On my last post I shared advice about choosing a college. This week I thought it would be good if we talked about choosing a major.

Before we go any further I’ll openly admit that once again I am not the shinning example. I chose Fine Arts as my major only because I could draw – and not very well in fact. Knowing what I know now, I would have done things differently. I would have taken time to do a little self evaluation and research.

So let’s learn from my mistake and take the 1^st step in choosing a major – listing your skills and interests.

Skills:

Napoleon Dynamite was dead on by constantly taking stock of his skills. You should do the same. Take out a piece a paper and write down EVERYTHING you are good at. I don’t care what it is, write it down.  There are no right or wrong answers. (You can use Excel or a spreadsheet program if you have one)

Interests:

Now make a separate list and write down your interests or anything you love doing. This should include hobbies, activities, etc.

Weaknesses:

Though we don’t like to admit it, there are probably things we’re not good at. Your 3^rd list will be for your weaknesses – try to keep these to skills and knowledge. Be honest! There is nothing wrong with having weaknesses.

So now we have three lists. Go ahead and put your weakness list to the side- we’ll get to that later.

Take your skills and interests lists and compare them.

Pay attention to the patterns. Does anything stick out; did things you put on one list show up on another?  Write these down – this will be your passion list.

(I know, we have a lot of lists here… bear with me)

Highlight anything on your passion list you would love to get paid for doing. Go through the list again and highlight anything you would love to do for the rest of your life regardless if someone paid you or not.

Is there overlapping?  I’ll bet there is!

Congratulations!

All this list making has paid off and you now have a starting point for choosing your major. (That’s what this post was about right?)

Next we’ll see how your personal values play a big part in helping you choose a major!

Did this help?  What did you discover on your lists?

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