What Have I Enjoyed About My Work Experiences
Your experiences, paid or otherwise, can reveal a good deal. Think about the past work youâve completed: This could include internships, volunteering, and part-time or full-time roles. Which responsibilities felt energizing and which felt boring? Is there a particular area in which youâd like to grow?
Another helpful question: Are you industry oriented or work-oriented? In other words, is there one specific industry that interests you, or are you more interested in a type of work, like communications or design, that could be done in a variety of industries?
Talk To Your High School Advisor
Your high school counselor or advisor may have suggestions on which colleges are most appropriate for what youre interested in. They may also be able to match you with universities where youll have the best chance of being accepted.
For example, Stanford University has one of the top business programs in the country, but the application process is highly competitivethe school has an admittance rate of about 4%. Your advisor can help you decide how to choose schools that best fit your academic performance.
Seek Out An Internship
In addition to offering assessment exams to help you determine the right major, a career services center can also show you how to put what youd learn into action. figure out the best way to leverage student activities and internships to enhance what youre learning in the classroom, Kennedy says.
That last bit about internships is especially important. Theres no substitute for getting out there and trying out a field, Waite says. An internship can give you valuable exposure to an industry and help you determine whether its a good fit for you.
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How To Figure Out How Binding A School Is
How do you find out how binding the choice is? First, search the undergraduate admission site and see whether it offers any guidance or advice for picking an undergraduate school or division. Usually, this will be on the application requirements page.
For example, on Boston College’s admissions page for its majors and minors, it explains that all applicants must apply to a specific undergraduate division. Further down, it gives more in-depth information about what to do if you’re still undecided about what you want to study, or if you’re considering an internal transfer.
If you can’t find this information on the admissions website, search ” internal transfers.” Most universities with strictly defined undergraduate divisions will have processes and policies for students who have already enrolled and decided they want to switch.
If you can’t find any of this information online, look up the contact information for the school’s admissions office and either call or send an email. Also, don’t be scared to contact admissions officersthey tend to be very friendly and helpful!
Once you’ve figured out whether the choice of an undergraduate division is binding or not, what do you do next?
If the Choice Is Binding …
If a university on your list has a binding admission policy to undergraduate divisions, make sure you have other college options that are less strict. You wouldn’t want to get stuck committing to a college or area of study you later decide you’re not interested in.
What Makes A Major A Good Choice For The Future
A future-proof major is one that centers around a skill that is always needed by society at large. So, how do you identify a degree that supports you in a successful career throughout your working years? You could enter into one of the STEM fields as the demand for people with a STEM education will always be strong. But what if you dont have the aptitude for these fields? How do you identify college majors that wont leave you struggling to earn a living?
The good news is, STEM fields are not the only types of well-paying college majors out there. The world needs veterinarians, social workers, psychotherapists, and construction managers. These are careers that require a bachelors degree at a minimum and have skills that can be parlayed into other career paths. As you consider the college majors that work best for you, also look at ones that have flexibility in terms of switching careers. For example, you want to become a teacher, but you may find that its not a career for you, and you want to switch to something else. One aspect of teaching is people management, and you can easily switch into a human resources career with a professional certificate in HR.
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Consider A Double Major
If youâre truly torn between two majors and canât decide which to choose, a double major may be a good choice, though you should speak with an academic advisor to understand the amount of time and work involved. Double majors typically have to complete more required coursework and may need to get departmental approval.
Think About Life After College
In addition to previewing majors, study up on career prospects. You can use the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics to find out education requirements, salary information, and hiring projections for hundreds of occupations.
Your research on salaries and job outlook, coupled with a complete inventory of who you are and what you enjoy doing, will serve as your guide , says Chris Posti, president of Pittsburgh-based College Grad Career Coaching.
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What Should You Study In College How To Choose Your Major
major
After months of poring over brochures, visiting campuses, and picturing yourself in different school colors, you finally decided where to go to college. Now you’re asking yourself a new question: What do I major in? College decisions like these can definitely feel challenging.
