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Choosing a Major to Support Your Career Goals

Choosing a college degree can be overwhelming decision. College degrees are important because they can influence the jobs available to you after college. They open doors to more prestigious jobs and higher salaries. You should consider choosing a degree that suits your interests and career goals.

We know this is a big decision. Wizeprep has put together this guide to inform you of what jobs options are available to you depending on your degree. We also want to help students struggling to choose their college major and give resources to students looking to take the first steps in their careers.

We at Wizeprep are adept at helping you with your college and university subjects that can be tough. We want to ensure that no matter what major or career you choose, we are there to make sure you'll get the best grades possible.

But that's only part of the story. You also might want help and guidance in thinking through which subjects are the ones that would be the best for you. You might want help thinking through the choices for choosing your major, and that's where we come in.
Choosing a College Major
We've all heard that old adage about doing something you love, but how do you find out what you love until you've tried a number of different things? If you are just at the starting point of your educational journey, you might not yet know what you love or be able to narrow things down enough to choose your major. 

Alexi tells the story of choosing an Engineering major, and there are other first-person accounts that are worth paying attention to as others tell their stories of choosing their majors. But in the end it will have to be your decision.

Check aggregate research and information on a variety of higher ed topics that can help you understand the research and studying landscape. 

As well, while lots of people can give you their opinions or their advice about what major you should pursue, really only you will be able to determine what course of study, what major will be the best fit for you. As you begin to think about your program of study and how to filter through all the noise of being a college or university student, you should ask yourself a few key questions to begin to determine what is the best major for you.

1. Ask yourself these questions before choosing your major:
The following key questions are designed to help you narrow down and focus your own choices as you begin the journey to discover what is the best college or university major for you.

What is my program of study like? What are its requirements?
Before you can even begin narrowing down what your major might look like, you will want to know the program requirements of your degree in order to plan things out effectively. Some programs are very prescriptive, and you won't really have the flexibility to choose your own major or outline what courses are the most important to you. While other programs are very open-ended and there are a number of electives you can choose from. You want to make sure that you understand the pre-requisites and co-requisites required for your degree before you even get started thinking about your major (or minor) subject areas.

What does my freshman year look like?
Many colleges and universities have designed first-year or freshman programs that are specifically designed to give you the chance to be exposed to as many different subjects and courses as possible. For instance these first-year open programs at the University of Toronto are designed to give you a breadth of experience before you narrow your focus later in your degree; while these first-year programs of study at the University of British Columbia are specifically designed around community-building. And there's a whole list of USA-based colleges that are ranked by their freshman programming and experience. So you want to take advantage of whatever open-ness is planned in that first year, so that you can make choices about your major after.

When do I have to declare my major?
At most colleges or universities, you have to declare your major after your sophomore year (second year), and so you want to make sure that you've taken enough courses in subjects that you are considering to be able to make the best choice in a major for you. Find out exactly when you have to declare your major at your school and then work back from there. If you have to do so at the end of your second year as is typical, then look at how many options you have in those first two years to take courses that you think might be of interest to you. That way, when you actually decide you will have experienced courses in the area that you've zoned in on as your major.

How do I learn about different subject areas?
You may not be able to take courses in the entire range of subjects offered at university before you choose your college major, but we can help with that. Wizeprep offers study support in a whole range of college and university subjects, and you can go in and look at those materials (for free) to see if there are subjects of particular interest to you. One thing to note is that there's often a big difference between how a subject appears in a high school class and how that discipline appears as a field of research and study at college and university. Just because you liked a subject in high school does not mean that you'll like the scholarly discipline of it at the higher levels, so try to learn as much as possible about the field before declaring your major.

What happens if I want to change my major?
While it is certainly possible to change your major in the middle of your degree, you will want to take such a choice very seriously. If, for example, you have taken a number of the required courses for Major A and then decide that you'd like to switch to Major B, you might find it hard to fit in all the required courses for Major B before your degree is up. You could end up paying for extra semesters or taking extra courses in order to fulfil those requirements. Also, sometimes we want to change our major not necessarily for the right reasons. Ideally if you've put the right thought and effort into choosing the right major for you in the first place, then you will be able to stick with it, even if there are days or courses that are tougher than others.

