Yes, we all know it's a very important thing when you're in college as an undergraduate student. Picking your major is the primary event that dominates your academic time. Anyone who is older than you will confirm this. Anyone who is approximately your same age (assuming your age is somewhere from 18-22, or perhaps 18-21) will confirm this. It is apparent why they will tell you this. Your major usually determines your future career and with it, predicts what you might do with your future life.
I am here today to tell you exact opposite.
Your major is not important.
(It is important to note here that "your major is not important" does not mean, "you do not have to try at college at all." That is an entirely different topic.) What this means is that a slight paradigm shift is needed to fully comprehend this unusual statement. For a moment, imagine a world where you do not care what your major is. What would be the biggest difference? Well the truth is, for most of us, there would not be much difference.
An example is needed.
Let us say I am majoring in English Literature. That's right, i did say Biochemistry. My major is under-water basket weaving. Actually, it's history. Five years from now, I will have a job. That job will be that of a salesman. I can study underwater clams for 10 years or sports psychology for three, but in the end, there is little difference. Regardless of what my major is, the skills I gain from that, in 90 percent of cases, are exactly the same, irrelevant.
This is because academic skills are not the same as marketable skills. Doctoring is a marketable skill. Song writing is less so. Accounting a hire-able talent. No one would ever say the same about a concentration in Ancient Greek sociology.
Of the many careers that people choose, only several can truly be said to be marketable and usable in the workplace right from the start. They are as follows: doctor, accountant, computer science/IT and that is about it. These three jobs, alone, are desirable and in demand, and probably will be for some time. On a resume, they speak for themselves.
The rest all pertain to what you can get and what you can make people want you for.
Not many people will say this, but your degree, your master's, your Phd, your extra-curriculars and whatever else you choose to fill your first resume with, they are simply slots that are used to exclude potential applicants. They get you in the door, and nothing more. What really matters is what you know how to do. What you can sell people about yourself.
On a different note, it is possible within six to eight months for the average person to become a bartender, EMT, computer programmer, cab/uber driver or salesperson. I guess in the end, you shouldn't ask yourself what you want to do in the future. You should ask yourself what you actually know how to do.
Good luck!
