Introduction to How to Choose A Major

I want to start by saying that a trap we often fall into is thinking that by choosing your major, you’re also choosing your career. While this can be the case, it doesn’t have to be.

Welcome to the How to Choose a Major course. I want to start by saying that a trap we often fall into is thinking that by choosing your major, you're also choosing your career. While this can be the case, it doesn't have to be. I know times have changed a lot since I went to college. It did seem to be that 25 years ago, there was pretty much a singular path that led from a major to career. You studied education, you became a teacher. You studied psychology, you became a psychologist. You know, you studied chemistry, you became a chemist.

But there are a lot more careers that exist now than did 25 years ago. There's a quote from David Sedaris from his book "Calypso" that puts it really well. And you might have heard me reference it in another course, but I love it so it bears repeating. He says, "It used to be that I could eavesdrop on a conversation and learn that the two men at the next table were doctors, or that one was a massage therapist and the other sold life insurance for cats. Now though, I have no idea what anyone does, especially if the people I'm listening in on are under 40. I hear the words integration and platform a lot, but not in any recognizable context. “

I know that's how I often feel about the career options these days. But I will say that I believe that if you study something that you're passionate about, you'll now find a wide variety of career choices.So it's just to say that though we'll be touching a bit on career stuff, the focus of this course is identifying what academic fields your passions are most related to.

In Lesson One, we're going to explore what you love to do inside of school, outside of school, structured and non-structured. In Lesson Two, we're going to take that list and identify related study areas. In Lesson Three, we're going to take a deep dive into the study areas that relate to your interest, and we'll consider what to look at to determine if this study area is a good fit for you. And by the end of the course, you should have a short list of study areas that are aligned with your interest. So let's get started.