The Major Scoop

Some students may already know what they want to major in when they go to college.

If you feel you are one of these people, that is great. Be sure to still use the Career Services of your college to help fine tune your plans. They can assist you with information about employemnt off campus and may be able to provide the materials for internship opportunities. The reality is that I have met a number of students who are close to graduating undergraduate college and still don't know what they want to major in. If you use your resources, this will probably not happen to you. It takes work to figure out your life. You can only make a BAD mistake if you don't learn from your actions. You are human and mistakes are one of the strongest ways in which we learn.

 

If you are not sure what to major in, ask yourself and others questions like:

  • "What can I do with a degree in (fill in the parenthesis)?"
  • "Are there internships, Service Learning, or Co-Op availabilities at (your college)?"
  • "Can you help me with a resume?"
  • "Does the school have a Career Fair during the year?"
  • "Where can I find out more inforamtion about my career?"
  • "What is the job future looking like If I want to be...?"
Most offices of career development (or counseling centers for community colleges where one stop shopping is available) have inventories/assessment tools that they can give to you (sometimes at a small cost). These "tests" are usefull, but always remember that the assessmnet gives an indication to which profession you may like. Most tests, like the Myers-Briggs or Strong-Campbell, will match the likes and interests that you have with those professionals who thrive and are successful in their chosen profession. For example, if you are a person that likes to speak in front of people, give your opinions, and work in an office setting, business may be the right field for you. To do your own assesment, you may want to try out some of these sites: You will also see that MANY business, Univerisites and Professionals have information out there on the internet. This could be the richest source of information for you. If you kind of know what you would like to do for a career, you could use a search engine, I like HOTBOT and Yahoo, to locate that "company" on the internet. Once there you could look around and see who the staff are, if there are employment opportunities, where they are located, and SOMETIMES there is an employee directory. People like to talk about what they do, and give their opinons on the life around them. Why not try to send an e-mail message to someone who holds a position that you may be interested in. Introduce yourself and ask them if they wouldn't mind answering a few questions for a project you are doing for school/your future, etc. Make a list of things you want to know.Things that are important to you.You may already know alot of things about yourself and what you want out of life. Ask yourself :
  • What is the most imporant thing about my career?
    • Money
    • Job Duties
    • Dress Code
    • Work Environment
    • Social interaction
    • Impact on society
  • Where would I like to live?
  • Do I want to continue with school for an advanced degree (Masters, PhD, EdD, ...)?

To learn more about where your career field is heading check out the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

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