Career
Pathways
Should you decide your career first or your major first?
A major is part of the requirement of earning a degree. The focus of a degree is more academic than career-oriented. This is why it is often unclear which decision is made first: Do you decide your career before your major, or is it the other way around?
The answer to this question differs from student to student. Some students prefer to start with their career decision and use this as a guiding principle for their choice of major. Others prefer to choose their major first and then decide their career options later. You have to decide your own starting point. Do you want to decide on your major first and then go about identifying career possibilities, or do you want to decide on you career first and then identify majors that will help you in that career?
While this decision is totally yours to make, there is one basic guiding question: Do you want a major which will prepare you for one specific career, or do you want a major which will equip you for a variety of careers? The answer to this depends again on your particular situation. If you are already employed in your chosen career and aim to improve your skills, a more specific major such as Risk Management would suit you. If however you are yet to find employment in your chosen career, or wish to change your career but are not sure where to specialize, a more general major, such as finance would be a better option for you. This will equip you with a variety of skills so that you can decide on your specialization later.
If you are still not sure, your best source of help could be a career counselor. They can help you identify and shortlist career and major options based on your goals, interests and skills
