A common fear students have is that they will complete college, only to wind up unemployed as an adult. Paying thousands of dollars for higher education should produce a decent career, but sadly, even a bachelor’s degree is no guarantee that you will get a job. There are countless reasons why a graduate would have difficulty finding a job that pays well, one of them being their major.
Students assume that choosing a “practical” major, such as computer science, will guarantee success. However, they don’t consider whether they enjoy the subject or not. That is a lousy approach, and students should instead focus on majors that match their interests.
If you end up hating your job, it’s still better than unemployment, right? Being unemployed is stressful, but work dissatisfaction is even worse for your mental health.
According to a survey in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, “those in the poorest quality jobs showed a greater decline in mental health than those who were unemployed.” When a student chooses their path based on salary alone, they are jeopardizing their mental stability. It’s imperative that they acknowledge how persisting at work despite disinterest degrades their well-being.
Employees excel in fields in which they not work well but also simply enjoy being there. When they are interested, their motivation to succeed and improve increases tremendously. Ideally, an employee would utilize passion for advancing their career.
It would be significantly more difficult for those who aren’t fond of their career field. According to the Journal of Management Studies suggests that “employees with harmonious passion performed better at work.” Critics argue that it’s impossible to make a living with specific majors, but they’re mistaken.
Instead of choosing a career for its attractive salary, consider how you can generate more income in your ideal job. For every field, from medicine to visual arts, some workers get handsomely paid while doing what they love. Of course, the average salary for an artist is much lower than that of a doctor, but not everybody is average.
In every student’s schedule, there’s at least one course they would skip if it weren’t necessary to graduate. They might dislike math or science and prefer to study English. Each college major has a set of classes one must pass that is related to its discipline to obtain their degree.
For example, if you major in chemistry, you’re required to take quantitative analysis and an organic chemistry laboratory. So, if a student is into conducting research, they may excel as a chemistry major.
Unfortunately, some college students don’t choose their major based on what subjects they like and instead base their decision on the average salary graduates earn. Focusing only on wealth could lead to poor grades in major-related courses.
According to the Journal of Vocational Behavior, there is a clear link between interest-major congruence and college success. In other words, people who are interested in their major perform better in school overall than people who demonstrated a weak interest-major congruence.
A graduate’s GPA has the potential to help or harm their ability to find a job, depending on how well they performed. If money is such a grave concern, students should major in a subject that both fascinates them and in which they can actually excel, ending up with a high GPA.
Choosing a major is a complicated and exhausting part of college that many students avoid as long as they can. It’s tough to decide what path to follow for life at a young age. Earning a sizeable salary later in life is appealing, but being joyful and enthusiastic in your career is priceless.
