Alumni Profiles

What do you currently do for a living?: Mechanical Engineer at Kaleidoscope Innovation
How did you decide on your major?: Process of elimination, talking to alumni about career paths, taking 2.00C
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: Yes! I came in wanting to be a course 20, but when I took my biology GIR I realized I wasn’t really interested in continuing taking biology courses. I took a Terrascope IAP class where I got to meet alumni and talk to them about their careers, which really informed my decision, and I took 9.00 and 2.00C my freshman spring to look at both course 2 and 9 (my top choices after ruling out 20).
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Being able to have a choice in my MechE courses with 2A allowed me to explore several project classes to determine where exactly my niche was. After taking several project classes focused on product development, I realized that was what I wanted to do! Make products! I don’t think I would’ve known that if I had to do the regular course 2 requirements.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: 2.00C, 2.007, 2.008, 2.009, GEL, 2.722 (D-Lab), and 4.500 are the classes that made me fall in love with product design with purpose.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: I highly encourage you to choose a major that excites you, not the one you “think” you should choose. I didn’t know if MechE was going to lead me to my dream career, but I did know that the classes sounded interesting and the people were welcoming. The world is SO much wider than you think it is, and I promise you will find a path that fulfills you. I can also speak highly to the flexible major options like 2A, since it gives you the freedom to explore! You will learn so much and your network from MIT will take you further than any specific degree on your resume. You got this!

What do you currently do for a living?: System Product Design Engineer at Apple
How did you decide on your major?: I came into MIT with no engineering background and was inspired by upperclassmen who told me about mechanical engineering. As someone who struggled with 8.01, mechanical is not something I thought I ever would’ve been interested in, but offerings like product design, medical device design, and D-Lab Development showed me that course 2 was super interdisciplinary and implemented creative and humanitarian elements well. The hands on maker experiences were extremely compelling. I felt there weren’t many other environments that offered what MIT does as far as lab and makerspace opportunities and hands on coursework, and it was both an empowering and inspiring skillset to pick up. It felt like the best use of the four years as far as breadth, unique opportunities, and interesting potential career applications.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I was super indecisive. I came in thinking Course 9 or Course 20 premed, but was most interested in chemistry of the sciences back in high school so I also thought about 5-7, 10, and 3. I was in a biological sciences focused freshman seminar, attended pre-med student events, and even applied to a deferred acceptance medical program during my sophomore year. I did the DMSE FPOP. I tried a materials FPOP and realized I didn’t necessarily want a research career or to be in a wet lab, and realized that pre-med felt too restrictive for me to commit my college years to.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Course 2 leads pretty smoothly into hardware PD and mechanical design work. Most relevant information for interviewing is covered in courses like 2.001 and 2.008. I worked in a few system engineering internships and an IAP internship in design engineering at Milwaukee Tool before finding my internship in PD at Apple, which became my full-time job.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: I was in Maria Yang’s lab for almost two years working with Rima Das, a grad student who has since moved to Melbourne to accept a faculty position. Both were incredible mentors who provided lots of support during my undergrad struggles and have continued to shape me even since I’ve left MIT. I found 2.008 and 2.72 both immensely useful in developing comfort with high volume manufacturing concepts and precision engineering design. I’d highly recommend an engineering team too. I was on Solar Car for about a year and loved the community and the initiative I saw amongst the team. That’s where I learned to CAD, and it was super fun to travel to Kansas with everyone and race our (street-legal) car.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Try everything! Figure out what engages you the most or brings out a new side of you that you want to develop. You can always pick up skills for other jobs along the way, or develop them by taking elective classes or research (my roommate during my Apple internship was a mechanical major, but became a data engineer from her own efforts outside of school). School doesn’t have to be strictly pre-professional, and you’ll never know what useful things you’ll pick up by allowing yourself some freedom.

What do you currently do for a living?: R&D Mechanical Composites Engineer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems
How did you decide on your major?: I really like building and creating things. I wanted a major that would give me the skill set to be flexible and give me options for what I could work on in the future.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I always wanted to do mechanical engineering, but changed my minors and concentrations many times. I explored by participating in clubs, UROPs, and talking with classmates.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: My undergraduate major did not really influence my eventual career path. It only gave me the tools to pursue what I wanted to do.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: 1. Solar car introduced me to the field of composite engineering, which is now my area of expertise and what I work on. 2. My undergrad thesis experience allowed me to explore fusion energy, which led to my current job at a fusion company.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Keep exploring other fields and other interests, ask others about what they work on or have tried. Even if you think you know what you want to do, there could be something else that will interest you even more.

