How to Choose a Major

It is much more difficult to pass up fun, social activities and focus on your studies if you are undecided about what you want to major in and do with your life.   Also, there is a lot of pressure from colleges and universities to declare a major early in your academic career, but making this decision often is hard.  Here are some things to do as you start to explore your options:

If your institution has a Career Center, take advantage of that.  The people there are trained professionals to help you with this decision and can give you expert guidance and advice.

See if there are any Career Exploration classes available.

Take advantage of computer-based inventories such as the Myers Briggs.  That particular one will lead you to consider such things as whether you like to work with people compared to more independently or if you like a fairly rigid schedule compared to a spontaneous and flexible one.

Listen to your heart.  What are you doing when you feel the most fulfilled and excited?  In the past, what have you done when you felt very satisfied about your day?  Can these be incorporated into a career or will they be your hobby and recreational activities?

Look at the government websites about job availability and future growth.

Read the course descriptions in your college catalogue.   Which ones sound interesting or boring?  That could give you some information about what you are interested in.

Over break or vacations consider shadowing people in various careers.  You want to know what they actually DO on a day-to-day basis as opposed to how glamorous their job sounds.  (This may take a little work to find these people.  Ask your parents’ friends, your friends’ parents, people from your church, people you talk to on a regular basis.  Most people love to share what they do and are very willing to help a young person along in their career choices.)

Many people are working in a field different from their major or only slightly connected to their major. 

Remember that some of the most important things you will learn in college include critical thinking, independent learning and problem solving.  These skills transfer across all areas.

Good luck!