Posts Tagged ‘college majors’
Choosing a Major
When deciding on a major, it is important to first assess what you are interested in and what careers are available for someone with your intended skill set. You will have many opportunities to put your studies to work in classes, jobs, and internships throughout college, which will also help you narrow down your field of study to something that you will genuinely enjoy doing after you graduate. As a freshman, if you find yourself struggling to pick a major, don’t worry! There’s still time to figure it out, and the great thing about college is that it’s pretty easy to change your major later on if you feel you may be better suited to study something else.
What Do You Like?
An easy way to preliminarily decide what you want to major in is to think about what you liked learning in high school. There are different paths available in every major from computer science to nutrition to art and design, and understanding where your general academic interests lie is a great way to narrow down the field. Once you decide what subject you’d like to explore, the major requirements you need to take will help you figure out which specific aspects of the subject most appeals to you.
Make the Most of General Requirements
Throughout college, you will need to take certain classes to fill university-wide requirements. Generally, students will need to take a combination of a foreign language, an introduction to science, a low-level math class, and one or two college writing classes in order to graduate. Though you may initially see these classes as an undesirable addition to your course load, changing your attitude and seeing them as a way to explore different majors can help you find a subject you may be drawn to that you weren’t aware of before. It is very common for students to change majors after declaring, or pick up a minor they would have never considered upon entering school. Look through the course guide and pick classes that meet requirements and afford you the opportunity to explore new interests.
Use Your Resources
College syllabi and older upperclassmen can be great resources when choosing on a major. Many professors will post required readings and assignments with the course description, allowing you to see what the workload will be like before you sign up for the class. As you decide what classes to take, explore the syllabi and see if the coursework is something that interests you. If you find yourself dreading most of the work you will have during the semester, it may be a good idea to consider looking for different tracks of study within your field, or changing your major altogether. Another great resource that is available is the peer-advising office, where you can get advice and talk to upperclassmen in your major about what they enjoy most and least about the program.
The Road Between “Undeclared” and Choosing a Major
Choosing a major isn’t easy.
You’ve probably heard someone say the answer is whatever you would do if you had a million dollars, but sometimes the answer isn’t nearly that simple. We don’t have a million dollars, and while many people find themselves happy in careers that are unrelated to their degree, there remains an expectation that whatever field we choose will determine how we spend our days, and how we make a living, for the rest of our lives.
That’s a pretty tough choice when you’ve only had a couple of years to truly determine what you like and what you’re good at.
As a college freshman, I was frequently tormented with this dilemma, and further annoyed with my “undeclared” label. I was (and still am) interested in everything! Having spent my high school days in choruses and musicals, I was determined not to let my love for music die. However; biology was my favorite science, and I was curious as to what I could do with my wicked memorization skills on the college level. Then again, criminal justice fascinated me, and sociology was like taking a class in everything I already think about everyday! Then there was English, my lifelong love, but after a string of less-than-great English teachers, I had lost most of my interest in writing.
Determine Your Skill Level
While many of us would love to become famous actors or professional athletes, at some point, you have to consider your skill level. In my case, while I frequently received solos and was part of the most elite musical group in my high school, I had nothing on those who were majoring in music.
Research Required Coursework
Before choosing a field, take a peek at your college catalog. What classes are required for this major? What does this major prepare you to do? Sometimes, just looking at the coursework will push you in one direction or the other. I took one look at the biology major coursework, saw the amount of practical implications, and moved on.
Research the Career
When you’ve narrowed it down to a couple different major choices, look at what careers would be available to you. Talk to real individuals who hold these jobs. Ask them what the job is like and what can prepare you for it. This might be when you realize you can’t be an environmentalist with a general science degree; rather, you’ll need an earth science degree. This might also be where you realize a particular job isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. After researching career options, I discovered that sociology and law enforcement were not majors that would lead to a job I would actually enjoy.
Get Your Feet Wet
Sometimes you won’t know if you’ve picked the right major until you get your feet wet. After declaring myself an English education major, I came to realize after the first semester that I wasn’t so crazy about the science of learning! That was something I didn’t know until I took an education class. Dabble in your interests and see how it feels!
If it turns out your college doesn’t offer the major you want, Cappex can help you search for colleges that do!
