Top four major and career myths

Julie Murphy, M.A., Founder, Waverly Educational Consulting 

May 13, 2022

For most high schoolers, “What do you want to be when you ‘grow up?’” is a challenging question to answer. But is it necessary to have an answer? Let’s examine the four biggest myths of college major and career decisions:

Myth #1:

College Major = Career. While certain careers require certain majors (i.e. engineers must have an engineering degree), many more majors lead to a variety of career options and skill sets that transcend across careers. (i.e. journalists can have degrees in English, political science, communication, etc.) 

Myth #2:

Careers are linear. The average adult will hold 12.4 jobs throughout their career, by the time they retire, and that’s not considering the quickening pace of career changes as a result of the COVID pandemic, nor the changing job market for younger workers. 

Myth #3:

Choosing a major is the end of the process. Nearly one third of students change their major within the first three years of college, and many do so for good reasons. Even for students who graduate with their initial major, successful careers are full of twists and turns throughout the lifespan.

Myth #4:

Colleges expect students to choose a major before they enroll. Admissions processes vary wildly from college to college. While some colleges heavily weigh a students’ major choice in the admission decision, many more don’t consider it at all, and fully expect that students will continue to explore majors and careers in their first few years of college. Most colleges encourage some exploration within the first few years at least, and many build support for it into their curriculum and student services.

While your student likely won’t decide on a career by the end of high school, it’s never too early to practice lifelong skills of examining their values, talents and goals, and how they inform their career decisions. As a parent or trusted adult, you can help your student practice these skills, while also setting reasonable expectations for their future major and career choices.