How to Choose a Major

Self-Assessment

Welcome to Utica College's self assessment Web page, the supplement to the How to Choose a Major guide available from UC's Office of Admissions admiss@utica.edu. This page is designed to be your guide to a variety of self-assessment tools available on the Web that will help you select a major, and ultimately a career that fits your personality, interests, and values.

Be sure to "bookmark" this page if you're using Firefox, or put it on your "Favorites" list if you're using Explorer, so you can quickly return to it and keep track of your progress in working through the list of opportunities available to you.

Self Assessment Worksheet: This section contains the list of self assessment questions contained in the How to Choose A Major guide, but in an easy-to-use worksheet format. Print it out and then spend some time responding to each question.

How to Get Where You're Going: "Finding yourself" can be an abstract process. This section will help you create an action plan -- one with concrete steps and dates -- to help you progress toward your goal of identifying majors that are right for you.

Majors to Consider: This page lists over 30 majors and programs available at Utica College, and each one is linked to a page with information about the field, including career options.

Self Assessment Resources: This section contains links to related pages on the Web, including interactive self assessment tools and interest inventories.

Self Assessment Worksheet

Print out this form. Then find a quiet place where you can sit down and spend some time reflecting on each question. Be sure to write down everything that comes to mind. For some questions, it may be helpful to talk about them with a family member, teacher, or friend who knows you well.

You may struggle to answer some of these questions, and that's okay. The important thing is to keep coming back to the question in order to address it fully. You many want to block out 30 minutes each day over a week to think about your responses, instead of trying to complete all the questions in just one sitting.

Questions

What do you enjoy doing? (We don't mean school subjects. Think about how you choose to spend your free time.)

What is most important to you? What have you enjoyed about the activities you've chosen or the jobs you've had?

What do you indentify as your personal strengths?

What do others see as your strengths? What skills do family, friends, and teachers compliment you on?

Where would you like to live when you're finished with school?

How hard do you want to study? How many years do you plan to stay in school?

What are your financial expectations?

What other things do you know about yourself that are important to take into consideration as you plan your future?

How to Get Where You're Going

Tip #1:

It's easier to reach your goals when you hang out with people who are pursuing the same goal or, better yet, who have already reached that goal. Ask them how they did it, or how they're working to do it. Learn by association -- hang with people who have similar interests and values, then you can select activities to do together that will help both of you get where you want to go.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• Who do you admire?
• Who are the people or friends you know who seem to be headed in the direction you want to go?
• Who does a good job in the areas you're interested in?

Tip #2:

Everything is easier if you're having fun. A common expression is: "Do what you love, and the money will eventually come with it." Throughout your search process, keep in mind that you need to pick a major -- and eventually a career -- that you'll like, not just something you're good at.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• If you could do whatever you wanted for a day, what would you do?
• What activities do you engage in that seem to make time fly, or that you're sorry to see come to an end.
• If you won the lottery and never had to work, what would you do with your time/energy/talents?

Tip#3:

It's important to put your goals in writing. Turn them into action plans, which are a series of specific steps you plan to take within a defined period of time. The key to your success is to take a large, intangible task -- such as selecting a college major -- and break it down into several concrete actions -- such as completing the self assessment worksheet in two weeks. By using this approach, you will generate a "to do" list that will enable you to take small steps that lead you closer to your goal.

Here is an exercise to get you started:

I will [state what you plan to do]	by [specify a date].
I will complete the self assessment worksheet	by...
I will...	by...
I will...	by...
I will...	by...

Self Assessment Resources

There a many resources available on the Web, as well as in your local or school library and in your school's guidance office, that will help you identify your interests, attitudes, values, and talents, so you can select the major -- and ultimately the career -- that's right for you.

Note: Links to the following Web sites are provided as service only, and do not constitute an endorsement of the site, service, or company.

The Keirsey Character Sorter www.keirsey.com/cgi-bin/keirsey/newkts.cgi is designed to identify different kinds of personality.

Online Career Center cleveland.oh.occ.com/occ/career/assessment provides a variety of self-assessment inventories to help you learn more about yourself.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook www.bls.gov/oco/, referred to in the How to Choose a Major guide, offers career lists and projections.

Birkman Method Career Style Summary www.review.com/birkman uses responses to 24 questions to determine your most likely interests and work style. This information can help you choose fields, jobs, and organizations that are suited to your strengths and occupational preferences.

Michigan Occupational Information System Self-Assessment Career Survey mois.org/moistest.html can help you identify careers you might like to pursue, based on brief survey of career cluster area interests.

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