You make choices every day. But some choices will have a lasting influence on your future and your satisfaction with your life. Choosing a major and career is one of those choices.
Before you decide, you should make some personal reflections and careful considerations that are founded on your own reality-based belief system. Your goal is to make informed decisions drawn from accurate up-to-date information about yourself, the world of work and the majors offered by ASU.
You can start with this informal test about your ideas about majors and careers.
- Myth #1 : "An interest inventory will tell me what I should do"
Fact: Interest inventories are pretty good at measuring interests. However, the career decision-maker also needs to consider abilities, values, experiences, and any number of practical considerations (expenses, opportunities, training requirements, family issues, geographical location, etc.). An interest inventory may assist you in a thorough career decision-making process - but alone it is rarely sufficient.
- Myth #2: "Indecision is abnormal"
Fact: Indecision is normal. Different people take different amounts of time to make career decisions. Indecision is only a problem when you choose to do nothing about it. If you are engaging in a number of “career exploratory activities” you are on the right track!
- Myth #3: “I need to decide on a career today”
Fact: This is the myth perpetuated by those who think that a career decision-making is an event rather than a process. Making a decision prematurely, or based on inaccurate or insufficient information, is invariably a mistake. Even if it means changing your academic plans, give yourself the time necessary to make an intelligent and unrushed career plan.
- Myth #4: “Successful people always know exactly what they are going to do in the future”
Fact: There is no relationship between the time in life one makes a career decision, and one’s ultimate success and happiness in that career. Some know early, others know later in life. Many “successful” people switch careers numerous times before settling on the one that’s right for them. If there is one quality successful people seem to have, it is perseverance.
- Myth #5: “A college degree assures me a great career”
Fact: All a college degree assures you of is a college degree. However, a college degree combined with good career planning and preparation, greatly increases your chance of obtaining a rewarding career.
- Myth #6: “Once I choose a career I’m stuck with it for life”
Fact: The average adult doesn’t settle on a career until sometime in their 30’s. Your interest, values, abilities, and aspirations may be different at ages 20, 30, 40, and beyond. If so, you’ll change and modify your career accordingly. Changing careers is only a problem if you think it is a problem.
- Myth #7: “My career must please my parents, friends, neighbors, etc.”
Fact: The approval of others is nice, but it is not essential to your career well being. If others care about you, they’ll probably be delighted if your career brings you happiness and fulfillment. It’s unfortunate if others aren’t pleased with what you’re doing, but ultimately it's your decision.
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Myth #8: “All my needs can be met in the workplace”
Fact: You have other needs that can be fulfilled through vocational activities - social, familial, recreational, spiritual, political, cultural, and so forth. You will never find a career that will meet all your needs, but you can spend a lifetime unsuccessfully looking for one.