How To Choose A College Major
College is the most exciting time in life. You get to make decisions on your own and live away from home. You even get to choose what to study and start an awesome career after you graduate. Most students in high school probably have an idea on what they would like to do after graduating. However, there are students who are not sure of what they want and enter college with an undecided major.
Going to college with an undecided major is not a bad thing since you will spend the first year taking general courses. In addition, declaring a college major does not mean that you have to be stuck with it. You can totally change your major if you find out that what you chose is not interesting.
Below are tips to help, if you are a student struggling with choosing a major:
1. Pursue diverse general education courses
Taking courses in subjects that interest you is one of the best way to choose a college major. Every college requires a certain amount of general education hours. Chances are that one or two will count for your general education hours and possibly meet the requirements for a higher-class level for a major.
2. Consider taking personality and career assessments
Personality and career assessments are extremely useful tool if you answer the questions honestly. There is a free site where you can take a variety of these assessments. The site is known as www.cfnc.org. The site is affiliated with the state of North Carolina but other students from different states can still sign up. Create an account and access a variety of services such as assessments, career statistics, school information, and college major information.
Taking different assessments will help you choose a college major. This is because you will be able to see various aspects of yourself on a screen. You may establish where you developed such interests once you physical see them written down.
3. Review the bureau of labor statistics (BLS) occupational outlook handbook
BLS is the perfect resource if you want to get a glimpse of the projected job growth for a particular occupation. Some students choose their majors according to average salaries and job growths. If you are one of them, take advantage of this free tool. In addition, you get to review a summary of what a typical work environment is like, various occupations, and similar occupations.
4. Carry out an informational interview
Set up informational interviews with professionals who work in the fields that you are interested in. For example, you will find professors who have experiences in all types of work fields on campus. You can politely ask them for their time and meet them for questions.
Another way is going out into the community. Try visiting local companies or organizations that have the fields that you are interested in. start by calling the main office line and ask the receptionist for a way forward.
5. Go to a career service professional on campus
Colleges have career services to assist you with such things. You are the only one who can make the final decision on what major you want to pursue. However, you can seek advice from people around campus and in your life to help you along the way. Most people overlook the career service centers since you can do most things online. Nevertheless, if you are struggling with your decision, try meeting up with a career specialist one on one.