Choosing a major for college is a difficult task for a lot of people – that’s why a significant percentage of undergraduate students in Freshman and Sophomore year are undecided. You first have to understand what disciplines you are truly interested in, then analyze what career opportunities there are for you, and, finally, contemplate if the prospective careers are paths you want to take for your future. I’ll briefly summarize each facet:
• Say you took six classes each semester in high school. In the course of four years, that would have given you the opportunity of exploring 48 different subjects. Sure, you may have taken math and English classes multiple times, but in any case, you had a number of opportunities to see what subjects interested you. If you’re in a situation where you don’t know what major to engage yourself in, think back and see what interested you. If you did well in a class, there is a high chance that you also enjoyed that class, or at least the subject being taught. Even if you can only think of three classes that interested you, that’s enough to get you started. However, let me offer a word of caution: hobbies should not be mistaken with potential career opportunities, but it is ultimately YOUR decision.
If by the time you get into college you have no clue on what interests you, then it’s perfectly okay. You will likely attend your university as undecided, which will allow you to explore some general education classes. You will also meet a lot of people that may sway you into, say, chemistry classes; if you enjoy those classes, you may decide later to major in chemistry.
• You love chemistry courses? Great, now go do some research online and see what opportunities there are once you graduate with it as your major. You may find that none of the career opportunities seem too interesting to you; however, don’t let one day of research to you. You may find that over the course of a few months, you realize there are plenty of other professions that you did not know about. Always keep your early interests in the back of your mind.
Grad school is an important step that some college students take before starting their jobs. If you’re interested in obtaining a PhD, going to medical school, or law school, then your options will be multiplied.
• Unfortunately, simply being fond of a certain career often won’t cut it. You will need to thoroughly investigate work hours, salaries, where you will have to work, job requirements, etc. After job interest, salary is what people often label as the most important. With a college education, you will make much more than anybody without a college education. However, with the poor economy, older workers with more experience are losing their higher-salary jobs and taking lower-salary jobs (because as it turns out right now, some money is better than nothing). As a result, a college graduate has the possibility of making a good sum of money, but it is very difficult to find jobs with an adequate salary. If you are reading this right now and have yet to attend college, then there is a high probability that the economy will be fine by the time you are a senior. If not, then grad school is still there to help you ride out the recession, if necessary.
I don’t want to offer a bleak view of the future of college graduates, but it is only a bad future if you do not put effort into your college education. The more you put in, the more you get out.
