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How did you know what major/career was right for you?

I am interested in a lot of subjects (math, science, English, music), but how do I know which one to pursue as a career?

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Kiran’s Answer

Hello Will,

My advise is to look at it in 2 dimensions.

First one to be focused on what is the current market trend when it comes to acquiring skills which will help to secure a good job and then can help accelerate your career. It is beyond Maths and Science as these subjects are critical in laying the initial foundation to build upon your skill-sets. Look for learning courses like AI(Artificial Intelligence), Decision Science.

Second one can be more inclined towards your passion which will help you add more value to your life other than being just focused on career. That way you do not lose your identity.

All the best for your career.

Regards
Kiran
Thank you comment icon Kiran - Thank you for your answer. We need more advice like this, now more than ever! There are more than 1k unanswered questions on CV right now. Hoping you'll answer a few more this week! Jordan Rivera, Admin COACH
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Rachel’s Answer

<span style="background-color: transparent;">Collegeboard.org is a great resource for this! I poured through the pages of universities all over the U.S. when I was a senior in high school. Collegeboard was my go-to site! They put all of the information in one place and it is very easy to use. They even have various filters you can apply to see only colleges that have programs you are interested. To determine academic rigor, look at the admissions requirements, G.P.A. of past admitted applicants, SAT/ACT scores, class rank etc. This will give you an idea of what scores and grades you need to be accepted. However, don't be discouraged your application will be reviewed based on the full picture! College-board will help you get an idea of what is most important to the specific school you are applying to.</span>


This professional recommends the following next steps:

  • <span style="background-color: transparent;">Chat with your Guidance Counselor</span>
  • <span style="background-color: transparent;">Create a Collegeboard.org account</span>
  • <span style="background-color: transparent;">Start using CollegeBoard as a resource to look up schools.</span>
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Burak’s Answer

Hey Will,


My college offered all students same set of courses for the first 2 years. And we were allowed to choose which ever major we like at the end of that 2 years. And they provided a lot of additional guidance with mentors etc to help us choose which major would be the best for us. Attending to such a college would be helpful. Other than that I utilized all of my summer and mid-semester holidays with official and non-official internships to gain more real life experience. Which provided the essential foundation to base my decision on my career path. I also talked a lot with my friends from senior classes and teachers etc. When combined all of these helped me in knowing what major/career was right for myself.

Burak recommends the following next steps:

Talk to senior students from other majors
Have internships at career positions you want to potentially work in the future
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Lucia Valeria’s Answer

Hi Will, I was at the same position few years ago. Something that helped me a lot is to take tests. There are tons of them and you have to answer them consciously , take some time for them and at the end you will have some alternatives. Find out more about them and choose one!
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Ken’s Answer

During my college years I faced the same question. I found that talking to the school counselor and favorite teachers and taking interest and aptitude testing and having results interpreted by the counselor was very helpful. Also, when doing college recruiting, I found that students who skipped these steps too often ended up in jobs/careers for which they were ill suited. Below are some steps that have helped many. You can do these steps while still in high school and again when first getting to college.

Ken recommends the following next steps:

Take and interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by a counselor.
Talk to the person at your school who tracks graduates and arrange to meet, talk to, visit, and possibly shadow graduates who are working in career areas identified by the testing. Here are some good ways to get good information. ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and visit professional associations to which people working in your career areas of interest belong, so that you can meet people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get good inside information. These associations are very open to students and may offer intern, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. Here are some helpful tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ## Many times there are on campus meetings of such associations, which would give you the opportunity to meet upper classmen who re involved in the same career areas, who could povide helpfu informaton and advice.
Being thankful for the opportunity to talk with people about their career area is very important. When possible it should be done in person or over the phone as you can more fully express your appreciation and create a dialogue whereby you might be able to gain further information. Here are some tips. Where it says to use email, try to use the phone or personal contact instead. ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ##
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