What about a double major?
We've been focusing so far on some key questions to ask yourself as you focus on how to declare your college major, but what about if you are thinking of pursuing a double major? What is a double major and how can you decide whether that's the best choice for you? A double major is when you commit to taking all the required courses for one major - FOR TWO OF THEM. This might also apply in the case above where you are considering changing a major. You might consider just having two instead! There are a number of benefits to choosing a double major, and generally you declare the addition of the second major a little bit after declaring your first. So, for example, at the end of your second year, you might declare yourself a Psychology major, but if you layer in enough additional courses in your third year, you might then be able to be both a double Psychology and Economics major (both subjects we can help you with by the way!).
So in a nutshell, you want to ask yourself those key questions as you begin to think about and narrow down what subject area might be the best for you to focus on as you determine your major.

But that only gets at half of the issue - the part about finding a major that fits with your interests. The other half of the issue that you owe it to yourself to consider are what career options you might be able to pursue depending on the major you choose. 

2. What are some top career paths based on your major?
Different career options are open to students who focus on different areas of study. While you may not yet know what you want to do or be when you grow up, you can start focusing your quest to determine the best major on what's both a good fit for you, but also what potential careers each major may offer you. You will want to think about these as you consider getting a good job after college.

While there are some majors that will lead you into a good career path, there are some careers that are as-yet undetermined, and so you'll want to choose a major that is the most likely to lead to a good career, even if that particular career isn't invented yet! With the rate of change of technology and contemporary life, some of the jobs of the future won't yet be majors for you to choose from, but if you think through your options with an eye to flexibility in your future career you might make some good, future proofing decisions in choosing that major!

Let's look closely at some potential career options based on some common majors or degrees that aren't specifically tied to a "this major equals this job" equation but rather a broader understanding that the major you choose today gets you into a field of work tomorrow, and the jobs of tomorrow might not exist today, so your major needs to give you some foundational skills to help you be ready for any career that might emerge.

Some of these pathways are fixed, and some have the potential to grow all the way to the C-Suite and beyond. 

These potential career paths for each field of study or major aren't locked in stone, but give you an idea of what jobs might look like for you upon graduation or what career you can get after college based on your major:
Business: Degrees in Business, often a BComm (Bachelor of Commerce Degree) or BA (Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in Business fields) have some very wide and open career options for you to consider. For instance, you might study something like Financial Accounting and go on to certify as a financial analysis or accountant. You can also work as a comptroller in a business or even work your way up to being the Chief Financial Officer of a big company who oversees all the financial decisions and planning of an organization. Managerial Accounting is similar, but is much more operational in nature than the pure finance of Financial Accounting. You can find yourself working in any kind of business with this type of background, even starting your own and being the Chief Executive Officer of your own startup!

Economics: Economics degrees and majors - both macro- and micro-economics - can form the foundation of any number of careers. You can be a financial analyst or an economist or a researcher or even learn a variety of on-the-job skills in another field but with a sound understanding of the economic principles underpinning all commercial interactions. It's a very versatile program of study that can also typically earn you a six figure salary.

Statistics: Like many Business courses, Statistics can often be found in a number of different programs of study. You could be a Stats major within Math, Business, Policy, Commerce, or even Arts and Science Faculties. And the very openness of where Stats courses may fall at a particular college or university also indicates how wide-ranging the career options are for Statisticians. Most often those good with numbers and analyzing data, which is key for success in Statistics, end up in amazing Data Analyst roles. It's a well-paying and versatile field to pursue.

Marketing: Almost every corporate context involves Marketing skills in one form or another. If you are good at understanding how to speak to multiple kinds of audiences in nuanced ways, then there's a chance that you have what it makes to be a great Marketer. Marketers can work on digital marketing campaigns and social media, all the way through complex strategic branding and Chief Marketing Officer roles and responsibilities where you will set strategic goals and objectives for marketing, branding, and growth. With a background in Marketing you will have the skillset to grow and adapt as the specific marketing channels that develop change over time.

