I started asking people around me what they wanted to do, and half have an idea, others have no idea, and then there are the few that could care less right now. You don't have to know what you want to major in, or exactly what you want to be in life. But you have to have some kind of idea..
They say that if you get a job doing what you love, it wont even be like a job.
Soooo, Here's some tips I found for those of y'all who are lost in wonder of possibility:
It’s inevitable. The ink on your college acceptance has barely dried, but inquiring minds want to know what you’re going to major in. Or maybe you’ve been hanging around college for a couple of years and are still undecided. 100′s of choices and, hey, you don’t have a clue what to choose. Not to worry. Our ten best tips for picking a major will help you turn this major decision into a no-brainer:
1. Pick no major before its time. Usually it’s not necessary to pick a major the minute you walk in the door to college. Lots of students feel pressured – by their parents, by the orientation process, or by what everyone else is doing – to declare their major at first-year registration. They needn’t. In most cases it’s a better idea to take lots of courses, in lots of different fields, before focusing in on a major.
4-Star Tip. There are a few fields in which putting off your decision can be costly. Majors that are highly structured with many requirements that need to be taken in a specific order – for instance, engineering, architecture, pre-med, and performing arts – are often best declared as early as possible.
2. Consider all the options. Especially at large state universities, there are more choices than you can shake a stick at (at last glance at UCLA there were 346 majors, programs, and minors). Sure, you may not really know what it’s like to study paleobiology, international development studies, ethnomusicology, or civil engineering, but you might really want to go into one if only you knew what it was.
How To Do It. Many college websites have lists of the majors offered (and those not offered). And be sure to check out the departmental webpage or departmental office once you’ve located a few possibilities that interest you. There you’ll find not only a description of what you do in that major, but often career information, actual course schedules, and schedules of departmental activities.
3. Pick only after taking two or three advanced courses in the field. It’s always a good idea to select your major only after taking a few upper division courses in the area (you know, the ones with the prerequisites). That’s because, at college, the introductory courses in a field can be a lot more watered down than the real courses in the major. In some fields it can be a surprisingly short step from “That course was kinda interesting” to “This class is totally over my head.”
4. Pick something you’re good at. You’d be amazed to know how often students major in fields they aren’t doing well in, or don’t have the skills for. Try to pick a major that you’re doing well in, and avoid choices in which you’re falling flat on your face.
Rule of Thumb. Getting lots of A’s in a field = good choice of major. Some A’s and some B’s = not a bad choice. All B’s = there could be a better choice. Lots of C’s = fuggedaboutit.
5. Pick something you like. You’re going to have to take 10 or 12 courses in your major, so it’d make your life a lot nicer if you actually liked the field. It’s especially nice if you have a passion for the discipline, but a lack of burning desire doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker as long as you have at least an academic interest in the field.
*5-Star Tip. Never pick a major just to please someone else. Just because your parents want you to be an electrical engineer doesn’t mean you should sign up for that major if you find the courses more sleep-inducing than Lunesta.
6. Pick a strong — or at least — decent department. All colleges have strengths and weaknesses: that’s because money and faculty talent aren’t distributed equally across departments. It’s fantastic if you can select a major in which your college has special distinction: you’ll get the best faculty and most up-to-date resources that way. But you shouldn’t feel obligated to major in the college’s most famous departments if you have no interest in those areas.
7. Pick a major for a career you want. In today’s economy – and with the high costs of college tuition – many students are selecting their majors with an eye to the eventual career prospects. Unfortunately, quite a few students do not take enough time to consider whether they actually want to do the career they’re planning for. Often it’s only when they are a short step from graduation (or even just-graduated) that the true moment of horror and dread sets it: They’ve been studying four or five years to be a dentist, and the last thing they ever want to see is a tooth, much less gums with gingivitis.
8. Pick the right major for the career you want. There’s not always as simple a connection between your major and a particular career. For many careers – such as law, medicine, and business – there are a wide variety of majors you can take, especially ones that teach you good analytic skills. And if your pick a major because you think there’s a straight path from that major to your intended career, be sure you’ve gotten it right. We’ve recently seen a student wanting to teach on the college level but taking an education degree intended for elementary school teachers; and a would-be missionary planning to major in anthropology (a field in which missionizing is a completely verboten).
9. Don’t pick “(e) — all of the above.” It’s quite the rage these days for students to amass as many majors as they can – sometimes double and even triple majoring (while throwing in a minor or two). It can be helpful to have a double major if the two fields enhance your skills for a particular line of work – for example, Chinese and international relations, or economics and environmental science, or business and psychology. But avoid double majoring just because you can’t decide or because you have two (totally unrelated) interests.
5-Star Tip. If you’re thinking of taking a minor just out of interest, you might do better just signing up for four or five courses that interest you, rather than picking the official, pre-packaged minor that typically includes many unrelated courses within the field. Why not have it your way?
10. Ask someone who’s been there. Often the best source of information is an advanced undergraduate who is currently enrolled in that major (ask the undergraduate adviser for a recommendation, if you don’t know one). Once you’ve located your partner in crime, be sure to ask him or her who the good professors are, what courses are ballbreakers (and what to do about them), and what out-of-class activities (internships, conferences, study abroad, etc) he or she has found most useful. Nothing beats advice from one who has been when you’re trying to go!
*** Bonus Tip. Stay calm. Don’t drive yourself crazy thinking that your choice of major is a bigger commitment than it is. Your major does not freeze your future or put you onto a career path from which there is no escape. Department of Labor statistics show that the average US worker changes careers three to five times in their lifetime. So relax. Make your best pick, and enjoy where life takes you.
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