What do you currently do for a living?: Graduate Student (Theology, Saint Paul Seminary)
How did you decide on your major?: Taking classes in it and other courses I was interested in and from those classes figuring out which major I liked best. I realized I like tangible problems and that I enjoyed solving Mech-E related problems.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I explored course 6 and 2A-6 before eventually settling on course 2. I switched from 2A to 2 in the summer before my senior year because I realized I was much more interested in 2 and all the course 6 classes I had really wanted to take weren’t going to work with my schedule.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: It didn’t influence it much. It was fun to explore how the world works and is ordered in a Mech-E way and then do the same thing but from a different angle by studying philosophy
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: 2.00B and 2.007 were very important as I decided and then solidified my major. Dr. Daniel Braunstein was a super important mentor for me as I figured out exactly what I liked to do in Mech-E.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Don’t be afraid to trust your gut. Choose something you love. You are going to work way too hard for this degree, and if it’s in something you don’t actually like, it’s going to be way harder.

What do you currently do for a living?: I’m the Director of Engineering at Ekotrope
How did you decide on your major?: Seemed like it would be interesting, keep open paths to a lot of good careers, including ones where I wouldn’t be sitting at a computer most of the time. And I seemed to have an aptitude for the material.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: Yes I took some exploratory/intro courses in other departments.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: It influenced what companies and jobs I applied for and considered.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: I initially had a bad experience taking an introductory programming course in Java which steered me away from CS, though I work at a software company now. I met a Course 16 professor randomly who became an important mentor and my thesis advisor. He encouraged me to establish a mission for my career (mine is climate solutions) and we eventually started Ekotrope together.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Give yourself a deadline to make a decision. Probably end of freshman year or early sophomore year. Prior to that focus on learning as much as you can about the majors you’re interested in, talk to people in those majors, ask what it’s like. Then pick the 1 or 2 that will be best for you.

What do you currently do for a living?: Senior Program Coordinator, Office of Experiential Learning, MIT
How did you decide on your major?: I decided before applying to MIT that I would major in architecture, having already explored the field a bit through a summer program in high school. I wanted a major that combined visual art with more technical ways of thinking, so architecture seemed like a natural fit.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I did not really explore before I declared a major, but I realized midway through my junior year that I did not want to be an architect. At that point, I took classes in other fields of interest, such as education, did informational interviews with people in adjacent fields, and explored other paths through UROP and other types of experiential learning.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: I had originally planned to be an architect, but my experiences in internships convinced me that the profession was not a great fit for me, so I started to explore other possible careers in my junior year. MIT’s architecture department is a mix of artists, designers, architects, historians, engineers, and more, so I was able to explore adjacent fields without changing departments. I also used my HASS classes to explore education as a possible profession, thinking that I might pursue something at the intersection of education and design. My current role is mainly focused on education, but my design background continues to serve me in my work.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: So many! Interning at two architecture firms helped me realize that while I loved architecture as a major at MIT, I did not love architecture as a profession. Several professors, staff, and alumni took the time to meet with me to discuss other possible career paths where I could leverage my design skills to have an impact. Ultimately, an elective design class I took in my senior spring led me to my first job after graduating and my current career at MIT.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Make sure to consider what you want to learn, the opportunities you want to have, and the community you want to be part of, not just the words you want on your diploma. Majors are not the same as professions, and each MIT major has something special to offer.

What do you currently do for a living?: General Surgery Resident Physician, New York Medical College at Metropolitan Hospital Center
How did you decide on your major?: I was split between course 5, 7, 9 and 20 as to what I wanted to major in coming in. I sort of knew I wanted to become a doctor beforehand. I ultimately decided Course 5 over the other options because I actually found more enjoyment in the actual material found in 5.111 and 5.12 than I had with some of the other initial courses.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I remember being part of DBCS (Discover Brain and Cognitive Sciences) FPOP when I started, giving me some exposure to Course 9. I also spent time talking to other pre-health oriented individuals who majored in Course 7/20, to get insight on their majors.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: The course requirements helped prepare me pretty easily for all the essential medical school requirements.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: 5.12 (organic chemistry) was what ultimately sold me on chemistry. I found it to be intuitive for me, and I had a lot of fun learning the deeper material. It felt like a class where I was engaged with the material, and not just taking it to check off a box.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Trust your gut feeling. My decision to do Course 5 was entirely based on my gut feeling just because 5.12 “felt right.”

What do you currently do for a living?: Software Engineer
How did you decide on your major?: I took a bunch of classes that interested me in all the different majors, and decided on the ones I enjoyed the most
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: Yes. I explored course 6-3, 6-14, 8, 14-2, and 18. I took classes in those departments and did UROPs. I switched from 6-14 to 6-3 and 14-2 to just a 6-3 major
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: I work in tech now, so I’d say very direct influence.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: I think 14.13 was a class that really got me interested in econ. And some more advanced classes like cryptography got me really interested in CS
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Explore!! Take classes, do UROPs. You will not regret choosing a major “too late”. Granted, for me, the change wasn’t that big, but I changed majors my junior year, and still turned out fine!!!

