College Majors - Your First Step

Determining your college majors or major can be a challenge and somewhat frightening, unless you are one of the few that are absolutely certain what you want to do with your life.

Why choose college majors and not just one college major? It's a good idea to have either two college majors or one college major and one college minor. This gives you added credibility if you decide you want to emphasize different aspects of your education depening on which job you apply for later in life.

Whether you are already are employed, a high school student, or somewhere in between, you came here for a reason. If you already know your college majors, you can either use the information on this page to reconfirm your instincts, or skip to earn a degree. Of course, if you already know that also, you can skip directly to college search.

Approaches to determining college majors:

• Listen to yourself. If you haven't spent quiet time with yourself, now is the time to do it. Sometimes we let the pace of the world in which we live command our attention. Take some time every day to be alone, in a quiet place. Take a pen and paper or buy as special notebook just for this purpose, and write down your recollections of what you recall your talents were from your earliest memories. These would be things you did well, were recognized by others as doing well, and enjoyed doing. In fact, when you were or perhaps still are doing these things you loose track of time. You look forward to engaging in more of this or these activities. Next consider careers that would allow you to use those talents. With this information you will be on your way to selecting college majors that will increase your skills in these areas.

• Take a skills test. These are tests designed to show you, based on your answers, what aptitudes you have and what career choices might be good for you. These are only suggestions. They may show you have an aptitude for something that you don't feel, based on your knowledge of yourself, your other skills, or personal interests would be suitable. Once again, with these careers in mind, make a list of all the college majors that could help you develop your skills further.

• Talk to people who know you well. This could include family members, friends and associates. Sometimes observations of others are useful in pointing out things we don't see about ourselves. They also can confirm what you know about yourself. Get their ideas and add their comments to your notebook. It's best to reserve judgement on their comments, and just engage in the conversation. You may just stumble upon something surprising that neither of you or they had thought of before. Make notes of all of these conversations. Notice the similarities and differences. Select college majors that will support these careers. They may be the same as the others, or they may be slightly different.

• Talk to professional guidance counselors. If you are in high school, be sure to talk to a guidance counselor as well as your favorite teachers. Talk to the teachers who teach in your areas of interest. Call your Chamber of Commerce and ask if they can suggest someone to talk to in your field of interest to get a better idea of what life would be like in that career field. Ask them what their major was in college. Add their comments to your notebook.

  If you are in a career field already, seek out human relations professionals or good coaches who you can review your interests and plans with you for an objective viewpoint. Add their comments to your notebook. Get their suggestions on college majors that would support your growth and development and advance your career.

• Listen to yourself. You now have in your notebook a list of your talents and things you enjoyed doing while using those talents. You have comments from people who know you as well as counselors. You have results of skills tests. You have made several lists of college majors relating to these feelings and recommendations. Review all these notes. See if there is a trend in the college majors you selected. When all is said and done, listen to your heart. What does it tell you?

If you have determined your college majors, congratulations! Go to the next step and choose your credentials.

Can't decide on college majors?

If you are still uncertain about your college majors it doesn't mean anything other than you are not clear or not ready to choose. Be kind to yourself. Make two daily appointments with yourself to:

1. Do something you enjoy.

2. Spend quiet time alone without music, television, or other distractions. If there seems to be no place like that where you live, go to a library, church, museum, or park. Meditation is useful to clear the mind and allow the quiet voice from within to guide you. Meditation can be as simple as sitting in silence and focusing on your breathing in and out, then letting any thoughts or body sensations you notice float away without attaching any meaning to them.

Regular time with yourself and in quiet meditation and reflection will begin to reveal your inner self. Remember, to be gentle, patient and kind with yourself through this process. If you find this is more troubling than helpful, do seek professional help. Sometimes we all reach roadblocks. That's why counselling is a career field, to help us normal people through those times.

Stay at this step as long as you need to until you are clear what you want to study, what you want to offer. If you are in high school and want to go on to college, but don't have a decision of college majors to choose, you can take general studies and choose some courses in areas that interest you. Then you can declare your college major after you have some college experience. Check with your college to determine when you must declare your college majors or major. Remember to keep your notebook and keep your appointments with yourself twice a day as mentioned above to continue to learn about yourself. When you find one your really like, review it with the comments in the rest of your notebook and see if it makes sense.

Remember, life is a journey, not a destination. Choose college majors that you enjoy and allow you to contribute to others. Take good care of yourself, and let the rest work itself out. Trust yourself.