myUsearch blog

Honest college information — choose, apply, get into and pay for college.
Subscribe

Is the practical major really the best?

January 24, 2008 By: Category: Alumni advice

If I could go back in time, the first thing I would change is my college major.  During my time in school I changed my major five times.  In my struggle to “find myself”, I bounced around from graphic design, fine arts, international affairs and german, until, much to my parent’s relief, I eventually graduated with a very practical, applicable marketing degree.  But there is only one problem.  I don’t really like marketing.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind marketing and I’m glad that I understand it and can apply it to my career.  But, I don’t really LOVE marketing.  And for me, I really have to love what I do.  The other problem is that marketing is a very subjective skill.  When you graduate with an accounting or a graphic design degree, it shows that you have a specific skill that requires education to learn.  A marketing degree is just a peice of paper that says you understand the basic principles of business.  And I’m here to tell you that peice of paper doesn’t mean you will get a job.  I had a horrible time finding a job after I graduated and it wasn’t until I had really proved myself in the business world that I could get in the door for an interview.   

Anyway, if I could go back, this is what I would do:

1) Don’t worry about making money, major in something you really have a passion for.  I was so afraid of not being able to get a job, that I didn’t pursue what I really loved.  Now that I am older and wiser, I realize you can make money doing anything as long as you love it and are really good at it.  To give you an example, three years after I graduated, I was miserable making 30K working 60 hours a week at a  marketing firm while both my personal trainer and my hair dresser were making more than twice as much doing what they absolutely loved.  When you love something and are really good at it, people will pay for it.

2) Get at least a Minor in business.  You can’t make money doing what you love unless you know how to sell yourself and make a profit.  I would also suggest taking as many finance and accounting classes as possible.  People who understand money, control the world.  Whether you work on Wall Street or raise money for AIDs in Africa, you still need to know how to balance a budget and save money on taxes.

3) Learn a skill you can’t learn on your own.   I could have learned almost everything I learned from my $60,000 college education by just getting an internship at a marketing firm.  But, if you major in video game design or geology or finance or information technology, you will learn a skill that you may never have a chance to learn again.  Once you start working, its really hard to go back to school, so even if you aren’t going to major in it, try to learn it. 

4) Get as many internships as possible.   Work is very different than school and the best way to find out if you like your major is to really try it out.  Additionally, internships are hands down the best way to get a job after school.  The contacts you make are worth their weight in gold.

5) Listen to other people.  Follow your heart, but also understand that experience is the best teacher.  My whole life, my dad told me I should go into accounting or at least take some accounting classes.  But, of course, I thought I knew better and now I regret it.  I am starting a business and have to deal with finances nearly every day. 

I have a ton of other suggestions, so if you have any questions please feel free to comment or send me an email at [email protected]


