<p>My daughter is a junior in H.S. and we're just beginning this process. She's an excellent student with good grades and thinks she may want to be a doctor, but keeps changing her mind and she's really not sure what would be the best career choice for her. What are the best methods for choosing a career? Myers/Briggs testing? Other types of tests or methods?</p>
<p>I'm assuming it's important to first know your major before choosing a college. Is this true? What do we need to know before going into the process of choosing the right colleges?</p>
<p>Myers Briggs is a personality categorization tool, which is not what you’re looking for. I suggest looking into the Strong Interest Inventory. </p>
<p>it is not necessary to know your major before choosing a college. Having some idea of interests and strengths is sufficient. A liberal arts college can be a haven for students like your daughter where she’ll be able to try out a number of disciplines and end up with a degree she can do anything with.</p>
<p>Note that pre-medical studies can be done alongside any undergraduate major, although those which have a lot of non-overlapping requirements (e.g. engineering other than chemical engineering or bioengineering, performing art and music, architecture) may be tight on the schedule space for that.</p>
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<p>It is not always true. However, some things to consider:</p>
<p>a. Some colleges and universities are strong in some subjects, but not others. A very undecided student going to a “lopsided” college may have to transfer if s/he decides on a major that the college is weak in. However, if the student has a general area of interest (e.g. humanities vs. social studies vs. science) or a list of possible majors, then that can make the selection of colleges and universities in this respect easier.</p>
<p>b. Some majors have long prerequisite sequences that must be started in the first semester to avoid delaying graduation, so a student considering such a major needs to follow the major plan immediately. On the other hand other majors can be started a few semesters later without delay. For example, if a student is considering physics and history, following the physics major plan is essential from the start, but history courses usually can be “sampled” for the first year to determine interest without having to follow a specific plan.</p>
<p>c. Some schools admit students by division (e.g. arts and sciences, engineering) or by specific major. In many of these cases, changing division or major may be difficult if the target division or major is more popular.</p>
<p>I am a big fan of Myers-Briggs - it can help you understand your preferred ways of working and how you work with others. I think the problem with Myers-Briggs results with a 16 yr old is the answers they give might be influenced a bit (what they think you want to hear, what they think a normal 16 yr old should answers…) because they aren’t as self-aware/confident as say a 30 yr old. But what Myers-Briggs won’t tell you is specific vocations.</p>
<p>If she’s interested in medicine - is there a shadowing program locally? I know beyond volunteering (which is mostly grunt work), our local hospital has a shadowing program for a day with drs. in different specialties and also some nursing-camp type thing where you shadow nurses.</p>
<p>Myers Briggs is a good start. But frankly, not obsessing about it is best. Kids this age and well into college change their minds. You as a parent have to be open enough to let them make choices and learn by their choices…which may involve choices you wouldnt make for them. Most core curriculums are designed to give them a peak at advanced study in various subjects and to enlighten them perhaps to select that department for a major. It could be a double major in Science and Philosophy. So be it. Let it be.</p>
<p>Don’t obsess. She is going to college, mom. Not you. Not being smug, just being real.</p>
<p>Discuss & help guide her. What courses does she do well in? What activities is she self-motivated to pursue? Is she vocationally oriented, focused on a particular subject, or wants to save the world but can’t yet say how? If your D is like a lot of the kids, she has NO IDEA and WILL CHANGE HER MIND. Consider schools with broad offerings and well-regarded reputations in gernal vs. schools that are very strong in one or two areas. ucb has some good advice when you start comparing programs in detail.</p>
<p>If she does have a broad focus (STEM, liberal arts, pre-professional) but not a particular major, you can look for schools that are strong in those areas. </p>
<p>My wife convinced D to take a Army occupational exam (I forget what they call it) the guidance office offered free. May have been somewhat useful, but did not really tell us anything we and did not already know.</p>
<p>Our kids’ school has an elective class where they take the Myers-Briggs along with several other personality and interest surveys. They show areas of interest and potential careers in those interest areas. They then do research on various colleges with programs in their interest areas as well as career research. It’s a fantastic class and all of our kids have said it was the best class they have taken. It’s really helped them narrow down their college searching too.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to think broadly. Rather than “be a doctor,” try “enjoys bio and helping people,” for example. Pinpointing a major and career track at the age of 16 or 17 is pretty much a craps shoot. And then trying to match those to a college is even harder. </p>
