If you’re heading to college this fall, everyone is probably asking you, “What’s your major?”
I went into college knowing that I wanted a career in marketing. I attended Adel DeSoto Minburn High School (which is in the town where Kuder is headquartered in Iowa) and I used Kuder Navigator® and took the Kuder assessments several times between ninth and 12th grade. This process really helped me to confirm my career and education choices.
The assessments used my personal interests, skills confidence, and work values to give me a list of several career paths and occupations to explore. My Holland code (Enterprising/Conventional/Social, or ECS) showed me my “work personality” and helped me narrow down the types of work environments in which I would be most comfortable.
I was initially drawn to marketing as a college major after observing family members in careers that I could imagine myself doing. I saw many opportunities within that career path and decided it was for me before I went to college.
Some students head off to college without any idea of what they want to pursue for a major. My friend Sara, for example, is a liberal arts student at local community college. She took the Kuder assessments when she was well into her first year at college. Sara said, “the [Kuder] assessments are perfect for someone undecided like me to take. Showing me my Holland code helped me confirm some of the personality traits I hold, which are Social and Conventional. I was also able to look at a few career options. It revealed I might enjoy teaching and training or early childhood services.”
My friend Jeannie, a mathematics major, was more like me in that she had a discipline in mind when she was still in high school: “I was always interested in my major,” she said. “I think what made me commit to my major was the support I encountered from the professors in the department.”
Jeannie said her Kuder assessment results “did accurately show my interests in math and sciences as well as business.” Jeannie is spending her summer as a business intelligence intern, where she runs data analytics and does research, and said she’s looking for opportunities to job shadow a variety of professionals so she can get a taste for the types of options she has with her major.
Students tend to choose majors that match up with the careers that they know. A lot of students are familiar with majors such as business administration and management, nursing, general biology, general psychology, and teacher education. But there are so many more out there!
Choosing a major that best lines up with your personal interests can help you avoid making drastic career changes, and can help you achieve greater job satisfaction.
Kuder’s philosophy is that a student should select a career before determining an appropriate path for required education or training, which may or may not include a four-year degree.
If you’re college-bound, here are some tips for choosing or confirming a choice of college major:
Your course load and academic requirements can be overwhelming at first, so it’s important to understand your deadlines and create a plan to accomplish your degree. Here are some year-by-year tips:
Freshman Year
Sophomore Year
Junior Year
Senior Year
