dozens of people who have different vocations, callings, family situations and backgrounds. Each one can serve the Lord. Today. Why? Because God has already given us everything we need to serve Him.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence

2 Peter 1:3, ESV

So don’t stress out about what major your are currently in or which one you want to change to. Focus on serving God in the present and He will direct you.

The Church benefits from all kinds of skills, not just teaching and preaching

As I said before, the local Church is filled with people from different backgrounds. I didn’t switch my college major to Biblical studies, so now my local Church has a member who is trained as an engineer. Is that type of training a waste? Is it a purely “secular” vocation? Are my skills inapplicable to the Church?

No. I would argue the local Church benefits from a large collection of skills, vocations, and backgrounds. The Bible presents both unity and diversity as glorifying to the Lord.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Ephesians 4:4-7, ESV

Christianity does not erase your individuality, but nor does it make your individuality the most important thing.

Let me give an example. A couple months ago, the deacons at my Church decided to fix a ramp at my Church. Now, none of the deacons have any background in construction or painting. But the Lord brought several skilled men to our Church who do have those skills. And those skills were leveraged to bless the body.

So the question is: what if those men had not spent the time to develop those skills? What if everyone in the body only had MDiv’s and nothing else? I would argue that would be a disservice to the Church body. The individual skills God gives to each believer are for building up His Church. And those skills include “secular” ones.

Ask yourself “How might the skills from this degree bless the body? How can I do the most good to the most amount of people, believers and nonbelievers?”

I have learned that mechanical engineers can bless the Church, serve the Lord, and worship Christ just as much as any other college degree. God does not call all of us to the same thing. And praise God for it! It creates a beautiful diversity in the Church!

Conclusion

There are more lessons I learned when I look back on my college experience. But ultimately, I am glad I didn’t switch my college major. God used the struggle, the perseverance, and the (often) disappointment of engineering to shape me into who I am today. I realize now God had larger purposes than I could see in college. Sticking with engineering forced me to focus on serving the Lord with what I had, not with what I wanted. And finally, I see now God has given me unique skills to serve the local body. Skills I wouldn’t have if I didn’t complete an engineering degree.

Whether you end up sticking with or changing you college major, whether you stay in your current job or leave it, just remember what Paul told the Church in Corinth:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV

Glorify God, pursue Christ, and love the local Body where you are at. God will take care of the rest.

Click here to read some of my other reflections on experiences I have had. Follow The Average Churchman on Instagram to get updated whenever a new post comes out.