How I Chose My College Major

Written By: Yavuz Cengiz, FLI Program Participant
(This content has been edited for clarity and grammar)

There you are applying to college, and it asks you what major you want to pick. There are only some people in college who know what they want to do but, even those people change their minds. Picking your college major is a hard decision that you should think about thoroughly, because you don’t want to be stuck with a major and a job that, at the end of the day, you never wanted to do. Let me tell you how I picked my Accounting Major at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

 

I first thought about what I wanted to do in life. As of right now, I want to work for the FBI as a special agent in the future. After I knew what I wanted to do, I looked at the FBI website and saw what majors and work backgrounds they tend to hire. The FBI website essentially said they are looking for people with law enforcement, STEM, and accounting backgrounds. After I knew what majors and backgrounds I would need to do to land a job at the FBI, I picked from those options. I knew, without a doubt, I would never want a STEM major. I had taken a lot of STEM -related classes in high school and knew I could do it but, I didn't enjoy it. I researched the possibility of getting an accounting degree. I learned exactly what accountants do and possible career paths. Within accounting, I found a subcategory that I was very interested in: Forensic Accounting. It fit perfectly with what I wanted to do. I wanted a job that was similar to a detective's and also related to finance. My path toward finding the major I wanted was finished and I knew I wanted to do accounting. With accounting, I could work as a public or private accountant for years until I gain enough experience to apply to the FBI. My goal would be accomplished.

 

My approach for finding my major was very straightforward. The truth is that it might not be that easy for you. Before, I wanted to be a lawyer, then a detective, then an engineer, and now I want to be an FBI special agent. Realistically, I am not against the idea of changing my major and goals in college. It is a possibility because no one truly knows themselves yet and what they want. That is what is beautiful about college. It is, essentially, a way for you to try out anything you want. There are classes for bowling, dancing, music, history, math and so many more. With college, you have a million different opportunities to try a different class or different club and finding out more and more about yourself which, at the end of the day, is what is most important. Do not be afraid to change your major if it is something you think it is the correct decision for you.