On Oct. 7, Delta College hosted an “Identifying Your Major and Career Goal” workshop. The workshop was led by Associate Professor and Adjunct Counselor Kelly Graham.
The event was rich with useful information and practical application tips on how students can pinpoint their strengths and personality traits and use those to help steer them towards a field of study that would be the best fit for them.
Resources like these are especially important this time of the year as students prepare to transfer to universities and need to start making critical decisions about their educational path.
“People forget that a major is an educational subject that should excite and motivate you,” Graham said. “Because chances are if it is something you are passionate about, you are probably going to enjoy your classes and be getting As and Bs.”
Graham also emphasized the importance of self knowledge and awareness when it comes to selecting a major that can potentially be a student’s career field. She explained that self assessment is the first step in major and career planning.
Identifying skills, interests, values and personality are vital to understanding a student’s educational passions and what sort of fields best line up with their temperament.
Another tool students were provided with at the workshop were complementary career assessment booklets.
These booklets are a useful and accurate aid in narrowing down what type of personality and social traits a student has and provides an extensive list of careers that correlate with their results.
The assessment is a great starting point for those who have no idea where to begin. It significantly narrows down the field for them, making the process seem less daunting.
Graham also points to “lack of research” as one reason why students are unable to commit to a major. She explained to students there are many more jobs a major can qualify someone for than they might think.
Graham used the English major as an example asking students to think outside of the box and give examples of what careers an english major could have besides the seemingly default answer of “teaching.”
By the end of the exercise, everyone was shocked at just how many different careers an English major can potentially qualify a person for, with the FBI being the most surprising.