Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
Newsroom: (541)346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
Thursday
April 20,2000
Volume 101, Issue 135
Effierald
Deciding what
major to declare
should involve
more than just
weighing future
incomes;
students should
take the time in
college to find
out what they
enjoy doing
It’s probably the second most popu
lar question asked at IntroDUCK
tion, just after “What’s y5ur
name?” Whether it’s asked out of
sincere interest, as a conversation
starter or just as a pick-up line, no
one leaves campus the first day with
out hearing the all-too-familiar inqui
sition: “What's your major?”
The answer to such an inquiry au
tomatically identifies a student and is
supposed to expose a person’s inter
ests , but more and more this isn’t the
case. Most students feel much better
about themselves if they know they
have a solid path to follow, one that
will eventually lead them to a secure
job even if it’s not what they enjoy.
Unfortunately, this way of thinking
causes many to choose their majors
for the wrong reasons. And these
hopeful souls could end up very dis
appointed later in their lives, because
instead of experiencing the college
life, they concentrated only on where
it would take them. So many students
focus on the destination that they for
get they’re here to actually learn and
to find their passions.
No one wants to hear, “What can
you do with that major in the real
world?" And this fear and pressure
pushes some students to desperately
grab onto any career path that is re
motely close to what they want to do
and has potential to one day bring in
the cashola. You can spot these gold
diggers by the bright green dollar
signs that flash in their eyes when
they learn of the salaries their major
could someday bring them. And
while such a motive works great
when one has true interest and devo
tion, others are stuck in a miserable
rut. Nelly Ganesan, who recently
changed majors from computer in
formation science to math, knows
how it feels to be in a major for rea
sons aside from personal satisfac
tion.
“ I picked computer science be
cause of pressure from my parents
and also because it’s security based,”
Ganesan said. “You know that if you
graduate with a degree in CIS, you
don’t really have to worry about get
ting a job. But I didn’t like it.”
Sarah Bartlett, sophomore journal
ism major, also admits that if it
weren’t for financial factors, her ca
reer path would be different. “I’d have
a major in English with a creative writ
ing focus and get a masters in fine arts.
Poetry is what I love. But there’s the
pressure from my parents and my
own mindset that I need to be able to
get a job. For poets there doesn’t seem
to be many opportunities besides
teaching or living on tire streets.”
But having a major that sounds
promising is not a guaranteed ticket
into a secure job. We have alumni
that have graduated with business
degrees and ended up being lead
cashiers at Gap. But then we have
English majors that went on to be
come account executives or graphic
designers.
Also, there’s no assurance that jobs
will be closely related to the students
major. According to the 1997 Career
Survey at the University on baccalau
reate graduates, 32 percent of respon
dents had jobs highly related to their
major while 28 percent said that their
jobs had no relation. You never
know where your major will take
even if it’s known to bring others
success.Soyou
may as well
study some
thing you like.
Even iflost
souls who de
clare a major
for monetary
reasons find
the successful
job that their
major prom
ised, eventual
Beata ly the glory and
M OStaf avi happiness will
- fade. They will
spend time they could have spared
searching for something that does
please their heart.
Lynn Antis, now assistant director
at the Eugene Mission, graduated
from San Diego State with a bachelor
of science in business. But he then
went on to obtain a masters of art in
religion at the Northwest Christian
College when he saw that his major
didn’t bring him satisfaction in the
workplace.
“I went to work for Graybar Elec
tric, a very large electrical sales com
pany,” Antis said. “Financially, it
went very well, and I bought a new
home and new car and that was great,
but I didn’t feel fulfilled. The busi
ness world has good lucrative, but it
was too shallow and empty for me.
When I started at the Eugene Mis
sion, I was making one-fourth of
what I was making in sales. But I can
still say that I have no regrets.”
The truth is that many of us will be
forever undeclared. What sparks
your interest today may turn to
smoke tomorrow. Just do and learn
about what makes you happy today.
If you’re always thinking about the
end of the road, you’ll never enjoy
getting there. I’m not trying to be an
idealist, and I’m definitely not giving
you the good old kindergarten phi
losophy of “You can be whatever you
want to be.” Just don’t set limits for
yourself for the wrong reasons; do
what excites you. Otherwise you
could spend the rest of your life in
“what if’ mode if you end up unhap
py
But don’t let skewed expectations
lead you to your destiny. Study what
interests you because there’s plenty
of time to decide what you want to do
with the rest of your life. This may
mean hearing the dreaded, “Why
would you want to study that? That
major won’t take you anywhere. ”
But that’s when you can’t be afraid
to say “yeah, but I love it.”
Beata Mostafavi is a columnist for the Ore
gon Daily Emerald. Her views do not neces
sarily represent those of the Emerald. She
can be reached via e-mail at bmostafa@
gladstone.uoregon.edu.