What Should I Major In? Guide to Choosing a College Major
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Choosing a college major is a life-changing decision. It can determine everything from what career you’ll pursue after graduation to what professors and classmates you’ll meet and work with during your program. So many questions can come to mind: What is the best major for me? Will I be able to earn a good income with my bachelor’s degree? What’s the difference between a major and a minor?
Whether you know what you want to study or still have no idea, read the guide below to start building your next career move. We’ve got you covered with simple steps that can help you determine your major and choose your career trajectory.
How Many College Majors Are There?
Across all U.S. colleges, there are over 1,800 unique majors available, though individual institutions usually only offer anywhere from a dozen to over a hundred majors. With so many options out there, you could major in practically anything, from criminal justice to church music.
In the 2021-2022 academic year, U.S. colleges and universities conferred two million bachelor’s degrees. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the two most popular disciplines that year were business and health professions. Here’s a breakdown of the top six most popular fields of study:
| Field of Study | Number of Degrees Conferred | Percentage of Total Degrees Conferred |
|---|---|---|
| Business | 375,418 | 19% |
| Health Professions and Related Programs | 263,765 | 13% |
| Social Sciences and History | 151,109 | 7% |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences | 131,462 | 7% |
| Psychology | 129,609 | 6% |
| Engineering | 123,017 | 6% |
How to Choose a College Major
College is a chance to build on your strengths while developing new skills. Choosing a major requires research and self-reflection. The steps below allow you to choose a college major that can lead to a fulfilling career.
- 1
Consider your interests and passions.
While your passion might not be your ultimate career, keeping it in mind and making space for it throughout college can be both enjoyable and personally fulfilling. Your interests can also be key in guiding coursework, and you could pursue a minor or certificate in an area of interest.
For example, suppose you love playing soccer, but know you won’t pursue a professional career as an athlete. You can instead consider a profession in a related field, working as a kinesiologist, athletic trainer, coach, or sports broadcaster.
- 2
List your strengths.
Your strengths are areas where you have a natural aptitude, whether or not you enjoy them. Knowing what you’re good at is essential to finding a career where you can comfortably complete coursework and keep learning to stay ahead of industry growth.
When defining your strengths, think beyond basic academic strengths like “math” or “writing” and consider your communication skills, creativity, leadership qualities, and emotional intelligence.
- 3
Find careers that combine your strengths and interests.
Ideally, consider careers that combine your interests and strengths. For example, if you love art and have an aptitude for working on computers, you could pursue a field that combines both interests, like website design, UX design, graphic design, or front-end development.
If no career combines your interests and strengths, you can try different courses to see what resonates (more on that below!).
- 4
Research salaries and job opportunities.
While pursuing what you love can be fulfilling, it is also essential to be able to pay your bills and build the lifestyle you envision for yourself. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and state labor departments report median salaries and job growth projections for common careers.
You can use this information to identify the highest-paying and/or fastest-growing careers in your state or city.
- 5
Talk to your academic advisor.
If you are enrolled at college as an undecided student, your academic advisor can suggest a course of study that allows you to try out courses in various fields. They can also help you find different career paths that combine strengths and interests. Academic advisors can also help you determine whether your program needs to be programmatically accredited and how to transfer to another institution, if need be.
Stay in close contact with your advisor as you pursue general studies and when you want to declare or change your major. Just keep in mind that changing your major after you have made significant progress in your current field of study could cost you additional money and time to earn your degree.
- 6
Speak to professionals in the field.
If you want to understand your day-to-day life in a particular career, speaking to current professionals and university professors can help you discover more about the career. These professionals can also suggest local or remote internships or other opportunities to gain industry insight and job experience.
- 7
Declare your major.
Once you have clarity on your career path and goals, it’s time to declare your major and complete all the necessary steps to graduate. Then, it’s time to celebrate your next steps, dive into learning as much as possible, and network with other students and industry professionals. Remember that your first major isn’t always your final major — many students change their major within the first year.
On-Campus Vs. Online Majors
Choosing an on-campus vs. online degree can impact your total costs, scheduling, and whether you have to relocate. Fortunately, there are more options than ever to choose from. You can find synchronous and asynchronous online courses, hybrid models, and traditional on-campus programs.
While colleges continue to build and expand online degree programs, some majors may only be offered on campus or in a hybrid format. These programs typically require clinical practice, labs, or other hands-on instruction, such as STEM, healthcare, and arts programs. However, you can increasingly find degrees with some online courses for greater flexibility.
