Choosing a major is an extremely difficult task. A major defines many things in one’s world: the classes you take, the friends you make, and of course the casual fact that you will be doing this job for the rest of your life. However, when the time came for me to declare a major I was unconcerned with these little things, believing that I had it all figured it out.
Due to the fact that I had always enjoyed working with people and watching medical shows such as "House," I was convinced that nursing would be the ideal career for me. The small fact that I had detested every science class I had ever taken failed to even cross my mind. The omission of that important fact is how I found myself sitting in Professor Wischuesen’s 1201 Biology Class.
Three failed tests later, I decided it was possibly time to reexamine my chosen career. Maybe, just maybe, I should choose a major without such a heavy load of science classes. I returned to the drawing board. Should I be an accountant? A journalist? An engineer? Perhaps a wildlife photographer? These daunting questioned haunted me, so I did what any independent, mature college student would do: I turned to the internet. After googling “How to choose a major,” I read through many helpful articles and tips.
The general consensus was that in order to determine the perfect major you should examine the careers that would best accentuate your strengths. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses and the key to picking an area of study is finding a job that would benefit from these strengths and minimize the weaknesses. For example, I had already determined that one of my strengths lies in my ability to work with people and that one of my weaknesses is science. So I began to examine areas of study that includes interaction with people but not detailed knowledge of DNA replication.
Another helpful article suggested paying attention in all of the general education classes. These classes will help to determine which subjects spark your interests and which ones constantly ruin your day. Although you may think that those random humanities are a waste of time and do not pertain to your life, you never know, Landscape Architecture might really speak to you.
Another tip was to talk to professionals in some of the jobs you may be considering. The people who have legitimate experience in these careers will be very informative concerning what the job actually consists of and what a typical day might look like. This particular piece of advice persuaded me to chat with a registered nurse at my sorority’s career night. During this chat, the nurse informed me that she had always enjoyed science classes. Sadly, this disproved my theory that no one actually enjoys science.
And perhaps the most important piece of advice I found was simply to calm down. I’ve already changed my major once and this is only my second semester of college. Many people change majors throughout their college careers. It’s great if you are already sure you will stick with your major; but if you don’t, rest assured that the majority of us are all trying to figure it out as we go along.
