Updated: Aug 04, 2021
Biological and agricultural engineer career profile
Considering a career in biological or agricultural engineering? Learn what biological & agricultural engineers do, salaries, and job demand with Discover Student Loans.
By the time you get to college, you’ve already made some pretty big choices: how far away from home to go, what kind of school to attend, which dorm to live in. But at some point in your college career, you’ll have another big decision to make. You’ll have to pick a major, which is the area of study you’ll specialize in.
Once you commit to a major, you’ll be spending a lot of time studying in that department. So before you make that investment, it’s good to spend some time considering why you want to major in a particular field and what you hope to get out of it.
It’s true that many people don’t end up working in fields associated with what they studied in college. But often, your major can give you invaluable knowledge and skills that will give you an advantage as you begin your career.
Most schools require that you choose, or “declare,” your major by the end of your sophomore year so that you can complete all the requirements and still graduate in four years.
Having trouble deciding? Thinking about your passions, strengths, and goals can help you narrow it down. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
The process of choosing a major can feel pretty intimidating. After all, you’re making a choice that will impact the rest of your college education—and perhaps your career path as well. But it’s also an exciting opportunity to really delve into the topics that excite you the most, and get you ready for whatever lies after college, whether that’s graduate school or the working world.
Keep asking yourself the questions listed above, and don’t be shy about enlisting help from family, friends, advisors, and professors. If you want to “test drive” a career, volunteering or interning in a field can give you a sense of what working in it would really be like—and perhaps give you the inspiration you need. And if you really can’t choose between two majors, well, there’s always the option to double major.