CHOOSING COLLEGE MAJOR AND CAREER blue%20pen.jpg


Knowing your Options 

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It is important to make an informed choice about your career and/or college major so you are happy with your chosen profession.  Sounds like common sense, but many people choose a career field based on salary alone, or they may have been influenced by a parent to go in a certain career direction.  When people are selecting a college major or career field, they will often "try it out to see if fits" by taking different courses or bouncing from job to job.  Does this sound like you? 

Finding a good fit is important but trying different jobs and college majors out for size is not the best way to determine fit.  This method will cause you a lot of frustration and probably several career and college major changes.

Sometimes college students who use the "trying it on to see it fits" approach, spend big bucks in tuition, books and fees and lots of time and energy in courses that were not applicable to their major.  Ultimately, these students often become disinterested and make bad grades, which may lead to failing courses and dropping out of college. 

As a college student, having a good fit between you and your college major will save you time, money and energy.  You will also stay interested, motivated and focused on your courses.  In turn, you will probably make better grades and complete your college education in a reasonable amount of time.

With proper career planning, you will likely land a job that you will enjoy and make fewer career changes in your lifetime.  Also, people who are satisfied with their career are more productive at work.  Productivity can lead to a satisfied employer who, in turn, will probably reward you for your hard work!  All this happiness, will probably spill over to your personal life!

Do you need help?

You need help, if you can answer yes to any of the following:

  • I don’t have a clue what my college major or career should be.
  • I want to know if my major or career choice is really a good fit for me.
  • I want to learn about other career options.
  • I want to learn more about a career or college major.

Not ready to make a career decision?

What is holding you back? You can’t wait until things are perfect to begin so just get started now! If you have other obstacles that are prohibiting you from getting started, talk to someone you trust or visit a campus Career Counselor.  A counselor may be able to help you with any obstacles you are facing.

Begin your Career Planning Process:

Step 1:  Know who you are and what careers are a good fit for you

  • If you are a college student or plan on going to college, meet with your campus Career Counselor, and discuss how you are trying to make the right choice regarding your college major and career field but need some help. The counselor will take you through the exploration process and give you the tools and information you need so you can make your best informed choice.
  • Some colleges offer courses in career decision making so you might want to enroll in one of them. A course will probably be well worth your time and money if you don’t have a clue about what you want to do.  Some students need a structured and interactive environment to explore careers so a career course is a great idea.  Often these courses can be taken for credit and count towards your elective hours so check with an academic advisor.
  • Identify your values and what is important to you. Know what your work and personal values are and which careers fit those values. There are many values that you can explore (money, prestige, travel, commuting, telecommuting, helping others, etc.)
  • What is your personality? The campus Career Center may be able to provide you with a personality inventory to help you determine your personality type and characteristics along with how those match up with careers. There are also many books on these topics at your campus or local library.  Discovering your personality means learning the following about yourself:  Are you artistic? Are you extroverted? Are you introverted? Do you like working with tools and machines? Do you like to conduct research? Do you like working with people? Do you like to create things? Are you analytical? Are you practical?  Are you creative? These are some of the things that personality assessments will help you discover about yourself along with which careers may be a good match for you based on your personality. 

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most popular tools used to help you identify your personality along with matching careers.  This assessment tool should be administered by someone who is MBTI certified.  You may also take the assessment through online providers.  There is a fee for the assessment and costs depend on the version you take.  If you are a college student or graduate, you may also check to see if your campus Career Center provides the MBTI assessment.

A book that complements the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is "Do What You Are:Discover the Perfect Career for you Through the Secrets of Personality Type" by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Baron-Tieger.  To purchase this book go to the Jobscribble Bookstore and purchase it or visit your local library and check it out.

  • What are your interests? Evaluate your interests and what work activities you would enjoy.  Also, identifying  what you don’t like to do is just as important as identifying what you like.  For instance, some people don't like writing, math, public speaking, sitting most of the day, etc.  So know if your career field will entail any of the things you don't like to do.  Remember to be realistic and determine if you can still manage doing some of these tasks if your job requires it.

"What Color is your Parachute" by Richard Nelson Bolles (Ten Speed Press) is an excellent book which is designed to help your explore who you are and which careers would be a good fit for you. Visit the Jobscribble Bookstore on this website to purchase the book or visit you local library and check it out.

What are your skills and abilities? These include your hobbies, work and academic skills and abilities.

