It’s just about that time of the semester, class registration for the Fall! With this often comes the overwhelming fear of having to decide on a major. Some people know what they want to do after college before they even start, and for others it takes a long time to figure out which major would be best for them. Many colleges offer numerous majors and minors from which students can choose. Everyone contemplates their major or minor at some point usually because of a particular class that they don’t feel they are doing their best in or other events at the time that make them rethink their career path. Don’t worry you will figure it out.
Here are 8 steps that most people go through when deciding on their major, their minor, or even another major:
1. The first step starts with researching degrees that are appealing and could lead you to your future career. Since there are usually a lot of majors to choose from, it can be hard to concentrate on just one field of study.
2. After narrowing down which major consists of most of your interests, it’s best to think, what skills do I already have that would be applicable to this field? For most people, it’s hard to know their best skills. Some people may have a lot of great resume builders already, but others may need to emphasize more on this part of the process.
3. It’s always best to begin with an introduction class to see how well you would do with that major, so taking elective classes is a good start. Some classes might be easy and others may be hard. If it’s hard, it’s easy to wonder how everyone is doing in that class; this happens quite often, especially at the beginning.
4. Then when you try to participate, sometimes your idea of what’s going on, could be different than how others view it. This escpecialy happens when one particiapates in class and others answer differently.
5. Sometimes this can make one feel like it’s best to just give up, but don’t. It may not feel like the right path yet, but don’t make that huge decision until you receive your first grade.
6. Everyone loves that glorious moment when they actually got an okay grade from their first assignment. It gives hope that they could actually pass the class or even set a path for their future major. If the grade is not the best, there are still plenty of chances to bring your final grade up.
7. If taking that class, despite your grade, has inspired you to take similiar classes, then you may have discovered the best major that fits you!
8. For some people after this point, they will decide on a minor, or even another major. It depends on the person and their interests. For some people this may be an easy task to accomplish adding a minor or another major because they might have more time in their schedule to do this. For others, it might be the best option or route to avoid this process.
Remember to not give up when the class seems to get hard. It’s college, it will challenge you. Be sure to learn from your mistakes and learn more about yourself. Sometimes the most unique classes are the ones that show you what you are capapble of and what you could work on. If you decide on a minor or another major, think about what you think would be a great addition and asset that could help you with your potential future career.