It’s important to identify your strengths and areas where you could better utilize your abilities when you are selecting a university major. When you choose a major based on your core beliefs, you will typically end up with more rewarding and encouraging work. When choosing a major, also consider your values. The college years are a time of trial-and-error, self-discovery, etc.; and people typically develop their values during this time.
Your passions may seem much more like passing areas of interest at first glance, but they are often much stronger than your other interests. In addition to deep interest, passions can develop into long-term desires that allow you to use both your values and abilities in deeply fulfilling ways.
The best way to choose a major is to pursue these passions, whatever they may be, as this usually results in the least amount of second-guessing. Nevertheless, passions may become more defined as you move forward, even after college.
Prior to choosing a major, you should spend time to make sure that you recognize your interests, level of interest, abilities, and the type of understanding and skills you would like to gain and are likely to gain from a specific degree. You should also consider what you want to get from your major in terms of your career preparation on top of everything else.
- Do I want a major that will prepare me specifically for the one career I desire?
- Do I want a major that will offer me broader access to a variety of career options?
- Do I want a major that will improve my chances of acceptance right into a graduate degree?
- Which major will fit me perfectly?
- In which topics am I most engaged? What makes these topics engaging to me?
- How will I continue to develop my abilities and skills?
- Do I recognize the possible career paths associated with each major?
- Do I understand career courses that will fit my interests, skills, and values?
Answering these questions requires deliberately accurate review of your life experiences and one-of-a-kind characteristics.
Choosing a major does not always mean choosing a career. However, some majors are designed to prepare students for specific careers (like nursing). If you have a career in mind, recognizing what majors that will prepare you for that career is the first obvious step. However, students who have not yet identified their passions and future career dreams should keep their options open with degrees that are more widely applicable to the career landscape.