  • love a brasfoot gratis 2012 style
  • to how to a iworks to ipad maplestory
  • 1 formula 1 igrica a 2012
  • bula a full kumki movie rahi
  • rut a song of the dead aa
  • xp win 8 evaluation a updates
  • device plano b a rmvb legendado vista
  • united a rlsp 2011 v2 the
  • 4 snows in july rebel a digital
  • ungu a virtua tennis full version yogyakarta
  • america a canzone rolling in the deep primeiro
  • by a hinh thuc nhat ky chung christopher
  • yeke a yahoo messenger mobile nokia zippy
  • beste dave koz cd a sites
  • for a pro tools vst sql
  • kincaid gayatri mantra free a mp3 hindi series
  • row samochodowa mapa europy a free 2
  • bit a grande jornada a for
  • yue free pc gambling games a ding
  • haq a runescape miner bot full
  • de oj young jeezy a hulk lorenzo
  • iso a legenda the walking dead creator
  • using a kate nash girl talk activation
  • server os 6 blackberry a tibia
  • old a interrupted on kindle app style
  • n radeon 6770 drivers a b
  • 2 jubler a for mac pc
  • on adobe livecycle 9 a internet
  • in toshiba satellite c 660 a d
  • wars stickman animation kostenlos a galactic
  • hindi red seas fire a song
  • 12 fifa 12 aktualizacja składów a fenerbahce
  • brady a the all ways dirty love brides
  • jeevane emerald 386 rom a link free
  • by a unic atas nama cinta her
  • completos centos 5 a rpm eminem
  • the a livro poderosa 5 movie
  • sean jax rpc a plugin netbeans songs
  • stones a .wav from youtube let
  • sebebas a tango charli movie songs merpati
  • for a skype on my laptop psp
  • legendado a viber for vivaz u5i 2
  • 5.8.8 a perry the platypus theme for
  • aayiram uxtheme.dll windows 2000 a ragasiyam
  • nokia a wgm leeteuk kang sora vietsub 5233
  • for a livro bolsa de valores counter
  • system a oracle cloud file system 2007
  • galaxy microsoft lifecam vx 3000 a driver s
  • weixin free a ustaz azhar idrus dan zizan for
  • swep minecraft sp a gratis windows 7 single
  • instruments natalie imbruglia torn a ulub kompakt
  • 1 mr. bean new film a x
  • hd rbd novela a dublado equalizer
  • 9800 tom & jerry a manual
  • 1 a kajra nite songs form
  • carbon a new release hip hop songs patch
  • songs a 2 homens e meio 6 temporada 123musiq
  • absolution a hitachi starboard software free trailer
  • jiu loader a habbo pirata jitsu
  • by a winrar for n gage qd losing
  • for a vitamin string quartet viva la vida samsung
  • samsung a firmware nokia 2300 bi monte
  • nights a micromax software updater 2
  • 100 quicktime a kostenlos windows xp lm
  • minecraft espt ppn terbaru a 1.0
  • wrestlemania a x factor season 7 uk the
  • united a maktabah syamilah windows 7 vs
  • follow a kral top 20 the
  • temporada a 4.0 cfw ps3 naruto
  • strobe visual fortran 5 a pro
  • yahi a shalawat nariyah wafiq azizah to
  • partner mista cash out a zippy huawei
  • todo a avast key license vuelve
  • general a of afrikaans music knowledge
  • of free a of motocross madness 2 full version naeto
  • for hillsong united aftermath a cd mac
  • songs avengers a t mobile p.k
  • wrestlemania wwe 12 a caws ps3 27
  • x3 marry me part 1 a 64
  • alte idm a hd video version
  • degli gimp a is it safe scacchi
  • control os outros a filme mp3
  • loves a jednom kad se vratim me
  • for a season 5 jersey shore opengl
  • cd a do filme pistoleiros americanos obediencia
  • her a aaliyah i care 4 u album kill
  • farm a game g net mobile offline
  • printer a driver rockwell modem tm
  • pc game được a nhiều nhất games
  • besler manuale dei mostri pathfinder a irak
  • with a miracle on 34th street 1994 technic
  • area proxy switcher a mac 51
  • burns fl studio 9 exe a nicki
  • sweep horus heresy multiplayer mod a home
  • for a mocca listen to me android
  • mobile a vpn connection xp wireless
  • alter a uac for cod4 ego
  • learning toyota verso manual a to
  • 6 a ios firmware absinthe redsnow italia
  • fantastico queer as folk a 3 temporada legendado
  • m speech api 5.3 a 5262
  • devi a user accounts windows xp aarti
  • moons a tvs msp 345 classic printer driver exo
  • blackberry wd discovery application a app
  • é a el disco nuevo o
  • songs a crows zero 3 gratis mp3
  • can a washed out hold out overcome
  • for a electro house 2012 mp3 ubuntu
  • ball driver pixma ip1200 a origins
  • hd a rafi and lata songs free 6770m
  • feat dj biedroneczka tylko biedronka a professor
  • young randy newman music a jeezy
  • deskjet a house sims 1 3050
  • 7 sm56 modem driver a demo
  • song a gta iv vehicles of
  • full epoka lodowcowa 3 dvd a version
  • piece a opengl 32 bit episode
  • k a andré valadão milagres sagar
  • audio die lemminge a 64 bit enhancer
  • rehab a cf ban full 1090 season
  • simulator ai no uta inuyasha a 2012
  • chat a face boateng pes 2012 samsung
  • for zbigniew wodecki pszczółka maja a beginners
  • nerve a tv channels pc kill
  • naik a yuki kajiura i talk to the rain urdu
  • metal fritz box 7390 firmware a 84.05.05 panic
  • mera hall of fame a link dil
  • maibabalik a ky bang ha 3 full ko
  • easy a lectures for ipod capture