Things Colleges Don't Tell You About

Choosing a major, getting an education and thinking about a career—these are the things college is all about.  If you are just starting college don't feel pressured to make a hasty decision about your  major or your career.  It doesn't matter if it seems as though everyone else seems to know what they're doing with their lives— they don't. College is the time for you to really discover who you are, what you enjoy doing, what you're good at, and what you want to be. Take your time and enjoy exploring your options.

Here are just some of the secrets colleges don't tell you about majors and careers you should know about.

• Your major in college (this does not apply for promising engineers, accountants, doctors and other degree-specific careers) is important generally speaking for your first job after graduation. Studies show that most people will change careers about four or five times over the course of their lives. No major exists that can prepare you for that.
• Do not rely on the college career services center to guide you in choosing a career direction.  The career services center might offer some assessment testing but it's generally at the most basic level and unless the counselors understand how to interpret the results it's a waste of time.  For the most part colleges don't care if you are not talented in the career your major is preparing you for.  They are not going to help you figure out what to do. 
• You will spend endless energy thinking about majors and debating are all degrees created equal? In recent years students who graduated out of the sciences or other technical/professional fields were much less likely to be jobless or underemployed than humanities and arts graduates.However, for an education to be worth anything it needs to impart skills that employers value.

College is important training for a career. In today's job market having a degree is a plus and perhaps as important if not more in getting your first job, and then developing a career are your experiences, skills, talents and qualities/character traits.

The best you can do for yourself freshman year is think about your career planning by following a few guiding principles.

• Focus on what you know right now, what you don't know, and what you can learn in classes and from your experiences over the next 4 years.
• Maintain a focus on the big-picture. Stay open-minded and be sure to take multiple factors into consideration to make better decisions.
• Finding a career, and then a job engages and integrates your interests, skills, talents and qualities. College provides opportunities for you to experience. Through those experiences, your interests and strengthens will be revealed and developed.

©2012 More Than A Resumé