Choosing a College Major

Whether you're a high school senior applying to colleges or a college sophomore struggling to decide before dealings, choosing a major can be a stressful thing. One of the biggest things to think about is your major is not permanent, you can change it. Just be aware that if you change it drastically later on in your college carer you may have to take an extra semester of classes.

Earlier this week I was sitting down with a friend, who is also in my business school, and he says to me "I hate business, I've always hated business." Well then why did he apply business? As a senior in high school your parents may be pressuring you to choose a certain major over the other because of their preferences. This is when you need to step up and make a decision for yourself. You're going to be in college! If you know you want to do something do it. Don't be afraid to go against anyone else's beliefs. 

If you have no idea what you want to do with your life (like most 17-20 year olds) then sit down and follow these steps to try and see what your major could possibly be. 

1. Make a list of every profession you hate. This may sound tedious but listing out everything you don't want to be can help you narrow down to something you could see yourself doing. 
2. Decide how many hours a week you want to work (realistically.) If you don't think you could pull a 72 hour shift at a hospital or you have other large priorities in your life, like spending time with your family, then maybe being a doctor isn't right for you. 
3. Make a list of the subjects in high school that really interested you. Loved history and current events? Look up careers that incorporate them like politics, or a government analyst. Hated english but loved math (o.k. all math except calculus) then you may want to consider accounting. 
4. Think about what yo want to wear to work everyday. This may sound silly, but it may be the one thing that helped me find a major that I love. When I was 15 I couldn't decide if I wanted to be a fashion designer, an art teacher, or an anthropologist, so my mom asked me "what do you want to wear to work everyday?" I almost immediately answered "Colorful closed toe pumps with fun colored slim fit pants and a blazer." My mom said that a blazer and heels suggests business but the color is more creative, and to look for a profession that allows you to be creative but within a structured environment. That's how I found marketing! So really think about what you want to wear. Do you want to wear a tie? do you want to wear heels? Do you not want to have to follow a dress code? What you wear is a lot more important in the job hunt process than you may think, because being comfortable in what you're wearing is a necessity to being happy in a future career. 

If you're still really stumped and haven't even been able to narrow down what type of studying you want to do, then go in undeclared and try taking one course in as many different fields as you can your freshman year. Once you've done that, think back on the classes that excited you. Join clubs in fields you've never considered before and see if it sparks your interest for something new. 

Finding what you love to do takes time. But you have a choice to spend that time enjoyably and proactively over stressing yourself out the whole time. 

xoxo 

AME

P.S. If you found these tips helpful let me know! 

If you have a question about high school or college and you want me to answer it don't be afraid to shoot me an email, tweet @ me, or write on my Facebook page. I will definitely make sure all your questions get answered.