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Return of the Computer Science Major
The last decade or so has proven to be nothing short of a roller-coaster of ups and downs for computer science departments at colleges and universities across the country.
According to USNews.com, the number of computer science majors has returned to and, in many cases nationally, exceeded the enrollment high-water mark previously set during the “dot-com” boom of the early 2000s. This rebirth is particularly noteworthy given that the upswing comes after enrollment numbers in 2005 were at their lowest since the early 1970s.
The report cites the strengthening economy and job market in technological fields as explanations, even in the midst of a broader economy still widely regarded as less than stellar. Further, the growing impact of social media platforms and increasingly ubiquitous mobile applications have sparked interest, as many students set sights on creating the next Facebook or Instagram.
Learn about schools with Computer Science programs at Cappex!
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How to Align Your Major with Your Future Career
When choosing a major, in addition to considering what you like to do and what you’re good at, you may want to think about what you’d like your future career to be. It’s not as far away as you think! While there are majors such as elementary education that essentially spell out your career, other majors such as psychology, chemistry, sociology, history, leadership, and countless others don’t have a specific job title linked to it, so choosing a career path after graduation can be complicated and frustrating. Check out these tips that will help you create a plan so you can adequately prepare yourself for the job you want!
What Does Your Career Mean to You?
Before you start looking at majors and career options, you may benefit from defining what your career will be to you. Will you eat and breathe your job, making it your life’s work? Will your career be a passion that brings happiness to you everyday? Do you want to be home nights, weekends, and holidays? Is your job nothing more than a way to make money? Is your goal to make lots of money? What’s going to be the most important thing about your job? This will give you an idea as to what direction you need to be heading.
Choose a Career
Many will find it helpful to work backwards when it comes to picking a major. Instead of majoring in something you enjoy and then deciding what to do with it later, think about your potential job first. What do you need to get you to that job? Is there a minor, or another major you could get that would give you an advantage in the job market?
Choose a Degree
While you may not think there’s a big difference between biology, chemistry, and biochemistry, there is. A bachelor of arts, a bachelor of fine arts, and a bachelor of science may all mean the same thing to you now, but it can be the difference between being qualified for a job and not being qualified. Do your research. Make sure you’re getting a degree that will prepare you for the career you want.
What Else Will You Need?
Sometimes a bachelor’s degree won’t be enough to get you the job you want. Those who wish to be psychiatrists, for example, will find that a bachelor’s in psych won’t cut it. Those who want to pursue publication may find that, despite their degree, they’ll have to take a six week workshop in another city just to be qualified for an editing job. There may be certification tests, training, and unpaid internships even after graduation. Before you begin your coursework in a major, be aware of everything it will take to get you to the end destination. For many students, knowing all of the steps to reach the end goal is exciting! For others, it’s just too much work to bother. Know what you’re going to be in for before choosing a major.
Not sure what colleges have your major? Cappex can help you search for colleges!
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13 of the Best Paying Majors
Choosing a major is a big deal and a hard choice. Most students don’t have the ease of going into college knowing exactly what they want to be doing the next forty years of their lives–those that do are rock stars of decision making, though!
If you don’t know exactly what you want to study in college, it may be helpful to think about majors that lead to lucrative careers. The Daily Beast recently published an article about the most useful college majors based on research from Georgetown University that charted two years of census data to determine the likelihood of positive financial returns in relation to college majors in conjunction with data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics about employment projections.
Still, choosing a major based on future monetary prospects isn’t the only factor that should go into your decision. Being able to head to class excited about what you’re learning is worth its weight in gold. So, hopefully financial success and passion with what your studying wind up going hand in hand. But in a rough economy, knowing you’ll have job stability might just be worth it for you.
