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Choosing your major can be very easy, or very hard, depending on how much time you spend preparing your decision. Now, sometimes it is hard to choose a major no matter how much time you put into it, but in general you should have a good idea as to what you want to study when it comes time to declare. Most colleges won't make you declare until junior year, so even if a decision hasn't been reached by the time classes start, don't worry too much about it. So how do you go about choosing a major?

The choice of a major should be thought out much in the same way that you would think about a potential job offer. This is because what you choose to major in will mirror in a lot of ways what you will be doing in the working world. Although some may be able to pull it off, a major shouldn't be chosen merely because it is an easy way to get a degree, and get out of school with a high GPA. While a GPA will be a factor with some hiring managers as you look for an entry level job, there will be other factors that will be closely looked at as well.

A good choice of a major will most likely be something that you have a passion for, and can see yourself doing for many years, even if the pay isn't overwhelming. Sure a 100,000 dollar a year job may sound cool, but if you burn out by age 26, and have to go back to school to get a degree in something more attractive, then that is just a waste of time and money. Another question to ask yourself when choosing a major is how much extra work will you have to do in school, and are you willing to put in that work during school?

For example, in order to get a degree in education, you need to actually spend an entire semester in the field teaching in order to get a degree. Also, the need for work with special education students is also on the rise, and is a requirement in order to get a degree at some schools. To get an English degree, you may be required to actually write up to a sixty page novella in order to pass the class, and expect to spend a lot of time researching some very obscure topics. If you think writing a seven page paper on "The Flea" by John Donne is exciting, maybe that is a major for you.

However, to get a degree in history, all that may be needed is a working knowledge of what happened in the civil war, or whatever aspect of history you wish to get involved with after school.

One final question that should be taken into consideration is whether or not whatever major you choose will be a viable one after school. Sure, you don't want to burn out too young in a major you choose merely for the money, but it is also foolish to get a degree that won't get you a job. Say you like Latin, don't major in Latin, find where Latin is used frequently, like in law, or medicine, and major in that instead.

Finally, just make sure you like what you do, but not set yourself up for failure. No major is really the path to an easy life, as everything takes work, but as they say, if you like what you do, you will never work a day in your life.

Learn more about this author, Cody Hodge.
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