So, you have taken the plunge and are now prepared to make plans for entering college. If you are completely undecided on what to study or you are confused on how to select the right major for a specific career, this is perfectly normal. Finding the best college major is really about balancing what your passion is or picking a field that guarantees ample career opportunities. With this in mind, how do you find the best college majors for specific careers?
To find the best college major for a specific career, consider the main concentration of study that aligns the most with a certain career. For example, becoming a physician is best suited to a major in biology or chemistry. Study the career you are seeking to find the main knowledge trait within it.
Finding the best college major for a specific career can be a broad and finely detailed quest. So we will help make the process easier for you in this guide by focusing on the best majors based on specific careers and popular goals. In this article, we will explore a range of different categories, some specific, some broad, in order to provide you with the best majors for that category. Read on to find out what major you should choose.
College Majors That Will Make You Rich
Becoming wealthy is a natural goal when you live in a free and prosperous society. But the truth of the matter is that no matter how many degrees you have, wealth is attained by hard work and ingenuity.
With this in mind, many of the careers that can make you wealthy require a certain college degree in order to even secure an interview. Let’s take a look at a few college majors that just might possibly make you rich one day with hard work and dedication.
Computer Science
We live in a digital world, and this will never change; it will only continue growing. By majoring in computer science, it can be said that this is likely the smartest move any college freshman could make in today’s world. The skills you will learn with this degree will set you up to succeed in practically any industry, in any position–all of which are likely to pay very, very well.
Economics
Before technology took over the world, the smartest college major to choose was likely an economics major, and this is still a very smart choice. Capitalism and the free-market society are essential components within American society, and the workforce will always need skilled economic thinkers to build upon and evolve the free-market system. This degree will give you the critical thinking skills necessary to thrive in the world of business.
Engineering
Within both technology and business, there are skilled technicians needed to ensure that the framework of essential goods and services functions at optimal performance. This is where engineers become some of the most essential technicians within the workforce. Majoring in engineering covers many different fields, all of which need great thinkers to oversee the design, implementation, and functioning of various essential functions in society.
What Are Good College Majors For The Military?
If you wish to join the military, and you also want to receive a college degree, the best choice overall would be to consider enrolling in an ROTC program at a participating college. These programs last all 4 years of college, and you can even receive a scholarship to completely pay for your degree granted you sign a service commitment.
Apart from ROTC, a career in the military is obviously served well by choosing to major in military science. Additionally, a history degree is also good for the military since military topics form a large part of some of the more broad themes and events in history.
College Majors To Do With Animals
If you wish to work with animals in the future as a career, you will be pleased to find that there are a few different major choices at the college level. The most popular degree concerning animals is zoology; this major removes some of the more broadly scientific aspects you may find in a biology major and shifts the focus completely to the study of all animals.
Zoology focuses on the physical, mental, and behavioral traits of animals both common and exotic. Beyond this major, you can also search for universities that offer specific majors for certain types of animals, such as entomology (the study of insects), and there are also majors available in Wildlife Science and Marine Biology.
What College Majors Are Related To Environmental Science?
Environmental science is a very specific field of study that often confuses many potential college students. This is largely because the field tends to be more focused on human/environmental factors and removes some of the more specific areas of the environment that some students may have been wishing to explore.
Similar majors to environmental science include such majors as environmental studies, which looks more closely at the environment as a whole; Geology, which is the study of the Earth and its physical properties including the atmosphere; and natural resources or conservation majors.
If you want a more targeted and less applied study of the environment, you will likely be pleased with choosing to major in geology.
What College Majors Guarantee You A Job?
Oftentimes, the American workforce is a very specific and targeted system in that many careers naturally align with a certain major.
Majoring in education is one such major choice that will almost certainly guarantee you a career as an educator. A bachelor’s degree in education removes the need to undergo any alternative licensure requirements in states and localities, and teachers are always in demand.
Teaching can also be a safety net for those who receive humanities degrees and discover that career searches may take a little longer than expected.
Branching out further, you will find that a computer science degree is also a safe choice when it comes to simply find a career. Engineering, transportation, communications, and even architecture degrees are also easy and safe choices to ensure that you will land an interview simply for having the degree.