What do you currently do for a living?: Software Engineer, Early Stage Stealth AI Startup
How did you decide on your major?: I attended many academic/industry/club/ events that MIT had all the time, took some introductory/exploratory classes, and had some prior interest in disciplinary fields. I was on exploration and “say yes” mode the first year. I also liked computer science generally from middle of high school onwards, so all of this combined led me to Course 6-14 and then Course 6-3 once I started figuring out what I wanted.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I originally really liked mathematics, economics, and computer science as they have a great breadth of skills, but there were a few options in terms of major choices. I explored 18C, 6-3, and 6-14 seriously along with other scenarios like 14-2 + 6-3, 18 + 6-3, 18 + 6-14, and all sorts of options. My academic exploration methodology was mainly checking out online materials for courses, attending exploratory/introductory classes/seminars, talking to upperclassmen, talking to a few alumni advisors via the Alumni Advisors Hub, and generally being open-minded. Overall, I liked 6-14 a lot due to the discipline and its connection to fields like math, business, economics, computer science, data science, etc. I also had a good group of friends pursuing it, so a great community. In the end, I did change my major senior fall from 6-14 to 6-3 as I had become slightly more interested in fields like full-stack development, etc. from my internships. This was doable due to overlap and flexibility of the curriculum and requirements.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: It influenced a decent bit in terms of narrowing down what I like and what I don’t like for a career option. There were some areas/courses that were too low-level for me like assembly and some there were too theoretical like mathematical proofs/pure algorithms. Practical classes in different styles of computer science like full-stack web development were more enjoyable and that is what I did in my internships which led me to my first full-time role as a full-stack software engineer. I now switched a bit to the AI engineer role, but the undergrad major foundational skills come here and there, allowing me to dig deeper into whatever I need to catch up on.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: The first MIT hackathon and the other subsequent hackathons showed me that building software stuff is more valuable personally than pure theory. The Fall Career Fair, Alumni Advisors Hub, Sum of All Courses introductory class that brought in professors from different MIT departments, and the Sloan exploratory management course opened my perspective to other disciplines and how they interact with each other. The first-year seminar showed me that collaboration and chatting out a problem with someone can help a lot.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Just pick one and deal with it later. If really really uncertain on picking one, do a random number generator (only partly a joke). The big takeaway is that you have to dig into a major to figure out if you like it or not, so no need to stress too much about it initially. The best thing you can do is keep an open-mind, say yes to many events/retreats/conferences/lectures/talks/hackathons (just a taste of them works to not overload yourself), and simply talk to many people (alumni, fellow classmates, OFY, anyone really).

What do you currently do for a living?: Graduate student at MIT
How did you decide on your major?: Coming into MIT, I was split between course 6 and 16. Ultimately, course 6 made more sense, since from a career perspective, I could still work in the aerospace industry, but my skills and credentials would be more easily transferable to other industries.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I did an FPOP with the aero-astro department to learn more about what the department was like. I ultimately chose to join course 6, since I was pretty sure that’s what I wanted originally.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Based on the course offerings available in course 6 that sounded most interesting to me, I shifted from my original interest of computer engineering to more applied physics and electrical engineering. During my senior year of undergrad, I was pretty confident I wanted to work in industry, but halfway through my MEng, I realized how much I enjoy research, which led me to apply to the PhD program where I am now.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: My first UROP experience (fall Junior year) pushed me a lot in a new direction. I learned a lot of skills (especially presenting and reading journal articles) that were not as heavily emphasized in my classes. I also learned a lot about what sorts of topics interest me, which led me to the research group that I am in now at MIT.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: The best way to know if you’ll like a major is to try it out: take a few classes (preferably ones with projects) to get a feel for what the major entails. I took a couple classes in course 3 my sophomore and junior year, but ultimately decided that major was not for me. If you know any older students, ask them about their experience: what classes or subjects they really liked and why. Even if it takes until halfway through your junior year year to figure out you don’t like the major, you can in most cases change to a different major without delaying graduation. Several majors have a lot of overlap in terms of coursework.

