Though college students might agonize while deciding on a major, the decision probably won’t dictate their career path, experts say.
Peter Vogt, career coach for MonsterTRAK.com and president of Minneapolis-based Career Planning Resources said major choice may not matter as much as people think.
“The most common question I get is, ‘What can I do with major X?’ And my answer is ‘almost anything,'” Vogt said. “People want to believe there’s a list of 30 jobs for them, but that’s not really the case. Many people don’t end up in related fields. Some do the first time around, but two or three jobs out of college, it’s not uncommon for them to start veering away.”
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the average American will change careers three to six times in their life. According to LifeTrails.com, the average undergraduate changes majors three times during college.
Consider a few famous examples: Former Attorney General Janet Reno majored in chemistry. Actor Steve Martin and Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina majored in philosophy. Basketball star Michael Jordan majored in geography.
The trend continues with notable Ohio State alumni: Golfer Jack Nicklaus majored in economics and basketball coach Bobby Knight majored in history and government. CBS correspondent Erin Moriarty majored in behavioral sciences. Two-time Heisman winner and current Alumni Association head Archie Griffin majored in industrial relations. Amadou Ba, ambassador to Nigeria, earned a bachelor’s and Ph.D. in biology.
Successful people nab great careers because they have stellar skills, not specific majors, said Tim Harman, placement specialist and career adviser for OSU Arts and Sciences Career Services.
“Your major does impact where your career path leads, but won’t dictate your choices.” Harman said. “If you walk into a boardroom, you won’t see eight finance majors, but people from all different backgrounds. To a corporate recruiter, your skills-not your major-are critical. Amazing computer skills, for example, can set you apart.”
Vogt said students should meet with an expert to identify strengths that might not be reflected on their resume.
“The best skills come easily, so it’s very easy to overlook them,” he said. “That’s why it’s best to talk to someone like a career counselor so they can help identify those skills.”
Deb Serling, an assistant dean of undergraduate academic services and coordinator in the OSU Major Exploration Program, said a student’s passion can also trump their major’s subject matter.
“As long as you’re learning more general workplace skills, what matters most is whether your major interests you,” Serling said. “Learning is something you’ll do all your life, and it’s a skill to take with you. What matters is whether you’re enthusiastic about learning.”
Serling said while many students can do many things with a variety of majors, choices are limited in more technical fields.
“(Major does matter more) for some areas,” Serling said. “If you want to be a nurse but major in grass and turf management, I don’t want you as my nurse. The same goes for specialized fields like engineering with very specific skill sets.”
Vogt agreed.
“The impression that your major dictates your career path is pretty much false,” he said. “But if you want to be an accountant, you pretty much have to be in accounting.”
Students often think liberal arts majors lead to dead-end careers, but an English major isn’t doomed to a lifetime of burger-flipping, Harman said.
“The beauty of arts and sciences majors is that you can be a sociology major or a journalism major and go into communication, marketing or any number of positions with a big company,” Harman said. “(Arts and sciences) majors have communication skills on a larger level, they can relate to people in several ways. An arts and sciences graduate with real-life experience can compete with the strongest Fisher (college of business) graduate.”
Liberal arts majors also give a student a broader range of choices, Vogt said.
“In liberal arts, you have a lot of options, which is a blessing and a curse,” he said. “Majoring in philosophy is not the kiss of death, that’s only true if the student thinks it is. If a student is smart enough to do an internship or two, participate in student or professional groups, they become very marketable.
“Philosophy gives you critical writing and thinking skills. Often it’s the parents or other family members pressuring students to major in something they see as more practical,” Vogt said. “But that can still be shaky advice. Take all the college grads that majored in technical fields a few years ago thinking there would be instant jobs for them, but there aren’t. The tech bust changed a lot of things.”
Serling said students often ignore broad-based skills gained through routine classes.
“Students take for granted, for instance, that writing papers and giving oral presentations strengthens their communication skills,” she said. “But there isn’t an employer out there who doesn’t want good communication skills. Synthesis is also very important, because in the workplace you have to sift through a glut of information and synthesize it and use it in a meaningful way.”
Lori Thomas, career facilitator in the Career Exploration Office for alumni and continuing education students, said networking remains an essential step for anyone looking to break into a career.
“Networking gives you a chance to talk to someone without them looking at your resume and saying immediately that you’re unqualified,” she said. “Education is part of a foundation for a career, but it’s just one piece. If a person has studied in one area, has experience in a second area and is interested in a third area, we focus on their skills and how they are marketable across career choices. Networking allows them to show that.”
Buckeye Network, a service offered through the Career Exploration Office, allows alumni to share career information with each other talk to people in their desired field, Thomas said.
Vogt said he dislikes the term ‘networking’ because it conjures images of intimidating conversations with strangers.
“When people say ‘networking’ all they’re talking about is getting to know people,” he said.
Vogt said he conducted a seminar at a small college where 10 people were in the room. He asked them to identify who they knew with the ‘coolest career.’
“Between them, they knew the intern recruiter at the State Department, (U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services) Tommy Thompson, and an Olympic bobsledder,” he said. “You don’t have to talk to perfect strangers. Talk to friends, family and teachers, too.”
Students often rush to graduate school when they think they majored in the wrong thing as an undergraduate. While common, experts say, students can’t consider an advanced degree ‘Plan B.’
“Using graduate school as a fall-back plan is a recipe for disaster,” Vogt said. “You end up with more education, but not as much experience. Lots of employers are fearful of people with lots of education and only a little experience.”
Ney Arias, coordinator of the OSU Major Exploration Program, agreed.
“If you go to graduate school without getting some workplace experience, you’re probably cheating yourself,” Arias said. “When you go into graduate school it’s helpful to have that practical experience to see things how they really are, and bring that perspective into the graduate program. You bring more to the table that way.”
The easiest way to reduce anxiety about majors and career choice, Vogt said, is to stop thinking in terms of majors and start thinking in terms of skills.
“Students need to step away from identifying themselves by their major; that’s only done in college,” Vogt said. “They should identify themselves by skill set, because employers think in terms of skills. Major shouldn’t define who you are and what you do.”
