Simply put, a college major is a specific subject area that a student specialises in while at college. The options for college majors are numerous and wide-ranging in most colleges abroad. For example, as per US News, the most popular majors at Loyola University Chicago include: Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse, Biology/Biological Sciences, Psychology, Marketing/Marketing Management, Finance, Accounting, Criminal Justice/Safety Studies, Office Management and Supervision and Political Science and Government.
With such a vast array of options, “What college major should I choose” can often be a question that causes a muddle in the head. It is a question that confronts all students as they get ready to enter college.
Why is choosing the right college major so important?
Well, choosing the right major is a critical life decision as this would pave the path towards a career that you are likely to pursue, something that would have a lasting effect, shaping future work experiences, your earnings and your lifestyle.
When deciding on which major to opt for, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions. Is it something that excites me? Will it lead me to my career goals? Is it something that I have an aptitude and ability for? In this article, we will talk about the crucial things that you need to consider so that you have absolute confidence and understanding about which major to opt for at college.
#1. Choose a college major based on your passion
“You have to enjoy what you’re majoring in. That is key,” says Erin Moriarty, dean of undergraduate admission at Loyola University Chicago. Your bachelor’s degree will take four years of full-time studies, with a large portion of this time dedicated to your chosen major. If it is not something that really excites you, the whole college experience can get burdensome and arduous to a point of seeming impossible.
On the other hand, if your major is a subject that you find engaging and stimulating, academic work will be a joy. You can join clubs related to your major and find peers who are equally agog about the same major. It can lead to interesting discussions and pursuits in the same field.
“Students should choose to focus their studies on topics they are interested in exploring and on skills they want to build,” Christine Cruzvergara, vice president of higher education and student success at Handshake – a job platform for college students – wrote in an email.
#2. Choose a college major based on what you are good at
Your natural skills and talents are a major determiner of what major to choose at college. If you have an understanding of what you are naturally good at, it will be easy to answer the question of how to choose a college major.
By the time you finish high school, you have a fair idea of which subjects you have been doing well at and that is an indicator of your natural ability in a particular subject. Psychometric tests can also highlight your strengths in specific academic areas.
It is inadvisable to get carried away by popular majors, or majors which are promising with respect to lucrative careers. What is crucial is to understand if you will be able to pursue that major without struggling too much. Just because computer science is the popular major among most of your classmates does not mean that it is something for you too especially if you struggle with numbers.
#3. Choose a college major based on your values
Values would mean what you truly care about. What you care about—and why you care about it—can give you precise direction towards which major to choose.
Perhaps you are someone who is passionate about gender issues or social equality. In that case, a subject in social sciences would be your major. Perhaps a well paying job is what you want. In that case, a major which is known for lucrative jobs at the end of the course could be your calling. Climate change and preserving the environment could be things that get your mojo going. Then an environmental policy major should be your choice.
How to choose a major will largely be answered by what your core beliefs are. Aligning your academic pursuits with the larger cause of what is really important to you will lead to work that is more rewarding and encouraging.
However, don’t get too perplexed if you can’t figure out what your core values are. It is often at the university that you go through the journey of self-discovery and it is the place where you solidify your beliefs and values.
It would be a good idea to get input from your close friends on what they perceive is important to you. They are closest to you and their input on your values could help you see what has been hiding in plain sight.
#4. Choose a college major based on career advice from industry professionals
Usually choosing a major depends on what career you have in sight. If you want to be a software engineer, you would go in for a degree in computer science. If you want to be part of an international forum like the United Nations, you may choose a social science major.
It would be a great idea to get a reality check on what certain careers are all about by seeking advice from industry professionals who can give you the real picture. You have certain perceptions of certain careers. Talking to people who have seen those careers from close quarters may corroborate or crumble the perceptions you have.
In either case, you will have a clear idea of whether it is a career you want to pursue. In a 2017 survey on students who sought advice on what to major in, 84% rated advice they received from people with experience in a field as helpful, and 82% rated advice from an employer or co-worker as helpful.
#5. Choose a college major based on career advice from academic advisors
You can book time with a professional career advisor. Professional advisors have the experience and insight to propose a choice of majors as they have had similar conversations with hundreds of students earlier and have helped them gain clarity on how to choose a major. It may happen that after talking to an academic advisor, you may think of an academic major that you hadn’t even considered earlier.
Many schools also have career counsellors. Consulting them on how to choose a college major would be helpful as they can give you a long-term view of how a particular major would shape your career down the road.
#6. Choose a college major based on your work experiences
Your internship and research programs with various enterprises can reveal a good deal. Think about the work you’ve completed in the past. This could include internships, volunteering, and part-time or full-time roles. What sort of work felt invigorating and fun? What work made you feel uninterested and bored? Which responsibilities felt energizing and which felt boring? Did you like any one area of work which you felt was just right for you?
Ask yourself if you are industry oriented or work-oriented. Is it the banking sector that excites you or are you more interested in a type of work, like number crunching that could be done in a variety of industries?
Conclusion
How to choose a college major is a question that needs to be answered after careful consideration of several factors. You should be able to visualise how the chosen majors will position you for the desired industry and how earnings will be different for various fields over the course of a career. This will help you arrive at the choice of a major which is in line with your goals and objectives.