While some people enter college with a clear-as-day idea of what degree theyll be pursuing, many people dont and thats OK. Know that in most cases, mainly liberal arts, your major is not the end-all-be-all of your career, says Jill Jacinto, associate director of editorial communications for WORKS. Once you graduate and enter the real world, you will be able to explore many different types of jobs and industries.
But you will have to declare a major at some point, so its important to understand the process, and what the decision means. Students should learn all they can about the options that their college offers, Eulynn Gargano, head of test prep and tutoring at FutureWise Consulting, tells Teen Vogue. Can I double major? What options are there for my minors? How late in my college career can I switch my major and still graduate in a timely manner? Asking these questions can not only alleviate the pressure of choosing a major, but often allows students to consider pursuing multiple interests during their college career.
Below are 10 expert tips to help you figure out what to major in.
Arts Majors Are Least Valuable
The financial stage isnt set quite as neatly for those with degrees in the arts. Art-related majors are clustered in the bottom spots of our ranking.
Visual and performing arts ranked as the least-valuable major, largely because the median income for degree holders was just $35,500. In another downside, 3.6 percent of degree holders were unemployed.
Miscellaneous fine arts majors and drama and theater arts majors also ranked at the bottom. These majors had unemployment rates of 4.5 percent or higher and median incomes below $45,000.
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The Ultimate College Majors List: 295 Degrees To Consider
When you get to college, you’ll need to pick a majora specific area of study that you’ll specialize in. Your major can have a big impact on what you decide to do for work, as well as, obviously, how you spend your time in school.
In this article, we’ll give a comprehensive college majors list so you can see what options there are. Review this list of majors so you’re well informed on all the different routes you can take as a college student.
What Are You Good At
Understanding your natural skills and talents can go a long way in helping you make an informed and confident decision when choosing a major. It may be your parents’ dream for you to be an artist, but what if you skew more toward business or the sciences? Just because someone else has a degree path in mind doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
One way of determining which academic fields best suit you is to take a close look at your class grades in high school, as well as your ACT or SAT scores. Doing this can highlight your strengths in specific academic areas.
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What To Do If You Have Multiple Majors Of Interest
Students with multiple interests do not need to narrow down their selection to a single major right away. In fact, there are several pathways for students to follow and explore different fields of study during their collegiate careers.
For example, one could double major or major with a minor. This approach may increase a students workload, but pursuing a double major can expand a graduates future opportunities and possible career paths. Students could also pursue a single major with a minor. A minor is a secondary concentration of study that requires less coursework to obtain than a full major. The minor typically compliments the major, such as an advertising major with a minor in photography.
Students can also major in one subject with the intent to double major or work on a minor. Students dont need to commit to a double major right away. If a student loses interest in one area, they can simply go back to pursuing a single major instead. Students often dabble in different departments as they look for the right fit.
Students can also join campus groups related to their other interests to see if they would like to major in it later on. College presents an opportunity to discover new ideas and meet diverse groups of fellow students. This way, students can feel out a department or major without committing to a semester-long course. Students can check things out by attending department-related campus groups and open houses.
Ology: Highest Paying Bachelors Degrees For The Future
To develop this list article, we first studied other lists from respected publications that identified, in the first instance, the bachelors degrees with the best future salary potential and, in the second, the projected best jobs for the future.
For the bachelors degrees with the best future salary potential, we consulted the Payscale, Glassdoor, and the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
Meanwhile, for the best jobs for the future, we referred to the World Economic Forum, Business Insider, Kiplinger, and Mic.
In order to single out our entries, we first identified the bachelors degrees with the best future salary potential by using the rankings from PayScale, Glassdoor and Georgetown University. These three lists were then collated into one by awarding each degree cited a weighted score. This scoring took into account both the total number of entries on each list and where each degree ranks on those lists. These weighted scores were subsequently combined to give the Degree Ranking for each degree.
Finally, we calculated the Overall Score for college degrees by adding the relevant Degree Ranking to its corresponding overall Future Job Score.
It was on these Overall Scores that the degrees were ultimately ranked the best college majors for the future.
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Capitalize On Your Strengths
As you can see, deciding on a degree to pursue is a process that takes timeso dont worry if you cant decide right away. Now that you have some tips and tricks to help you answer the question What should I study in college? youre well on your way to finding the degree program thats a great fit for your skills and passions.
