“What major will suit me the best?” is a question that haunts almost all students willing to pursue their studies. We are living in an era where we have plenty of options when choosing a career. It comes with a lot of uncertainty too. So, it would be safe to say that this can be a tricky question. It is also a very important one. This choice will play a significant role in shaping a person’s professional skills. Therefore, it is important to consider your passions, future goals, employment rates, and earning expectations while making this decision. Following are some tips that will help you choose a field that resonates with your interests and passions.
- Determine your Interests:
Dr. Holland, an American Psychologist, suggested in his theory that people fall into one of the six groups where they can fit perfectly with their work environment to best use their abilities and values. These categories include realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional themes. According to Holland, people are usually attracted to two or three areas. For example, the social theme involves people who love helping people in various ways. The investigative theme includes people who are passionate about analyzing and interpreting information. They also love to learn new facts and theories. If you are interested in these two themes, then you should go for a degree that will enable you to help people in a professional setting. This can be achieved by opting for a degree in education, psychology, nutrition, medicine, etc. Later on, you can also branch out by going for advanced degrees according to your field, like sports psychology masters programs, global nutrition programs, and so on. It will be fruitful in further polishing your skills in your respective field.
- Assess your Strengths:
After determining your area of interest, move towards assessing your strengths. Select the subjects in which you’ve always performed very well. These days students are mostly good in more than one subject and therefore become confused while choosing a major. What you can do is narrow down the subjects that you love. Pick the subjects you think align with the themes you want to pursue. For instance, if your interest leans toward computer science and physics, then you may want to consider a major like Robotics or Aerodynamics.
- Select the Universities/Colleges:
Selecting a university can be a tedious process, and it depends on different factors, which may vary among students. Some students do this step before selecting their area of interest. Meanwhile, others select their preferred educational institutes after narrowing down their subjects. The ideal way is to select a major before searching for a university because every university offers only a certain number of courses. If you are interested in a major, you should hold an informational interview with any professor in that department. There, you can ask any specific questions about that major.
One more way is by talking to the senior students or alumni of that department. A lot of students are very hesitant to do this, but people are usually more than willing to help young students to help with their queries. So, don’t be afraid to clear your doubts about your major.
- Contemplate your Future Goals:
Every student has certain expectations for the future. If they are investing time and money in any subject, they will surely want to gain benefit from it. That’s partly the reason that some students change their major after a while. Some degrees are in demand more than others and thus will generate more financial gain. A bachelor’s in healthcare administration or psychology will appease your personality of the social theme. It will also secure you a comfortable lifestyle in the future. Contrarily, if you have an enterprising nature and a keen interest in mathematics and statistics, then you should opt for finance and marketing.
You should picture your future and see if this major will help you achieve that. Questions like, “will this be relevant in the future?” “Will I get good opportunities in this major?” and “will I want to do this in the future?” should be considered while choosing a major.
- Choose a Broad Major:
If you want to give yourself more time to figure out what is best for you, then you should choose a broad major. If you have a general idea about your area of interest, then you can choose a broader major. It will you to have flexibility if you want to work in a different area of that field later.
Conclusion:
Choosing your major may have a lasting impact on a student’s life. This is also a question that requires a lot of contemplation. But, keep in mind that many students change their major after learning more about their coursework and getting an insight into their field. There is no right or wrong choice in this. As long as you choose a route that will satisfy your goals, you are good to go.
