Choosing a major and choosing a career are interrelated… you can’t do one without the other. If you are a freshman or sophomore, you might be focused just on choosing a major right now… but that might not be a good idea. What if you choose a major you like, get close to graduating and start thinking about what you want to do next, and then realize that it requires a different degree than the one you got? You will need to consider both what you like to study and what type of work you enjoy most when choosing a major and a career path.
WHO
STEP 1 – SELF-ASSESSMENT
The WHO is you. It starts with thoroughly assessing yourself: what you like, what you’re good at, and what matters to you in a job. To help with this, the Career Center offers career assessments that can provide information on your interests, abilities, values, and personality. For more information about the assessments we offer.
WHAT
STEP 2 – IDENTIFYING OPTIONS
The next step involves identifying WHAT your options are when it comes to careers, gathering more information about them, and evaluating each on how well it fits you and what you want in a job. Our Career Planning handout at the bottom of the page will give you tips and web resources for researching occupations.
HOW
STEP 3 – IMPLEMENTATION
The third step involves figuring out HOW to pursue a career you’re interested in, including selecting an appropriate major, identifying what kind of experience and other qualifications you will need prior to graduating, and coming up with a plan for how to get it.