What do you currently do for a living?: PhD Student at UCSB studying photonics and laser systems engineering
How did you decide on your major?: When I applied to MIT, I applied as a Course 2 mechanical engineer, and my FPOP was in architecture and design (Course 4). So I definitely did not arrive knowing I’d end up in 6-1 and 8. After my first semester, I realized that classes like 2.00B (toy design) and 2.009 (capstone) didn’t excite me the way I expected. They were more focused on the build itself, whereas I found myself wanting to understand the fundamental science underneath the build. That was the first signal for me. I declared 6-1 freshman spring because I knew I wanted at least a 50/50 split between fundamental science and application. Then sophomore fall, I took 8.03 and 6.002 (intro classes for Physics and EE), and that’s when I felt confident I was in a good spot. I wasn’t just tolerating the work – I was genuinely interested. And when I looked ahead at the next classes in the sequence (8.04, 6.003), they sounded exciting, not like a chore. So I added Course 8 as a second major. A really important distinction for me: all of these classes were hard. MIT forced me to see the difference between being good at something and actually enjoying it. I knew I was on the right path when I stopped just surviving my coursework and started being curious about it.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: Yes — I applied as a 2A-4, and I ended up a double major in 6-1 and 8.
Two things helped me explore:
1.) Reading syllabi for future classes. I constantly looked ahead at what my “course road” actually looked like. Did the upcoming classes sound interesting? Or did they sound like something I’d just have to grind through?
2.) Checking whether I was tolerating or enjoying my coursework.
At a place like MIT, there’s so much depth and flexibility that there’s really no reason to stay in something you don’t like (separate from whether you’re good at it). The bureaucratic structure actually makes it very easy to step left or right when you realize your interests are shifting. That flexibility is something I deeply value about MIT.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: My undergraduate majors directly shaped what I do now. I work in a field that sits right on the border between physics and electrical engineering — depending on the university, it could live in either department. Some weeks I’m deep in fundamental science, and other weeks I’m building highly applied systems. That blend is exactly what I was looking for in a career as an undergrad, when i actively asked myself what i wanted. I don’t think I would’ve found this field if I had passively stayed on the path I initially thought I wanted. Taking advantage of MIT’s flexibility — and letting myself pivot — made a huge difference.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: During my freshman year GIRs, I talked a lot with older teammates about what they were studying. I asked them what they liked about their majors — not just what they were doing, but what excited them about it. When some of my 2A teammates described what they enjoyed, it sounded like a burden to me. Meanwhile, other teammates talked about engineering systems operating at the edge of fundamental limits — and that was what resonated with me. Taking 8.03 and 6.002 sophomore fall gave me confidence I was in the right place. For me, UROP helped deepen and refine my interests, but it didn’t create them from scratch – it expanded on something I already felt. Talking to more senior students and comparing their excitement to my own reactions was one of the most helpful things I did.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: First: you are at an institution that gives you enormous flexibility, and that matters.
I think of a major at MIT as the “ladder” you’re currently on — it just defines the default queue of classes lined up for you. But MIT lets you step onto other ladders, even after you’ve started climbing one.
My advice:
1.) Look ahead at the next rungs.
2.) Ask yourself: Am I excited about these classes?
3.) If another ladder looks more interesting, go try a rung of that one.
The real pitfall isn’t picking the “wrong” ladder at the beginning. The real pitfall is passively continuing up a ladder that no longer excites you when you have the freedom at MIT to try another. As long as you keep actively checking whether your interests align with your coursework, you really can’t pick wrong the first time. Pick something you think you’ll like. And know that you’re not stuck.

What do you currently do for a living?: Professor at MIT (EECS)
How did you decide on your major?: I enjoyed tinkering with computers, networks, and operating systems in (US equivalent of) middle school and high school, so it made sense for me to continue learning about / playing with computer systems as an undergrad at MIT.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: Not substantially. I took some classes in EECS that were more on the EE side of the department, which broadened my interests into hardware, but that seems pretty minor compared to what you’re asking about.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: I ended up continuing on to grad school, largely because I enjoyed playing with computer systems during my MEng year at MIT. Then, since grad school was quite enjoyable, I continued on to do more research in academia as a professor at MIT.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: Both my undergrad/MEng advisor at MIT, as well as my PhD advisor at Stanford, both made me think that research is a lot of fun, and made me want to continue doing more research.

What do you currently do for a living?: Venture capital investor
How did you decide on your major?: My UROP confirmed I wanted to study nuclear engineering.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I went to a few seminars on campus and talked to many people in different majors.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Great foundational study with physics and applied information in engineering
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: UROP, MIT Washington Office
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Find people in different majors and talk to them about what they do, and if you can experience a seminar class, go sit in.

