Top 10 Most Popular College Majors
Article provided by The Princeton Review
If you're currently pondering what to settle on as your major--or even if you're just curious what tomorrow's job applicants are majoring in today--here's a top 10 list for you. A word of warning: The popularity of majors often has little to do with actual demand for related fields in the workplace. The career fields with the most opportunities do not always appeal to the student masses. And the majors that sound most exciting to students don't always lead to equally snazzy-sounding jobs.
Nonetheless, here we've included The Princeton Review's list of the ten most popular majors. You'll also find advice on what to expect in the program and where this major might lead in the job market.
1) Business Administration and Management. Saving up your allowance instead of blowing it each week. Starting your own lawn-mowing business when you were still in grade school. They always said you had a mind for business, and now you're ready to prove it. Business majors often find success in the field of their choice, working their way up the ladder to become managers, executives, and vice presidents in their companies. This major offers focused training in accounting, finance, marketing, economics, human resources, and decision making. You'll learn to budget, organize, plan, hire, direct, control, and manage an organization. And you'll find even more chances for career growth if you go on to earn your MBA.
2) Psychology. Psychology is the study of the way humans and animals interact and respond to their environment; in essence, it's the study of behavior and the thoughts behind it. Cool thing about this major: analyzing your friends and family. Not so cool thing: you almost always have to go to grad school to do anything at all related to this line of work. Which is perfectly fine, if you understand and commit to that path from the get-go. Just don't expect that four years of college will get you a private practice where people lie on a couch and tell you their troubles for $95/hour. You'll need an extra five to seven years of schooling and a Ph.D. or Psy.D. before that will happen.
3) Elementary Education. From tracing a little hand on colored paper to make a Thanksgiving turkey to taking a field trip to the local science center with your fourth-graders to learn about static electricity, you are excited about working in a grade school and shaping young minds before they develop the attitude. In the early grades, you are responsible for giving instruction in all the basic subjects (reading, writing, 'rithmetic--plus science, social studies, and the basics of health and physical education), as well as overseeing the general development of each of your charges. Some college programs offer (or require) an area of specialization, such as early childhood, language arts, or mathematics. When your academic work is complete, you move into the classroom for the trial-by-fire known as student teaching. This practicum lasts from one semester to a full academic year. When you successfully complete the elementary education program, you'll have to take any certification examinations required by the state in which you want to work. Then, it's into the classroom to mold the minds of our youth.
4) Biology. Biology majors focus on the living world--that's everything from single-cell bacteria to whales. You may take classes in which you learn about calculus, microbiology, cell biology, genetics, evolution, physics, and organic chemistry. In addition to being a stepping stone for med school, a biology major can lead to a job in a growing field such as genetics, biotechnology, or medical research. Veterinarians, optometrists, ecologists, biochemists, and environmentalists all may have majored in biology.
5) Nursing. Everyone knows it takes a special kind of compassionate individual to become a nurse, a profession that often includes playing the roles of comforter, educator, mediator, listener, problem-solver and therapist. Generally, nurses help people meet basic health needs, adapt to physical changes, recover from illness, and die with dignity. They are employed in clinics, hospitals, schools, corporations, the military, and in private practice. We need nurses now more than ever, and job prospects in this field are bright. If you major in nursing, you'll take traditional science and liberal arts courses as a first-year student and probably begin clinical rotations at hospitals and other health care facilities during the second semester of your sophomore year. While in school, you'll receive lots of practical, hands-on training. All would-be nurses are required by law to take and pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) after graduating from an accredited nursing program before they can be considered "registered."
6) Education. "Summers off" is hopefully not the main reason you'd like to become a teacher. Many teachers actually spend their summers at a second, seasonal job (like at a children's camp) to supplement their income, volunteering or doing some form of community service work, or working hard on next year's lessons plans. That said, lots of teachers wouldn't dream of doing anything else. Although much of your coursework will be general education material, most states require you to choose a specific grade level you'd like to teach. Choices usually include some variation of early childhood education (preschool), primary education (kindergarten through eighth grade, see #3 above), and secondary education (ninth through twelfth grade). Some education majors choose to specialize in special education. Your student teaching experience, in which you spend a semester or more in gaining practical experience in a classroom, will be in the field of your choice. Education majors may also go on to become guidance counselors, school administrators, and the like.
7) English. You'll find English majors in countless types of jobs. Many of them are communications-based careers as you'd expect--author, reporter, journalist, editor, radio broadcaster, advertising and public relations executives--but plenty of them aren't that obvious. English majors also become teachers, lawyers (after law school, of course), film directors, politicians, actors, you name it. English majors become well-rounded, well-read individuals who have studied life in words across the globe. Be prepared to read, think, write, discuss, and then read a whole lot more.
8) Communications. A graduation speech, an infomercial, a protest in the park: any of these are great material for a communications major who needs to write a paper. In this program, students learn how certain messages influence individual and group behavior, as well as how our reactions reflect the underlying values of society. You'll spend a significant amount of time studying different kinds of speaking and writing and the strategies people use to make their points and drive them home. You'll take a look at verbal and nonverbal messages, audience reaction, and the varied effects of different communication environments. Communication theory will play a part too, as you delve into monumental speeches, revolutionary political campaigns, radical social movements, and the trends in news reporting. With your degree, you may choose to pursue a career in business, public relations, advertising, human resources, government, education, media, or social services.
Related Links from The Princeton Review
Career Quiz: What's right for you?
Research majors that interest you
Salaries of popular majors
9) Computer Science. Your friends are always coming to you for help when they experience computer problems, and you know it's high time you got paid for your efforts. Solution: obtain a degree in computer science. In this program, you'll focus on how computer technology can be applied to any number of fields. Included will be classes on how to develop business applications, perform system analysis, and the process of developing software (from designing to programming to testing). Programs may also include instruction in robotics, natural language recognition programs, artificial intelligence, programming languages, and numerical analysis. The knowledge you gain from a Computer Science major is absolutely applicable to the real world, and to real jobs within it.
10) Political Science. This major breaks down everything from political parties to voting behavior to public policy to revolutions all across the world. It's a pretty broad subject involving heavy doses of reading, writing, and statistical analysis. Many schools will want you to choose a concentration. Post-graduation options include: politics (running as a candidate or running a candidate's campaign), journalist, diplomat, lobbyist, and, of course, law school.
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