Deciding to go to college is usually the first big decision we make as adults. The next almost equally important decision is which major(s) should you choose. Well that’s where I come in. This blog is going to advise you on some things to think about before hitting that declare button. Follow along with a piece of paper, or word, or google docs.
If you want to watch the video instead of the blog here is the video below.
Take a Quiz
There are literally thousands of sites out there that offer quizzes for you to take to decide which major is for you. These quizzes can be based on personality, ambitions, and generic, what interests you, questions.
I would take these quizzes first to get an idea of what “The Man” thinks you should major in. If you take five quizzes and three of them say you should major in genetics, then it may be worth a few extra clicks to research what a genetics major does and the jobs they take after graduation.
On the flip side, I would take the quiz results with a grain of salt because forty questions can only scratch the surface of who you are as a person. I took some of the quizzes to see what they said I should…or shouldn’t have majored in. Not naming any specific sites, but out of the three quizzes I took (Well four because one quiz results were behind a paywall and I thought that was wild) the results that I got are below.
- Environmental Policy
- Engineering
- Secondary Education
So use the quiz as a kickstart to see what they say. But at the end of the day I would not base my major solely on the information that they provide. Take the time to start a list of some of the majors that quizzes or people have given you. These are majors that they think you will excel in.
What Are Your Interests?
One of the most common ways people choose their major is they take what they are interested in and find the major that correlates to that interest. Let’s dive deeper to see why that may not be the best way to pick a major.
What are you good at? This can be a subject at school, a hobby at home, or even persuading people to follow your environmental cause. I believe everyone has a gift, and if you can find a major around that gift it’s almost like a match made in heaven. You will be able to find the work easy and enjoyable because a lot of the information would come easy to you.
This can also work with something you are really passionate about. Let’s say you are against (or for) Environmental Policy. Well in order to further your cause it would benefit you to get a degree with that major to better help your passion move forward.
It’s time to edit that list you started earlier. If you go through the list you might notice that some of the majors from the quiz don’t pique your interest. So scratch those off of your list. Let’s then replace those majors with some that are focused around your interests, in or out of school.
Will They Hire You With This Major?
When picking a major it helps if you think beyond college. You have to ask yourself what do I want to do potentially for the rest of my life. Because the point of declaring a major is that you can become employable after college. That is the main goal here.
You have to look at this from a different angle. You have to ask what society or the industry needs. Do they need more doctors and nurses, or more secondary educators? To find that answer it’s going to take some digging on your part. You have to do some research, I’ll give you a hint. You need to look and see which industry is going to start having the most people retire in 5-10 years. Because those are going to be the people that need to be replaced.
You can also approach it in the sense of how society and the industry will change in the next four to five years. Ten years ago it was almost unheard of to have an influx of electric vehicles on the road. But now most automakers are pledging to have 100% of their cars be fully electrical by a certain year. So to help with the increase of electric vehicles they are going to probably hire more electrically driven majors in the future.
Take that list that you have and start cross referencing it with who will have the most job openings when you graduate from college in 3 – 5 years. And number the majors you have from most job openings to least job openings. Some majors should start standing out from the others.
Financial Sound Major
One of my favorite topics to discuss on this blog and specifically with this subject is the financials of choosing the right major. Not only should you be able to get a job when you graduate with a major, but the major you choose should make the most sense financially.
When you decide to go to school most of the time you don’t have the funds to pay for school in its entirety, you will either have to take out student loans, or have your parents take out a loan to pay. Maybe you don’t, maybe you have enough scholarship or financial aid to pay for school. But keep reading because this will still pertain to you.
The job you get after school should be able to pay for your lifestyle AND whatever cost was associated with getting that degree. I’m going to repeat it in a different way. The investment that you make for your degree should see a positive return in your career.
Now you may ask what I mean by that. I’ll give you an example. So let’s say you want to major in Engineering, and you decide to go to a four year university that costs $10,000 a semester to attend. It’ll take you 4 years to finish which means that degree is worth $80,000. The upside is engineering has a high earning potential. And you can get a job making a salary of $80,000 right out of school with that degree. So you can say that the investment paid off because with $80k you should be able to start the lifestyle you want and have money left to pay back those loans.
On the other end, let’s say you get a degree that is worth $200,000 but can only find a job right out of school that has a salary of $35,000. You can see how that investment is not really paying out due to the inconsistency with the numbers.
I’m not saying don’t follow your dream or your passion with your major, but the finances need to be looked at closely before you declare and graduate. We need to add as little to the ever growing student loan debt as possible. Don’t worry there are going to be more money saving ways to hack college in future blogs. 😉
Back to your list. Let’s take the average time to complete your major, multiply it with the amount to attend any four year school. (to play safe with the numbers) And I want you to compare it to the avg salary that the profession with your major can make in your state. It should look like this
(yrs to complete degree) * (cost of university per year) = Cost of your Degree
Does the salary of your job justify the cost of your degree?
Taking a Minor or Double Majoring
If you are in a pickle and cannot decide between which two majors you want to have, just pick both. Sometimes colleges will allow you to double major with two separate majors. This can be a dangerous game because you will still have to complete the course requirements for both degrees. But it will allow you to become more marketable with your future profession whatever it shall be.
You can also pick up a minor to compliment your major that you are taking. A minor has less course requirements than a major, but it will give you a leg up on your competition for those future high dollar jobs. Sometimes you can even double minor to broaden your experience in college and become exposed to even more knowledge. It is completely up to your discretion but there are plenty of ways to personalize your college experience.
Looking at your list. Are there two majors that stick out more than the rest? The two majors you cannot decide on. Look up the benefits of double majoring in those fields or taking a minor in one of them. It could give you the leg up further down in life.
Rob’s Opinion
I’m going to tell you the truth. When I was deciding on my major all of the teachers told me I should choose engineering but I never listened to them. I was really good at science and I loved math. So engineering did make sense. The only reason I chose engineering was because I wanted to make a lot of money right out of undergrad. And engineering afforded me that opportunity.
I wish I could have gone through the steps that I am giving you today. It would have made my decision a lot easier looking back. Maybe I could have been a great 11th grade calculus teacher. Who knows.
What I do know is that I am proud of you for making it this far, not just in the blog, but in life. This is a huge step in deciding the rest of your life and it shouldn’t be taken for granted. My advice on choosing some majors are obviously above but some extra nuggets that I have are below
Don’t be afraid to switch majors. I understand you told your parents and friends and family that you were going to be a doctor, but it’s ok if you realize that being a doctor isn’t for you. And if you really enjoy geography, it’s better to be happy than to appease other people. And it’s ok to switch majors up until halfway through your junior year. At that point you should graduate with the major that you have and go back to get the other degree that you really want. But do not be ashamed to change your major.
Also check up a year after you start school to make sure that the major you chose is still interesting to you. It would help to do some internships, or shadow at the office of where you would potentially want to work once you graduate. This is to make sure that you would enjoy doing the work post graduation.
Take the list and revise and edit it as many times as you need to because it’s better to make the right decision than a quick decision.
