Did you know that most careers do not require a specific major? Many students will select a major that aligns with based on their interests or abilities, which is often the same way students will select a career.
This does not mean that majors and careers are the same. A major represents the academic knowledge you have developed in one field, while a career can represent many areas of knowledge, skills you have gained, and other experiences.
Most recruiters and employers do not specify majors for their opportunities. They usually look for experience that shows you have the skills and qualifications related to what they need. There are different ways to explore majors and careers. Below are a few possible approaches and resources to get you started.
Selecting a major
- Traitify: Want to better understand your personality characteristics and career-related interests and get suggestions on careers and potential majors you can start exploring? Take advantage of Traitify, a visual personality assessment that helps you understand how your qualities and passions relate to potential careers by recommending career options based on your interests, aptitudes and education level. Access by logging into Handshake and viewing in the Resource Library.
Exploring industries and RU-N majors
- Industry Communities, on this website: each of the Industry Community pages on this site include a list of majors at Rutgers-Newark that will give you some academic knowledge related to that industry. Many of the majors appear on more than one page, so take a look at all industries that sound interesting to you. And, remember that a major doesn’t connect directly to a career–so if you’re interested in an industry and your major isn’t listed, don’t let that prevent you from pursuing your goal! Here are links to all of the Industry Communities:
Exploring career options
- Vault: in-depth intelligence on what it’s like to work in an industry, company, or profession—and how to position yourself to land that job (in Resources within Rutgers-Newark Handshake)
