Graduating from high school and beginning college marks a very crucial time for a student. They go through a series of major changes, including their place, friends, family, etc. One may also find challenges alongside these changes. One of the biggest ones is to choose a major for college. This may not be something that a student is prepared for, but it is something that one has to eventually decide. The major decide one’s future, qualifications, excellence, career, and life to a great extent. It is not just a difficult decision but also an important one.

Many students struggle with the choices and find it difficult to decide. Many factors should be considered while you decide on a final major. It would help if you weighed the career prospects, interest, time the subject demands, understanding, financial implications, etc. Deciding a college major is a huge commitment towards our future and also a great investment of time and money in our career. One must not make this decision uninformed.

Thus to help students with this decision, we have come up with a few points to help them decide better. Below are the factors that should be considered while you are struggling with the choice of major.

Finding fulfillment

We all have a story of what we wanted to be when we were kids. It is now the time to consider all the professions that might have crossed your mind. One has to know what profession or career makes them most fulfilled. The answers to one’s question, “What do be,” changes every year, sometimes even faster than that. Following your long-desired passion gives you ample time to understand the scope of the profession. This time also helps you to understand the implications of your career in your life. Your profession gives a direction to your life.

Hence starting early helps you a lot to decide which path to go on. If you want to have a career in computer sciences, you must start early with coding. If you want to go for journalism, you should start writing and work towards your interpersonal skills from the beginning.

Thus the first step towards selecting a major is to decide what life you want for yourself. You can also take personality tests, and based on the traits; you can decide which career can be best suited for you.

While this is difficult to decide, ask these questions every time you decide on a career.

• Whether you are inclined towards innovation or problem solving of the existing businesses?
• Do you like to travel and explore during your job, or you prefer an office or confined place?
• You should ask yourself whether you like to be in the frontend of a job or at the backend.

These questions will help you decide what brings you joy and fulfillment. They will help you eliminate the options that will not give you happiness in the longer run.

Earning potential and employability

You spend quite a hefty amount while studying at your college. Hence it is important to consider the earning potential of the respective career path. Sometimes your expected potential doesn’t go along with your interests. Hence you must compare the expected monetary growth with the generally offered growth.

Careers in math and sciences like engineering, research, computer sciences, etc. offer great earning benefits. At the same time, majors in arts, philosophy, or social work do not give hefty earnings. Advanced degrees also play a major role in deciding the earning potential.

Many times, employability also has to be considered. One has to see what are the trends and what profession is in high demand. Professions like nurses and teachers are always at the high end because of societal needs.

Hence one should compare the trends in the industry with their interests to make an informed decision.

Exploration and professional advice

Sometimes when you can’t decide if a profession is good for you or not, you can have an experience while trying it out. You can go for training and internships offered for the work in those fields. This will give you an inside picture of life in that career. You will also be able to understand whether or not you enjoy the work. If you are looking for a social services career, you can go for a social internship for a few months. You can do internships for various other professions as well.

Being a student, you need professional advice when it comes to deciding on college or majors. Sometimes you may not know your potential. In such situations, career counselors help a lot. They look for your performance throughout the year, your grade cards, your interests, and then they give you a brief expected outcome of the available career paths for you. They speak with experience and hence can tell you a lot about many available options. They navigate you through one-on-one interactions and tell you about your strengths and weaknesses. This will help you understand the academic opportunities within different majors.

Footnote

We hope these factors help you while you choose your major. Apart from these, you can also look for scholarships that are available in the respective major. Scholarships also help in deciding the major as they help you in saving your college costs.

Deciding a career can be challenging. Hence we, at Miles Smart Tutoring, provide you with career guidance and counselling to help you explore your options. We also provide personal tutoring as this is the first step in building the career of our dreams. You can reach us through our website https://milessmarttutoring.com/ and enjoy the ease of finding the right career for you.