Written by Sarah Reid (Class of 2003)
Besides being asked "where you are from?" a million times in college, the next most popular question has to be "what's your major?" It is always amazing to hear some people rattle off their plans to pursue a double major and minor that they have desperately wanted to do since they were five! I, on the other hand (and like most other people, I'm sure!), have always had trouble answering that question because it is almost like picking out your clothes with the lights off. You have no idea if it will match once the lights are on! Declaring a major is a scary decision when the only other past experience most of us have had is flipping burgers at McDonald's or scooping ice cream in the summer.
All through high school I wanted to go into medicine, but once I got to college I realized that chemistry was not my forte, and I would be in a perpetual state of gloom majoring in pre-med (even though my parents would have been thrilled!). Thoughts of being a lawyer, psychologist, marine biologist, and even an artist drifted through my head. Confused and lost, I turned to my on-campus job (lucky me!) for help: the Career Center. These are some of the survival tips that I have learned from my own experience and others in choosing a major.
Go with your interests.To thine own self be true. Which courses do you enjoy the most? Don't think about what your parents want you to do, what your older brother majored in, or even what your friends are taking classes in…do what you like the best. I came to the realization that English literature, and not science, was what I really wanted to major in. I had a brilliant English teacher in high school, but never really thought all that much about majoring in it at college. However, after taking an English class at Wittenberg, I realized how much I enjoy reading and writing. Hence, I finally declared English literature as my major...whew! If you are having trouble coming up with interests that relate to a specific major, the Career Center has some great assessment tools to help you out.
Research the career fields that you find appealing. Try not to fall into the trap of thinking you can wait until your senior year to learn about career options. Talk to older students about what they want to go into after they graduate, what classes they took, and internships or past experiences they have had. Wittenberg has an Alumni Career Day around Homecoming weekend, in which alumni come back and share their experiences with students. This a great experience to find out more about your major and network with alumni (hey, you might possibly land a great internship or job!). The Career Center has a couple of great sources to help out with your search, too. The Tiger Career Advisors Network is a sortable on-line database of alumni, parents and friends of Wittenberg who welcome students to contact them with questions about their career fields. Focus II is an interactive guidance and information system, which can give current salary, job duties and educational background for hundreds of occupations.
Get involved. College can seem pretty intimidating coming right out high school. It is like taking a trip into the vast unknown. Once a high school senior who was involved in all the sports, clubs, and making straight A's, you now find yourself unknown, uninvolved, and confused (at least I did!). Don't worry, and do get involved. I find that I have learned more from the different clubs, jobs, and activities that I have participated in on campus than anything else. Once you start getting involved with something, other people want you to do stuff for them, and it creates a snowball effect. Then you find yourself so busy that you don't even have time to do your own laundry! However, all of these different experiences help out tremendously when trying to decide a major or career choice. The Career Center talks about the "Power of Experience" -how summer and campus jobs, internships and research projects, study abroad, campus leadership positions, and community service can all build a powerful profile of experiences which lead to a successful job search. The "Power of Experience" also means that in trying out a variety of career-related experiences, a student is going to be exposed to many things that aren't for them, and then something that feels just right.
Just to make even the "still-skeptical-of-my-future" person feel a little better, research conducted at several universities has shown that up to 80% of entering college students are not certain about their choice of major. In addition, sizeable percentages of college students change their major at least once before graduation. Also, remember that an educational decision does not necessarily lead to a vocational decision. For instance, while English majors may go on to use their knowledge in fields like technical writing or magazine publishing, they might also find jobs in human resources that would be just as satisfying. As a matter of fact, if you surveyed a group of workers you would find a large number work in jobs that are unrelated to their academic majors. So, there is really no need to feel "locked" into a particular career path because of your major.
Whatever you do, don't wait until you are in a panic over having to declare a major-call 327-7521 or stop by 210 Shouvlin (8am-noon, 1-5pm, Monday-Friday) to schedule an appointment soon.
