Finding a major that is not only fulfilling and interesting, but also fits your goals and aligns with your values can be a difficult taks.

Kate Lehman, assistant provost and executive director of student success and career development, shares her tips on finding majors and ensuring you are making the most of your college career:

Try out classes! Taking classes in various areas of interest are a great way to see what you like — and don’t like — which is all a part of the process. Very few majors require that you are on track from the very beginning, and most have room to explore and try different things. Take advantage of that time and space! 

Visit Student Success and Career Development (SSCD) to talk with one of our career team members or an academic advisor. We have a tool called FOCUS2 which can help students navigate through their own interests, values, and goals to explore various career areas. It is not a magic crystal ball which will give students a specific answer, but it can confirm potential areas of interest or maybe suggest things a student hadn’t really thought about before. We can also help students think through the types of jobs or post-graduation pathways that might fit with any given major. 

Talk with faculty in various areas of interest. They can share things about their major, what recent graduates are up to, student activities within the major, and the types of classes involved. 

Just focus on five years. Sometimes thinking about an entire lifetime or big career commitment is scary and overwhelming. But if you just think about the next five years and what you’d like to be doing, it can break it into more manageable decisions and steps. 

Ask yourself what types of problems you want to help solve. Or what issues are you passionate or naturally curious about. Sometimes finding unique or creative ways to think about the end goal can help. 

Student Success and Career Development is located in the Lower Level of Towers Hall (027) 
Hours: Monday – Friday (8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) 
Phone: 614-823-1624 
Email: studentsuccess@otterbein.edu or career@otterbein.edu