Best College Majors For Law School
Many high school graduates who want to become an attorney are content with that goal. But there can be confusion once you get to college because you will need to make decisions on the type of lawyer you will become.
Much like medical doctors, there is no specific trajectory to pursue before you arrive at law school, but nearly all jurisdictions will require a bachelor’s degree. Many freshmen will choose to major in criminal justice since it aligns most commonly with the work of an attorney. But you do not necessarily have to choose this major.
Law schools will typically pay close attention to a student’s GPA instead of focusing on the field of the bachelor’s degree. With this in mind, majoring in business, political science, history, English, or even journalism set out some of the problem-solving skills and traits that come with being an attorney.
For this one, you can pick and choose and just make sure you graduate with an above-average GPA.
Best College Majors For Entrepreneurs
Becoming an entrepreneur removes some of the lifelong stress that can come with being another person’s employee.
The first major you should strongly consider if you wish to become an entrepreneur is business. A business degree will give you all the essential skills and foundations of knowledge to succeed in the business world.
Furthermore, computer science is a great major to choose from since this will put you in a safe spot to navigate the sometimes chaotic world of start-ups and the various success and failure rates that come along with tech start-ups.
Other good major choices to consider are economics, marketing, and finance since entrepreneurship requires a solid foundation in all these fields in order to succeed.
Best College Majors For Medical School
Many aspiring physicians can get confused when thinking about college pre-med courses as a type of major. There is no officially recognized major known as this. You may hear college freshmen refer to themselves as pre-med, but the reality is that this is their primary goal as an undergrad, they are likely either majoring in biology or chemistry.
Pre-med means that an undergraduate is taking and mastering certain courses that are likely required by many medical schools, which is what comes after you receive your bachelor’s degree. A good way to think of medical school is to consider it both as a graduate school and doctoral program all related to the field of medicine.
Most medical schools will require certain courses at the undergraduate level, most related to anatomy and physiology, chemistry, and some mathematics courses as well to use a student’s scores in these courses as a barometer of how well they will do in medical school.
Because of this standard, pre-med, as an undergrad major, is unnecessary, which means you can major in whatever you like granted you take certain courses and do well in them. With this in mind, most undergraduates seeking to become medical doctors will usually major in biology, chemistry, or some degree related to the biological sciences since medicine revolves around these concepts.
But as mentioned, you are free to choose whatever it is you would like to study, and many students who are planning on becoming a psychiatrist may even choose to major in psychology since this is the most logical fit for their future medical specialty.
If you have always dreamed of someday opening and operating your own private practice, you could even major in business as an undergrad to acquire business skills. Above all, the most important step to take is to apply for and pass your pre-med courses.
Once a major is selected, advisors can help undergraduates choose pre-med courses in conjunction with medical schools of interest to the student.
Best College Majors For Athletes
If you are an athlete, you will be pleased to find that there are college majors you can choose that align with athletics. You can choose to major in sports management if you want to have a degree in place for the day you retire from athletics. This degree provides essential knowledge pertaining to the business world of sports and athletics in general.
Then there are the health-centric majors you can choose from. A health major will give you a firm grasp on the essential components that go into body and mind health. You could also major in biology or anatomy and physiology, both of which align perfectly with athletics.
Best College Majors For Law Enforcement
If you wish to enter into law enforcement, but you also want to attain an undergraduate degree, the best major to choose is likely criminal justice. This major is solely dedicated to the American criminal justice system from both law enforcement and legal standpoints.
You could also choose to major in public safety, cybersecurity, or even psychology since all of these majors firmly align with the overall work of a law enforcement officer. A college degree in one of these fields will also help you immeasurably in terms of navigating the different positions and promotions that come with law enforcement.
Best College Majors For Federal Law Enforcement
Federal law enforcement has always been a field that favors the successful completion of a college degree as a strong point of consideration on federal law enforcement applications.
If you plan on pursuing a career in one of the many different fields of federal law enforcement, you can major in criminal justice if you want to have a safe and wholly viable degree in a career-specific field.
You can also choose to major in political science, psychology, forensics, cybersecurity, or even biology. Many federal law enforcement agencies require an undergraduate degree with no specific recommendation for a certain major. But if you want to pick a major that relates closely to federal law enforcement, consider one of the above options.
