Why Your College Major Does Matter

First let me say, I went to school as an undecided major, and I reluctantly chose a major because I had to in my Junior year. Now it's four years after I graduated. And after looking at myself, and other grads, let me tell you....your major does matter.

If you choose the wrong college major, you could spend years after college in dead end jobs you don't really like. Then, when you finally decide what you want to do with your life, you will have to compete with headstrong 22-year-old college graduates who have known what they wanted to do since they were ten years old.

For instance, Brad Pitt was a journalism major. And he's famous now. That's true.

However, if you graduate from college with a philosophy major and you all of a sudden decide after being three years out of college that you want to become Brad Pitt, you will have a difficult time breaking in because you will have to compete with people who went to art school with a major in theater arts or filmmaking or film acting.

These young college graduates are fresh and vibrant. They are a long ways from 30.They knew they wanted to be a Brad Pitt since they were10 years old. You on the other hand, will have a lot of explaining to do when you finally get to auditions.

It's the same way with a job. if you go to school and major in theater and decide two years out that you really wanted to do finance, you will again be competing against people who knew they wanted to do finance the minute they stepped off the college campus. These people will have already been working in finance for a couple of years. They will be making more money then you. You will have a lot of catching up to do. And good luck explaining to the interviewers why it took you so long.

Here's how you can avoid all this madness.

Take the time to really discover what your passions are and when you find them, don't look back. This is your life. It's not your mother's. it's not your father's. When everything is done and finished, you will look back and think , what happened to what I wanted to do?

Don't think about the money.

I have a fabulous job right now that makes a whole lot of money, but even if they paid me more money than I make right now..... It's just very boring.

To find your passion, ask yourself what gets your attention. If there were three different groups of people in a room having three different conversations, which conversations would attract you? Which ones would bore you? Which ones would make your ears perk up like they would when someone says your name? Which ones would you be itching to jump into?

When you're walking throughout your day and doing your daily business, ask yourself what gets your attention. What are your eyes drawn to? Can you implement these things into a career path? If you can, you're on your way to successfully choosing the right major and saving yourself plenty of time wandering around different jobs you do not like. Time is money. Money is time.

However, if you lose money, you could always make it back. Work several jobs. You can borrow money from your mother, but you'll never be 22 again. You can't get time back. Once it's gone, it's gone. So choose your college major carefully. You don't have years to waste in college being indecisive or saying this is party time because you can't get those four years back.