Does a major reflect your personality?

Not always.

People pick their majors for different reasons.

…but those reasons will always reflect a part of their personality. ;-)

I think if it’s important enough to you to major in, it must reflect at least a little bit upon who you are.

It may reflect some component of who you are, but it will not necessarily be the same for everyone within the major. I know English Majors who love math and hate theoretical study, Computer Information Science Majors who are closet musicians who can strum a good beat, Biology Majors who can perform on stage without reservation, and Theater and Performing Arts majors who are painfully shy. Surely our field of study reveals something about who we are (or want to be) but it is not a cookie cutter deal.

I am an English Literature major and so far the only reason it has surprised people who have no idea what anyone would do with such a degree other than teach.

I’m currently in a Creative Writing program and there are so many different kinds of people majoring in it with me. I used to think it represented something within all of us, but now I rarely see anything in common with a poet and a science fiction writer.

I don’t know; what would you think of a linguistics major?

My original impression was that everyone thought linguistics was boring and therefore linguistics majors are boring, dull people who don’t know what they’re doing in life since a linguistics major doesn’t automatically lead to a career. But surprisingly enough, most people’s reactions when I tell them I’m a linguistics major is that it’s really interesting because they don’t hear it often. Linguistics isn’t one of those majors that everyone does, like economics or business (no offense, I know those majors are practical). Therefore, someone who is a linguistics major must be very interested and passionate about it (which I am) to pick such an obscure major, and is probably quite intelligent as a result (it’s been my experience with other linguistics majors, the few that I know). Other than that, not quite sure. :\

I’m a history major.

History is sexy and it also kicks exponential levels of ass.

Yeah, I think a major, if chosen by the person doing the studying, definitely reflects the person’s personality. However, if someone else chooses the major, like say parents of the student, then I don’t think so. I know someone who should definitely be a theater major but is instead studying engineering because his dad wants him too. I’m not saying that everyone who studies business fits into the business major stereotype or whatever, but I do think there are certain shared personality traits amongst those who study the same thing. I mean there must be some common reason as to why they all chose to focus on it.

My mother’s advice when I was in college was this: If you find a professor who truly inspires you, major in that person’s subject regardless of what it is. The influence of that teacher will make a greater difference to your life than the subject matter.

In my case, however, my path was clear cut from the time I was six years old. I don’t know if my attraction to the study of English language and literature was part of my personality as such, but it certainly seemed to be a deeply grooved channel in my brain.

If I had gone on to the Ph.D. I always wanted, it would have been in linguistics. It would have been a reflection of interest and aptitude. Again, I’m not sure if that’s what you mean by “personality.”

I actually don’t even see whey we have majors anymore. When a small percentage of the population got BAs, then it made sense to focus in an area to give you a leg up on a career. Now, it really just seems to make more sense to generalize your study as much as possible – considering how technology has, essentially, meant that our concerns are more interconnected than ever, I would rather have someone with a broad base of basic understandings rather than specific skills in one are that can be learned on the job if I’m considering that employee as a longevity-based investment.

@iamthemob, as someone who is working on a liberal arts degree (with a focus in history), I can say that there is definitely still a need for specialization in many careers.

Would a plumber be more broad-minded if he has read Plato’s Republic and can talk about the ins and outs of Leibniz’s Monadology? Probably, but it won’t improve his ability to work on my pipes.

I do see what you are saying though, and I do agree to some extent.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard – I can’t really think of an undergraduate degree, however, which would act as a prerequisite or significant benefit for any profession. Naturally, if you are trying to get a job in a field you have no experience in, that’s a problem. But whether a major is necessary… I don’t think so.

The problem is most of the jobs that really do require that kind of specialization are, essentially, trade positions.

@iamthemob, If I remember correctly, a criminal justice undergraduate degree is pretty much required to work for the DEA. There are other examples.

But it doesn’t matter, really. A major is usually a jumping-off point for graduate studies anyway. And some people like to specialize. My history classes have been my favorites out of all of mine- and I’ve taken classes about everything from sociology to water management.

@iamthemob, we still need specialists for depth, but we also need generalists to link the specialties together and help the isolated specialists talk to each other. Academic disciplines are a human construct; knowledge is really not so neatly divided into packages and tracks.

Of course, career training is not the same thing as education. If job preparation is the only goal, it makes sense to broaden or narrow your study according to the kind of career you seek. I say that your education is for your life and not for your job.

@Jeruba – I don’t try to make the claim that the depth of specialists won’t always be necessary. However, in most cases that depth isn’t really gained at school (unless the profession is an academic one) but rather through training and continuing professional education.

As a lawyer, I wasn’t required to have any specialized knowledge of a particular practice area. However, lawyers most often do. The majority of the practice is learned through the job.

I think that specialization will occur naturally in the professional or advanced academic contexts. The flaws in our education system now, particularly the higher one, is that we do seem to still hold onto this myth that education is a precurser to a career choice. Eduction should teach you only how to think, and to provide the most varied structure for that. Professional or career training should teach you what to do (the specialization, I would argue).

Because of that, I totally agree that education is about your life – and it’s ridiculous to think that it should be structured the way that it is. Professors should be there to support a framework allowing choice in education, and showing us where specialties might be of interest to us, and that’s it. To force someone to choose a major, and then tell them “Well, that class can’t count towards your practical lab requirements” blah dee blah blah. Seriously?

@Carly – this is relevant to your OP, but please don’t think I’m really dismissing anyone who chooses a major because they have a passion for it. If you know what you want to specialize in early on, awesome. But the major consruction is a really counter-intuitive method of regulatizing our thought processes about education, as opposed to allowing us to explore knowledge as education is supposed to.

My major is Psychology with a minor in Business Administration. I think this greatly represents my personality. I love studying people and being perceptive to certain behaviors. I’m also very organized and a natural leader. I think if you pick a major that doesn’t have something to do with your personality, you probably won’t be fully satisfied with your career.

My major is IT. IT reflects my… .... ...non-interaction with people…

I think every course has a possibility to reflect a personality or a portion of it. May it be psychology, IT, or Creative Writing, all of them may tell something about someone, but not wholly encompassing the person.

Definitely… My roommates personality has changed drastically since she changed majors (from pharmacy to architecture… pretty drastic, I know) I’m pharmacy, it fits me. I’m pretty straight forward and to the point, no so much for speculation… Don’t get me wrong, I like creativity, but I’d much rather have concrete answers and a career that has a straight path.

Well, typically, no. But I always knew Psychology majors were lazy types who hadn’t figured out what they wanted to do in life. And they reasoned that because someone spilled their hearts out to them at some point, they were cut out for Psychology.

Just noticed some Psychology majors posted. :D by no means was my generalization meant for every person.

My undergrad major was in biology. It reflected an interest in science and research and my earlier plan to go to medical school. Nothing more.