By Michaela Sumpter
Every child embraces the statement, “When I grow up, I want to be.”
However, a large number of high school seniors walk across a stage, get handed a diploma, then sit back down confused about what the future holds. This uncertainty doesn’t end the first day of college.
A concern that plagues every college student is the vital choice in deciding a major. This stems from the fear of being unhappy, unsuccessful, or worse, unable to find work in their field.
The choice for Shawnah Hart, a freshman at ETSU, was especially difficult.
“It is a really serious decision,” she said. “You're deciding on an occupation that you will be doing the rest of your life. When you're young, you work temporary jobs with no intentions of staying there. After college, your life will revolve around that one decision you made. You'll be stuck with it until you can retire.
“At least that's how I see it. I want a job I know I will enjoy and be content with for a very long time,” she said. “No one wants to be miserable every day of their life doing something they hate. That's my issue.”
Ten adults were interviewed for this article, all of whom had a bachelor’s degree. Their ages ranged from 23 to 45. Five of these adults had a job that coincided with their degree. The other five had unrelated jobs. When asked, all 10 considered themselves to be happy and successful.
It is preconceived that the major in which you choose dictates your future. The problem is many college students have no real-world experience on which to base that decision.
Instead, practical questions are asked. Such as, how much money will I make? How hard are the classes? How long will I be in school? Will this truly make me happy?
Heather Mays, a senior at ETSU, changed her major four times.
“I was always pre-pharmacy,” she said. “From that, I went to business, to public relations, to dropping pharmacy and changing to apparel merchandising. Now I’m about to graduate and want to change it again. I’m not going to.
"However, I will end up back in school. I’m just not sure yet if I'm going to start working on a master's or get another bachelor's.”
A Web site called Ehow.com lists things a person should do before deciding the major they want to pursue.
The article encouraged students to write down interests, then research and compare those with available majors. Talk with senior students to get an understanding of what lies ahead academically. Speak with a career counselor at your college who can offer advice and direction. Sit in on a few related classes. Try doing an internship. This will expose you to your future work environment ahead of time.
Also, take some assessment tests. They are especially useful and can be found at the career services office at your college or online.
A Web site called Free-career-test.com has a person rate 100 different categories of tasks. The site then provides a report about your interests, personality, skills and abilities, while also giving you a preview of careers and educational areas.
Mays was asked why she thought college students had trouble deciding on a college major.
“I have thought about it a lot, and I don’t think people should be allowed to go straight from high school to college,” she said.
“People need to live, figure out who they are, what they enjoy, what they want out of life. I’m 22 years old. I have never had that opportunity. Therefore, I’m still not sure.”
