Guidelines for Choosing a Major
Choosing a major is not always easy. Choosing a major is NOT the same thing as choosing a career.
Don't feel that you have to make a decision about how you will spend the rest of your life. Instead, realize that you are making one of many decisions you will make, as you move along your path toward a meaningful career.
- Meet with a career counselor who can help you explore your interests, values, strengths, possible majors and careers.
- Review the self guided resources for selecting a major.
Explore your interests and skills
- Do you prefer to work with data, people, or things?
- Define the skills and strengths you would prefer to use on a daily basis.
- Discuss your interests and skills with a career counselor.
- Take an assessment which can help you choose a major and assess occupations.
Explore your values
- What motivates you more: an enjoyable career or a high-income, stressful career?
- Take this ethical and civic responsibility self-assessment.
Identify and research majors most related to your interests, skills, and values
- Find out more about SDSU colleges and majors.
- Talk to other students in the majors you are considering.
- Take an introductory course in majors of interest.
Explore career options
- Attend career fairs to learn about careers options and requirements.
- Network at events and career panels to learn from professionals (link opens to Handshake, login with SDSUid info).
- Obtain internships to gain experience and evaluate options.
- Use the below to further explore career options!
Self Guided Resources and Tools for Selecting a Major:
- What Can I Do With This Major? – Whether you’re exploring majors or searching for information about your chosen field, this website will help you connect majors to careers. Learn about typical career areas and types of employers that hire people with each major, as well as strategies to make you a more marketable candidate.
- O*NET OnLine - This is an excellent tool for career exploration and job analysis! O*NET has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers and students. Explore careers that correlate with majors by browsing groups of similar occupations. Choose from industry, field of work, science area, and more.
- O*NET Interest Profiler - This resource can help you find out what your interests are and how they relate to the world of work. This will help you select a major that leads you to that career. You can find out what you like to do and what careers you want to explore!
- My Next Move - Start on the path to the career you've dreamed about, or find one you never imagined.
- National Association of Colleges and Employers, Job Market - NACE's Job Market section has trends and predictions and featured articles that cover topics from which majors are earning the most upon graduation to first-destination/outcomes reporting.