Its’s the first day of classes and as an icebreaker your professor tells everyone to introduce themselves.
“State your name, major, classification, and one thing about yourself.”
“Hello, my name Destiny Miles, I’m a sophomore, and I’m undecided… I like pizza.”
Annoying right? You rushed into college because it’s what you’re “supposed” to do, but you have no idea what you really want to do with your life, or even what to get a degree in. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. In fact, according to the Department of Undergraduates at Penn State, “An estimated 20 to 50 percent of students enter college as “undecided” (Gordon, 1995), and an estimated 75 percent of students change their major at least once before graduation (Gordon, 1995).”
Here’s a few tips on how to find the right major for you!
Talk to Someone
Choosing a major can be very difficult especially when you have no idea what to major in. If this is your case the first thing to do is talk to someone. Every university has an advisement office where you can go speak with an advisor about your concerns. Their job is to make you feel comfortable and help guide you through your college career. If you don’t feel comfortable going to an advisor’s office, you can always talk to your friends. Talking to a peer who understands exactly where you are will make you feel at ease. You’d be surprised to see how many of your friends end up switching majors after their first semester of school!
You can Change Your Mind
It’s ok to change your mind! A part of college is discovering yourself, and with that comes figuring out what you like and don’t like. You can be a business major, but after taking an anthropology elective you may want to pursue a career in that field. It’s ok! In most cases, you can go sit with the Department Leader and have them explain everything about the major, as well as how switching majors will affect your courses. More than likely they’ll convince you to change your major and even add a minor!
Search Career Options
Many College/Universities have a Career Services Department. In the career center, you will find amazing resources such as resume/interview assistance, information on internships, and of course career counseling! In career counseling, will have the opportunity to see which Degrees coincide with certain careers. This is a great resource that many students don’t know about.
Maximize your Strengths
What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Are you a numbers person? Do you work better with people? Do you want to impact society? Do you like routine work? Do you want to travel? These are the questions you must ask yourself! Figure out what you’re good at and what type of work environment you want. This will help narrow down which program you should enter.
Choose Happiness!
The most important question you must ask yourself is, “What will make me happy?” If you have a passion for something you’re more likely to succeed in it. People will tell you to go to school for accounting because you will make a lot of money, however if you’re not good at math, don’t want to be in an office all day, or you love history and enjoy speaking, maybe you should consider becoming a history teacher.
Remember if it’s your passion, it won’t feel like work. Good Luck!