Do majors matter?

The act of choosing one's major is a defining moment in any college student's life. Isolating that academic interest which will occupy a significant amount of time in and out of class is difficult enough, without considering the pressures of the looming post-graduation job market.

Many students feel that they must consider whether a given major will provide them with enough flexibility to choose from a wide variety of careers, or whether they will be pigeon-holed into one industry. Furthermore, is it better to choose a major based on pure intellectual curiosity, or is that type of decision impractical in today's world?

In making this decision, practicality and intellectual leanings often share the stage. Depending on post-graduate plans, the undergraduate major may be a preliminary step. For those attending business school, an economics major may make the most sense:

"I chose [Economics] because I am both interested in the material and feel that I learn practical information in my courses... I will most likely attend business school and I feel economics is the closest material to what I would encounter in business," senior Jessica Tubman, an Economics major and Entrepreneurship minor, said.

But many have their doubts about how much one's major truly leads to their career path. "Majors do not necessarily define nor determine an individual's career path," Assistant Director of Career Services Donna Milmore said.

Tubman agrees, "In terms of a future career, I think one's major is mostly irrelevant. While some people are confident of their future career paths, I feel it takes others a few years, sometimes many, to really decide which career they will choose," she said.

Senior and pre-veterinary student Shelly Kamath said that although she is majoring in Biology in preparation for veterinary school, she does not think a specific major is essential for their chosen career. "I do not think a major is as important as the skills and knowledge you take with you after graduation," she said.

For students intending to further their education after graduation, says Kamath, specific career training is often considered less important than pursuing a major of particular personal interest.

"A major is not as important for people whose future career paths don't correlate to a specific major at Tufts, and [for] people planning to go to medical, veterinary, dental, or law school," she said.

International Relations (IR) -- which graduated its first student in 1978 -- is today one of the University's most popular majors, in part because of the various disciplines it involves. "I wanted something that combined different interests of mine into one major," junior and International Relations major Bilen Seyoum said. "I wanted something that interested me, so I would do well in it."

Alumnus Dr. John de Jong, A'78/V'85, was the first IR major in the University's history, and also helped to establish the program. Double majoring in Bio-Psych and IR, he pursued post graduate education in virtually ever foreseeable direction.

De Jong applied and was accepted to business, medical, law, and veterinary school. Spending a year at law school, he finally graduated from Tufts Veterinary Program in 1985. He cites his story, a Bio-Psych/IR major who ended up a veterinarian (and the first person to graduate both Tufts undergrad and Tufts Veterinary School) as a great example of how a major is not all important when one has a liberal arts education.

"Without question, having a major can put you toward a given career. But it does not entirely define or limit you," de Jong said. "A Tufts degree... and a little confidence will get you anywhere you need to go."

To many students, the liberal arts education is far more important than the individual major. "I think most people in general see a major as a definition of what you want to be and what you want to do, but I don't agree," said junior Shasta Jean-Mary, who is an English major and a Communications and Media Studies minor. "I feel like if I do not want to be in publishing, I can do absolutely anything with an English major... Some people put too much stock into what the major is."

Donna Milmore, Assistant Director of Career Services, attests that in many cases, a student's major and future career are not related at all: "There is not always a direct link between an individual's academic studies and their career," she said. "The skills you develop at Tufts -- research, writing, critical thinking -- appeal to all employers, regardless of industry."

The Tufts Career Network, an online database containing a list of alumni and their fields as well as their majors, shows that many Tufts graduates pursue fields that are not strictly related to their major.

Alumna Christina Jordan, a Sociology and Child Development major who graduated in 1998 and now works for Project Bread-Walk for Hunger as the Community Initiatives Director, encourages students to choose a major based on personal, academic, and intellectual interests.

"My majors were based entirely on intellectual curiosity," Jordan said. "I think that people should choose jobs that they will be happy working in and that they feel passionately about. I feel that choosing a major based on curiosity and interest is the way to accomplish that goal."

"The job market is always changing and people in our generation are predicted to have many jobs throughout their career," she added. "I think it would be hard to pick a major based on the job market now because a few years down the road, there is no guarantee that the job market will be the same or even similar to what it is now."

Additionally, many majors, especially in liberal arts, are not tied to one specific career. "I think most Tufts students just want the liberal arts education. I know people who've graduated [from Tufts] in a certain major, who are doing jobs that have nothing to do with that major," Seyoum said. "Many people don't allow their major to determine what they do with their lives."

Alumni agree that a liberal arts education at Tufts incorporates room to change careers and focuses in the future. "The liberal arts requirements at Tufts are important because they encourage you to explore areas you wouldn't necessarily choose on your own," Jordan said.

However, Jordan added "they are flexible enough to allow you to pick classes within those areas that interest you. Flexibility and the ability to learn something new or to gain a range of skills are crucial in this ever-changing job market. I think choosing a major is very important ... but I do not think that employers are necessarily looking to hire people who majored in a specific area and not in another."

Careers and majors, though sometimes linked closely, are often distinct entities. "My majors did not prepare me for a specific career, but they did prepare me for all of the jobs I have had by giving me important background knowledge and by helping me to develop the way I look at the world," Jordan said. "My majors allowed me to take classes that I was really interested in."