An integral part of the college experience is the exploration of possible academic majors and career paths that align with personal interests, passions, and skills. Data concerning how students accomplish this task is rather shocking. Students typically use family members (52 percent), social media like LinkedIn and Instagram (45 percent), and YouTube videos (44 percent) to explore career opportunities related to their academic studies. Much less frequently, they use their campus career center (Bellassai, 2023). According to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics (2017), roughly 30 percent of students will change their major at least once, often resulting in an extended time in college and additional financial burdens. Interestingly, a BestColleges survey revealed that 61 percent of college graduates would change their majors if they could go back and revisit their earlier decisions (Johnson, 2023). Undoubtedly, helping students clarify their reasons for attending college and plans beyond graduation should be a high priority for us as faculty.
Menu
