How To Find a Field of Study

Choosing a major can be quite a complicated decision that requires serious thought and consideration. This is a decision that will shape your college experience, the career that follows and your life in general. Not to put any pressure on you or anything, but it really is that big of a decision.

So how does one go about selecting a major? What does the process involve and how soon do I need to have made a decision?

One great way to select a major is to consider what you are interested in. What have you been interested in during your life so far? What have been your favorite classes? Anything that has interested you is fair game at this point. Make sure you write down all of the topics and subjects you’re interested in. Now flip through your university’s course catalog to see what majors are available. Note anything that sparks your interest.

As you come up with topics you’re interested in, why not take a class on the subject? This is the perfect way to familiarize yourself with the major and to see if you have enough of an interest in it to pursue for the remainder of your college career and into your professional career. Introductory courses are the perfect place to feel out majors to see if they are right for you.

If you are still interested in the major after taking a class or two in the subject, it’s now time to look into what taking this as a major will involve. Go to the department in which the major is located and pick up course planners and information. You need to know things like what classes this major will require, what sorts of things will be covered in these classes and what will be expected of you. It’s also a good idea to meet with an advisor or counselor at this point to discuss your preliminary decisions.

It is very important that you can foresee yourself actually enjoying the classes required for this major. Now, no major is perfect and you certainly won’t enjoy every class. However, you need to expect to enjoy the majority of your courses, because otherwise what’s the point?

Now, if you know what you want to do with you life when you enter college, good for you! That’s truly a great accomplishment and you don’t have to worry about figuring out your major while in school. However, the majority of students are unsure about what they want to do for a career, so it’s not unusual for students to be well into their college career without having decided yet. However, you’re going to want to make a decision by the time you enter the third year of college. This is the time you will be taking upper division courses almost exclusively which will include your major courses, whatever they end up being.

One last consideration you need to think about before you choose a major is what sort of career you want to pursue after college. What are typical careers that people enter into after majoring in this subject? Will you need additional schooling before you can get a job in the field? Answering these questions will further help you select a major and make decisions about your life and future career.