Max Keller: Choosing Your Major
The first thing to understand is that your major is not a life sentence. Many students enter the Leavey School of Business convinced that picking the “wrong” major will close doors permanently, myself included. Professionals regularly work in fields that don’t directly correspond to their undergraduate major, and employers across industries consistently value critical thinking, communication, and adaptability over a credential on your transcript. That said, your major does shape the skills you develop, the courses you take, and some of the opportunities you have access to, so it’s worth being thoughtful about the decision. The goal isn’t to predict your entire career at nineteen. It’s to choose a path that positions you well for the next few years while keeping your options open.
Self-reflection is the best starting point. Before diving into course catalogs or asking upperclassmen what they’d do differently, take time to honestly assess what energizes you. Think about the classes where you’ve felt most engaged, the types of problems you enjoy solving, and the professional environments that appeal to you. Do you find satisfaction in working with numbers, building financial models, or being in a face-to-face environment? There are no wrong answers here, but being honest with yourself early saves you from chasing a path that looks impressive on paper but doesn’t actually fit.
Exploration is equally critical, and the earlier you start, the better. Take advantage of the resources SCU offers at the career center or professors in industry. Enroll in introductory courses across multiple concentrations before narrowing your focus. Attend info sessions and speaker events hosted by departments you’re curious about. Talk to professors during office hours about what careers their students typically pursue and what the day-to-day reality of those fields looks like. Seek out upperclassmen and alumni who are working in roles connected to different majors and ask them what they wish they had known. Many students lock into a major based on general assumptions or family expectations without ever testing whether the actual coursework and career paths align with their strengths and interests.
Real-world experience will sharpen your decision more than any classroom exercise. Internships, part-time jobs, and campus involvement give you a window into what different career paths actually feel like. If you think you’re interested in finance, try to get exposure through a club, a campus investment fund, or an early internship. If you’re considering accounting, connect with alumni who’ve been through a busy season at a public accounting firm and ask them what it was really like. These experiences don’t have to be glamorous or perfectly aligned with your final career goals. They just need to give you enough information to make a more informed choice. The students who choose their major with confidence are almost always the ones who tested their assumptions in the real world before committing; needless to say not everyone is confident when they declare.
Finally, don’t underestimate the resources around you. The Career Center, peer career consultants, academic advisors, and your professors all exist to help you navigate this decision. Schedule a meeting, ask questions, and be open about where you feel uncertain. Choosing a major works best when it’s treated as a process rather than a single moment of decision. Give yourself permission to explore, to change your mind if new information warrants it, and to trust that the skills and relationships you build along the way matter just as much as the title on your degree. Your major is one piece of a much larger picture, and the effort you put into choosing it thoughtfully will pay off well beyond graduation. Your future self will thank you for the effort you invest now.