Majors
and Careers ~ Ten
Facts About Majors and Careers
| One: Most employers do not care about your major. |
| Most employers
do not care about your major. They seek individuals with
strong interpersonal skills and the ability to learn quickly.
They expect you to begin your career in an entry-level position,
learn the job, and then move on to positions of greater responsibility
and challenge. |
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| Two: A Stanford University education is an indicator
to employers that you have the ability to learn. |
| A
Stanford University education is an indicator to employers
that you have the ability to learn. By the time you graduate,
you are trained to quickly learn new subjects, analyze and
synthesize complex ideas and facts and write clearly and concisely.
Most jobs will not offer the same level of intellectual challenge
that you will have encountered in college. Any major will provide
you with this base level of preparation. A study by AT&T
showed that the most successful managers were those with liberal
arts degrees, strong interpersonal skills and motivation. Carly
Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and Scott McNealy, former
CEO and Chairman of Sun Microsystems both have liberal arts
degrees. |
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| Three: Some jobs do have specific academic requirements. |
| Some jobs do have
specific academic requirements. As a general rule, technical
jobs are more likely to require specific majors. If you
want to do chemistry at a biotechnology firm, it's likely,
you will have to major in chemistry. If you want to design
analog circuits, you'll need an electrical engineering
degree. If you want to work in the field of international
development doing policy work, a Ph.D. in economics would
be very helpful. |
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| Four: Investment banking and management consulting
jobs don't require specific majors |
| Investment banking
and management consulting jobs don't require specific majors
but you'll need to demonstrate that you have strong analytical,
math, and interpersonal skills. An excellent work ethic,
high standards of achievement and the ability to work in
a high-pressure environment are also important. |
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| Five: Some employers may have a preference for
students who have majored in specific business majors |
| Some, not all,
employers may have a preference for students who have majored
in specific business majors, such as, marketing, finance or accounting. |
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| Six: In the long term, your experience matters
more than your academic background. |
| In the long term,
your experience matters more than your academic background
for most jobs. Employers will want to focus on what you did
in your last job and how successful were you, rather than
your major. |
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| Seven: Medical, business, and law school do
not have any academic major requirements. |
| The three most
popular pre-professional graduate schools, medical, business,
and law school, do not have any academic major requirements.
They may require some core competency or classes, but no specific
majors are required for these programs. Medical school has basic
science requirements. However, you can major in whatever you
want as long as you take the classes that meet these requirements
before applying to medical school. |
| Eight: Most graduate schools do not have specific
academic major requirements, but may require specific courses. |
| Most graduate
schools do not have specific academic major requirements, but
may require specific courses. If you did not major in a specific
field, you may be required to take undergraduate courses when
starting your graduate program. This may result in more time
needed for you to complete the graduate program. |
| Nine: Specific majors may be more supportive
toward certain career fields. |
Specific
majors may be more supportive toward certain career fields.
For instance, anthropology may provide more preparation
for jobs, such as, museum curator, historic preservationist
or salvage archeologist, than other majors. How much of
an advantage might a specific major provide? The impact
can range from negligible to significant. It depends on
the job. You need to research the specific fields to find
out on a case-by-case basis. The following links can help
you identify careers that may be more supported by specific
majors:
Other
Majors Web Sites
First
Steps
Experience
by Degree |
| Ten: Exploring your career options first. |
| Exploring your
career options first will help you determine whether a specific
major will be important or not. The Career Development Center
can help you with this process of researching and identifying
careers that would be rewarding and satisfying to you. Call
us at 650-725-1789 to make an appointment with a career counselor. |
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