What do you currently do for a living?: PhD Student at UCSB studying photonics and laser systems engineering
How did you decide on your major?: When I applied to MIT, I applied as a Course 2 mechanical engineer, and my FPOP was in architecture and design (Course 4). So I definitely did not arrive knowing I’d end up in 6-1 and 8. After my first semester, I realized that classes like 2.00B (toy design) and 2.009 (capstone) didn’t excite me the way I expected. They were more focused on the build itself, whereas I found myself wanting to understand the fundamental science underneath the build. That was the first signal for me. I declared 6-1 freshman spring because I knew I wanted at least a 50/50 split between fundamental science and application. Then sophomore fall, I took 8.03 and 6.002 (intro classes for Physics and EE), and that’s when I felt confident I was in a good spot. I wasn’t just tolerating the work – I was genuinely interested. And when I looked ahead at the next classes in the sequence (8.04, 6.003), they sounded exciting, not like a chore. So I added Course 8 as a second major. A really important distinction for me: all of these classes were hard. MIT forced me to see the difference between being good at something and actually enjoying it. I knew I was on the right path when I stopped just surviving my coursework and started being curious about it.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: Yes — I applied as a 2A-4, and I ended up a double major in 6-1 and 8.
Two things helped me explore:
1.) Reading syllabi for future classes. I constantly looked ahead at what my “course road” actually looked like. Did the upcoming classes sound interesting? Or did they sound like something I’d just have to grind through?
2.) Checking whether I was tolerating or enjoying my coursework.
At a place like MIT, there’s so much depth and flexibility that there’s really no reason to stay in something you don’t like (separate from whether you’re good at it). The bureaucratic structure actually makes it very easy to step left or right when you realize your interests are shifting. That flexibility is something I deeply value about MIT.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: My undergraduate majors directly shaped what I do now. I work in a field that sits right on the border between physics and electrical engineering — depending on the university, it could live in either department. Some weeks I’m deep in fundamental science, and other weeks I’m building highly applied systems. That blend is exactly what I was looking for in a career as an undergrad, when i actively asked myself what i wanted. I don’t think I would’ve found this field if I had passively stayed on the path I initially thought I wanted. Taking advantage of MIT’s flexibility — and letting myself pivot — made a huge difference.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: During my freshman year GIRs, I talked a lot with older teammates about what they were studying. I asked them what they liked about their majors — not just what they were doing, but what excited them about it. When some of my 2A teammates described what they enjoyed, it sounded like a burden to me. Meanwhile, other teammates talked about engineering systems operating at the edge of fundamental limits — and that was what resonated with me. Taking 8.03 and 6.002 sophomore fall gave me confidence I was in the right place. For me, UROP helped deepen and refine my interests, but it didn’t create them from scratch – it expanded on something I already felt. Talking to more senior students and comparing their excitement to my own reactions was one of the most helpful things I did.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: First: you are at an institution that gives you enormous flexibility, and that matters. I think of a major at MIT as the “ladder” you’re currently on — it just defines the default queue of classes lined up for you. But MIT lets you step onto other ladders, even after you’ve started climbing one.
My advice:
1.) Look ahead at the next rungs.
2.) Ask yourself: Am I excited about these classes?
3.) If another ladder looks more interesting, go try a rung of that one.
The real pitfall isn’t picking the “wrong” ladder at the beginning. The real pitfall is passively continuing up a ladder that no longer excites you when you have the freedom at MIT to try another. As long as you keep actively checking whether your interests align with your coursework, you really can’t pick wrong the first time. Pick something you think you’ll like. And know that you’re not stuck.

What do you currently do for a living?: Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT
How did you decide on your major?: Big fan of Star Trek: TNG and wanted to understand the physics needed to build the Enterprise
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I picked up a passion for Architecture along the way (getting a Minor in it)
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Through my UROP I found I really liked research so continued to graduate school in Physics at UC Berkeley
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: My UROP advisor Prof. Janet Conrad and my experiences in architecture studios (which informed a lot of the aesthetics of what types of research questions I’m drawn to)
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Follow curiosity over what you feel you “should” do

What do you currently do for a living?: postdoc at Tufts University in physical oceanography researching glacier-ocean interactions
How did you decide on your major?: I took classes in all the majors I was considering in my first year and decided that I enjoyed course 8 the most. In addition, the course 8 requirements gave me the flexibility to take the out of major classes that I wanted to take later on, and I knew that physics degrees are particularly flexible in what you can do with them after graduating.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: Yes. I tried out upper level math courses and decided that it absolutely was not for me. I tried 2.00B to explore mechanical engineering and did a little bit with the solar car team club before deciding that while I did enjoy engineering, I enjoyed the physics side of things more. For my chemistry requirement, I purposefully took the material science version because I wanted to learn about that field. I didn’t end up changing my major after declaring, but did decide to take a bunch of course 12 classes towards the end (I made oceanography my course 8 flex focus). I also took advantage of my major’s flexibility to continue to take classes in other majors, including course 6 and course 2, throughout my time at MIT.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: I learned that I really enjoyed physics, and I enjoyed my physics research, but I wanted to work on problems more directly impacting people’s lives than we typically deal with in physics. This put me in a position of not knowing what career path to go down. But physics taught me that I really like research style questions, which is what eventually set me on the PhD path.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: I did a UROP that showed me how much I enjoyed research and how much I cared about carefully deciding what research question to work on. I also took a conservational underwater photography class during IAP that was only offered for one year (take advantage of the strange opportunities that pop up!), which introduced me to the concept of oceanography in the first place and connected me with an important mentor who was also a physics professor at the time. When I decided I might be interested in oceanography, I started exploring course 12 classes, which informed my direction even if I didn’t switch majors. I tried the MIT DC program when I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do research and thought science policy might be interesting. That was an amazing experience that helped me decide that yes, I did want to stay in research. Finally, when applying to fellowships in my senior year, I found a mentor at the career center in the prestigious fellowships office who really helped me sort out my thoughts and figure out that I was more interested in switching to a field like physical oceanography after graduating than staying in a more traditional physics field.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Explore! You don’t have to declare in your first year for a reason. Yes, it’s nice to do the standard science + math + HASS in your first year to keep on top of requirements, but that leaves a flexible class slot, and you can still change that up a little bit more for the sake of trying things that can help you make a decision.

