I was one of those students who had no clue what I wanted to
do after high school but I knew I wanted to go to college. I thought by after
my freshman year I would have some sort of idea…..nope. The next two years
of college I did three job shadows and an internship in a real estate
office. Nothing really fit. By my junior year of college, my
academic advisor pulled me aside and said “Look, you have to declare a major
this semester.”
Well great, I was still confused and unsure of what
direction I wanted to go in. By the second semester of my junior year I
met with my advisor again. This was after speaking with several
department heads and professors grilling them on how they decided on their career.
He asked “Do you want to be done four years?”
“Yes please….that’s my goal!! “
So we sat down and looked at all the classes I’ve completed
and compared them against different majors to see which one would be most in
line. Two popped up; General Studies and Marketing. I opted for the
latter of the two. That major required one extra credit that was
difficult to cram into my already packed senior schedule. I made it work
by taking an independent study class over Christmas Break. DONE!!
Later that year I happily graduated with a Marketing
major. Even though I don’t work in marketing/public relations or sales
there were valuable skills I learned that easily translate to many different
careers.
If you are unsure of what major fits you try job shadows,
internships, speaking with college faculty. Also, check out
actprofile.org for a career assessment.
Jessica - ICAN Ankeny Center 