Here are thirteen of the most useful college majors:
1. Nursing
Unemployment, recent grad: 4.0%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 1.9%
Earnings, recent grad: $48,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $64,000
2. Mechanical Engineer
Unemployment, recent grad: 8.6%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 3.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $58,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $86,000
3. Electrical Engineering
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.3%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.2%
Earnings, recent grad: $57,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $90,000
4. Civil Engineering
Unemployment, recent grad: 8.1%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.5%
Earnings, recent grad: $50,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $81,000
5. Computer Science
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.6%
Earnings, recent grad: $50,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $81,000
6. Finance
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.6%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.2%
Earnings, recent grad: $44,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $72,000
7. Marketing & Research
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.3%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.0%
Earnings, recent grad: $37,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $65,000
8. Mathematics
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.1%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.1%
Earnings, recent grad: $40,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $71,000
9. Accounting
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $43,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $65,000
10. French, German, Latin, and other Common Foreign Languages
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.9%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $50,000
11. Business
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.0%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $37,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $60,000
12. Elementary Education
Unemployment, recent grad: 4.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 3.4%
Earnings, recent grad: $33,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $40,000
13. Economics
Unemployment, recent grad: 9.4%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.7%
Earnings, recent grad: $48,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $76,000
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“Help! My Major is Useless in Today’s Job Market!”
If you happened to catch a few minutes of the evening news in your residence hall lobby, or overheard recent unemployment statistics at breakfast one morning, you might be questioning your college major. For those of us who have chosen to follow our passions for the arts or humanities, that questioning may have turned into full blown panic. Is this field going to be realistic when I graduate? Will I be able to find a job? Should I change my major to something in demand? Should I add another degree? Am I just wasting my time and money here?
The thought of not being able to find a job after graduation is something that haunts college students, especially those who are about to graduate this spring. But before you do anything crazy, consider the following:
Don’t let the news scare you: You’ve wanted to be a music teacher since you were nine years old. You can play six instruments, have been the star of every musical in high school, and are about to graduate college with high honors. Don’t throw that away for a science degree because the news is showing budget cuts to the arts. If you’ve spent years working toward a career, don’t abandon it over a few months of scary unemployment stories.
Think outside the box: College students often make the mistake of assuming what they major in is what they learn. Psych majors learn how to be psychologists and education majors learn how to educate. Defining what you learn by the title of your major is limiting. Instead, think about the courses you’re taking and what skills you’re gaining from those courses. What does your college major require you to know and be good at? It’s these skills and abilities that will someday get you a job.
Become your very best: Despite what the statistics and news stories may indicate, there are jobs out there for everyone in every major. They’re just harder to get than before. You can improve your chances by becoming your very best when it comes to your field of study. Instead of coasting through your classes until you get your degree, take the extra time to master concepts you know your classmates have problems with. Spend a few extra hours in lab. Save your notebooks from previous classes, and browse through them once in a while. Read extra material on your field of study that hasn’t been assigned to you. By taking the drivers seat when it comes to your passion and your education, you’re going to know more and you’re going to do better.
A degree is never useless: There are many people who find themselves incredibly happy in careers where they didn’t necessarily earn their degree, because the skills they learned to get the degree took them there. In addition, some entry level jobs only require that you have a bachelors degree without considering the subject in which it’s in. Despite what you’ve majored in, having a degree will always make you more marketable than not having it.
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The College Students Who Study the Least
The National Survey of Student Engagement, known as the Nessie, recently published a study showing trends in study habits and engagement of college students. The data collected is meant to ultimately help improve undergraduate education.
So what did they find? Not too surprisingly, different majors spend different amounts of time studying.
Here is the breakdown of average weekly time spent studying per college major:
Business majors – 14 hours
Social sciences – 14 hours
Education – 15 hours
Art & humanities – 17 hours
Biological sciences – 17 hours
Physical sciences – 18 hours
Engineering 19 hours
Business majors apparently spend the least amount of time studying–although social science is also at 14 hours per week, a bigger percentage, 23%, of them studied more then 20 hours a week where only 19% of business majors did. Still, although business students, on average, study the least, they spend the most time working: 16 hours a week. Business and education majors also spend the most time caring for dependents. For nearly all these majors, however, professors assumed the time-needed to study was greater than time actually spent.
There is also a disconnect between assigned work and completed work. For example, among full-time seniors who spend more than 20 hours per week studying, 22% of engineering students say that they often come to class without completing assignments. The study suggests that perhaps there’s a mismatch between the work asked of students and the work students believe is necessary to succeed.
Here are some other facts that came from the study:
- A large majority of students (88% of first-years and 86% of seniors) frequently took careful notes during class. However, only two-thirds of all students frequently reviewed their notes after class.
- Only 70% of students frequently sought help when they did not understand course material.
- About one in five entering students expected paying for college to be “very difficult,” and those who expected this difficulty anticipated more trouble learning course material, managing time, and interacting with faculty.
