How Majors and Careers Are Related

Deciding on a major, whether you are choosing one or contemplating a change, can be a daunting task, especially when you are trying to connect the major to some future career. Sometimes, the relationship between the two can look  linear:

MAJOR -> CAREER

For example, Stony Brook’s major in journalism would prepare you to be a journalist; the major in chemical engineering would prepare you to be a chemical engineer. But would you be surprised to know that, more often than not, the relationship between major and career looks something like this?


This picture is harder to understand, right? That’s because the relationship is indirect and more complicated than you’d probably expect. The purpose of a liberal arts education, like the one you’re getting at Stony Brook, is less to give you hard job skills than to teach you how to do things like write well and think critically – transferable skills that are essential in almost any job. Because of this, every major leads to a wide variety of career options. For example, did you know that studio art majors can become doctors (if they complete the requirements for medical school)?

As in the second picture, your major is only ONE part of what your future employer or graduate school will consider when you apply: the key is to combine your academic study with experience that adds to your skills and refines your interests.

But your major will most likely have a direct effect on your feelings of academic engagement, your passion for learning, and your overall satisfaction with college – so you should still choose carefully! How do you start the selection process? Here are some steps you can take:

You can also: