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did your major have a big impact on career choice?
#college-major #career #career-choice #major #career-counseling
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11 answers
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Joseph’s Answer
Personally, yes, but not completely. Over here, we have a slightly different system, where most people pick just one degree subject to study rather than a major-minor system, but essentially you could say I "majored" in Astrophysics at undergraduate level. By the end of the degree, I was finding the astrophysics a bit too challenging, but I did enjoy some of the lectures on the nuclear side of things, so I stayed within Physics but added a Masters in nuclear technology, which strongly shaped my choice of career since. For a lot of people, that's roughly similar; they end up in related fields to their degree, but often not exactly what they studied.
However, there's also plenty of careers that require (or at least strongly prefer) a degree, but don't strongly mind what it is; and also plenty of subjects where there's not many jobs exactly in that field (especially in the arts and humanities) and most students are expected to move to different fields. College/University education is about more than just what you study, there's also a lot of general life skills learned which are useful in a wide range of workplaces.
However, there's also plenty of careers that require (or at least strongly prefer) a degree, but don't strongly mind what it is; and also plenty of subjects where there's not many jobs exactly in that field (especially in the arts and humanities) and most students are expected to move to different fields. College/University education is about more than just what you study, there's also a lot of general life skills learned which are useful in a wide range of workplaces.
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Scoty’s Answer
Certain majors have tracts. So I am a nurse, in that route your major would be nursing, or pre nursing before accepted to a program.
Your major will be an area of study that you will be required to take classes in to graduate. But, you could major in music and still take classes to get into medical school. My wife majored in biology/ zoology and minored in French. She is now in medicine. I majored in psychology/nursing/ French and I am a nurse. Choose a major in a subject you enjoy, you will figure out what your career aims are along the way. You are not stuck once starting.
Your major will be an area of study that you will be required to take classes in to graduate. But, you could major in music and still take classes to get into medical school. My wife majored in biology/ zoology and minored in French. She is now in medicine. I majored in psychology/nursing/ French and I am a nurse. Choose a major in a subject you enjoy, you will figure out what your career aims are along the way. You are not stuck once starting.
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Stephanie’s Answer
Hi! Absolutely not. I majored in Psychology and spent the first 10yrs of my career in finance. However, the skills you learn in college can help you excel in any career. Employers don't care about your major as much as they care about your experience and interpersonal skills.
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Michael’s Answer
I have a degree in English with specialties in 19th century British literature and creative writing. What I hoped actually turned out to be true. I worked in the Medical field, Insurance, and software development / installation. I also managed people. My degree helped me to understand people and develop relationships with people, clients and co-workers. It also helped me in my communications, both oral and written. My degree also helped me understand how to think. I was always happy that i received my degree in English.
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Lauren’s Answer
Hi Marquis,
Great question, and one that I wondered about when I was beginning my career exploration. I have a BA in Literature, and what made me pick that major was my love for writing. After I graduated, my primary goal was to start working and earning money - student loans were right behind me! The job I took was temporary, stocking office supplies, and before I knew it I was working full-time as an administrative assistant. This was not even close to what I thought I was going to do.
My career path has had a lot of twists and turns, but what I do think the most valuable part of my college education was learning how to accomplish goals. In school you get presented with classes and assignments that can feel intimidating and push you out of your comfort zone, and if you want to maintain a certain GPA, you figure out a way to meet those challenges. Those lessons have served me well for my entire career.
I always envied the people I knew who ended up working in a field that was directly tied to their major - people like accountants or teachers. But there really is no difference - both paths can bring you success!
Great question, and one that I wondered about when I was beginning my career exploration. I have a BA in Literature, and what made me pick that major was my love for writing. After I graduated, my primary goal was to start working and earning money - student loans were right behind me! The job I took was temporary, stocking office supplies, and before I knew it I was working full-time as an administrative assistant. This was not even close to what I thought I was going to do.
My career path has had a lot of twists and turns, but what I do think the most valuable part of my college education was learning how to accomplish goals. In school you get presented with classes and assignments that can feel intimidating and push you out of your comfort zone, and if you want to maintain a certain GPA, you figure out a way to meet those challenges. Those lessons have served me well for my entire career.