What do you currently do for a living?: Academic administrator at MIT EECS
How did you decide on your major?: I felt that a Course 15 major would be the most broadly beneficial to my future career path because of the skills it could teach me. I had changed majors a few times before too and wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I changed majors a few times and took classes in different fields to see if I liked them (such as taking 6.0001, which is how I learned I did not want to be Course 6). I also did internships during the summer in marketing and in higher ed, which led me to my current path.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: I am not sure how much it influenced my path directly since working in higher ed is not a common path for Course 15 students, but the skills I learned as part of my major did help (such as presentation and communication skills). I think also seeing the more conventional paths that people in my major took made me realize that I didn’t necessarily want to go that route too.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: The summer internships I mentioned were pivotal in helping shape my direction, because that helped me learn more about working in higher ed and gave me the experience to build on for my first role in the field. I also had various mentors at MIT, such as the undergrad director in Course 15 and other staff members who I had worked with in other capacities.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Explore! Try new things and learn what you like and also what you don’t like, and do it through a variety of methods such as internships, UROPs, classes, talking to alumni and mentors. It’s okay to not know what you want to do, and that will always be changing even after you graduate, but you can always learn more about yourself through this process.

What do you currently do for a living?: Active Duty Navy Officer (Pilot) currently attending graduate school at Stanford University. Receiving Master’s of Science in Management Science & Engineering.
How did you decide on your major?: Was very fortunate and always knew that I wanted to do AeroAstro, completing Navy’s ROTC at MIT only confirmed that further as I desired to be a pilot.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I did not necessarily explore other interests for majors, but I picked up a Minor in History after exploring numerous courses in the History and Political Science departments. Was one of the best decisions I made and significantly helped me balance out my coursework!
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Significantly in the background it provided me for my career in the Navy and flying (not only courses like aerodynamics, but also general lessons of problem solving, understanding data, etc.).
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: Professor Raul Radovitsky was the best part of my Course 16 experience. He was a significant part of encouraging my confidence in the subject area and having greater perspectives about AeroAstro holistically. Professor Zach Cordero’s Capstone, 16.s811 (Turbomachinery+)was a truly pivotal course, that not only allowed me to experience the hands-on learning I felt was extremely lacking in my AeroAstro academic journey, but also did a phenomenal job of combining both the fundamentals provided by previous Course 16 coursework and innovating with new technology in the sector that I did not know was possible. Extremely hard course, but extremely beneficial in the way that it has to this day continued to shape my perspective on engineering!
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Use your first year to explore! You are not stuck, you are not behind, you are not going to not graduate because you took the time to learn more about yourself and your interests in your first two semesters. As much as you can, I would recommend talking to folks in the actual industry your major leads you towards — while I loved AeroAstro, I realized later in my academic career that I most likely would never be interested in working for a big AeroAstro company or lab in the ways my friends do. I don’t regret Course 16 whatsoever, but I think it would have helped me to know those career-long perspectives and actual work environment/roles that AeroAstro provides after graduation. So, don’t be afraid to ask hard questions and get your feet messy early on!

What do you currently do for a living?: Staff Associate, Advising and Academic Performance, Undergraduate Advising Center
How did you decide on your major?: Mathematics has always been my passion, and something that has come naturally to me since childhood. I believe there’s an elegance to math as a language; it offers a uniquely powerful way to describe our world through the relationships between numbers, variables, and equations. Entering college, I was certain I wanted to continue to study math, although I was not sure what I wanted to do as a career. My interests span several fields: actuarial science, data analytics (within professional sports), and educational curriculum design for organizations like Khan Academy and IXL Learning.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: During the spring of my first-year, I took Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python (6.0001, now known as 6.100A) and declared 18-C as my major. I believed this joint degree would prepare me well for my various career interests. However, as I advanced through upper-level Course 6 classes, I realized computer science wasn’t the right fit for me. In my junior year, I switched to the general 18 major. However, I did obtain a minor in computer science because of the coursework I completed before I changed my major.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: While I am not working in a field directly related to mathematics, I use many of the skills that I developed in my undergraduate studies in my daily work, including data analysis, effective communication, and problem-solving. Plus, my experience as an undergraduate student at MIT provides me with a unique set of experiences and knowledge that influences my advising practices.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: For three years, I served as an Orientation Leader and Associate Advisor with the Office of the First Year, while simultaneously working as a student employee from summer 2022 through graduation. I also held positions as a desk worker and desk captain at Maseeh Hall, competed as a varsity athlete, and served as an Undergraduate Teaching Fellow for Terrascope. I found these roles to be genuinely fulfilling. Nothing felt like an obligation or a means to a paycheck. I deeply valued collaborating with my peers and engaging with staff and faculty across the Institute. Then, the night before career fair in fall of my senior year, I had the realization that I wanted to work in higher education, not in any of the fields I had previously pursued. While this was scary in the moment (I spent all these years working towards a degree in mathematics and I wasn’t going to use it “properly”), I trusted my gut and ran with it. In IAP of my senior year, I had shifted my focus entirely, exploring graduate programs in higher education and searching for jobs.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Any major equips you with transferable skills applicable across all fields and careers. Choose a course of study you genuinely love, even if your career path ultimately diverges from it. More broadly, trust yourself to follow your heart. We are analytical and logical thinkers by nature, but sometimes the most important choices require you to trust your gut and embrace whatever happens next.

