by Marina Markarian
The task of choosing your educational path is no easy one. It takes a lot of critical thinking and analysis to understand the person you are and the person you want to become. The average student changes his or her career approximately 5 to 7 times. This normalizes the pressures of narrowing down interests and choices to select a profession. Choosing your major is not a simple task indeed, but there are multiple methods you can use to narrow down your thoughts and make the choice easier. There are many features to keep in mind while deciding your future occupation, such as whether it uses skills that you’ve developed, whether it targets your interests and, of course, whether you enjoy thriving in the field that you choose.
The first and foremost thing you need to look at before making the final decision are your skills. It all comes down to the skills that you are able to perform, such as solving mathematical problems, analyzing texts, communicating with ease or interpreting scientific studies. When you evaluate your skills, you quickly grasp an idea of what field you want to go into. For example, if you enjoy taking science courses, depending on which part of the science field you enjoy, you can deduce from your skill that you can go into the medical field if you comprehend biology or the engineering field with chemistry and physics. Each of these fields have branches of what you can potentially study. It requires in-depth research into each of the courses and understanding of your abilities needed to fulfill course requirements.
To know your interests, it is deemed important to allow yourself to take on a diverse collection of activities and groups that open a window to a wider range of choices and hobbies. Associating yourself with different aspects of dexterities such as clubs in school or extracurricular activities, not only helps you with discovering your passion, but it also allows you to adopt new sets of crucial skills that are important for life, mostly to build your personality. The way that benefits your journey of better self-understanding is that it expands the limit of only focusing on subject-based aptitudes. To many, it is considered a waste of time and energy and as a way to stray off focusing in classes, but in reality, it is proven that joining activities outside of studying helps students learn in a fun environment as well as focus better during study-time.
When you do something that you love, you automatically adapt to make it even more enjoyable. It is also natural for a person to do way better in a job or learning environment that they enjoy working or learning in than that of a person who is focused on following achievements for pride, glory, and income. There are some families that force their youths on the same path as their ancestors. This narrows the range of paths that students may want to take; however, it is very important to fight for the path that you’ve chosen. In the end, it is your life and your passion. It is crucial to repeat over and over again the importance of doing something you genuinely like. Just imagine a person that enjoys traveling and learning new things sitting behind the desk instead. Choose your own path and follow it, a cliché but very true line.
There are many signs that will direct you to the right choice, and any path that you take can turn any of these choices into the right one when you learn to make the most of everything. There is always something to be learned from anywhere and everywhere that you go. One thing that should be done frequently is updating your research and general knowledge. One of the most effective methods that I’ve personally used is making a list. This list contained four sections, three of which are based on the paragraphs above. The fourth column is a list of possible majors I can pursue linked to each of my skills, interests and passions. By research, this helped me narrow down my options to what I truly thought would be in my best interest and the best profession that I’d want to pursue. The enjoyment of learning it and working in the field that I’ve chosen after long years of thinking excited me.
You can use these websites to help you on your journey:
https://www.luc.edu/undergrad/academiclife/whatsmymajorquiz/
https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/career-quiz
https://www.collegeraptor.com/college-majors/
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/majors-careers
https://www.magiquiz.com/quiz/what-should-be-your-college-major-based-on-your-personality-type/