Take some time when deciding on your college major

Selecting a college major is something many students do as an afterthought, but it is a decision that should not be taken lightly. A major has the potential to shape your life as you enter the workforce. Students should focus on topics they are interested in exploring and skills they want to build. By the time they reach their junior or senior year in high school the impulse is to choose something they excel at, such as math or English — subjects in which they are getting the highest grades. Teachers often reinforce this idea by telling students and their parents that their son or daughter “is a natural mathematician” or has a “real gift for English.”

For the student with doubts about what college to attend or what to major in, the school guidance counselor is usually the first stop. For the majority of students, they provide a service by making sure that they meet the requirements for admissions to a state college or university. Unfortunately, the quality and quantity of time a counselor can spend with a student is severely limited. At most public schools, the actual contact time with a counselor is less than an hour per year. This can be troubling if the school does not normally send graduates to leading universities, and students might find themselves at a huge disadvantage. Top-tier colleges have an abundance of qualified applicants from which to choose and changes in admissions policies happen more frequently at selective universities.

Applicants also can get invaluable information from industry professionals. It helps to be able to declare a major when applying for college because it gives admissions officials a better understanding of the candidate and how they might fit into a college community.

There is a link between college majors and career opportunity — the job market being the number one concern. For example, all 10 of the college majors with the highest starting salaries are in STEM fields. To students nervous about the adult world of work, having to choose a major can be daunting. For example, a student strong in math and raised in a manufacturing culture might be tempted to major in engineering. This is not always the wisest decision.

In Indiana, a majority of engineering majors are from blue-collar families. Many have parents who are machinists or hold other technical positions in manufacturing. Few students realize that their math ability might also be put to good use in other fields. Math is also used in economics and in the social sciences. Job opportunities might be more plentiful in those areas as we turn away from manufacturing skills and move toward a more service-oriented economy. I encourage my clients to take their time when choosing a college major and to explore their options by taking courses that expand their knowledge outside of their specific area of concentration. Remember that you can always change your major. While most schools do not require students to declare a major until their sophomore year, sticking with the familiar can stifle creativity and prevent a student from learning about other fields of study.