<p>Having said that, I found that the Collegeboard’s “Book of Majors” is an excellent resource. Sure, it describes majors. But, it also descibes the skill sets and personality types that match majors and careers. Further, it gives “if not this, then try that” options. If I’m not mistaken it includes lists of colleges that offer various majors. </p>
No, you don’t need to know your major unless it might be one that is harder to change into after starting college; think engineering and Fine Arts here. Most students are better served by narrowing down their interests the first year or two of college, having identified a broader area (science, liberal arts, social science, etc) prior to starting. This works because the prerequisites for many majors are the same lower division; a bio or chem or physics student needs about the same classes the 1st 2 years, same with the budding history or econ student. And even within the broader area it isn’t too difficult to change, although truth be told it is easier to leave the sciences for the humanities than the reverse because of the required math and science classes for the former. </p>
<p>More important, IMHO, is finding the type of college that is a fit. Your D might have some ideas of what different colleges are like, and even if so they might not be well grounded. So visit examples of various types in your area; a large public and small private, one in an urban area and in a small town, one with small classes from the start that expects student participation and one that educates primarily thru lectures. It is likely she well identify what she likes and what she wants to avoid.</p>
<p>As for career, again with the exception of the types of majors outlined earlier it is not needed to make a decision now. Your D’s changing of mind shows that she is not ready to commit to anything yet, and that’s fine. What she ought to do is not wait for the answer to magically appear but make a low-key effort the next few years (say thru the sophomore year in college) to find out what she likes and doesn’t. The classic book is “What Color is My Parachute?” any edition from the past several years, to get an idea of what broad themes are right for her and only later narrowing it down into industries and careers. She ought to work with the career center in college from the start. They will host career fairs, have books and counselors to help her, at many colleges they will even put you in touch with alums that have volunteered to talk to students about their career. As she identifies areas she is interested in she should get first-hand experience thru internships and volunteer work; even today, for example, she might be able to find places to volunteer to get a sense of what doctors (and the other professionals working with them) do.</p>
<p>Jane, I think you’ve received some good advice here. I agree that there’s no reason to pin down a career path or even a college major at age 16. Kids – and theur parents – often worry about what they will “be” in life and because they haven’t had a wide exposure to the world of work, tend to focus on clearly defined professions: doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. In fact, career paths are often meandering and evolutionary and few professions require a commitment immediately after highschool. </p>
<p>Same for college majors: most colleges don’t ask students to declare a major (or majors) until well into their second year. By that time they’ve had some exposure to what’s on offer and what’s of interest.</p>
<p>My advice to your daughter in her college search would be to focus on identifying the environment, personality and teaching style that would appeal to her. Within that general ambience – size, geographic location, politics, social atmosphere etc – she should have similar schools in a range of selectivity, i.e., reach, match safety.</p>
<p>If medical school is a possibility she should certainly consider the college’s track record in getting their graduates into good programs. Look at the counseling facilities and research and internship opportunities. But basically she should aim for the best school academically that she can get into (and that you can afford) that also is a good FIT for her personally. Once she’s done that, her major and eventual career path will fall into place.</p>
<p>I bought a book called The Top Ten Majors for Your Personality. It has lists of questions that then give some ideas for majors and types of jobs. My son has some ideas, but I had him look through the questions, and it pointed him in the direction that he was kind of leaning anyway. He is a senior and he may end up in something totally different, but it got him thinking.</p>
<p>Science majors usually have longer sequences of prerequisites that need to be started early. For example, physics may have a seven semester long sequence, so starting later than one’s second semester would likely delay graduation in that case. But history may not have many (or any) sequences to take in order, so one can switch into that major relatively late and still graduate on time.</p>