UB Undergraduate Advising

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Resources on Choosing a Major

• Choosing a Major Worksheets
• Majors and Degrees Exploration Worksheet (PDF)
• Doing the Homework: Researching Majors and Academic Programs (PDF)
• Recommended Courses/Programs to Help You Explore

Campus Resources

• Student Advising Services
• Career Services
• Life and Learning Workshops
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Counseling Services

Additionally Visit

• Departmental Advisors
• Departmental Faculty and Instructors - Departmental faculty and instructors are an excellent source of information about their discipline, courses in their major, and careers and other opportunities that their majors might lead to. Ask them to describe their majors and what they like about their career and field.
• Departmental Literature and Brochures - Departmental literature and brochures provide a wealth of information about majors and courses available within these majors. Students can gain a greater understanding about the requirements of courses, the instructor's interests, and how the instructor's interests might match the student's own interests.

Web Resources

• Undergraduate Catalog
• Departmental Web Sites and Listservs
• New York Career Zone
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Occupational Information Network
• Careers Representing America
• What Can I Do with This Major?
• JobStar Central
• Career Voyages
• What Do You Like

Published Helpful Hints

• Choosing a College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path, by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
• As Seen on TV: Reality vs. Fantasy in Occupational Portrayals on the Small Screen, by Elka Jones
• Choosing Your Major, by Mary Lou Taylor
• Picking a Major: Finding Academic Programs as Unique as You!, by David Hawsey
• I Have to Pick a Major - Now What?, by Peter Vogt
• Find Your Future: Treat Career Exploration Like a Trip to the Toy Store, by Peter Vogt
• Are You Interested in Everything? You Can Still Pick a Major or Career, by Peter Vogt
• Five Signs You Should Change Your Major, by Peter Vogt
• Four-Year Career Checklist for College Students, by Peter Vogt
• The Skills You Have...and the Skills They Want, by Michelle Tullier
• Choosing Your College Major: So, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?, by collegeboard.com
• Drive Your Own Career, by Amy Hume
• Discover the Work You Were Born to Do, by James Gonyea
• Dream Jobs Do Come True: Learn How to Land Your Own, by Jennifer Merritt

Books:

• Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow, by Marsha Sinetar (Dell Publishing).
• Hand-Me-Down Dreams, by Mary H. Jacobsen (Three Rivers Press).
• How to Choose a College Major, by Linda Landis Andrews (VGM Career Horizons).
• How to Get Any Job with Any Major, by Donald Asher (Ten Speed Press).
• Major Decisions: A Guide to College Majors, by Richard A. Blumenthal and Joseph A. Despres (Wintergreen/Orchard House).
• Major in Success: Make College Easier, Beat the System, and Get a Very Cool Job, by Patrick Combs (Ten Speed Press).
• 10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College, by William Coplin (Ten Speed Press).
• The College Board Guide to 150 Popular College Majors, by Renee Gernand (College Entrance Examination Board).
• The College Majors Handbook: The Actual Jobs, Earnings, and Trends for Graduates of 60 College Majors, by Neeta P. Fogg, Paul E. Harrington and Thomas F. Harrington (Jist Works).
• The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success, by Nicholas Lore (Simon and Schuster).
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey (Free Press).
• 25 Ways to Make College Pay Off: Advice for Anxious Parents from a Professor Who's Seen It All, by William Coplin.
• What Color is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters & Career-Changers, by Richard Nelson Bolles (Ten Speed Press).