Planning for College Majors

Have you heard this suggestion – don’t pay for college unless your child knows exactly what they want to major in and unless it will lead to a high-paying career? In a time when college costs and typical student loan debt have skyrocketed, it seems logical for parents to feel concerned about the value of college with an unclear major and career path. Before you try to dictate a particular course of study for your child, here are some facts about college majors to consider.

Undecided Is Typical
While some teens have a clear and accurate sense of their future career path, most do not. Don’t panic if your homeschooler doesn’t know what they want to study in college.  About half of students who declare a major end up switching majors. In other words, not knowing may frustrate parents, but it is normal.

General Education Comes First
Most college students primarily take general education courses in their first year. These general requirements give students an overview of various subjects, including English, math, science, social science, and humanities. Within general education requirements, there are a choice of courses. Students who think they will have a STEM major will likely take more intensive math or science courses, for example. As students take general education courses, they will work toward graduation by completing requirements and having the opportunity to explore interests.  At some colleges, students are not even eligible to select a major until their sophomore year.

Honesty is the Best Policy
Telling your child they MUST major in something that leads to a high-paying career, such as medicine, can have the unintended result of making the student spend extra time in college. Students who choose majors that do not reflect their interests or abilities will likely waste more time in college and possibly leave without a degree.

One of the biggest considerations in planning college costs is the time to graduation. Students who feel pushed into a major that isn’t a good fit are likely to change it and add expensive additional semesters to college. While it is true that engineering may be a field with good job prospects, if your homeschooler isn’t good at math or doesn’t find engineering appealing they are not likely to succeed in this field. Chances are they will waste a few semesters, get some lower grades, and switch to something else.

Not Every School Offers Every Major
For most students, major choice will be flexible once they enter college, so undecided students typically do just fine. However, while most schools offer the most common majors and programs, such as English or chemistry, a few more specialized fields have more limited availability. If your homeschooler is considering a more specialized field such as occupational therapy, accounting, engineering, or computer science, it is important that they research and select a school that offers their intended major prior to entering college.  Some highly selective majors such as business, engineering, or computer science may only be open to students at the time of admissions. If your student is undecided it is important to consider the college’s flexibility in enrollment in potential future areas of interest.

More Major Choices
One change that surprises many parents is that colleges offer more and more major choices. A generation ago, it was more common for students to choose from a smaller list of traditional majors such as history, biology, and political science. Students now find very diverse and wide-ranging offerings at many schools. Too many choices can make it tough to decide and may encourage students to consider double or triple majors.

Majors Don’t Dictate Careers
Studies show that most people work in careers unrelated to their majors. Some careers, such as teaching, demand a specific educational plan to meet certification requirements. While majors may help students toward a specific career, many careers are open to students with various majors.  While students may be focusing on majors, surveys of employers find that they are more focused on skill areas. Success in the workplace is based on skills beyond the college major. Hiring managers complain that they often find today’s college graduates lacking in interpersonal skills, problem-solving, effective written and oral communication skills, the ability to work in teams, and critical and analytical thinking.  Skills matter as much or more than major.

What Parents Can Do to Help

Visit Career Services
Encourage your college students to use career planning services on their campus. Career planning services are typically included as part of student tuition, and many centers offer great resources, including interest testing, internship planning, resume workshops, and career skills workshops. The career planning center is a great stop to include on your college visits. Students are much more likely to visit the career center during college if they visited it before they enrolled.

Pay Attention to Advising
Not all colleges are equal when it comes to student advising. At some schools, students get quality advising from dedicated faculty or professional advisers. At other schools, advising is more hit and miss, and prior to declaring a major, your student may not be getting a lot in the way of support. While you don’t want to be a helicopter parent, college is a huge investment and it is appropriate to keep a dialogue open with your student about advising, major, and career planning.

Talk Before College About Costs and Majors
Parents often assume that, of course, their kids will graduate in four years and are then surprised when students change majors a few times and haven’t graduated after four years. Before your student starts college, it is a good time to talk about your expectations and make sure your student understands the relationship between changing their major repeatedly and not graduating college on time.

Don’t Assume You Know the Best Major
Sometimes what parents think they know about majors is actually wrong. For example, parents may assume that a business major is the key to getting a good job when, in fact, unemployment rates may be high for that major. Trying to force an adult child into a particular major or career path rarely works, and it may leave your student with low grades and an incomplete degree. Take time to listen to what interests them and encourage them to do research.

Support Career Exploration
Job shadowing, internships, and mentors are all ways to engage in major and career exploration. Students can often begin these activities while homeschooling high school and can continue during college. Recent college graduates report that internships are a helpful way to explore careers and gain employment skills.