Matching Career to College Degree

You need to totally change your focus. Except for very technical subject areas — or advanced degrees — your college major is not nearly as important as the degree itself. Employers want job-seekers with college degrees and work experience… everything else beyond that point it gravy.

So, rather than focusing on what types of jobs are available to people with your degree — and there are Websites that provide that information — a better exercise for you is to discover what truly interests you and excites you. Once you discover these things, you can then match jobs that utilize those skills and interests.

Take the time to examine all your courses, class projects, and work experience. Think about the times you were most excited, most energized, most satisfied. Make a list. Also think about the stuff you never want to do again — activities you found boring or uninspiring. Make a list of those, too.

Once you’re done with your lists, start investigating jobs and career paths that utilize the stuff you like to do while minimizing the stuff you don’t ever want to do. Once you’ve discovered the types of jobs that best fit you, your next step is identifying employers that are hiring for those jobs.

Don’t ever feel limited to search for jobs that fit your major in college. However, if you really want to see some examples, you can go to one of the many “what can I do with a major in…” sites, such as this one from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

You can find other good resources in this section of Quintessential Careers: Career Exploration Resources.