CHOOSING THE RIGHT MAJOR
Many individuals think, ‘Now that I’m going to college, I have to work towards a degree in a profession of my choice.’ Then they rush into it, usually without much consideration, and either end up wasting time or end up on a career path that doesn’t bring satisfaction. After all, for many, one question seems louder: why is it so hard to choose the “right” major? When considered in its entirety, the answer is rather complex as it varies for each individual. Still, it, but it usually revolves around not having a clear idea of what they want to do for the rest of their lives.
Understanding of the Right Major:Impact of thoughful major selection in the long and short-term
- It’s commonly accepted that the “right” major is the one that prepares us best for our desired career path. So in order to choose the right major, you first must have an idea of what you want to do for a living. This takes time for most individuals. This is the reason why you see some undergraduate students switch their majors over and over again. That’s normal.
- Thus, the question raises the issue of what you expect college to prepare you for. If you see college as pre-professional training, you should begin to narrow down your choices in selecting a major to those things that are likely to be relevant to your future career or to meet the requirements of a graduate school that further prepares you for a profession. However, if you have a broaderwider perspective, you might take a cross-disciplinary major, which is offered by many colleges, allowing you to tailor courseworkcourse work to your own particular needs.
Self-Assessment: Considerations for students to reflects on their preferences and abilities
● Align your skills, interests, and passions with a thriving job market, then pick something that you’re good at, interested in, and in demand.
● Equally beneficial: Some combination of “yes” to the following questions:
1. Does the coursework listed in the catalog for that major interest you?
2. Does it challenge you, but you still do well in your major classes?
3. Does it look like it could lead to a rewarding career, or at least have good odds of that?
4. Could you earn enough with that career that your first year of income justifies the cost of obtaining the degree (account for student debt)?
● If you answer “no” to three or more, that suggests the major iswrong for you. If you answer “yes” to a couple, that suggests it might be the right major for you, but it’s not a perfect fit. If you answer “yes” to all four, it sounds like a very good fit.
● Keep in mind, most programs in the United States are 120 credit hours. Of those, 60 are university/college requirements and 30 to 40 are in your major. For many majors, that leaves another 30–20 hours for electives or, if you plan your coursework efficiently, to pick up a second major or minor. You can also diversify a bit if you are indecisive. Remember, no major is easy, so it’s much more difficult if you don’t enjoy it
Exploring Resources: Advise on how to gather information
● Your college will have the requirements laid out somewhere on its website. However, there should be several sources for you. Which is why, first and foremost you need to check the catalog of the year you declare your major. It will list all the requirements for courses, hours, and other requirements your proposed major. That is the information that the registrar will go by to determine whether or not you have completed all of the requirements for your degree. Second, you should have an advisor assigned to you by the university or department of your major who will be knowledgeable about the requirements and help you enroll in the appropriate classes in the order that will be most effective (and this is important as sometimes advanced classes are not offered every semester or even every year). Third, you might consider talking to the people in the department that teaches the major you are interested in. If there are multiple choices, students who have taken classes previously can give you some information, ,and professors, can recommend the best course sequence, and even the departmental secretary can sometimes give you insight into what will work best. It is in your best interest to make sure that you are sure that you understand the requirements from the beginning because it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure that you have fulfilled the requirements, not the department or the university.
Practical Tips: Advice on how to narrow down choices
● Let me give you some hints: if you absolutely hate math and statistics, scratch computer/data science and engineering off your list. If you absolutely hate chemistry and biology, scratch healthcare off your list.
● Business has two main disciplines: sales/marketing, which encompasses a marketing major or general business management major – requires more people and creative skills and less computational skills, and is focused on attaining goals/metrics (success) through strategic initiatives; and accounting/finance, which requires fewer people skills but strong quantitative skills – primarily involves analyzing the life value of money.
● As for the arts, majoring in English does not imply an enthusiasm to write nor read (however you’ll do more than a fair amount of both), but a fascination/intrigue to comprehend the many ways in which language is employed to create meaning. Psychology, even if offered in the same college (university is a collection of colleges that all operate under the university’s name, such as College of Arts, College of Science, and College of Business among others), will not involve as much writing and reading, as it does memorization and research.
● Refining your sketching abilities may not be your primary focus, as it is not for many other students looking into architecture, especially when it requires a certification to practice it legally. This typically entails pursuing additional education, such as a master’s degree or extended years of undergraduate studies.
Flexibility: Students ought remain open to changing their mejor if needed
● One can start with broad interests and then narrow them down to a major, or one can begin with a narrow focus and then broaden one’s interests.
● You should keep in mind that it is not at all uncommon for students to change their major. Many fields of study are quite different at the college level than at the high school level, and you may change your mind about passing four years concentrating on, say, Journalism when you learn more about how that means you will be spending your time. Furthermore, you may be inspired by a course in some field that you had never even considered, say Marketing or Neuroscience.
Strategic Planning: More opportunities to make an informed decision once in college
● In American universities you have two years to decide on average, and in that time most students change their minds several times. And again, that’s normal. There are so many directions to go, which can be daunting. But consider what pushes your buttons, what excites you, what interests you enough to search it out.
● Side note: this is why internships are excellent. Not only that they help you get a job after graduation, but they help you know if your major is right for you. Can you imagine yourself getting up for work every day and going there? Do they think you would fit in? Try to get honest opinions from people you get to work with:do you have good prospects in that field? If you can get honest feedback like that, it is invaluable. Set yourself up from the beginning to maximize your future options. That way if you change you can do so without regrets. Once you consider all that’s above, choosing a major becomes fairly simple(r). You’ll just have to find something that you are “one with” before the toughest part begins: immersing yourself into learning.
