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Is it ok to choose 2 career goals and take college classes for both at the same time and start whichever goal you complete first
I am 17yrs old about to start 12th grade when school begins i am a honor student who has made honor roll every report card since 1st grade and i want to graduate with honors and accept my full scholarship with
University of Michigan but I’m not quite sure which career goal i really want to major in #scholarship #college #college-advice #college-admissions
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Karla’s Answer
Hey Amonte! I absolutely love how ambitious you are. Congratulations on all your achievements thus far. I think if you want to pursue double majors, that's completely fine. However, you may also go in "undeclared" meaning you do not have to make a decision right away. Once you take a few of your core classes during your freshman and sophomore year, you may decide to major in something completely different. That is the beauty of the college experience. We become exposed to so many different opportunities. But there is no rush. Continue to work hard and finish high school and I am certain you'll graduate with honors. Best of luck!
Thank you so much Karla for your response and your and your kind words and guidance on how to approach my goal and classes until i have completely decided
Amonte
Updated
Pro’s Answer
Try looking at an Interdisciplinary, General Studies, or Liberal Studies Degree, or even a double-major. Then you can combine both areas in one degree.
Or an Individually Designed major that you can even name yourself.
Pro Professional
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Jacob’s Answer
Hi, Amonte,
I think you have two good answers already but I'd like to add some of my own thoughts too. First of all, congratulations on all of your academic successes - it sounds like you have really set yourself up well for a great college experience. I know picking career goals and selecting majors are big decisions that probably seem really intimidating as you are heading into your freshman year. I think a helpful approach is to do some backwards planning. If you have two career goals identified already, that's great. With those in mind, think about what majors could make you a good fit for those fields and do your best to gain some practical experience too (internship, extracurricular at school, etc.). I think it's good to build some flexibility into your career plans since there is a good chance that your interests will change as you get older. Try selecting a degree that lends itself to different careers. For example, if you're interested in working in finance, consider economics or mathematics since those two degrees can enable you to pursue other fields (e.g. policymaking, data analytics) if finance ultimately isn't the right fit for you.
An organization I encountered a few years ago, the 80,000 Hours Organization (check out their website here: https://80000hours.org/; there is a lot of good information there), helps people contemplate how to best set career goals and solve the world's important problems. They offer a free career planning course that you can find at this link: https://80000hours.org/career-planning/process/. I think it is super helpful.
I hope this helps - good luck!
I think you have two good answers already but I'd like to add some of my own thoughts too. First of all, congratulations on all of your academic successes - it sounds like you have really set yourself up well for a great college experience. I know picking career goals and selecting majors are big decisions that probably seem really intimidating as you are heading into your freshman year. I think a helpful approach is to do some backwards planning. If you have two career goals identified already, that's great. With those in mind, think about what majors could make you a good fit for those fields and do your best to gain some practical experience too (internship, extracurricular at school, etc.). I think it's good to build some flexibility into your career plans since there is a good chance that your interests will change as you get older. Try selecting a degree that lends itself to different careers. For example, if you're interested in working in finance, consider economics or mathematics since those two degrees can enable you to pursue other fields (e.g. policymaking, data analytics) if finance ultimately isn't the right fit for you.
An organization I encountered a few years ago, the 80,000 Hours Organization (check out their website here: https://80000hours.org/; there is a lot of good information there), helps people contemplate how to best set career goals and solve the world's important problems. They offer a free career planning course that you can find at this link: https://80000hours.org/career-planning/process/. I think it is super helpful.
I hope this helps - good luck!