I had one month before my first college classes began, and I had just received the class catalogue from my University. It was massive. I swear that thing weighed ten pounds!

I sat on my bed and leafed through the enormous tome, completely flummoxed and having no clue as to how to find classes, much less a major. I had some vague ideas about what I expected to study as a major and then go onto as a career, but this catalogue was not helping settle the question.

The truth is, I had never heard of job shadowing, and only know what it is now and how valuable it can be from having talked to some of my undergraduate acquaintances. One of them shadowed a dentist, a physician's assistant and a urologist. Seriously. Another guy shadowed a realtor and a manager of an insurance office. From having talked to these guys about their experience in job shadowing, I realized that I really could have benefitted from doing it.

*How it is done
The process of job shadowing begins with you finding a person who does the job you are considering and who is amenable to your shadowing him or her. This person will need to have patience and you will need to promise to keep your nose out of things. You basically need to come to an agreement between the two of you on how much you can be involved in the work and how to make sure you stay out of the way. You will be like an invisible apprentice in most situations.

*The benefits
Once you have an agreement with this saint of a person, you can begin to watch them work. If you shadow properly, you will get a complete idea of the ins and outs of the job. You will see whether compensation is commensurate with the amount of work that goes into the position. Furthermore, you will get an idea about the level of job satisfaction that the person you are shadowing enjoys. All of these bits and pieces of knowledge can help you decide whether the major and career you are considering are what you really want.

After job shadowing in one area, you can always go and shadow another job. In fact, it is recommended. The more information you can get about your potential majors and careers will do you only good.

It is vital to be sure of yourself when you make this important decision. In order to get the job you dream of, you need to be in the right major as soon as possible. Thus, job shadowing in several areas of interest can truly help you get started on the right track with confidence and peace of mind.

Learn more about this author, Jared Garrett.
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