English, music and nursing, oh my: Choosing a major can be as difficult as deciding which flavor of ice cream to buy.
With more than 25 majors to choose from at Dixie State University, picking just one might be intimidating.
For some, choosing a major just comes naturally. Kayla Hubbard, a freshman theater major from Hurricane, said one of her directors in high school inspired her to pursue a degree in theater. She said students should base their major off of hobbies and interests.
Nathan Markovich, a sophomore business major from Chandler, Arizona, said he didn’t know what he wanted to major in before he started college.
“I was going to either do business or something totally opposite like theater or something like that,” he said. “I decided business is probably best because it’s more solid and you can make more money doing it.”
There are skill-based differences between certain majors, said Tyler Slesk, a first-year academic adviser. He said if a student is going into accounting for instance, he or she is learning a skill to do a very specific job. However, if a student is pursuing something like theater or art, there are more opportunities, but he said finding a niche is key.
“If students are going into something that’s a bit more broad, they have to understand what they want to go into and take classes with that in mind,” Slesk said.
Slesk said a lot of freshman students are eager to go into a specific profession without truly knowing what a day in the life of that profession would be like or the academic process to get there.
Students should job shadow, interview people in the profession they’re interested in, or take on an internship in the field to truly get a grasp on the profession, he said. Slesk has had a lot of students say they’re thankful they took the time to understand the profession because they realized it wasn’t something they wanted to do.
“If you decide you don’t want to go into something, that’s just as good as if you decided you do want to go into it because then you don’t have to waste any time on it anymore and you can move on.”
Students should base their major off of what they know and what they know they’ll like to do in the future, Markovich said.
For assistance with picking out a major, students should visit the advisement center located on the first floor of the Jeffrey R. Holland Centennial Commons. Additionally, the Career Center has tools to assist students who’d like to find out what major best fits their interests.
“Take your passion and make it happen,” Hubbard said.
