How to choose a college major
It’s second only to choosing a spouse — would you marry a stranger?
The second most consequential decision of your life — after romantic partners — is choosing a college major. It dictates your future jobs and income, the sorts of people you will meet, and, to a large degree, whether life will be an economic grind or a joyous adventure of expanding opportunities.
And yet, even with soaring college costs, many students and their families make this major life decision having done little or no research.
“They don’t know average earnings, they don’t know about jobs,” said economist Matthew Wiswall, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He co-authored an enormous review study of research and ideas on college majors, which is essentially a crash course in how to choose a major and why.
Start early. Like as a tween.
“Education is a sequential decision,” said Wiswall’s coauthor, Basit Zafar, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan. “Certain choices in middle school or high school are going to determine your path.” If you don’t take calculus in high school, all those high-paying STEM opportunities are moot.
Research long-term outcomes. A lot.
At this early age, it’ll be helpful if parents can connect, in the young mind, the future workplace to a topic of study. Yes, schooling to get a job. But what job? How much money does a typical graduate earn, five or fifteen years after college? What percentage pursue graduate degrees, and in what fields? What sorts of jobs are available to graduates? Are those jobs plentiful, such as in engineering, or very limited, such as in English, history and fine arts? What lifestyles go along with those jobs?
Research as much as you can, and know that in experiments where students are provided information about majors, their education choices shift.
Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (look under data tools and ROI) has a handy calculator for the life-long value of attending a particular college. The center also has a data tool on the value of college majors. And there’s tons more to read there. I’d bookmark it.
Research majors. A lot.
“Students should take it very seriously and learn as much as they can. There’s lots to know about degrees,” Wiswall said.
Focus on college experience: How difficult is this major? What are average grades? (STEM fields tend to have lower grades.) What percent of students are female or diverse? Do class times allow for afternoon sports or extracurriculars? Does the school charge different tuition rates based on major? Your goal is to make an informed decision.
CollegeScorecard.ed.gov, the U.S. Department of Education’s data site, is a good resource.
Be cognizant of post-grad financial responsibilities.
Engineering is the current hot major for students who want immediate highincome employability after
(and sometimes before) graduation; business degrees produce a quick marketplace return with many options.
“If you don’t have support from your parents, you might need something that leads to an immediate job,” Wiswall said.
No, a physics or mathematics career is not the ticket to a swift payday. Expect to be earning almost nothing through grad school.
It’s 100% fine to change majors. Really.
“One of the pros of the American system is that you’re allowed to explore and take different courses and switch,” said Wiswall, who encourages changing majors as needed, even if it lengthens time in school. “That’s totally fine, because it has big implications later in life. So if it takes you an extra year to get through school, but you find a field that really fits you better, that’s a good thing.”
He speculates that students enter college not always knowing what they’re good at and enjoy, and figure it out through taking different courses. He himself began a Ph.D. in history, and switched to economics.
Follow your bliss.
Yep. Both Wiswall and Zafar return to this advice. Studies show that students who take post-graduate jobs primarily to pay off school debt are less fulfilled.
“Everyone should follow their passion and interests,” Zafar said.