If you could use a little more help determining which careers align with your skills, take our Career Aptitude Test to help you figure it out!
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What College Majors Are Worth It
Every college major is worth it, even if you dont end up working in the field you studied. There are liberal arts majors who enjoy lucrative careers as lawyers and physicians.
Remember, part of earning your degree is showing employers and graduate school admission committees that you can learn and accomplish your goals. Colleges have certain rules, requirements, and red tape that define how to succeed. Navigating this landscape helps advertise your characteristics of being a go-getter, problem-solver, and finisher.
If you do work in your degree field, all the better. Your education will help you bypass certain entry-level positions and start earning a professional salary.
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Final Tip: Apply To Non
As a final piece of advice, make sure at least a few of the colleges you apply to do not bind you to a major or undergraduate division before you get to campus. Your goal is to have as many options as possible once you get to April of your senior year.
One way to do this is to apply to liberal arts schools. If you really have no idea what you want to study, liberal arts colleges can be good choices, as they encourage students to take a wide variety of classes and don’t expect you to enter knowing exactly what you want to study.
Many universities also just accept general undergraduate applicants. Make sure as you compile your list of colleges that you do your research and see where they stand on binding versus non-binding school/major choices.
To sum up, apply to a wide range of colleges and universities so you’re not stuck choosing between being a chemistry major at one school and an art major at another come April your senior year!
Stem Degrees Are Top But Liberal Arts Plus Grad School Can Also Do It
What is the college degree that you should have gotten? Maybe it’s the one you did get. But sometimes when people are getting out of collegeand they and their friends start hitting the job marketthey realize that the opportunities open to grads with their particular major are not necessarily in the career fields they’d like to go after. Or they realize that the fields they thought they wanted to pursue actually pay a pittance of what new grads with different majors are being offered.
The price of a college education these days is enough to make even the most well-heeled students gulp. So its worth thinking of your degree as an investment in your future, not just the next hurdle you have to get over in order to land that first job.
The most valuable degrees are the ones that not only provide an immediate payoff after college but also afford those who pursue them long-term career satisfaction and the possibility of earnings growth. Here are some degrees that can produce those kinds of resultsand that anyone still in school may want to consider.
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Should You Double Major In College
Undergraduates aren’t necessarily limited to one field of study. Most colleges and universities allow students to double major or even triple major. Normally, students who double major choose two academic fields that complement each other, though you’re not required to do this.
For example, students hoping to establish careers in international business might double major in business management and a foreign language. Other popular major combinations include accounting and finance, engineering and math, political science and philosophy, and criminal justice and psychology.
If you don’t have enough room in your class schedule to pursue two majors, you can also in a secondary subject that interests you.
Consider A Minor Or Double Major
If you struggle to choose between majors that you would really love, you might want to consider a minor or a double major.
This will mean more work, but it can also mean more opportunities in the future.
- Talk to an academic adviser if you are considering this plan.
- Be realistic about the amount of work that youre able to handle and ensure that the workload will truly be worth it in the end.
- Choosing a college major is an important decision, but its not set in stone.
You can change majors, and most adults explore more than one career in a lifetime.
However, to set yourself up for a successful college experience and a successful career, think about job prospects, salary, your passions and talents, and degree requirements.
If you do your research and consider these factors, you will find a college major thats the perfect fit.
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Majors And Graduate School
Some colleges offer advising programs such as premed or prelaw to students who plan on attending medical school, law school or graduate school. These programs are not the same as majors you still need to pick a major.
College students who are planning to continue their education in professional or graduate programs often choose a major related to their future field. For example, undergraduates in premed programs often major in biology or chemistry. They dont have to, though as long as students fulfill the course requirements of the graduate program they want to enter, they can major in any subject they like.
Choose A Complementary Minor
A minor is an excellent way to supplement your major with a focused, but less intensive, secondary course of study. Minors do not have to be related to your major, but it can be helpful to choose a minor that complements your major and adds to your overall knowledge about a broader subject area.
For example, you can major in economics and minor in business administration, or you can major in environmental sciences and minor in plant biology.
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