Things to Consider

 

 

Before you decide what major you want to do and the eventual route of your career, there are four simple questions you may want to ponder:

1. Where do you want to live?
2. Where do you want to go to school?
3. How much do you want to make?
4. What do you really want to do?

 
1. Where do you want to live?

   Where people eventually settle down in a career is determined by several factors: family, climate, their spouse, company location, economics.  Some of these are more important to professionals then others.  What you need to think about is which one(s) is more important to you.  To some people, where they live is vital, but to others it is not.  But what would you say?


2. Where do you want to go to school?

   Your choice of graduate schools can have a potential effect on your choice of major and even where you want to live.  If you want to go to Harvard, you probably don’t want to study soils.  Also, at what school you go to can have an effect on what you study.  For instance, if you study plants, you might focus more on desert species at the University of Arizona then you would at Oregon State University.


3. How much do you want to make?

   Money may or may not be an important factor in whether somebody chooses a career or even a certain job within that career.  What tradeoffs are you willing to make in order to make what you want?  Do you want a lot of money even if you hate an aspect of what you do, or will you settle for less so you can do what you want to do?  To some people, monetary comfort and greater financial security are more important than an enjoyable career. What is more important to you, though?


4. What do you really want to do?

   This is the obvious last step to figuring your major out.  Once you have made up your mind on what is important to you in questions 1-3, decide on a major, your eventual career path, and your specific field field of study. This field of study could be what type of animal, plant, gene, or etc. that you specifically want to focus on and become an expert at.  Now, go through each of your decisions with those things in mind and see if it all fits into your scheme.  If not, you may have to change your major, career, career focus,or you may have to reanalyze your responses to questions 1-3.


The last thought we would leave with you comes from Jacob 6:12-
     “O be wise, what can I say more?”

The decisions you make now will affect the rest of your life, for good or ill.  So do as Jacob said and be wise in what you decide to do.