The Career Doctor's Cures & Remedies:
"How do I go about choosing a college major?"

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

This article is part of a series from The Career Doctor's Cures & Remedies to Quintessentially Perplexing Career and Job-Hunting Ailments. Read more.

My best words of advice for teens panicking and feeling anxious about not being certain about a college major? The three R’s: relax, reflect, research. College is a time to really discover what the adult within you wants to do with your life -- or at least the next phase of your life. Use your first year of college to really explore who you are, what you like, and what you want to do. Experiment. Take a variety of classes. Talk with older students in various majors. Meet with professors and talk with them about careers. Go to your college’s career-services office and take some career interest assessments. Research potential majors, careers, and jobs. Join a variety of student organizations.

And don’t feel pressured to make any decisions right away. Most first-year students take very similar courses -- regardless of their major -- as most colleges have a set of foundation or core courses that all students must complete. Yes, some students enter college knowing exactly what they want to major in -- perhaps even knowing their career goals too -- but that doesn’t mean you have to jump to any decision right away.

Remember to take advantage of these resources:

• Your college's course catalog -- you'll be amazed at the wealth of information you can find here…from required courses to specialized majors and tracks.
• Your professors, including your academic adviser -- talk with your professors, whether you have taken a class with them or not…many of them have worked in the field in which they teach and all are experts about careers and career opportunities.
• Your classmates, especially upper-division (juniors and seniors) students -- these are the folk who are deep into their major, perhaps already having had an internship or gone through job interviews. Use them as a resource to gather more information.
• Your college's alumni -- unless your college was just founded, your school probably has a deep and varied group of alums, many of whom like to talk with current students, so use them as a resource to gather more information about careers.
• Your family and friends -- there's a wealth of information right at your fingertips. Next time you go home or call home, ask your family about majors and careers.
• Your college's career center -- almost always under-appreciated, these folk have such a wealth of information at their fingertips that it is a shame more students don't take advantage of them…and not just in your senior year. Start visiting in your first year because most have resources for choosing a major and a career, as well as internship and job placement information.

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