This is a guide for those who need help choosing a major for college. They encourage you to evaluate your interests, what really want and your strengths/skills before picking a major. They say that most people change their majors a couple of times before settling on one that they are comfortable with. Even after college, people change their careers up to 4-5 times and "no major exists that can prepare you for that!" So the major we decide on in college is primarily to set up up for our first job.
This guide is pretty honest and refreshing. Usually, students are pressured when it comes to choosing the "right" major and are warned to choose carefully. Growing up, ideas of a career were always brewing in the back of my mind. Everything done in school was to benefit my future. It was always don't get distracted and focus on your schoolwork because that's what's most important and you will always have time for fun in the future. Coming this far, most of us are afraid of screwing it up by picking the wrong major or career path and end up being miserable in our little cubicles. This article relieves my position a bit, knowing that I will have the option of turning back and if anything and it'd be okay to change my career according to to my changes in interest. Still, it's hard to imagine myself making radical changes like that when my family and not to mention the rest of society is a stick in the mud about measuring success financially rather than how much you enjoy your job.
McKay, Dawn Rosenberg. "Ten Myths About Choosing a Career How to Chart Your Ideal Path." About.com Guide. The New York Times Company, Web. 24 Feb 2010. http://careerplanning.about.com/od/careerchoicechan/a/myths_choice.htm
The article gives a list of 10 myths about career choosing that people often believe to be true. It talks about how it's possible to turn a hobby into a career, how the "best career" list shouldn't be the only reason for picking a job because conditions often change, how a career that your friend is enjoying might not necessarily mean that it would fit you, and how much more work it takes to build a career than simply choosing one and expecting things to fall into place etc. It's also similar to the first one because it stresses the point of aiming for your interests and skills and that money shouldn't be the biggest factor in your decision.
The list reflects the slow decay of society's traditional values. We are all encouraged to find a job where the number one factor is how much you would enjoy working there for the next 40 years. The idea of the American dream is slowly starting to evolve. Our dream is to not only to become rich and successful, but to also achieve that through things we enjoy doing.
McGuire, Jeff. "Choosing a Major in College." College VIew. Hobsons, Inc., Web. 24 Feb 2010. http://www.collegeview.com/choosing_a_major_in_college.html
This article explains why it's so important to pick the right major because it is directly related to choosing the right career. A lot of jobs/careers nowadays have really high standards and if you want to compete, your best bet would be to go to college and earn some skills. "It is important to make yourself as marketable as possible." It also provides you with a list of questions you might want to consider while choosing your major such as "Do you enjoy hands-on work?" or "Do you like to travel?"
Many times though, people seem to have either way too many answers for these questions or none at all. Both pose a problem to figuring what you want in the long term. The article seems to expect you to already have identified yourself, to already know your strengths, personality, and interests, and to score on your first try. They don't provide much of an alternative for those who aren't yet sure about who they are or what they want to do in life.
"Classes: The Reason You’re Here." Sparknotes. SparkNotes LLC, Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://www.sparknotes.com/college/life/page7.html
This page explains the process of choosing your college courses/classes. They talk about finding a wide range of electives you can sign up for so that when it comes time to choose a major, you'd have a broader range of knowledge to choose from. It also points out the fact that most freshmen don't have any idea what their major is going to be yet, so it's recommended to have a well rounded schedule. It also brings up your academic advisor. "Think of your academic advisor as your lifeline to putting together the best possible schedule for your four-year plan... Your advisor is also the person with whom you’re going to discuss your prospective major."
If you click back on the "College Home" page, you will see a list of subjects that is supposed to prepare you for college. I think this further emphasize the fact that college is viewed as such a crucial point in life. Overall though, I think the list of articles are pretty helpful and reflect college in a realistic way.
"How to Choose College Courses." eHow. eHow, Inc., Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://www.ehow.com/how_11246_choose-college-courses.html
This how to guide offers a more basic approach to picking out classes. It recommends sitting in on a bunch of classes before "committing for the entire term." It also talks about choosing electives after you find out what your major is going to be.
I think the guide is sort of helpful but probably is too vague to help you figure out exactly what you want. Its repetitiveness sounds like the things your college would tell you. Therefore, there's not much there that you probably don't already know.
Additional Research
McGuire, Jeff. "Choosing a Major in College." College VIew. Hobsons, Inc., Web. 24 Feb 2010. http://www.collegeview.com/choosing_a_major_in_college.html
This article explains why it's so important to pick the right major because it is directly related to choosing the right career. A lot of jobs/careers nowadays have really high standards and if you want to compete, your best bet would be to go to college and earn some skills. "It is important to make yourself as marketable as possible." It also provides you with a list of questions you might want to consider while choosing your major such as "Do you enjoy hands-on work?" or "Do you like to travel?"
Many times though, people seem to have either way too many answers for these questions or none at all. Both pose a problem to figuring what you want in the long term. The article seems to expect you to already have identified yourself, to already know your strengths, personality, and interests, and to score on your first try. They don't provide much of an alternative for those who aren't yet sure about who they are or what they want to do in life.
"Classes: The Reason You’re Here." Sparknotes. SparkNotes LLC, Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://www.sparknotes.com/college/life/page7.html
This page explains the process of choosing your college courses/classes. They talk about finding a wide range of electives you can sign up for so that when it comes time to choose a major, you'd have a broader range of knowledge to choose from. It also points out the fact that most freshmen don't have any idea what their major is going to be yet, so it's recommended to have a well rounded schedule. It also brings up your academic advisor. "Think of your academic advisor as your lifeline to putting together the best possible schedule for your four-year plan... Your advisor is also the person with whom you’re going to discuss your prospective major."
If you click back on the "College Home" page, you will see a list of subjects that is supposed to prepare you for college. I think this further emphasize the fact that college is viewed as such a crucial point in life. Overall though, I think the list of articles are pretty helpful and reflect college in a realistic way.
"How to Choose College Courses." eHow. eHow, Inc., Web. 3 Mar 2010. http://www.ehow.com/how_11246_choose-college-courses.html
This how to guide offers a more basic approach to picking out classes. It recommends sitting in on a bunch of classes before "committing for the entire term." It also talks about choosing electives after you find out what your major is going to be.
I think the guide is sort of helpful but probably is too vague to help you figure out exactly what you want. Its repetitiveness sounds like the things your college would tell you. Therefore, there's not much there that you probably don't already know.
Additional Research
- http://www.ehow.com/how_4462027_choose-right-major.html
- http://www.university-college.net/articles/choosing-college-major.php
- http://homeworktips.about.com/od/preparingforcollege/a/majors.htm
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