I always envied the people I knew who ended up working in a field that was directly tied to their major - people like accountants or teachers. But there really is no difference - both paths can bring you success!
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Adam’s Answer
Hi Marquis:
For me, yes, my major did have an impact on my career, although not in the way that I thouhgt.
When I first went to school, I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer. While I did not declare a major right away, the more I got into school, I found that this was not for me. Next, I thought that I wanted to be in politics...so, I declared my major as political science. As I went through school, I pinpointed my like as Public Administration. I wanted to have rules/statutes/contracts to read interpret and follow as I worked. As I finished school, I started working in a state senator's office. While the work was okay, I didn't find any passion in it. Due to this, I tried to get into HR/Labor Relations so that I could work with policies and union contracts to administer benefits or manage the workforce. As I was investigating that, I fell into Workers' Compensation and I have been here ever since (25 years). I get to take each state's statute and apply it to claims and appropriately administer benefits. As i progressed through my career, I did all aspects of the job until today where I manage a medical bill review department for a national insurance company. We apply rules and regulations to the repricing of medical bills. While this is not what I thought that I would be doing when I declared a major, my major led me to this point and I couldn't be happier.
I think that if you declare a major that you are interested in and enjoy, that will definitely lead you to a place where you should be, if you take advantage of all appropriate opportunities that may present themselves.
Best of luck!
For me, yes, my major did have an impact on my career, although not in the way that I thouhgt.
When I first went to school, I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer. While I did not declare a major right away, the more I got into school, I found that this was not for me. Next, I thought that I wanted to be in politics...so, I declared my major as political science. As I went through school, I pinpointed my like as Public Administration. I wanted to have rules/statutes/contracts to read interpret and follow as I worked. As I finished school, I started working in a state senator's office. While the work was okay, I didn't find any passion in it. Due to this, I tried to get into HR/Labor Relations so that I could work with policies and union contracts to administer benefits or manage the workforce. As I was investigating that, I fell into Workers' Compensation and I have been here ever since (25 years). I get to take each state's statute and apply it to claims and appropriately administer benefits. As i progressed through my career, I did all aspects of the job until today where I manage a medical bill review department for a national insurance company. We apply rules and regulations to the repricing of medical bills. While this is not what I thought that I would be doing when I declared a major, my major led me to this point and I couldn't be happier.
I think that if you declare a major that you are interested in and enjoy, that will definitely lead you to a place where you should be, if you take advantage of all appropriate opportunities that may present themselves.
Best of luck!
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Kim’s Answer
Hi Marquis
Great question. My short answer is "yes", but I had double majors in business management and marketing. While marketing was what got me in the door, it was my business background that lead me to strategic marketing. In my case my majors reflect the diversity of my interests and ultimately opened my eyes to opportunities that I may not have pursued otherwise. My best advice is to stay focused on what you enjoy, but always be open to adjacencies and opportunities that may stretch you. Best of luck to you.
Great question. My short answer is "yes", but I had double majors in business management and marketing. While marketing was what got me in the door, it was my business background that lead me to strategic marketing. In my case my majors reflect the diversity of my interests and ultimately opened my eyes to opportunities that I may not have pursued otherwise. My best advice is to stay focused on what you enjoy, but always be open to adjacencies and opportunities that may stretch you. Best of luck to you.
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April’s Answer
I would like to say the answer is reversed: my career choice had the impact on which major(s) I decided to go into. I wanted to use college as a stepping stone to prepare me for the job that I wanted. To accomplish this, I found out what majors are useful for my line of work and then proceeded to enter those in college. It's helpful to think about what you're passionate about and the career you want before choosing a major so that you keep your options open, you don't waste time, and you don't waste money. What I mean by that is, you shouldn't be forced to choose a major if you don't really know what you want to do. You could be spending time and money taking classes that you don't need and will not use, when you could be using that effort taking courses that will be beneficial to your future. I wanted to be a college advisor/counselor, so I majored in Psychology and then I also studied higher education in graduate school. Now I am, in fact, a college advisor. My interests led me here. Explore your interests and see what career paths and majors they lead you to.
