When should I decide on a major?
For the first few semester of your college career it's perfectly all right not to know what your major will be, but you should be taking steps to find out. Although everyone has to complete general education requirements (English composition, college algebra, etc.) it is not a good idea to concentrate exclusively on general education requirements first and postpone thinking about a major. Many majors require extensive prerequisites. If you put off your decision too long, you may have to attend more time than you expected to put into college.

Can I get a job with this major?
"I love History, but my parents want me to study Engineering so I can get a good job."
"I have a friend who majored in English, and she is just working in retail."
"You can't do anything with Biology besides teach."

Advisers hear statements like these all the time. Many stuents seem to be unclear about the relationship between major and jobs. This is understandable: everyone you know has been telling you to go to college so you can get a good job. Yet when you get here, you study many subjects- thins like art appreciation, English, introduction to computers- that seem unrelated to jobs in the real world, What's going on?

It is important keeping in mind that choosing a major and preparing for a career are not the same process. It's true that a college education will help prepare you for the job market. It is untrue that most majors lead directly to particular jobs. Instead, any major can prepare you for numerous job possibilities. A college degree does help you in the workforce, but perhaps not for the reasons you think.

College is the one time in your life when your job is to learn all you can about human history, culture, and behavior, as well as the information and theories involed in mathematics and the natural sciences. As you do this, you acquire specific skills- how to define a question, how to investigate possibilities, how to articulate your finding and theories. These skills are the most important things you will learn in college. They are the skills you will use in the workplace and in your life outside of work. And they can be learned within any major.

Given this, your choice of major usually does not determine your career options after college. There are exceptions, of course; if you want to be a nurse, you need a degree in nursing. but you might be surprised to learn how much flexibility exists even in technical fields. Some engineering positions are filled by graduates with degrees in math, forestry, biochemistry, and physics, and engineering as well. Most history majors do not become historians. They become stockbrokers, advertising executives, and IRS agents; they manage convention centers, bank branches, and racetracks; they become teachers, they sell automobiles, they work at Northwest.

Further, simply majoring in an area which looks as though it might lead to a high paying job does not mean you will do well in that major or enjoy the work in that area. Most Arts and Sciences majors do not provide any real vocational training. Employers hire and promote people on the basis of the quality of their work, and the quality of their work usually depend on how much they enjoy it.

It is fine to ask, "what can I do with a major in _____?" But it is equally important to ask, "What do I want to do?"

Did you know that 60% of today's workforce is skilled? Skilled meaning that individuals have obtained a specific skill through a certificate or Associate's Degree. Occupations within the skilled area are in high demand. Be sure to consider options by checking out the Career Techinical majors at Northwest.