Best College Majors For Artists
You may be wondering if you can major in art in college, and the answer to this is that you certainly can at nearly every university in the nation. Art is a broad term; there is art history, visual arts, art theory, and then all of the different concentrations that fall under the umbrella of art.
This is why bachelor’s and master’s degrees fall heavily under arts or sciences because a wide majority of humanities and applied arts satisfy a bachelor of arts degree. Then there is the category of bachelor of fine arts, and this degree is typically aligned with the applied arts, or in other words, proficiency in an actual art form, be it illustration or even creative writing.
If you want to be an artist and want to possess a degree in your field, you should pay close attention to your preferred field inside of a bachelor’s of fine arts category. But there are other considerations as well, for example, if you would like to manage or open an art gallery, you can major in either art history or a wider degree such as a bachelor of arts in visual arts.
Best College Majors For Gamers
Video games have come a long way since the simplistic, 8-bit games that first saturated the market in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 21st century, video games are both a best-selling product and a true and viable art form, and universities across America have acknowledged this and responded to the rise of video games design accordingly.
Designing a video game requires a strong proficiency in the dynamics of computer science. You need to be creative, yet you also have to know the ins and outs of the tool you are using to create your vision. This is one of the many reasons that majoring in video game design can help you get to where you need to be if you have artistic vision and creativity in abundance but perhaps lack the skills contained in computer science.
Many universities will offer a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science with a concentration in video game design. Yet many universities will offer such varied choices for a major as digital art, interactive entertainment, or even a bachelor of arts in video game design that focuses more on the artistic side of the equation.
A good way to think about this is to assess your overall skill proficiency with computer science. If you are great at coding and programming, then you can likely opt for a bachelor of arts in game design. If you need help with the computer science components of game design, go for a bachelor of science in computer science and choose a concentration in video game design.
What College Majors are Related to Physics?
Physics is a field of science that excites the imagination and inspires awe when considering the physical and theoretical properties of our universe. At the undergraduate level, astronomy is a similar type of major that may be offered as a whole or, separated into another category, such as physics.
You can choose to focus on schools that offer a major in astronomy, physics (the most common), or even astrophysics, which is a more research-based degree and typically seen in graduate schools.
Availability of the astronomy major can be spread out and variable, and this is because for decades now those seeking to become astronomers or even astrophysicists have typically chosen to major in physics at the undergraduate level. Physics studies the composition and known physical properties of our universe, whereas astronomy can be an all-encompassing niche field in physics that many pursue in graduate school.
Just keep in mind that you can fulfill this dream by majoring in physics as well and then pursuing more concentrated fields in your post-undergraduate endeavors.
Best College Majors For Comedians
College and comedy may not seem like an evenly matched pair, but many people do not realize that comedy is a type of artform. Indeed, there is essentially no need in getting a degree in comedy if you wish to become a comedian: you need to be funny and it needs to be sellable. But this is not the only career path that can be enhanced by choosing to major in comedy.
This is because comedy is so much more than just stand-up, it is an ancient emotion and theme that has enriched the lives of people for millennia. Also, you may find that majoring in Comedic Arts can even enhance your comedic skills if you desire to become a stand-up comedian. Telling jokes and making light of a situation is only one thread within the comedic arts tapestry.
There is the history of comedy and how its countless evolutions have inspired different kinds of humor over the centuries. Comedic writing, performance art, comedic acting, comedic songwriting, comedic improvisation, sketch comedy, dry humor, shock humor, wit, sardonic humor, satire, and various other strains of comedy are covered in a comedy major.
Colleges and universities that offer comedy as a major will typically have the major listed as a bachelor of arts or fine arts in the comic arts. Comedic art majors can lead to a wide range of careers including, stand-up comedian (it can help sharpen your skills), comedy writing in virtually any setting, including editorial careers, teaching, as well as many positions both on stage and behind-the-scenes in performance art.
Best College Majors For Writers
Creative writing is an educational field that many aspiring writers pursue to help hone their storytelling skills. There are so many complexities that can come with writing fiction or nonfiction as a career, and this degree can help to better equip you with both the process and how writing can be best understood and marketed if you wish to pursue it as your passion.
Creative writing is typically offered as a bachelor of fine arts at many university art departments that offer the major. Even some of the trendiest and most prestigious art colleges in the country have a diverse and well-rounded major in creative writing.
