Computer science major Nathan Delorenzo lingered after the Choosing A Major Workshop on Thursday, Aug. 11 and said, “There are a lot more opportunities than I anticipated, I was surprised by how much you could do with any major.”

Like Delorenzo other students attended the Choosing A Major Workshop, where Career Counselor Clara Ross-Jones spoke to students about how interests can affect decisions made about one’s major and career path in order to give incoming freshmen direction.

Ross-Jones said, “People come in with ideas about their career choices and majors. Often times they sit in that first class or talk to someone in that field and maybe more opportunities open.”

It was an opportunity for students to conduct career exploration in order to discover how an individual’s interests can guide one to opportunities one might have never realized existed.

Ross-Jones continued, “After this workshop a lot of students felt a little validation about what they were thinking. Sometimes there is hesitation. It gave them new opportunities and encouraged them to explore more. The most important thing they can take away from this is that they can change their mind.”

She also noted that Undecided is the biggest major.

She urged students to visit Career Services (Multi-Purpose building, Room 201. Phone extension: 2356) if they have questions about discerning their career paths and want to delve deeper into what resources are available to them.

During the course of the career counseling workshop students were given a number of hands-on career assessment tools, among which was a chart describing six possible main characteristics of one’s personality and highlighted certain archetypes:

Doers

• Like to work with hands, tools machinery; like fixing, building, repairing things, being out doors.

• Are rugged, practical, physically strong, self-reliant, straightforward, action-oriented.

• Value concrete over abstract, common sense, working with things.

Thinkers

• Like solving abstract problems, gathering information, interpreting and analyzing data, scientific and intellectual pursuits.

• Are curious, logical, precise.

• Value learning, curiosity, research, intellectual activities, working with ideas.

Creators

• Like creative work, art, music, writing, performance; using the imagination; being self-expressive.

• Are original and unconventional.

• Value beauty.

Social

• Like working with and helping people and using teamwork; demonstrate concern for human welfare.

• Are cooperative, friendly, helpful, and trusting.

• Value helping and caring for others, understanding, empathy.

Persuaders

• Like leading groups, selling and persuading, managing and supervising, motivating others; organizing business.

• Are ambitious, persuasive, and competitive.

• Value success, competition, status, initiative, risk-taking, working with people and data.

Organizers

• Like activities requiring attention to detail, organization, setting up practical procedures, data management.

• Are practical, efficient, and systematic.

• Value following directions, accuracy, order, honesty, and working with data.

Accompanied with this diagram was a personality test which explores the taker’s interests and the results analyze how interests can impact major decisions.

It’s another way to draw upon self-knowledge to make an informed decision.

Another thing that the speaker said was that it is beneficial to have an authentic talk about who one is and what one wants to do; because there are people who are nearly certain about the choice of their major and how they will spend the next phase of their life and do not see themselves represented as the type of people who are capable of being what their desired occupation requires.