Health Professions: While maintaining healthy dietary habits and keeping one's focus on mental health are very important during a college or university experience, focusing on various health fields as degrees or majors can lead to some very interesting professions in healthcare. Some of these professions are the obvious ones like: doctor or nurse. But you might also look at things within the field of nutrition or health sciences like getting into elder care and support or fitness and training. 

Biological and Biomedical Sciences: Like careers within health professions, careers within the Biological sciences may follow that typical medical path (in which case, you definitely want to check out Wizeprep's MCAT resources to help you study), but you can also pursue other career paths with a Major in biology including things as diverse as being a Heath or Biology writer or educator or working within parks and environmental conservation. As well, there are a variety of lab technical positions that do not require advanced degrees that you might consider. 

Chemistry: Similar to Biology and Biological Sciences, Chemistry majors may find fields that are very specific and require more study, but also more general in the scientific arena. There are some common careers for Chemistry majors, including (but not limited to): careers in research, careers in government, careers in oil and gas (or other resource extraction fields), careers electrical or other power industries, or even chemical manufacturing. A life long career in experimentation of many different types might be in your future if you love Chemistry.

Psychology: Psychology is one of the most popular majors for college and university students. Introductory to Psychology courses at almost every institution of higher learning will typically be one of the largest and most full classes on campus. So there will be a lot of graduates with a degree in Psychology and you can go on with this training in human mind and motivations to be successful in: counselling, human resources, teacher's aids and special needs educators, social services, and general work within most businesses where you may get extra training in fields such as communications or stakeholder management or customer support. As a Psychology major, you have all the skills necessary to be able to help people.

Communication and Journalism: If you have the skills of being able to write well, then you might consider these types of majors and careers. Often these careers are now more freelance than stable, salaried jobs as they once were, but there's a great degree of flexibility  if you are willing to work in this kind of gig economy where you may have many different part-time or contract "gigs" focusing on storytelling in a compelling way.

Computer and Information Sciences: Almost all jobs now and into the future will have some technological component to them (which is why this course, and ones like it, are so important). Elementary students are learning coding, and being able to be computer literate in a deep way will put you in good stead for any number of careers in the future. There are typical jobs such as tech support or IT personnel within a job all the way up to being a Chief Information Officer who oversees all the technical components at an organization, including data privacy and protection and things like the information architecture required to run a given business or organization. The more you understand the technical and computer systems under the hood, the more you can make sure everything runs properly in any type of organization.

Visual and Performing Arts: You might be absolutely drawn to programs in the visual and/or performing arts. These include courses in digital arts and graphic design but also programs that include drama and dance. Those with degrees or majors in visual arts might pursue fields such as video game design or film or tv production. If you have a very good eye for things, you may get into art editing or directing. What if you have a degree or major in performing arts? In that case, you might be looking at a career in podcasting or performing. If you focus on drama, then you might pursue a career in acting, but if you focus on voice, then you might pursue a career in singing. Creative industries aren't going anywhere, and so while careers in the arts may be atypical in terms of professions our parents and grandparents might think of, there are many careers for those in the arts.

Social Sciences: Degrees and majors in social sciences includes fields such as Sociology or Criminology and might lead to careers within policing or law enforcement. These might include jobs as: parole officers, case workers, paralegals, or activists. Sociology "is the study of human social relationships and institutions," and being able to analyze the inter-relatedness of people and organizations can make you valuable in a variety of jobs, including administration and organization and could lead all the way up to a Chief Administrative Officer role, which is a top-tier job that ultimately oversees the administration and performance of an organization.

