The age old dilemma, you do all that work and wind up with a major in...what? Take your choice: sociology, psychology, ethnic studies, physics, classics, women's studies, organizational behavior and...not English lit. You didn't do a major in English lit, did you?
Well, don't fret about it. It's all water under the bridge, now. The fact is you did do all that hard work; put in those long, long nights of cramming for your exams, parties passed on to hit the books, and now here you are. Finally, a light bulb goes off in your head: Heck, what am I going to do now? What can I do with this major? Admittedly, this can be a daunting revelation. The real world is suddenly posed right outside your dorm room door. But there's no reason to panic; I'm here to help. And, no, you haven't just flushed the last four years of your life down the drain.
Having said all that, though, a little ounce of prevention might be in order to get us started. It is possible of course that you may be thinking about this before registering for a major. Well, aren't you clever? If that's the case, here are some tips to get you headed in the right direction.
1. At the risk of stating the obvious, you have to figure out what actually interests you.If you haven't done that, do it immediately. One smart step is to carefully examine options for majors provided by your college of choice. Rank them in order of priority.
2. If you've already decided what major you're interested in pursuing, or at least, once you've decided, start asking around. You probably know people who at least know people who've gone down precisely the path you're considering. Find out what they did with their major.
3. Talk to someone whose job is to know the ropes of just such matters. If you're still in high school, or even colleges to which you've been accepted (or even those you are considering for application), they have counselors and advisers. Providing you advice on just such matters is what they're paid to do. Make the best use of the resources at your disposal.
4. Heck, just try a focused Google search: what in darn can I do with this English lit major? (You might actually find something.)
No need to fret though if it's too late for such proactive prevention. The fact of the matter is that all those suggestions in points 2 through 4 are just as good for figuring out what to do when you already have your major. Find what have been the career options and choices of those with the same major. However forlorn you feel about your future, rest assured that the college adviser has heard it all before. Furthermore, lots of universities these days have career centers. Don't think for a second that you're the first major in Renaissance poetry to wander in looking for career leads.
Be sure though, not to pass over that Google search. The Big G, you know, is the fount of all knowledge and wisdom. (Okay, maybe you actually have to bring the wisdom, but for knowledge you can't beat it.) For instance, such a search reveals that many universities have online resources great for just this sort of thing. For instance, you can check out the University of California career center online.
There you can find data on career possibilities for dozens of majors. They have some fairly obscure ones. Heck, they might even have yours!
Groove on this all you English majors out there. It turns out with that wildly impractical English major you can still score an average salary of $43,589. (You can buy a lot of copies of Chaucer for those smackeroos.) And, better still, consider the actual occupations open to you: you can be an analyst, an editorial assistant, a product development coordinator or even...wait for it...a college adviser! Just imagine the poetic justice, as you get to lean back in your chair, with an air of confident bemusement, feet perched on your desk, with hands folded behind your head and smile knowingly each time another petrified grad comes stumbling into your office and nervously asks: uh, what can I do with this major?
So, hold your heads high all you grads, even if you did major in the Victorian novel or the mating customs of the Australian Aborigine. Hope springs eternal for a real future. And, who knows, maybe even a pay check!
Well, don't fret about it. It's all water under the bridge, now. The fact is you did do all that hard work; put in those long, long nights of cramming for your exams, parties passed on to hit the books, and now here you are. Finally, a light bulb goes off in your head: Heck, what am I going to do now? What can I do with this major? Admittedly, this can be a daunting revelation. The real world is suddenly posed right outside your dorm room door. But there's no reason to panic; I'm here to help. And, no, you haven't just flushed the last four years of your life down the drain.
Having said all that, though, a little ounce of prevention might be in order to get us started. It is possible of course that you may be thinking about this before registering for a major. Well, aren't you clever? If that's the case, here are some tips to get you headed in the right direction.
1. At the risk of stating the obvious, you have to figure out what actually interests you.If you haven't done that, do it immediately. One smart step is to carefully examine options for majors provided by your college of choice. Rank them in order of priority.
2. If you've already decided what major you're interested in pursuing, or at least, once you've decided, start asking around. You probably know people who at least know people who've gone down precisely the path you're considering. Find out what they did with their major.
3. Talk to someone whose job is to know the ropes of just such matters. If you're still in high school, or even colleges to which you've been accepted (or even those you are considering for application), they have counselors and advisers. Providing you advice on just such matters is what they're paid to do. Make the best use of the resources at your disposal.
4. Heck, just try a focused Google search: what in darn can I do with this English lit major? (You might actually find something.)
No need to fret though if it's too late for such proactive prevention. The fact of the matter is that all those suggestions in points 2 through 4 are just as good for figuring out what to do when you already have your major. Find what have been the career options and choices of those with the same major. However forlorn you feel about your future, rest assured that the college adviser has heard it all before. Furthermore, lots of universities these days have career centers. Don't think for a second that you're the first major in Renaissance poetry to wander in looking for career leads.
Be sure though, not to pass over that Google search. The Big G, you know, is the fount of all knowledge and wisdom. (Okay, maybe you actually have to bring the wisdom, but for knowledge you can't beat it.) For instance, such a search reveals that many universities have online resources great for just this sort of thing. For instance, you can check out the University of California career center online.
There you can find data on career possibilities for dozens of majors. They have some fairly obscure ones. Heck, they might even have yours!
Groove on this all you English majors out there. It turns out with that wildly impractical English major you can still score an average salary of $43,589. (You can buy a lot of copies of Chaucer for those smackeroos.) And, better still, consider the actual occupations open to you: you can be an analyst, an editorial assistant, a product development coordinator or even...wait for it...a college adviser! Just imagine the poetic justice, as you get to lean back in your chair, with an air of confident bemusement, feet perched on your desk, with hands folded behind your head and smile knowingly each time another petrified grad comes stumbling into your office and nervously asks: uh, what can I do with this major?
So, hold your heads high all you grads, even if you did major in the Victorian novel or the mating customs of the Australian Aborigine. Hope springs eternal for a real future. And, who knows, maybe even a pay check!
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If you're thinking of undertaking a bachelor in business, you have to check out Thomas Ryerson's insightful take on Looking behind the undergraduate business school rankings
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