The survey is administered by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, is sponsored in part by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and is paid for by the participating colleges. This year’s report, “Fostering Student Engagement Campuswide,” is available free online and for $20 in print from the National Survey of Student Engagement. But, it’s free online…so, yeah.
Do these numbers match up with your college experience? Are students studying too much or not enough?
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Friday College Town Hall
In Friday College Town Hall, we post a question about college, and you leave an answer in the comment field.
Today’s question:
The Wall Street Journal created an interactive online tool, using the 2010 Census data, that shows students’ career prospects in regards to their majors.
Certain college majors have higher unemployment rates than others:
Architecture – 10.6%
Linguistics & comparative literature – 8.5%
Commercial art & graphic designs – 8.1%
Drama & theater arts – 7.1%
Journalism – 7.0%
Computer engineering – 7.0%And some are lower than most:
Medical technology technician – 1.4%
Nursing – 2.2%
Treatment therapy professions – 2.6%
Pharmacy – 3.2%
Elementary education – 3.6%
High school teacher – 3.8%
Finance – 4.5%
Physics – 4.5%Do these numbers affect what you will be studying? Have you changed what you are studying in light of the economy or are you following your dreams?
Have a thought or an answer? Leave a reply below.
We’ve also asked our @Cappex Twitter followers to chime in! Here’s what people are saying on Twitter:
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7 Ways to Choose Your College Classes
Even if you’ve known you wanted to graduate college with a degree in bio-physics since you were 7 years old, depending on which college or university you wind up at, there’s a good chance you’ll have to take some classes outside of your major. There are core classes you’ll be require to get credits for, and even just extra credits you’ll have to fill.
So, how do you choose classes that are out of your normal comfort zone? You’re in luck because we have to have 7 ways to choose college courses outside of your major:
1. Peruse through the entire course guide
If you’re at a larger university, this can be a daunting task, but you never know what you’ll find! There are so many intriguing, even fun, college courses being offered these days (like all of these pop culture courses). Make sure you look through all the classes so you don’t pass over something that might be right up your alley.
2. Choose by professor
Did you have a professor who just taught the most interesting lectures on what could be the most tedious subject ever? If you found a professor who can keep your eyes open and neurons-a-firing, don’t let him/her slip through your fingers. It’s kind of like what your grandma would say about your girlfriend, “She’s a keeper.” Find another class they teach and sign on up.
3. Ask your friends
Ask your friends if they’ve taken any classes that they recommend you take. Your friends are a great source of information because they know you better than any counselor or adviser. If they think you’ll enjoy Mummies 101, you should probably trust their judgment. That is, if you trust their judgment in judging what you’d like.
4. Do some research
Course selection is almost an entire course within itself. And just like any other class, you should probably do some research. If faculty reviews are public at your school, take a look-see. Insight into what others think about a class can help inform your decisions. You can also always hit up RateMyProfessors.com.
5. Take a class outside of your comfort zone
One of the best ways to expand your mind and widen your view of the world, is to take classes about things that might make you uncomfortable at first. Take a class in a religion that you don’t practice or a history class about a country you’ve never heard of before. While your major provides the opportunity to focus in on one field, your entire college experience is about widening your horizons.
6. Channel your inner artist
A lot of us have inner artists that come out to breathe less and less frequently as we get older. So, college is a great time to give your inner artist some oxygen. Take a painting class, bongo class, creative writing class–whatever it is–just sign up; give your inner artist some room to walk around and express itself!
7. Does it fit in your schedule?
The college student’s MO is creating a school schedule that fits perfectly with their nap schedule. Or work schedule. Or whatever. The cool part about college is that you have the liberty, most of the time, to design what time you wake up and what days you wake up. You could schedule a semester with no classes on Fridays, or no classes before noon. That’s why college is magical.
How have you chosen your classes? Leave a comment below!
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11 College Classes in Pop Culture
A true liberal arts educations means getting to dip your toes into at least one class that seems completely irrelevant to your education but super fun brain candy.
I took a couple, something on dinosaurs (which, to my surprise, did have more than one lecture simply stating, ‘And then they went extinct’) and one on Harry Potter. And you know what? Those professors know what they’re doing because I actually learned a lot more than I bargained for–a lot of information on how rocks form, which is WAY more exciting than it sounds, and a bunch of themes in British literature that even J.K. Rowling herself is not immune to (probably because she knew what she was doing while she was writing the best books ever).
