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When teenagers are thinking about college, finding a major is one of the first things that comes to mind.
We always hear that changing majors not only stunts your educational process, but it also can put an even greater dent in your college fund, which greatly angers our parents. We want to please our parents by deciding on a sturdy major, but we also want to find a major that suits our wants and strengths. No one wants to dread going to college because he knows that post-college he will be sitting in a gray cubicle, mindlessly typing away until he can go home. We want a career not a job. We want to be excited to go to class to learn new things and then be excited to go to work at an awesome company with people that share your common interests!
When I was researching majors, I began by thinking about what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to work in a very social environment and use my people skills daily. I began to research the communication and journalism fields and what specific majors they offer. I stumbled upon Public Relations and Advertising. At first, Public Relations sounded like one of those gray cubicle jobs. With further research, I found out that I would be promoting products and people and be around people all day. I have always been told that I am great at persuading people, so I know that doing promotions for items would be a fun job! I also found a liking to Advertising; because I love drawing and being creative.
Then I looked up colleges that were known for their Public Relations or Advertising majors. Thankfully, a couple of my college choices were on the list! I was so proud of all the research I had done. I told my parents about the majors and colleges and both of them seemed to shift in their seats. They both felt like these majors would get me nowhere, and I would end up back at home after college. Luckily, I was able to use my persuasive skills, and we were able to compromise on a solution that I would be allowed to major in one of these two majors, if I minored in a safe field like marketing. Now that I have experienced this process, I hope I am able to ease the decision-making process by supplying you and your parents with steps that can help narrow down major choices.
First you and your parent(s) will want to discuss these questions:
- What subjects do you excel in?
- What is your dream job? (Is this reasonable?)
- What do your parents want you to study? (Even though this is YOUR college experience, they can pass down some wisdom and ideas on what they think you can succeed in.)
- Are there any available scholarships, in specific fields, that you could receive?
- Ask teachers and even friends what major they suggest you would succeed in.
Now, once those questions are answered, begin the major-searching process:
- Start by choosing a very vague field. (Such as English, Math, Communications…etc.)
- Look into the general field of studies and see what more specific majors are offered and see what peaks your interest.
- Look at colleges you are thinking about attending and see if they offer those majors. (Your dream school may not even offer what you want. This can drastically change your major or even college process.)
- DO RESEARCH ON POSSIBLE MAJORS!! (Some majors sound cool, but with further research they can appear totally dissatisfying.)
- Research potential jobs that can develop from the said major(s) that you like.
- Lastly, make sure that you are happy about choosing that major. If you are not happy, then your whole college experience can be skewed negatively.
With these steps, you and your family should find a happy medium. Choosing a major defines the college experience and needs to be heavily focused on. What major is chosen decides what classes you will take, which educational circles you will be involved with, and where you will head after college. I hope that my tips will make the college-bound ride a bit less bumpy and more informative. Good luck!
Need help finding a major? Take the College Major Quiz.
