Hello my Socratica Friends.
We’re here to help you be a GREAT STUDENT.
Now here’s a question we’re all faced with when we go to college.
What’s your major?
What are you majoring in?
What are you going to do with the REST OF YOUR LIFE!!???
No pressure.
Let’s talk through this together.
This is a chance for you to use your problem-solving skills on YOURSELF.
First, you have to understand your options.
One of my friends marked “social science” as an interest on her PSAT form... because
she saw the word “science,” and she was interested in biology, chemistry, physics....
She didn’t know that “social science” is the study of human society - things like
politics, sociology, anthropology...
Pretty soon, she was getting ALL these pamphlets from colleges that didn’t really match her
interests.
All because - she didn’t know the correct terminology.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Pick up a catalog from a BIG college - they’re mostly online nowadays - and go treasure hunting.
Have a look at the description of each major.
The catalog should also tell you which courses are required to get each degree.
There’s going to be a lot of overlap there - for instance, many science majors will have
very similar prerequisites before you get to the advanced, more specialized courses.
As you look through the course catalog, pay attention to….your attention.
That is, which courses really grab you.
Are there any classes you get excited about taking?
That’s a good sign.
Do you know any students who have declared one of these majors?
Talk to them about their choice.
See how much your experience and interests match theirs.
Ask them about their workload, and their advice about how to be successful.
Also, while you’re at it, ask them if they have any regrets - do they feel like they
missed out on anything?
Is there anything they would do differently?
It’s also a good idea to interview college instructors.
If you’re lucky, one of them may be willing to let you pick their brain.
Ask about your career options, if you choose to study this subject.
Now remember, college instructors are career academics, and there are many different jobs
out there other than being a college professor.
With that in mind, it’s a great option to shadow someone who has a job you’re interested
in.
What did THEY major in?
This might surprise you.
You’ll find lawyers who were science majors.
Doctors who studied French Literature.
It’s true, most doctors did major in pre-med in undergrad.
But just realize that your major doesn’t have to be a life sentence.
There will be many careers open to you.
Now that you’ve educated yourself about your options, let’s take a closer look at
YOU.
There are a lot of great majors out there, but which one will suit YOU?
Remember that old saying - if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your
life.
So what do you love to do?
What do you like to read?
Are you interested in the latest scientific discoveries?
Or would you rather read about the latest election?
How about TV shows?
Think about what you like to read and watch for fun.
What you like to talk about with your friends?
Or, if you’re making small talk with someone at a party, how would you like that conversation
to go?
Would you like to speculate about the future?
Or talk about an ancient culture?
Basically, we’re trying to pin down where does your mind NATURALLY go.
Start paying attention to how you spend your unscheduled time.
Those choices you make can be quite telling about your natural proclivities.
This can make a big difference when you need a little extra energy to carry you through
those tough times in college.
Now here’s another serious consideration.
What are you actually GOOD AT.
Which subjects do you find come to you a little easier - or, put another way - which classes
do you enjoy putting in the necessary time to do really well?
It’s one thing to enjoy solving math puzzles for fun, but are you actually gifted in that
direction to do serious math research?
Where do you get good grades?
And where do you find yourself struggling, despite your best efforts?
Ask your closest friends for their input.
What have they observed?
Parents, teachers, loved ones - everyone is going to have an opinion.
Just keep in mind that YOU are the final decision maker here.
It’s YOUR life, after all.
And you know yourself better than anyone else.
But it never hurts to get a second opinion.
Sometimes - this is a little funny - you’ll find yourself getting offended when someone
tries to give you advice and tells you you need to be a doctor or lawyer or kindergarten
teacher.
Take a minute to examine those feelings.
What do they tell you about yourself?
It means you envision something different for yourself, right?
What is that vision?
Tap into that.
Have you tried this trick - pretend you HAVE to make your decision today.
Pick one of the majors you’ve been considering, and try it out for a week or so.
Go around saying to yourself, “I’m a PHYSICS major.
I’m going to school to study PHYSICS.”
Take that course catalog, and plan out all the classes you would take to get that degree.
Picture yourself after college.
Where will that degree take you?
And are you happy with that picture of your future?
Your gut reaction is important here.
You want a future you’ll look forward to.
If you’re still struggling, you could pull out the big guns.
Consider taking a formal survey.
These are intended to measure career and leisure interests in a quantitative way.
One popular option is the Strong Interest Inventory, which is based on the work of Stanford
Psychologist Edward Kellog Strong Jr.
The Strong assessment measures interests in various areas, as well as basic personality
types that might make you better suited for one occupation over another.
You can pay companies to administer one of these surveys and interpret it for you.
But before you do that, visit the career development office at your college.
Your school may offer one of these surveys as part of their regular service.
One last thing, my Socratica Friends.
You CAN change your mind.
You can.
Don’t feel like you’re deciding the rest of your life, just by choosing your major.
If you start down one path and it turns out to be the wrong choice?
Guess what.
You can pick yourself up and start again in another direction.
Promise.
We hope this helped you feel better about making this choice.
We’d love to hear what you’ve decided.
Tell us about it in the comment section!
Now that we’ve got that all sorted out, you can think about ...What are you going
to MINOR in?
We’re so glad you’ve been watching and learning with us.
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Thank you.