Liberal Arts: Degrees and majors that are considered "liberal arts" are the Humanities courses of studies and include things such as English, History, or Classics. These degree programs used to be the foundation of a Classical education in the West and has its roots in Ancient Greece. Before the expansion of post-secondary education in the latter part of the twentieth century, many educated persons went through a course of study much like today's Liberal Arts or Humanities programs. Today these programs are very versatile, but are less job training and more exposure to modes of thinking, writing, and approaching the world. In that way, if you do well in a Humanities or Liberal Arts program then you will have mastered critical thinking and writing skills, which will be in demand in any job. So if you've ever wondered "Why do we study English anyway?" the answer may lie in being able to be a critical thinker and writer.
3. What majors lead to standard, professional careers?
In the listings and overview above, we want to give you the broadest sense of the fields that you might go into with any number of majors or degrees to choose from in and ever-changing world so you can plot out your job life after college. That said, there are also the more traditional careers that emerge from specific degree programs that can still be flexible in terms of what they offer professionally.

These include:
Engineering: Engineering professions typically fall under four different types: 1. chemical, 2. civil, 3. electrical, and 4. mechanical engineering. Upon graduating with one of these four engineering degrees (a BEng), you will be able to get entry-level positions as an engineer and work your way up within your field. You may also choose to do further study, but you could walk into a job as an engineer simply with a Bachelor's degree.

Medicine: In most (but not) all places, a medical degree is a second degree. This means that you have to first complete an undergraduate or bachelor's degree before you are eligible to enrol in Medical School. However, some Medical School programs do not require you to complete a degree first, just some pre-requisite courses. In North America, you will have to take the MCAT in order to apply for Med School, and then once you complete your medical degree, you may choose a further specialization, or work as a General Practitioner with an MD and the right to call yourself Dr.

Law: Like careers in medicine, in most jurisdictions in order to pursue a Law degree you must first complete an undergraduate degree and be successful in writing the LSAT, which is the standardized exam for Law School admissions. There are different fields of law such as: corporate, intellectual property, family, immigration, personal injury, civil, and criminal, and upon graduation you will need to article and build up your experience in the field of law you hope to practice in as a working lawyer.

Education: Education, like Engineering, often only requires a Bachelor's degree, and that's enough for you to go and get a job as a teacher. The length of the degree in Education (a BEd in most cases) differs from university to university, but upon graduation in most jurisdictions you'll be set to work in a classroom full of students keen to learn! Most degrees in Education focus on either primary or secondary teaching. If you focus on being a primary school teacher, then you will learn about managing groups and activities to help young children learn social skills. If you focus on being a secondary school teacher, then you will likely need more than one "teachable" subject, which is a subject area often taught as part of the core curriculum in middle- and high-schools. You could also do a diploma program to be a second-language teacher. For example, you might want to teach English overseas, and you could do that with a diploma rather than an education degree.
So once you are able to think through and examine what potential careers lie at the end of your college and university degree you can parse through and figure out the best major for you with better clarity. That question of what career can I get with this major becomes less scary when you look at all your options.

So if you find yourself asking "what can I do with a major in..." then we hope that the details here help you narrow down your ideas and help you plan your next steps for jobs after college or university.
Resources to Kickstart your Career
And the next steps once you've chosen your degree or major (or even your double major), including thinking through getting your career off the ground. While college and university can be amazing experiences in and of themselves and for many people are an unbelievable rite of passage, ultimately the whole point of a post-secondary education is to prepare us for careers and lives that stretch far beyond our time as students.

So what are some ways to kickstart that career of your dreams? Here are some of our suggestions for how you can start laying that groundwork while you are still a college or university student:

1. How to focus on extracurriculars to help you get a job after graduation?
Every student knows that joining extracurricular activities is a good thing. Getting involved in extracurriculars at college and university is just as important (if not more so) than getting involved in them in high school. 

Extracurriculars can also be super important to build out the career pathway that you might be looking for. There are many reasons why you should get involved in university clubs and activities and some of them are related to you landing that dream job in the future that grows organically from your dream major. 

Here are our top 5 tips for why you should focus on extracurricular activities while a college or university student:
Become Social Entrepreneurs: Read how two university students turned their social anxiety into a product and enterprise. Not only did they overcome their stress and anxiety issues, but improved their public and social skills and built something that they can have on their resumes forever.