What do you currently do for a living?: I’m a faculty member in the computer science department at the University of Pennsylvania
How did you decide on your major?: During the academic fair of my first semester, a professor (Clark Barwick) convinced me to take his class, 18.014, which was Calculus from a theoretical perspective. I had always loved mathematics, but had not been exposed to proof-based math – even though I had “placed out” of the first Calculus class, his passion and enthusiasm drew me to follow the math interest more deeply. After that class, it was obvious to me that I would be a math major – at the time, I thought the topics (and the way Clark taught the material) was the most beautiful and interesting thing in the world, and that I would gladly spend my undergraduate learning and thinking about mathematics.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I came in thinking I’d be a mechanical engineer (I had done a bit of programming and thought robots were super cool).
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: The math major is very flexible, so I had a chance to explore a lot of different areas of math (analysis, algebra, topology). I eventually got very interested in algorithms and complexity, so I then went on the graduate school in theoretical computer science, and that is what I do now!
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: Clark Barwick was the most important mentor. After 18.014, I took his 18.024 class and asked him to become my academic advisor. I would then often drop by his office to chat about whatever classes I was taking and what I’d been thinking about. Eventually, he wrote one of my recommendation letters for graduate school.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Commit to being as interested as possible in whichever discipline you end up choosing. If you don’t know what you are interested in (or interested in too many things), pick the discipline which you believe will get more interesting the more you study/learn it.

What do you currently do for a living?: PhD candidate, Immunology, Harvard University
How did you decide on your major?: I enjoyed biology and wanted to go deeper in it in an interdisciplinary way since high school.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: No, I considered changing my major to 6-7 because it seemed topical at the time, but I am ultimately glad I did not change. I did have a minor in Course 9, Brain & Cognitive Sciences, which I also enjoyed and was relevant to my UROP work.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: I continued down the research path because I enjoyed the variety of topics the coursework was relevant towards.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: My first summer, I participated in the SMURF program in Singapore. That research experience brought out my initial interests in vaccines and immunology. It also opened my eyes to the idea of working to solve global issues and with people from everywhere, as well as the different challenges faced depending on global position and politics. I continued to work on different projects in other countries, including Ghana, Mexico, and South Africa that all influenced where I am today.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: It is okay to build an education for yourself, around things you actually want to learn. While MIT is a fantastic place to learn, it is not the only time or place you will have a chance to learn either. You will continue studying and learning for as long as you live, so you should definitely try to find the things you actually enjoy learning.

What do you currently do for a living?: Analyst at TerraCotta Group, a CRE investments firm
How did you decide on your major?: This isn’t the best answer, but I really enjoyed biology and decided that, since I was a student at MIT, might as well be an engineering student. So biological engineering (Course 20) seemed like the most obvious choice. I didn’t put too much extra thought into it beyond trying to explore everything I could, knowing that I could change my major at any point in the next two years.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I explored A LOT of majors. When I started at MIT, I was interested in everything from MechE to Architecture / Design, Physics to Math, BCS, USP, EAPS, Econ, literally anything you can imagine. During my freshman year, I took several first-year discovery courses across different departments and consulted a lot of upperclassmen in my sorority to learn more about each of the different majors and what really made sense for me as they know more about department-specific policies and the course road. I considered taking on a double major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (6-2) and completed most of the necessary courses for it, but decided that I wanted to prioritize other non-academic experiences at MIT and ended up with a Computer Science minor.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: My career path is definitely a little odd. I currently work as an analyst at a commercial real estate investments firm, which is very much not what I thought I would be doing post-grad. I thought I’d be going to grad school or med school, studying up to be a doctor in something or something else. But, during my time at MIT, I realized that I wasn’t really that interested in going to graduate school immediately after graduating from undergrad. To be honest, I felt a little boxed in by my major, as biological engineering isn’t super applicable across industries in the same way computer science is. I think it came down to how I approached the skills that I had gained in being a course 20 student, especially how it shaped the way I approach problems and work with others.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: Yes! I really want to shout out my freshman year PI, Dr. Bryan Bryson for showing me how fun and exciting research is. I likely will want to go back to graduate school one day, almost solely based on that experience. I also want to shout out my course 20 mentor, Dr. Forest White, who encouraged to try my hand in industry, even though he knew that it wouldn’t be as straightforward as grad school.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: You might hear this a lot, but you can change your major. Pick a department that supports you and your goals, even if it isn’t the conventional career path. I was able to break into an industry that is very different from what I studied academically–and if I can do it, you can do it too!

