6 Ways Your Child Can
Learn About College Majors -
and the Careers to
Which They Might Lead

By Terese Corey Blanck and Peter Vogt

"So, what are you going to major in?"

If your college-age son or daughter hasn't heard this question repeatedly already, it's only a matter of time before it happens. And it's not just the outside world asking it: Chances are your child is wrestling with it internally as well.

If you think about it, it's no wonder many college students struggle with the whole major question. After all, how can you choose a major when you don't have a great sense of what majors are available and where they might lead you?

You can lend a hand as a parent by nudging your son or daughter toward the many tools he or she can use to answer the "what are you going to major in?" question. Here are six specific resources your child can tap to become better informed:

Admissions offices have a vested interest in helping prospective and even current students answer their major- and career-related questions. After all - happy prospective students become happy enrolled students … who in turn become happy alumni/ae someday.

As such, many college/university admissions offices go out of their way to offer solid information about majors at their institutions. Take the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Admissions Office, for example, which offers two-page FactSheets - complete with career information - on each of the school's academic programs.

Encourage your child to, at a minimum, visit the web site(s) of the academic department(s) he or she is interested in exploring. Many departments devote significant web site space to highlighting the careers a student can pursue with a major from the department. Better yet, your child can (and should) talk with the professors and academic advisors in major departments of interest.

The career center exists to help students and alumni/ae find satisfying careers after graduation. That's why many campus career centers - like the one at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, for instance - produce "What Can I Do with a Major in _________ ?" web sites to give students and alums an idea of where their chosen majors can take them.

Some campus career centers also survey their new graduates each year to find out what jobs they've landed with their majors. This information is then compiled in a report made available to current students, alums, and prospective students and their families.

With the help of the campus career center and/or the campus alumni office, your son or daughter may be able to identify alumni/ae who graduated with the major(s) your child is interested in. Your child can then talk with some of those alums - either in person or via phone or email - to see what those former students ended up doing with their chosen major(s).

Books

Visit the "Careers" section of any Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstore - or make an online trip to Amazon.com or a similar site - and you'll find dozens of career exploration and job search guides. Several publishing companies produce book series addressing specific majors and the potential careers your child could pursue with those majors.

Facts on File, for example, has its "Career Opportunities" series (e.g., Career Opportunities in Health Care, Career Opportunities in the Fashion Industry), while McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books has its "Opportunities In" series (e.g., Opportunities in Forensic Science Careers, Opportunities in Public Relations Careers).

For practically every major and/or industry you could think of, there is at least one professional association made up of people working in that field. Suppose, for example, your son or daughter is interested in majoring in psychology. Encourage him/her to read through the detailed "Considering a Career in Psychology?" information on the web site of the American Psychological Association.

There's no reason for your son or daughter to make uninformed decisions where his/her college major is concerned. It might well be up to you, however, to help your child begin the process of becoming more knowledgeable - so that he/she ultimately chooses a satisfying major that leads to many satisfying career possibilities.

Copyright © 2003, Terese Corey Blanck and Peter Vogt. All rights reserved.

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