Choosing a college major is a daunting prospect in the beginning. On the one hand, the chosen major should be a topic of interest, and it should have viable career options. But on the other hand, choosing a major may seem very constraining, especially for students who aren’t sure what they want to do. This article offers five tips for selecting the right major, no matter if you know what you want to do already or not.
Prepare Yourself for a Career
Not everyone ends up on a career path related to their chosen major for many reasons including being drawn in a different direction. But the major in question should prepare you for the reality of working in that field or a similar one.
So take a class or two in the field of study first and see if you can handle the workload. In the case of majors that require advanced study, find a syllabus for one of those classes. If you’re still interested in the subject at a higher level, the major may work for you. You won’t be sure of wanting to become a Personal Injury Attorney in Tampa if you don’t take classes in personal injury first.
If possible, take advantage of any practical experience offered for the major. It’s another way to determine whether the major is the right one.
How Profitable Is It?
Money isn’t everything. But what you learn in college should translate to employment after graduation. So figure out what career possibilities are available for the chosen major, what the outlook is, and how much money you can make.
Profitability is an important consideration. But be careful. It is all too easy to go into a major just because it results in high paying jobs. Things like happiness and genuine talent or interest in the major are just as important.
Avoid Specializing Too Much
This tip applies to life outside of school too. Focusing too much on a specialty within major locks you into a certain path. While having a path to follow is not a bad idea, it shouldn’t be so narrow that you’re left with only a few options.
Staying with one career throughout your working life is not very common. Having a degree that is too specialized isn’t necessarily good for a career after college either. Employers will overlook these types of resumes. While learning skills that are industry specific are valuable, they’re often taught on the job too.
So what kind of skills should you have? Critical thinking is important in post-college career success. Good communication skills and decent writing skills help in the workplace too. Having a solid skill also sets helpful if you decide to move into a completely different job or industry at some point.
Know Where You Want To End Up
A college is a balancing act. Getting a good education is important, but it has to have a purpose. So when choosing a major, make sure that you have an idea of where you want to end up regarding your career. Your entire life need not be planned out. But if you know that you want to have a degree flexible enough to travel regularly, being a biology major might not be the wisest choice.
Talking to your academic advisor, visiting the college career, and doing internet research are all good options for determining how your career, education, and lifestyle will fit together.
Leave Yourself Some Wiggle Room
Understanding where you want to end up is a wise idea especially for this last tip. In majors like physical therapy, pharmacy, pre-law, and others, the classes and curriculum are set. These types of programs often require commitment early on in the form of major applications. If you are positive that this type of major is for you, go for it.
But if you’re not completely sold on a major, don’t commit. Go with something that leaves enough room for change either in major or career down the road.
The tips mentioned here are practical pieces of advice. With them, picking a major is much less daunting or stressful. Except for a dedicated major, it is easy to switch majors should you need to. However, figuring out some of these things in advance saves from spending an extended amount of time taking classes that don’t apply for a job or general skills.