  • What is your potential to learn the skills and abilities required for your chosen profession?  It is important to determine if you have the capability to learn the new job or skill for your chosen profession.  For instance, if you have a bad back then you probably don't want a job that will require you to stand most of the day or lift heavy objects. 

Minnesota ISEEK  Skills section is a great free resource to help you identify your skills.

The Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS) is one of the most popular assessment tools to help identify your interests and skills along with matching careers. At the time of writing, the fee for the assessment was $18.00, which is very reasonable.  To take the assessment, click on the box on their website "Take the CISS Test On-Line".  If you are a college student or graduate, visit your Campus Career Center as they may also provide this assessment.

How much time do you want to spend at work?  Do you want job flexibility? Some job opportunities may give you the lifestyle you prefer but remember to be realistic and flexible.

What type of work environment would you like to work in?  Do you want to work indoors, outdoors, in a big company, small company, Dr.'s office, hospital, etc.  Having a good fit with your work environment is as important as your career choice so make sure you understand the different environments that you can be employed in and determine which environments you would enjoy most.

The Texas Workforce Commission provides a great free on-line resource called OSCAR (The Occupational and Skill Computer Assisted Researcher) to help you explore your values, interests and skills along with matching careers. 

Step 2:  Explore careers and college majors

  • Research careers fields by knowing the job duties, responsibilities, work environments, salary, educational requirements, job outlook, etc.  Helpful resources to help you learn more about occupations included the Occupational Outlook Handbook , O'Net, and CareerOneStop (check out the career videos!). 
  • Get the college catalog and look at the descriptions of courses for majors. Talk to program managers or teachers who teach the courses.
  • Gain experience by taking a part-time job, internship or job shadow in the occupations you are interested in.
  • Join and get involved in clubs or organizations in your field.
  • Conduct informational interviews (meet and talk with people in the field you are thinking about going into and get their feedback and recommendations).
  • Understand what your career alternatives are with various college majors.  Check out the excellent On-line Resource "What Can I Do With a Major In ... by the University of Wilmington, North Carolina

Step 3:  Generate options and consequences (Pros and Cons)

You need to know the pros and cons for each option you are thinking about. What will you have to give up if you take this career? (Time with family, new care, work hours, leisure time). What will it mean for the future?

Step 4:  Make Your Best Informed Decision

  • Before you can complete this step, ask yourself if you need more information If you do, continue your research until you have filled in your gaps.
  • If you have several options, talk it over with your campus Career Counselor. Know that you may change your mind later. In fact, most people change careers several times during their lifetime. There may be several careers that you would be equally happy with.  Despite all your career planning, you may change careers because people are always developing and learning more about themselves over time. The values you have today, for instance, may not be the values your have 10 or 15 years from now. 
  • Make the best informed choice you can for now and begin to work towards your career goals. If you do your homework, you are more likely to be make the right choice and will be more satisfied with your college major and career.

Step 5:  Develop an Action Plan

  • Now you know what you want to do so how do you get there? Make a map of where you want to be and all the steps you will need to take to get there.
  • Make a To Do List with a time-line for you to accomplish each step. Set both short term and long-term goals (next month, one year and five years from now).
  • Your goals should be realistic and very specific and not too broad. Some things that may be on your list include, taking entrance exams, applying to college, saving money, writing a resume, job searching, identifying employers, identifying colleges, identify and obtaining resources needed (financial aid, interview attire, transportation, housing). 
  • Build in an award system for yourself and reward yourself when you achieve your goals! When you accomplish tasks reward yourself with something positive, a movie, CD, a new pair of shoes, etc.
  • Try and find a support person in a friend or family member. You can share your journey with and get encouragement from them.

Step 6:  Take Action

  • You have your plan, but it won’t mean anything if you don’t do something.  So take action and do something! Interview for jobs, fill out job applications, apply for financial aid, etc. Make it happen!
  • Be committed to work hard and stay focused on your goals! Don’t forget to reward yourself when you achieve your goals.
  • If you are having problems with motivation and procrastination, check out motivation section on this website.
  • Even if you get off track for a while, get back on track as soon as you can. Determine what is keeping you from acting and do what it takes to continue to reach your goals.

Step 7:  Evaluate and Modify if Necessary

  • Always take a look at where you are at and it there needs to be any adjustments or changes.
  • You may need to change your direction based on circumstances and you may learn more about yourself and what is best for you during your journey.

Career Exploration Guides:

Download FREE Career and Internship Guides from the U.S. Department of Labor


Also, see career planning books from Amazon!