What College Majors Make the Most Money?
In its First Destinations for the College Class of 2023 survey, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that the average annual starting salary for bachelor’s degree graduates was $63,720. Fields with the highest starting salaries include computer and information science, maintenance and repair, engineering, and mathematics. Majors within these disciplines with remarkably high ($95,000+) average annual starting salaries include computer science, applied mathematics, computer engineering, and petroleum engineering.
Although health professions graduates had an overall average annual starting salary of only $62,140, dental support services majors earned an average annual salary of $76,350 — the highest average within this discipline. Similarly, business graduates had an overall average starting salary of only $66,580, but those who majored in management information systems, management sciences, and commerce stood out as the highest earners, making an average annual salary of over $74,000.
| Discipline | Average Starting Salary |
|---|---|
| Computer and Information Science | $91,410 |
| Maintenance and Repair | $90,160 |
| Engineering | $80,090 |
| Mathematics | $79,860 |
| Engineering Technology | $69,160 |
Major vs. Minor: What’s the Difference?
While your college major will be the subject of expertise you plan to pursue as a career, your minor can complement your major, give you expertise in a contrasting area, or build multi-disciplinary skills. A major will require more courses and credits, but you must also earn specialized credits for your minor.
There aren’t typically limits on the types of minors you can pursue with a major, giving you flexibility to mix and match based on your interests and goals. Choosing a minor to supplement your major with a secondary study area can strengthen career preparation.
Expert Q&A on College Majors
Need expert advice on how to decide on a major? We spoke with Terri Caroll, director of academic advising, and Julie Higbee, academic advisor, from the University of North Georgia (UNG) on the most important factors to consider when choosing a field of study.
Q: What should college students know about researching and choosing fields of study for their college careers?
Carroll: Students need to ask for help in assessing their interests and abilities in relation to various majors and careers. If professional advisers who specialize in advising undeclared students are available, as they are at UNG, students should meet with these advisers to express their goals and dreams, talk about options, and learn about the many resources available to find out more about themselves and their options.
Higbee: Colleges usually provide students access to a career, values, and interests assessment, and students should complete those assessments early and read through the career ideas provided.
The general education curriculum is also a good way to help students learn more about possible majors. Students’ experiences in these classes may give them a sense of what they find interesting and what they dislike. If a student is in a class he or she enjoys, that student should go to the professor’s office hours to talk about that major and the types of internships and jobs possible with that major.
Q: What factors should they consider when making their decisions?
Carroll: Students need to self-assess not only their interests, but also their abilities. For example, a career in medicine may interest a student, but if science is something the student continually struggles with, a biology major may not be a good fit.
In that case, a student may realize that a medical career was appealing because he or she was interested in helping people, and there are other careers out there that have that quality without requiring a major that involves years and years of science coursework.
Higbee: A student may also be very strong in an academic subject but may struggle in some of the day-to-day aspects of the working environment for the related career fields. For example, students may earn straight-A grades in history, but if he or she is painfully shy, the day-to-day social requirements of being a high school or college history teacher may make those jobs unenjoyable.
In those cases, students may still major in those subjects but will need to expand their knowledge of possible internships and pathways for students with those majors. Students may also need to consider logistical issues, such as the types of jobs available in the areas where they plan to live, whether they are willing to move and how far they are willing to commute.
Q: How big of a decision is it, really? What if they feel like they made the wrong decision years later?
Carroll: Many people are very content in careers that have indirect ties to their actual college majors, because many employers look for soft skills like creativity, excellent communication, and leadership qualities, and not specific college majors.
You learn something from every experience you have, and if the profession you are in is not fulfilling, there are always skills you can transfer to another career path. Also, there is always the option of returning to school to earn a certificate in another field, or taking prerequisite courses to enter graduate school for a different profession.
Q: On campus, who is available to help students make this decision?
Carroll: Professional advisers and career services centers. Faculty are another great resource, as they are experts in their fields and knowledgeable about graduate schools and possible careers.
Frequently Asked Questions About College Majors
While some colleges ask you to choose a major when applying, most colleges allow you to choose “undecided” and declare your major later. In some cases, even if you apply to a specific degree program, your academic advisor can help you change your major later.
If you are undecided on your major, apply to colleges that don’t require you to declare a major until the end of your second year, giving you the flexibility to complete your general education requirements and explore different courses and interests before making a decision.
