You Ask, What Can I Do With This Major, And We Provide The Answers
It's the eternal question. After you do all that work in the end you have your shiny new major in...what? Pick your poison: sociology, a...
Well, whatever, don't worry about it: what's done is done. So there you stand, proud graduate, nervously grasping that diploma which consumed so much of your life, with late nights, burning the midnight oil, as you crammed for exams, losing yourself for hours in the library, all stretching back behind you like a trail of shattered dreams. It suddenly strikes you. Heck, what am I going to do now? What can I do with this major? Ah, yes, the proverbial real world is suddenly knocking at the window of your dorm room. But don't panic, help is here.
However, let's start with some precautionary advice. If by chance you've had the foresight to consider this question before registering for your major, there are some steps to take to make sure you're going in the right direction.
- First, figure out what major would interest you. If you haven't done that, do it immediately. Peruse the offerings at your college of choice and write yourself a list in hierarchical priority.
When you do know what major(s) are most of interest, ask around for those with experience in the same fields. Don't be surprised to learn that you are, or someone you know is, acquainted with someone or maybe a few people who have taken the same major. What have they done with it?
Talk to someone whose job is to know the ropes of just such matters. If you're still in high school, or even colleges to which you've been accepted (or even those you are considering for application), they have counselors and advisers. Providing you advice on just such matters is what they're paid to do. Make the best use of the resources at your disposal.
Or, like, if you want to go totally crazy, why not have a shot at a focused Google search: something like, what in blazes can I do with this English literature major? (You might actually find something.)
If it's too late for preventative action, don't despair, remedial action is possible. In fact all points 2 through 4 above remain perfectly relevant, even if you already have your degree. What are others with that major doing? Your college adviser has heard it all before. Don't squander a valuable resource. And it's quite common these days for larger universities to have career centers. You're not the first major in Renaissance poetry to wander in looking for a few career tips.
However, whatever else you do, make sure to dedicate some serious time to that Google search. You can find some pretty groovy stuff. For instance, it turns out that lots of colleges have publicly available online resources for researching just this sort of thing. As an example, check out the University of California career center online resources.
By doing so, I was able to learn about the career options for dozens of majors. Even some pretty esoteric ones were listed. Heck, they might even have yours!
Get this you English majors; you can pull in an average salary of $43,589. (You can buy a lot of copies of Canterbury Tales for that moolah.) And among your career options, you can get work as an analyst, an editorial assistant, a product development coordinator or even...wait for it...a college adviser! So you can lean back with an air of confident whimsy, put your feet up on the desk, hands behind your head and smile knowingly every time a new terrified grad stumbles into your office and nervously asks: uh, what can I do with this major?
So, hold your heads high all you grads, even if you did major in the Victorian novel or the mating customs of the Australian Aborigine. Hope springs eternal for a real future. And, who knows, maybe even a pay check!
Thomas Ryerson has recently offered some great insight into what one should consider when consulting the Business Week MBA Rankings
