The hardest decision to make in all your college years is what major to declare. And no, "I'm confused" is not an option ... although maybe it should be. Do you go with your heart or with your wallet?
I now know that the best College major decisions are the ones that are based, as contrived as it sounds, on honesty. A career is such a huge chunk of your lifetime that, in order to really succeed and not bore yourself to tears, you'll need to have an avid interest in what you'll do each day after you wake up and head out into the world.
I've only recently come to this conclusion and it's been a hard one to reach. I graduated just over a year ago and sure, it would have been great to have a few extra bucks in my wallet during those months. But in that time, I've also been watching the progress of myself and two close friends, all of us grads from the University of British Columbia (U.B.C.) in Vancouver, Canada.
The artistic entrepreneur
The first to unwittingly become a guinea pig in my little experiment was a lively Argentine who, much to the confusion of family and friends, chose art history as her college major. For nearly three years, she spouted her future plans and ideals, all the while claiming that she would one day own a business that sold and rented works of art. She went about it, though, in the strangest of ways. She didn't attend a business school; instead, she studied painting and sculpture and sketches. And we laughed. "Where will she ever get," we thought, "with such a 'fluffy' college major?" In our minds, we all decided that she'd probably end up struggling to find any type of related employment out of university. Though we admired her interest and envied her ambition, we kept to ourselves the thought that a fine arts degree is not one of the more sought-after skills in the job market.
This artistic entrepreneur friend of mine, however, was less pessimistic. She volunteered at local galleries and popped into every major event she could--just to get noticed. She astounded us all when, less than a year later, she was hired as the director for one of the most adventurous and exciting art galleries in western Canada. She is now doing exactly what she does best--selling, talking about, and constantly learning from art.
The advertising exec
My second test case was a pretty blond who, before university, was best known as the "prom queen." And it was a royally unusual game plan she had, too. Her inclination in her teen years was to make her mark--sparkle in her crown, so to speak--in the advertising industry. She attended U.B.C. right after graduating at the top of her high school class, but she didn't take any courses in promotions or marketing. Instead, she dove into books, conversation, and leadership within her sorority, building the personal tools and language skills that are fundamental building blocks in advertising. She left college and went about introducing herself to the community. Again, we all wondered where she'd get. The closest she had ever been to an advertising firm was watching Heather Locklear play Amanda Woodward on old reruns of "Melrose Place."
But she persevered, arranging a number of so-called informational interviews where she would talk a professional's ear off over lunch and perhaps, if she was lucky, get a quick tour of the office. Even she was uncertain of exactly what she was doing. But her uncertainty, persistent as it was, paid off. Two months later, she was hired as a junior account executive at one of the five largest advertising agencies in the city. Her interviewer even told her, "I don't care what degree you have, just as long as you have one, and you enjoyed getting it. That's what's important to me." And guess what? My friend has recently been promoted to the senior level because of her ambition, determination, and common sense.
The creative writer
Lastly, there's me. As a former child actor, I set off for university because it seemed like an inevitable hurdle for people of my age. I applied to creative writing simply because both the "prom queen" and my mother told me to. I was accepted as one of only two freshmen in the program and so I began to learn about writing, critiquing, and editing. I created and I read and I wondered, often aloud, where this was all going to get me. Both my classmates and teachers alike told the old liberal arts joke, "Would you like fries with that degree?"
But, three months after graduating, I had a featured piece and accompanying photos displayed in the largest daily newspaper in western Canada--reaching well over half a million people. And, by relying on contacts and friends, I wrangled up an interview with a start-up newspaper, a small publication that caters to high school students, trying to give them a positive forum to voice their opinions and ideas. So now, while continuing to write and sell freelance articles myself, I am collecting and editing the work of other young authors trying to express themselves through words each day. In fact, it is actually the words of others that have helped me come to a definitive conclusion: Going with your heart is the best plan.
Future planning
Marianne Green, a professor at the University of Delaware and author of "Majoring in Success" (Octameron Associates, 1999), explains that students often fear a sense of confusion about the future. Because of this uncertainty, which can even be coupled with the good intentions of parents who simply want to protect their children, students feel compelled to choose a college major in something that promises an immediate payoff. "Students need to get comfortable with uncertainty and with not having every step of their careers plotted out for them," Green explains. Regardless of their interest or lack thereof, college-age students may simply go for whatever careers offer a lucrative entry-level position. Unfortunately, those positions rarely have much to do with their future. "At least half of graduates, 10 years down the road, are doing something very different from what they envisioned in college," Green adds.
Even sooner than a decade away, though, students will notice a difference. In "Major in Success" (Ten Speed Press, 2007), author Patrick Combs notes--as evidenced by one of my three test cases--employers may not always look through your resume to see what your college major was. Instead, they may search for proof that you are efficient and have a handle on important personal skills. "The ideal major," Combs writes, "is the one about which you're the most passionate."
And so now, because of my reading and because of my experience, it is clear to me that going for the dollars is not the best bet. You may have expensive paperweights in front of you, but if you lack passion, sitting at that desk day in and day out will only amount to a time-filler. Take it from another close friend of mine.... He went to school to become a lawyer, because that's what he and his family figured would secure his place in society--to really "make it." And he did "make it." He got a pile of money, a great apartment, and a fancy new SUV. What he lacked, though, was any satisfaction in his day-to-day life. So he stopped. He left his practice, began another business, and has never looked back. In fact, he's been so successful, and yes, happy, that he hasn't had time to look back.
Now, don't get me wrong. Not everyone is interested in such mainstream and marketable subjects as art and advertising. And so, "follow your heart to success" only holds true to an extent. Let's face it ... if you want to be a singing acrobat, the education and career opportunities are few and far between. You need to ensure that you have the skills to provide you with a paycheck each week, even if things don't magically come together right away. In the long run though, going with your heart can only do you good. If you've chosen honestly and with conviction, you certainly won't have to fear failure (or a poor paycheck!).
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