Picking a college major... How did YOU do it?

[toxicgarden]

I am in the middle of attempting to make the right decision for my college career and want a little advice! I am interested in Finance, Nursing, Nutrition, Graphic Design, and possibly Marketing. I am almost done with my Gen Ed's and need to make a semi decision today! So....How did you pick your Major?

 

[razorbackbelle0]

I picked what I loved to do. I'm a graphic artist now, and I love the advertising and marketing field. While all I wanted to do was Graphic Design, I picked a major in Advertising and Public Relations because it's a blanket major that you can do SO many things with, from designing ads to market research to just about anything!

 

[cbetht]

I picked the fastest way out! After changing my major so many times and being stuck with such a variety of classes, General Studies was what I chose. I'm now going to graduate school for business so I have something to back up my somewhat useless undergrad degree!!! Pick what you love

 

[candace117]

I started off in Athletic Training and found myself taking a ton of philosophy classes, so that made me start to think 'WTF am I doing?' I figured I may as well get something for my efforts, so I switched from a BS in exercise physiology to a BA in Philosophy. I wasn't totally easy - the university lost my Spanish placement scores so I had to take 2 years of a foreign language. It was a good opportunity for me to do something new, so I took German.

For me, philosophy was a great choice because the questions were real-life applicable, challenged me to become a better critical thinker and writer, and provided a great foundation for any further study I might choose.

 

[VivaNYC]

Nursing sounds great. Shortage of nurses in US!!!!! If you wanted to, you can work 3 days/wk and still make $$.

 

[lilian]

I tried to find a balance between what I was best at and what I enjoyed the most. I liked reading and I was a good writer, so I did English.

It sounds like the things you're considering lead to specific careers though (i.e. marketing, finance, nursing), so you probably want to consider what you can see yourself doing in the future.

 

[alely]

Well if you can next semester, take the intro class to every one of the majors you're deciding upon and see which one strikes up your fancy more than the other. I like what razorbackbelle0 did as well

 

[sparkles48]

I couldn't pick between English and Psychology... so I just did both! They were both subjects I truly enjoyed so taking all those classes for both majors was an enjoyable experience for me. Make sure when you pick a major it's something you REALLY want to do. Too many of my friends picked majors that were just the means to an end and they were miserable doing it.

 

[carol86cruz]

Nursing sounds great. Shortage of nurses in US!!!!! If you wanted to, you can work 3 days/wk and still make $$.

i'm doing dental assisting...there's such a shortage of them out there, and dentists are really dependent on them..
next i'll go on to being a dental hygienist...they get paid at least $30 an hour!!!
but back to your question, i chose this profession because i really wanted to get somewhere with my life...without having to work a job i hated...it's fast, and i'll definitely have a good job that i'll like!

 

[mastermemei]

I'm a web designer/webmaster.
When I was in high school I didn't have a problem choosing my course since I knew what I want to be and what I enjoy doing.

 

[allierichie]

Pick whatever you are most interested in! It is a lot easier to study something when you really are curious about every aspect in that major.

Maybe you can get it down to 3 areas that you want to go for and then pick outt he major....like the finance/marketing is business, so you'd be doing a lot of businesss courses. Nursing & nutrition, lots of science. Graphic design...art.

Find out which prerequisites can go along with the different majors in case you want to change. Then you will already have those prerequ's that won't keep you from taking a class in another major.

I have been in your place before and changed my major too many times! good luck!

 

[stacmck]

Well, I was pre-med and most pre-meds either picked biology or chemistry...I hated chemistry and loved biology, so I picked biology.

Thank God I got into med school - otherwise I don't know what I would have done with a Biology degree!

 

[*Lo]

Well, I was pre-med and most pre-meds either picked biology or chemistry...I hated chemistry and loved biology, so I picked biology.

Thank God I got into med school - otherwise I don't know what I would have done with a Biology degree!

I am on the pre med track and am in such a SLUMP....and am questioning if its for me and then what do i do with a bio/math major ...I am soo confused

*sorry didnt mean to hijak thread*

I picked bio bc i want to go to med schol, but now i dont know what i want and am almost done with my jr yr...pick what you love but doesnt restrict you

 

[elizat]

Pick what you enjoy and also, what will give you the most options in the future. Finance would give you lots of options, as would marketing. Nursing is great, but if you don't go into health care, you might have to go back to school or suck it up if you don't like it. Neither are fun choices.

I majored in communication w/ three minors. I thought I wanted to do journalism or PR. Apparently I didn't and ended up going to law school- go figure.

 

[Pursegrrl]

I'm a liberal arts grad and now have worked in the IT world for about 13 years or so...I have an International Studies degree with an emphasis on east europe/Soviet Union affairs (OK it was olden days in the late 80s when the soviet union still existed) and a minor in Russian.

How did I pick this? Well, I wanted a major where I didn't have to get too in depth into anything, LOL. International Studies was a perfect choice. I"ve always been interested in int'l affairs, and the major dabbled in economics, poli sci, history, geography, foreign language, you name it. PERFECT fit.

I always thought I'd be an ambassador some day or end up at the state department or in foreign service but it didn't happen. Still, I'm very happy with how my career path has turned out!