Even if you choose not to become an author with a creative writing degree, such a degree can open up opportunities in fields such as education, editing, and publishing.
Writers often also choose to major in English or even history since both of these degrees are heavily based on writing and the conveyance of points.
Best College Majors To Become A Millionaire
Becoming a millionaire is a lofty goal, but it is most definitely possible. Some of the best major choices you can make before freshman year would be in business, economics and finance, computer science, and even political science.
Becoming a millionaire is typically due to a moment of notoriety that a person achieves to warrant such a high salary. These majors all feature graduates that have gone on to become millionaires.
Best College Majors For Dental School
If you wish to become a dentist, much like aspiring to become a physician, there is no set undergraduate degree that you have to choose.
With that said, biology, chemistry, physics, and anatomy and physiology are some of the best majors to choose from if you wish to become a dentist. Since oral hygiene is such an important component of a person’s overall health, a health degree would also be a good major choice before dental school.
Best College Majors For Real Estate
Real estate is a career field, sort of like coding, that doesn’t actually require a college degree to enter into. Unlike coding, a person doesn’t even need to take a certification course to officially become a realtor. All you need to do is successfully pass the real estate exam in your specific region.
With that in mind, getting a college degree that aligns closely with real estate is a great way to broaden your knowledge of the field and stick out more to agencies and employers. Business, marketing and finance, and even accounting are all great majors to choose from if you wish to become a skilled and attractive real estate agent in the view of employers.
But to be more specific, the majors that align most closely to real estate include any majors concerning marketing and finance, as well as most business administration majors as well.
Best College Majors During Pandemic
With Covid-19 in place, the workforce has drastically changed all over the world. Since there is uncertainty on just how long the pandemic will be at its worst, you may wish to choose a major that aligns with the shifting dynamics in the workforce due to the pandemic.
Computer science and any information technology degree are a safe choice since the world has largely moved online since the beginning of the pandemic.
Also, any degree related to health and medicine is also the perfect choice to study during this time as this will immediately have you in contention for a wide range of careers in healthcare.
Best College Majors For Actors
Contrary to popular belief, acting is a profession that is far from easy. Acting is sometimes classified as both an art and a craft because the profession depends in equal parts on mastery of the techniques and an actor’s creativity.
At the undergraduate level, a higher education proficiency in acting can be found in a drama degree, a theatre arts major, and even some majors that revolve around media studies. With this in mind, the most attractive major to consider to learn all the essentials of acting is choosing to major in drama.
A drama major covers everything from the history of acting in both the West and East throughout the centuries, the main types of acting, technical aspects of acting such as dialect, positioning the body for the stage or screen, marks, queues, etc. Acting is all about transformation and assuming an identity and life not your own, a degree in drama can supply you with enough proficiency to begin and ace auditions.
Best College Majors For Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is a reality as the 21st century progresses. Human and computer interaction, robotics, and engineering of AI are all accelerating as technology continues to grow and evolve.
Majoring in artificial intelligence is a highly technical degree and it certainly helps to have an active and vivid imagination to think big and create systems of intelligent design in order to succeed with this major.
Computer science is not surprisingly the most obvious undergraduate major for artificial intelligence.
It may also surprise you to know that majoring in philosophy is also a great choice since this will give you the deep critical thinking skills necessary to craft technology that manipulates and evolves the very essence of human life itself.
Best College Majors For Business Owners
Majoring in business can often cause some uncertainty with college freshmen. Business is such a broad field, and so many other degrees may actually be more aligned for what it is you really want to do.
For instance, you may wish to become an economist but you realize that economics as a discipline is not always associated with business as a major. The reality is that this is an example of looking too far into the degree that you miss some key points about the field. Economics is in fact a major section within a business degree, and this major would actually help fulfill this goal.
Additionally, you may feel like going into public relations and it sounds as if a business degree is the best course of action, but actually, a communications degree aligns with that career more specifically. You can choose to major in business administration if your goal is to run or create a viable business within the workforce.
Always remember that majoring in business should mean that you are on the track to run, manage, or provide insights into how business can improve and evolve as the century goes on. A major as broad as a business can be confusing for many students and their trajectory, so only choose this degree if you want to go into the financial and market-based aspects of the American economy.
