Many of us find it hard to make a decision, especially when it comes to important and pivotal ones. Such a decision might be the choice of a major. The more you worry, the harder it becomes to choose between a few options. This is when you might try to list all the pros and cons of each major. But what if you suddenly realize that you are choosing between the path of your passion and the “wise” or “safe” major option? This blog post will try to help you make the right choice. So, if you are currently choosing a major, keep reading to learn some valuable tips.
Many Paths
When choosing a major in college, it’s important to remind yourself about self-reflection, which allows you to analyze your interests, passions, strengths, and values. For example, you might highly value the ability to help people or animals, and you would want to have such an opportunity in your life. Also, be sure to explore your options – research different majors and academic programs offered by colleges and universities in your location first. After that, you might consider colleges and learning institutions that are more distant. You can also search for the most popular or the least popular college majors to understand the needs of the job market today.
Goals
Consider your career goals, as there might be different career goals for different people. For example, some people would love to succeed in their career growth and become a manager or a team leader with many employees under their supervision. Others would appreciate a rather quiet job with less responsibility or less communication. Consider what is best for you.
Get Help
You can also seek advice and guidance from faculty members, career counselors, and professionals working in the field of your interest. Ask them about their job, responsibilities, and duties and what their typical work day looks like. It might be very helpful to you and affect your opinion while making the decision.
Choosing Passion
Be sure to check if you are suitable for the programs that you like the most and list all the cons and pros of picking this major. Keep in mind that you can change the major in the future in case something goes very wrong, but try to pick the major that you would not need to change. According to a perfect scenario, you should be able to complete your studies and receive your major without making any changes during your academic path.
The Downside
When you choose a major according to your passions, for example, if you like drawing fonts or playing video games, you might see that there are not enough college majors and programs that are suitable for you or that are available. This is a pretty common case for narrow niches and rather unpopular jobs. You may be very interested in repairing antique typewriters, but would you be able to find a job in this field? Think of this when choosing, and try to find vacant workplaces and job ads that would suit your choice.
However, many people working today don’t have passion for their current job, and this is very sad. They might be hating their workplace, hating their duties, and might be hating their career future. That’s why making a choice according to your interests and your likes is very important.
True Passion – True Happiness
Remember that pursuing a passion can lead to an authentic and fulfilling career path. Not everyone can be happy working their normal and common job while having a dream job in mind. Many people don’t succeed due to them being in the wrong place and doing the wrong things. This is what you should try to avoid. Think of the satisfaction and fulfillment that your career of passion might bring you. Don’t forget to be realistic about your expectations and financial gain – some of the specifics should be researched beforehand, and that is where advice from professionals in the field might come in handy.
Choosing Practicality
On the other hand percent practicality means prioritizing career, prospects and financial stability, especially in an increasingly competitive job market. Thinking of the competition is a healthy way to approach the process of choosing a major. For example, high demand for particular specialists can create more student programs and even national grants, scholarships, etc. More narrow niches might not provide so many different options.
Stability Is What We Need?
Many choose their major considering financial stability and stable employment. For example, employment in the sphere of finances and IT is very high and can be called stable for the next few decades. That’s why these college majors are the most popular ones nowadays.
The price and value of college education can be viewed as long-term investment it would require less risky decisions, thus picking more popular and “safe” major options: healthcare, computer, science, engineering, business, and finances.
Valuable Skills as a Bonus
Practical majors, the ones that provide a lot of job opportunities, often also provide students with valuable skills that can be transferable across various industries and sectors. For example, business majors, equip students for jobs where they can put their problem solving skills or teamwork skills to work. This often means that graduating with such a major can provide a lot of financial and employment opportunities in the future, even if not working in the niche of your major.
Finding Balance
One might debate for a long time about passion and practicality. However, the reality is that it’s possible to find a balance between the two. Passion and practicality should be viewed not as mutually exclusive but rather as things that can be mixed together in one major. Your task is to pick the one major that has them both.
So, one approach is to pursue a double major or minor that combines a passion with a practical field of study. For example, if you are interested in environmental issues, you can major in environmental science while also minoring in business administration. This will help you combine your interests with practical skills in management and entrepreneurship.
Another strategy is to experiment with your learning opportunities, such as entrepreneurship, co-ops, or research projects, that will allow you to explore your passions within the real-world job offers. This will be a perfect option for people who are not yet confident about what their perfect and expected job might be like. You can test your career aspirations and build a professional network while gaining experience in the field of your interest. And while you are in the process of reflection and search, you can count on your favorite essay writing team and have your deadlines covered.
Early, you can put resources available to you to use, for example, career counseling services and alumni networks that will provide you with some valuable experience and insight about specifics of particular jobs and the state of the job market for your sphere of interests.
Conclusion
Making a choice is hard, but choosing a major is especially challenging as too many things should be considered. However, we believe that it is possible to find a balance and pick a major that would suit your career expectations and also meet your interests.