Learn Time Management Skills: Read how important it is to be able to balance school, work, and extracurriculars. If you are able to develop these time management skills while still a student, they will serve you well once you are a full time worker.

Make Friends and Be More Social: Read the advice from this Queen's University student on the importance of connecting to community to not only feel less alone but also helps you to begin developing that super important career skill: NETWORKING!

Find your Community: Read here about the weirdest clubs at McGill University. These types of clubs can help you to not feel alone. You can find like-minded friends and others into the same things - no matter how weird they might be - as you are. And in so doing, you can find opportunities that fit for you from this group of like-minded friends.

Develop Writing and SEO Skills: Many clubs and extracurriculars will have blogs and newsletters, and you can have the opportunity to write your first blog for an organization outside of any personal online publications you might do. You can then hone your own writing and online publishing skills, including learning about search engine optimization (SEO) as it pertains to blog writing, which can come in handy when you start applying for jobs.
Extracurriculars are, therefore, an important part of your college and university experience, but they are also an important stepping stone on your own personal career journey.

Your career journey may begin with you choosing the right major for you, but it doesn't end there. It includes thinking through and researching the career options that lie at the end of the pathway once you graduate with that major or degree, but also at the end of the set of skills you can build in more informal settings like those offered by clubs and other extracurricular activities.
2. How can campus job experience help you find a dream job after graduation?
Our Ultimate Guide to Internships walks you through everything (and we mean EVERYTHING) you need to know about internships and how they can help you land your dream job. There are links to many different resources that can help you make sense of the importance of getting your first internship so that you can develop those job skills that will build out of your major and help you land the kind of job that will be a good fit with your interests, but also a good fit with where you want to be professionally.

Internships, Co-op placements, and or part-time work on campus can be really great ways to develop some professional skills to complement the academic qualifications that you are securing by getting those great grades in all of your courses (especially if you let Wizeprep be your ultimate study guide through some of those toughest subjects), and we have our top 5 tips for helping you land the right kind of work experience while still being a student in order to help you get the career you want and deserve one day:
Get an Internship without Any Experience: Read advice from a student on how to land your dream internship, even if you don't have any relevant experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, and your first internship will open the door to other opportunities. But first you have to land that first one!

Learn the real truth on the value of a Co-Op: Read this UBC student's evaluation of the pros and cons of the co-op program. A Co-op program is like an internship, in that you get a real job, but it differs in that it is a requirement for some degree programs, whereas an internship is your choice, and graduation doesn't depend on it.

Land a Part-Time Job on Campus: Find out about some top tips for landing that part-time job on campus. Obviously a part-time job is great for the income, but it can also help you build up your resume, get references, learn skills, and hone your networking.

Develop Interview Skills: While you hunt for your internship or co-op or part-time job, you will also be introduced to the genre of job interviews. It is important to know what not to say in an interview in order to land one of these positions, and once you have some interview experience as a student, you'll be much better at interviewing after you graduate.

Work During the Summer Semester: In most campuses the school year offers fewer courses during the summer season, so if you don't have to be busy busy busy will full-time classes during the summer, you could get a summer job. Working full-time when you don't have to be in school full-time will let you focus 100% on developing those professional skills that will be helpful as you build your career.
Being able to choose a major to support your career goals is important. But it is also important to know some key questions you should ask in choosing the best major for you and having your eyes wide open as to the types of careers open to you depending on what major you choose.

This post hopefully offers you all sorts of guidance and resources that can help you determine the best major or degree program of study to get you the job that you're looking for.

Additional Resources:
For more information on how your career quest intersects with your life as a student, please check out the following resources:
1. Preparing for your Freshman Year: Even before you arrive at college or university, you should begin thinking about what you want out of your education.
2. Your Ultimate Guide to Internships: Once you begin your educational journey, you will want to map out internships and professional skills.
3. Translating Academic Skills into Job Skills: Thinking about how the things that you learn as core components of your major translate into job skills is an important step in career readiness.