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Zahid’s Answer
I would say yes. Although I did not stay within the major I studied for, I did stay within the industry (IT) because of it and it made me look for other career options within the industry. Which led to exploring several different career paths till I settled on the current one. So your major does play some role and does impact your decisions to some degree, however, that isn't always the case. Sometimes, all your degree serves is the criteria of having a college degree and that opens door to many entry -level jobs regardless of what your major was.
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Anita’s Answer
This is an awesome question! Sometimes people pick a major in college (or a trade skill) very early on because they know exactly what they want to do, but this is not the case for everyone and that is ok too. We live in a world now where it's possible and common to change careers a few times. Think of your life as progressing in phases.
In the early phases, you have the opportunity to discover more about yourself and the world around you. Don't worry too much if you're trying things out and experimenting at the beginning. Everyone deserves an opportunity to learn what you like and what you're good at, then compare that to what you're able to get paid for. The ideal scenario is that there is more than one career path out there that will enable you to pursue all three! If not, keep your hobbies by finding a community of others who enjoy those experiences and then keep trying new things to find other areas of interest.
In later phases of life, the odds are high that your career path will shift and that's ok too. Sometimes our personal preferences or priorities change. Sometimes we find new interests. It's all a part of journey. What's helpful is to have a sense of purpose that is the thread of continuity and meaning in your life. For example, maybe the most important thing to you is helping other people. There are lots of ways to do this in the course of a life. I have a friend who used her talents to pursue a degree in civil engineering to help improve city infrastructure (think open spaces that people enjoy like parks and public venues) and then later in life realized she loved culinary arts and became a chef.
The good news is it's all up to you and there is no wrong answer so long as you're able to continue to find a meaningful purpose that meets your goals for your own career but also helps others along the way!!
In the early phases, you have the opportunity to discover more about yourself and the world around you. Don't worry too much if you're trying things out and experimenting at the beginning. Everyone deserves an opportunity to learn what you like and what you're good at, then compare that to what you're able to get paid for. The ideal scenario is that there is more than one career path out there that will enable you to pursue all three! If not, keep your hobbies by finding a community of others who enjoy those experiences and then keep trying new things to find other areas of interest.
In later phases of life, the odds are high that your career path will shift and that's ok too. Sometimes our personal preferences or priorities change. Sometimes we find new interests. It's all a part of journey. What's helpful is to have a sense of purpose that is the thread of continuity and meaning in your life. For example, maybe the most important thing to you is helping other people. There are lots of ways to do this in the course of a life. I have a friend who used her talents to pursue a degree in civil engineering to help improve city infrastructure (think open spaces that people enjoy like parks and public venues) and then later in life realized she loved culinary arts and became a chef.
The good news is it's all up to you and there is no wrong answer so long as you're able to continue to find a meaningful purpose that meets your goals for your own career but also helps others along the way!!
Paul Goetzinger MPA
Academic and Career Consultant and Freelance Writer
751
Answers
Updated
Paul’s Answer
Hi Marquis:
Yes, my major did eventually have an effect on the career that I chose. I chose an emphasis in Public Administration, because I knew that I wanted to go into public service and assist others in resolving their problems or issues they might encounter in their lives. The one thing I discovered about my degree, is that it was very flexible. Basically, I could enter a large number of fields either in the private sector or in the public sector, because my degree required that I take classes in economics, business administration, public policy analysis, and management. I eventually ended up working for colleges and universities in the areas of law enforcement and public safety, teaching and advising, and academic assistance. All of these employment opportunities required that I have knowledge of the public sector and how it worked under its administrative structure. That fact is I really enjoyed my major, and I encourage you to pursue a major and goal which will enable you to achieve your career aspirations.
Yes, my major did eventually have an effect on the career that I chose. I chose an emphasis in Public Administration, because I knew that I wanted to go into public service and assist others in resolving their problems or issues they might encounter in their lives. The one thing I discovered about my degree, is that it was very flexible. Basically, I could enter a large number of fields either in the private sector or in the public sector, because my degree required that I take classes in economics, business administration, public policy analysis, and management. I eventually ended up working for colleges and universities in the areas of law enforcement and public safety, teaching and advising, and academic assistance. All of these employment opportunities required that I have knowledge of the public sector and how it worked under its administrative structure. That fact is I really enjoyed my major, and I encourage you to pursue a major and goal which will enable you to achieve your career aspirations.