What’s super neat-o awesome about a liberal arts education is that you can take a class on the metaphysical mechanics of Doc Brown’s time machine in Back to the Future, and you will leave knowing so much more about the world than you could’ve possibly expected. That’s the beauty of the liberal arts; it’s not just black and white. That’s why it’s important to study different mediums to discuss language, philosophy, science and history. Even if one of those fields is your major, there’s a good chance there’ll bee some cross-pollination (see what I did there?) You’ll have to know how to study history if you’re an English major and vice a versa.
So when you’re looking through that course guide, don’t just skip over the flashy pop culture courses because you think you won’t get anything out of them; you most definitely will.
On that note, here are 11 popular culture classes being offered this semester at colleges across the nation. Do any interest you?
1. Consumerism and Social Change in Mad Men America, 1960-1963
Northwestern University
What it’s about: Taught and conceived by Professor Michael Allen, this Mad Men class will assign students to watch episodes of the popular TV series, which Allen believes accurately portrays American life in the 1950s-60s.
2. South Park and Contemporary Social Issues
McDaniel College
What it’s about: Dr. Baron (Philosophy) and Dr. Raley (Sociology) of McDaniel College are using South Park–a show which has never shied away from tackling the big social issues from its own point of view–paired with historical and contemporary texts, theories, and concepts from sociology and philosophy to understand and discuss contemporary social issues.
3. Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame
University of South Carolina
What it’s about: Students who take the course with Mathieu Deflem will focus on relevant elements of the societal context of Lady Gaga’s rise to fame, with students better able to engage in scholarly thinking about relevant aspects of popular culture, music, and fame.
4. Zombies in Popular Media
Columbia College Chicago
What it’s about: This course explores the history, significance, and representation of the zombie as a figure in horror and fantasy texts. Instruction follows an intense schedule, using critical theory and source media (literature, comics, and films) to spur discussion and exploration of the figures many incarnations….beware…
5. Wordplay: A Wry Plod From Babel to Scrabble
Princeton
What it’s about: Professor Joshua Katz teaches this course with the goal to bring together interesting reading, thoughtful scholarship, and hands-on revelry in the exploration of the ludic side of language. Linguistic play is part of many people’s normal experience (think of the daily crossword puzzle and the excitement that surrounds the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee) and yet it is widely considered a trivial pursuit, often childish (Dr. Seuss and counting-out rhymes) but sometimes abstruse (James Joyce and Vladimir Nabokov).
6. “Oh, Look, a Chicken!” Embracing Distraction as a Way of Knowing
Belmont University
What it’s about:This course challenges the general conception that being distracted, i.e. students with A.D.D, infringe on “knowing”. T he course is all about ways of knowing, so it embraces the fact that we are distracted as a culture, why are we distracted, how can we embrace it and how do we get back to the thing that we were doing in the first place
7. What if Harry Potter is Real?
Appalachian State University
What it’s about: This course asks questions about the very nature of history. Who decides what history is? Who decides how it is used or mis-used? How does this use or misuse affect us? How can the historical imagination inform literature and fantasy? How can fantasy reshape how we look at history? The Harry Potter novels and films are fertile ground for exploring all of these deeper questions. Wingardium leviosa!
8. The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur
University of Washington
What it’s about: The course explores the philosophical, historical and literary influences of the late rapper and activist, Tupac Shakur.
9. Goldberg’s Canon: Makin’ Whoopi
Bates College
What it’s about: Simply said, it’s a symposium on the career of Whoopi Goldberg.
10. Philosophy of Star Trek
Georgetown
What it’s about: Taught by Associate Professor Linda Wetzel, this course will go at light speed discussing topics in metaphysics that come up again and again in Star Trek. In conjunction with watching Star Trek, excerpts from the writings of great philosophers, extract key concepts and arguments will be assigned.
11. Sociology of Hip Hop: Jay-Z
Georgetown
What it’s about: The course is taught by Michael Eric Dyson, who wanted to seriously investigate the fuss behind Jay’z rhetorical impact.
Do any of these classes pique your interest? What class would you want taught?
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