Most young people dream of a dozen different careers long before they reach college. Kids get excited to be teachers, veterinarians, firefighters, et cetera. Before the age of ten, I’d planned out plenty of dream jobs: engineer, restaurant owner, writer, mathematician, and teacher. Now I’m entering the field of book editing. My point is that deciding what you want to spend the rest of your life doing takes a long time for most people. So when colleges ask you to pick, it can be super intimidating. This blog post is meant to help choosing a college major easier.
A Grade Ahead does not forget about older students who may be thinking about their future majors, offering enrichment programs for those in 7th grade, 8th grade, and high school!
Identify Your Interests
In the Classroom
What subjects do you like in school? Of course, that’s the million-dollar question. But you can pick the question apart further. Most students are used to thinking about disciplines as the few big subjects they’ve always learned: English, math, science, and history. Dissect these subjects into more specific disciplines. Science is chemistry, biology, physics, et cetera.
Now, dissect it again! You’ve got neuroscience, biochemistry, animal sciences, anthropological sciences, atmospheric sciences, and a hundred other science majors you could consider, particularly if you attend a large college. All of these fields have different professional roles within them. There are literally a million professions out there. Don’t feel discouraged if you haven’t found your niche yet.
Outside the Classroom
What do you enjoy outside of school? What are your hobbies? Reading, athletics, pottery, and other hobbies can lead you toward your niche. For example, pottery involves designing, creating, and working with your hands. Aspects of your hobbies can help you identify your career interests. And if you really love your hobby, maybe that can become your career all on its own.
Also, don’t forget you have the opportunity to study more than one thing. That’s what minors are for. I love learning languages, so even though it’s not directly relevant to my career path, I have minors in Spanish and Russian. Not everything has to turn into your career.
Talk to People
With Experience
If you’ve found a career you may be interested in pursuing, see if you or your family or friends know someone in the field. Set up a meeting or phone call to ask them questions about what they do and how they like it. Getting a real person’s perspective is super informative.
With Advice
There are people at your school whose job it is to set you up for success. Teachers and school counselors can absolutely give you career ideas. They can help you identify your skills and interests, and they can help you research college majors.
Declare a Major
If you find too many things that interest you…
Pick one of the ones you like best, and don’t sweat it if you end up changing your mind. You can absolutely switch your major if you find something you’re more interested in. Even though picking a college major feels permanent, remember you are not locked into your decision.
If you can’t find anything that interests you…
Most colleges allow students to complete a couple years without declaring a major. If you really aren’t interested in anything yet, declare yourself undecided. You’ll still take General Education classes, and you can explore more than you ever have before. One of the wonderful aspects of college is that you’ll have way more opportunities to diversify your education and experiment. Just because the disciplines you were introduced to in high school don’t interest you doesn’t mean the disciplines you’ve never even heard of (until college) won’t interest you.
Remember there’s less pressure right now than you think, and good luck as you start making big, adult decisions. Let us know in the comments what fun career paths you’re considering! Have they changed since you were a kid?
Are you wanting even more when it comes to education for your child? Take a free assessment, or contact an academy near you to get started on a fun and unforgettable educational adventure with A Grade Ahead today!
Author: Grace Heberling, Teacher at A Grade Ahead, Inc.
