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Our Advice to You
Match your interests to your major and your major to your career goals, but don’t limit yourself – don’t buy into “hardening of the categories.” We hope that the following suggestions, based on what employers value, will help you develop effective ways to explore your interests and cultivate your potential.
- Consider any volunteer or community service work you did before college – Did you witness working professions who you admire, make connections, and develop organizational and leadership skills?
- Participate in extra-curricular activities while in college – Do volunteer work, join student organizations, especially ones that focus on a specific field of interest
- Network with other students – Talk to upperclassmen about their choices, their feelings about their major programs of study, and their work experience
- Attend career fairs and workshops – Sponsored by your school, meet recruiters from various industries and learn about the multitude of options available to you
- Consider declaring a minor – Increase your exposure to curriculum that might cross-pollinate with your major interests.
- Explore internships and job shadowing – Nothing substitutes hands-on experience
- Apply for summer jobs – In your field or in a field you’d like to consider
- Take supplementary courses – Those electives that may not completely match your major field can expand your worldview. Look for courses with a service learning component – another way to apply theory to practice.
- Ask your advisor about:
- His or her own professional experiences and connections
- Web pages hosted by the college that focus on matching majors with careers
- Whether your career goals may benefit from education beyond a bachelor’s degree
- Visit the Career Services office – There’ something about one-on-one counseling that cannot replace online searches. But visit their web pages, too, for current news about career, transfer, and other related subjects.
Remember: being in a particular major isn’t a magic formula – it won’t guarantee that you’ll actually find a future occupation in that field.
On the other hand, lots of satisfied people in the workforce have majored in fields that are either somewhat or completely unrelated to their current careers! Nevertheless, college life ensures that you’ll acquire the skills you need to succeed in the workplace.