Best College Majors For Basketball Players
If you are a basketball player, any sports-related major is likely the best option to choose from if you are undecided on what it is you want to study. Majors like sports management directly relate to basketball and are guaranteed to hold your interest as you focus on your playing.
Additionally, many basketball players like to major in psychology as well. You can major in anything you wish to study, but if you are seeking a major that aligns the most with basketball, always choose a sports or athletics-related major.
Best College Majors For CIA
If you are aspiring to have a career in the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), the choices for your major closely align with the choices related to federal law enforcement.
One notable major to consider would be the field of cybersecurity since so many threats in the 21st century have been found within this field. Additionally, international relations, history, and political science are all great choices inside the purview of the CIA.
Best College Majors For Cosmetology
Cosmetology is an associate’s degree, but if you wish to receive a bachelor’s degree, and you want to study something that closely aligns with this field, your options are slim but there are some majors that will broaden the concepts you explore in a typical cosmetology degree.
Any business degree is worth considering since the goal of many cosmetologists is to eventually own and operate their own beautification business.
You could also even consider something like biology or anatomy and physiology since the dynamics of human beauty and even body, hair, and skin health are all essential concepts within cosmetology.
Best College Majors For Electrical Engineers
If you wish to become an electrical engineer, this is a widely distributed major across many colleges and universities.
But there can sometimes be an overlap with electrical engineering based on the specific field. You could also choose to major in computer engineering if you wish to perform electrical engineering within a technological framework.
Best College Majors For Firefighters
Becoming a firefighter only requires a high school diploma in terms of educational requirements. But there are many firefighters who also choose to pursue a higher education degree as well as aspiring firefighters who want to receive a degree first.
There is no firefighting degree available, but many firefighters and aspiring firefighters usually choose to major in fire science (where available), homeland security, disaster management, or even geology since fire is an overall part of Earth processes.
Best College Majors For Musicians
If you want to become a musician, the most obvious major choice would be to major in music. There are many different types of majors within the field of music, therefore, it is just a matter of choosing the best music degree based on the type of musician you aspire to become.
Additionally, you could also major in arts management or even education with a minor in music if you wish to teach music at the secondary education level.
Best College Majors For Politicians
Going into politics is a major decision that many people attempt but only a select few ever achieve. The most obvious college major for aspiring politicians is political science since this is all about politics and the structure and differing ideologies that fall into the political spectrum.
But you can certainly choose to major in a wide range of other fields. Many American presidents studied law, and the natural progression for this would be a criminal justice major. You could also major in history, philosophy, or even business since all of these fields align with politics in general.
Best College Majors For Physical Therapy
If you wish to become a physical therapist, the best degree choices that align with this trajectory include biology, anatomy, and physiology, health, kinesiology, chemistry, physics, or even psychology.
Since this is a career path most commonly found at the graduate level, you can choose your undergraduate major at will, but one of the above-listed major choices is a great choice for physical therapy since all these choices concern the human body.
Best College Majors For Pilots
If you wish to become an aviation pilot, this is another career field that may cause some confusion at the undergraduate level.
The best method to take would be to find colleges that offer any sort of aviation degree. Aeronautical or aerospace engineering, air traffic management, aviation, aviation technology, or aeronautical science are the absolute best majors you can take if you wish to become a pilot and want to add a degree to your resume.
Ultimately, the best choice to make when aspiring to become a pilot would be to major in aviation since this major covers all of the ins and outs of aviation and the skills and techniques needed for pilots to become proficient at what can be a difficult job.
Best College Majors For Readers
Contrary to popular belief, reading does not always go hand-in-hand with writing. If you love to read, the different career paths you can take are numerous.
A firm grasp of reading is a foundational skill within linguistics, and choosing to major in English is a great way to learn and hone these skills for careers as diverse translators and linguists.
You could also choose many of the majors within the humanities, with history and philosophy being two major choices that heavily align with reading.
Further out, you could also choose to major in psychology, sociology, and even communications since a firm amount of reading and being able to interpret what you read are cornerstones of succeeding within these major choices as well.
You may also wish to major in education since teaching reading and language arts is always an in-demand teaching position in nearly every state.