What do you currently do for a living?: I’m finishing up my PhD in Network Science, and I will be an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science at Holy Cross in the fall.
How did you decide on your major?: I wanted the flexibility to choose what I learned about, and I wanted to be able to combine my two areas of interest — machine learning/natural language processing and Internet subcultures/social movements — into one coherent (ish) degree.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I was originally 6-3 (Computer Science), but I fell in love with CMS and studying Internet subcultures/social movements midway through undergrad via CMS.400 (Credit for Reddit). In full honesty, I was not a fan of many of the required courses for a 6-3 degree (I particularly struggled with 6.004), and the flexibility that 21E afforded me made my undergrad experience much less painful.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: It prepared me with pretty much the exact skills and theoretical/conceptual grounding I needed to succeed in my PhD — I study the social networks people make on social media platforms using both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. This was kind of accidental; I did not originally plan to do a PhD while I was an undergrad, but I found advisors and a PhD program that fit the kind of work I wanted to do and the skillset I had.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: Yes, many! My UROP mentor, J. Nathan Matias, showed me how the computational social science research process works and has continued to support me throughout my academic journey. I took CMS.614 (Internet Cultures) with T.L. Taylor, who also advised my undergraduate thesis. She’s also been in my corner since then, and I learned so much by writing the first ever CMS/W undergrad thesis. Chris Peterson and Ethan Zuckerman taught CMS.400 (Credit for Reddit), and they really pushed me to be rigorous and precise in my analysis of complicated, fuzzy phenomena.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Maybe you’ll get it wrong. That is part of the process; learning who you want to be and what you want to learn about is iterative, and there’s so much more room for mistakes than you think there is. I got it wrong so many times, in terms of courses I took and dropped, and an entire major/career path I stepped away from. I’m about to start my dream job, and I’m so grateful for all the times I screwed up and learned something because of it.

What do you currently do for a living?: Venture capital investor
How did you decide on your major?: My UROP confirmed I wanted to study nuclear engineering.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I went to a few seminars on campus and talked to many people in different majors.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Great foundational study with physics and applied information in engineering
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: UROP, MIT Washington Office
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Find people in different majors and talk to them about what they do, and if you can experience a seminar class, go sit in.

What do you currently do for a living?: Worked as a computational biologist in biotech for a few years, then went to grad school. I just finished my PhD at ETH Zürich / Swiss Federal Institute of Technology!
How did you decide on your major?: I originally wanted to be a literature major at a small liberal arts college, but my parents told me to go to MIT. During my first year, I spent a lot of time exploring seminars, chatting with upperclassmen, and stressing with classmates about different career paths. After taking 24.900 (Introduction to Linguistics) and loving it, I decided that linguistics was a good blend of my liberal arts and technical brain cells.
Did you explore other academic interests before declaring your major, and/or did you change majors?: I worked in a physical chemistry lab during high school, so I thought I’d continue into course 5. I took the IAP lab course 5.301, or Chemistry Laboratory Techniques — even ended up on the OpenCourseWare series “ChemLab Boot Camp”! It was fun but intense, and I came away feeling that lab life wasn’t a good fit for me.
How did your undergraduate major influence (or not influence) your eventual career path?: Course 24 is very flexible, so I also dabbled in course 6, 9, and 18 classes to round out my skillset. I spent the first year after graduation working for the Division of Student Life, then was recruited by my former Head of House to work in his course 20 lab. That job and all after made good use of my programming and statistical skills.
Were there pivotal experiences, mentors, or courses that significantly shaped your direction?: John Essigmann, the former Head of House of Simmons Hall, hired me for my very first computational biology role! I didn’t know much about biochemistry, but he had faith in me to pick up the skills I needed on the job. He also connected me to a Swiss professor who eventually became my PhD advisor. I was part of the Experimental Study Group, a freshman learning community, and it supported me warmly during my freshman year and beyond. Patti Christie, the biology and chemistry head at ESG, invited me to come back and teach for several years; not only did I get better at teaching and public speaking, but I realized how much I love engaging with people in presentations. Slightly sadder: I took 6.01 (the original Introduction to EECS) three times because I had such a hard time with it. I eventually became an LA and then a TA for the course, and this taught me how to think out loud and debug well — very helpful for software “whiteboard interviews”.
What advice would you offer first-year students who feel uncertain about choosing a major?: Intense, courseload-heavy majors can set you up for success; so can flexible majors with plenty of room for interdisciplinary coursework. I loved that course 24 let me explore classes from different courses, opened time for UROPs, and let me pursue diverse interests that intersected with my major.