GRAHAM GARNERFIRST-YEAR SEMINAR

SPRING 2008, SECTION 8

Academic Planning:Setting Your Career Course

Adapted from “Thriving in College & Beyond,” by Joseph B. Cuseo, Viki Sox Fecas, and Aaron Thompson

Types of Courses

Liberal arts or general education requirements

College major requirementsFree electives

Myths

Myth 1: When you choose your major, you’re choosing your career

Myth 2: If you want to continue your education after college, you must continue in the same field as your college major

Myth 3: To work in a business or corporation, you need to major in business or a technical field

Myth 4: If you major in a liberal arts field, the only career available to you is teaching

Myth 5: Having specialized skills is more important for career success than having general skills

Myths

Myth 1: When you choose your major, you’re choosing your career Compare to climbing a tree Trunk = foundation of liberal arts or general

education Limbs = choices for college majors Branches = different career paths or options

Myths

Myth 2: If you want to continue your education after college, you must continue in the same field as your college major Enter a career immediately Continue your education in graduate school or

professional school

Myths

Myth 3: To work in a business or corporation, you need to major in business or a technical field “Employers are for more interest in the

prospect’s ability to think and to think clearly, to write and speak well, and how he works with others than in his major or the name of the school he went to.”

Myths

Myth 4: If you major in a liberal arts field, the only career available to you is teaching Studies show liberal arts majors are just as likely

to advance to the highest levels of corporate leadership as majors in pre-professional fields.

Myths

Myth 5: Having specialized skills is more important for career success than having general skills While specific, technical skills may be important

for getting into a career, the general professional skills are more important for moving up the career ladder.

Reflections

Look over your courses. Are you still interested in your major?

Are you surprised about what courses are a part of the major, or are they what you expected?

Are there questions you have about the major that have not been answered yet?