Two Tips on Choosing a Major at a Four-Year University

Hello, there! If you're like me, your parents have the financial means to send you to college. In fact, the expectation is that you go to college, even if you don't know what job you'd like to have in the future. You don't really have a choice in the matter, except that you should probably make your parents proud. Here are 2 big tips from me to you, as someone who's come out of the other end.

1. Understand what your career goals are, and equip yourself to get to them.

You might be undeclared as a freshman because everything seems interesting to you, or nothing seems interesting to you. When others find out, they might say, "Oh, you've got time. No need to worry."

Well... that time is going to fly by (at least, it did for me), and tuition doesn't look like it's going to get any cheaper. If you have no idea where you'd like to work, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the job sectors that exist. The list should look something like:

Arts & Entertainment
Engineering
Natural Sciences
Business Administration

Etc.

Visit Monster, Indeed, Idealist, and other job sites to look at job listings and understand what kinds of jobs exist. What kind of responsibilities and qualifications do they ask for?

Use this information to choose a major. You don't have to just focus on the academic field you're most interested in. Think of a specific job, and ask yourself if your major will provide you adequate skills to do the job. For example, if you want to help the environment by working in clean technology, Mechanical Engineering may be a better fit for you than Environmental Studies. If you want to analyze population trends and health outcomes, Data Science might be better than Public Health.

This process can be summed up by asking yourself, "What," and "How."

"What am I interested in? What goals should I make for my career?"

"How do I get to that goal? How do I obtain the skills I need?"

I'm serious about doing this exercise! There are more high school graduates turning to technical and vocational schools because those options are cheaper and equip students with tangible skills that they will use in their career. Many folks also do work in a field that is not quite what they studied. You may not have all the answers after doing the exercise, but it could help jog your mind!

2. Commit to trying new things and gaining real world experience.

This means applying for internships, shadowing positions, study abroad programs, and part-time jobs in school departments that interest you. Not sure what kind of career you want to pursue? This piece of advice applies especially to you!

As a freshman, I made the mistake of being unsure about the future, staying in my room to make lists of Pros and Cons about certain careers, and being too scared to apply for more jobs and volunteer positions. But logically, you won't know what you like or dislike unless you put yourself out there and actually try things! You'll learn a lot about yourself.

Some questions to start off with:

Am I a speedy worker, or am I slow-paced and methodical?
Do I want to work internationally, or in my home country?
Do I enjoy interacting with many different people, just a few people at a time, or do I prefer to work alone?

Note that these questions have nothing to do with a major or sector, but have a huge impact on what kind of jobs you'll be looking for! As humans, we can be pretty bad at guessing what we like and what we won't like until we're in those situations.

And if you don't like an internship or opportunity you pick up? There is plenty of room for redemption. You'll learn exactly what you don't like, and know how to avoid it the next time you encounter it. You might meet friends that can point you in the right direction. Like Thomas Edison said on his way to discovering the light bulb, "I haven't failed, I've just discovered 10,000 ways that don't work."

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If you've got any questions or suggestions to add, just leave a comment below! I look forward to hearing feedback from others!