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4 Myths About College Majors
After high school, students are often asked, "What college
are you going to?" The follow up question they may dread
is, "And what is your major?" Choosing an academic
major is an important decision and there are some common misconceptions
about majors and their relevance to a person's career. Let's
examine a few:
1. It doesn't matter what you major in.
It does matter. People who work a plan are more likely to
succeed. This topic of college majors intrigues the media
from time to time. Instead of focusing on the advantages of
self-awareness and informed decision-making, they too often
highlight celebrities who have been successful in spite of
their college major or lack of education. Unfortunately, the
story about the 51% of adults in the U.S. who are dissatisfied
with their work because of ill-fitting jobs is depressing
and gets lost. This job dissatisfaction is the result of using
the trial-and-error method and giving little or no attention
to making a plan.
2. You can get a job with any major.
There are jobs where the employer does not require a bachelor's
degree in a specific major and that offer training on the
job, but those numbers are shrinking. Employers today want
to hire the best prepared candidates who don't need training;
smaller staffs and tighter budgets demand it. Goal-oriented
students who have combined coursework with career-related
internships most quickly catch the attention of recruiters.
3. Choose your major based on your favorite subject.
This strategy can certainly work, but just because students
like their coursework, it doesn't mean they know the kind
of career that is best for them that uses that major. Many
students enjoy history, but if they don't want to teach, jobs
as historians are scarce (3,000 in the U.S.) and often require
advanced degrees. Psychology is also a popular undergraduate
major; yet few students realize that most jobs in psychology
require a master's degree or Ph.D., an additional 2-5 years
of school. Better to find this out at the front end of the
decision-making process rather than the last semester of college,
so the need for additional education can be taken into account.
4. Changing majors isn't a big deal.
When changing majors comes up as a topic of conversation,
it's usually accompanied by embarrassed laughter. However,
it's no joke when students make a series of poor choices,
lose confidence and motivation, and struggle through college
lacking any direction.
When a bachelor's degree takes six or more years to complete,
as it does for a third of the student population, families
struggle with unexpected college expenses and students bury
themselves under student loans. In a pinch, students cobble
together a major just to graduate, and then attempt to find
a job, still without knowing what they want to do. Students
lose income they otherwise would have been earning if they
had graduated on time, and society loses their productivity
and contributions in the workplace.
Myths can be dispelled with factual information. To ensure
student success in higher education, this means making informed
decisions based on solid knowledge about oneself, occupations
and work trends, and putting a plan into place.
© Copyright 2008, Career Vision. Article may be reprinted
with permission.
Direction.
Decisions. Satisfaction.
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