Especialidad: ¿Ninguna?

Por la Dra. Veronikha Salazar

En todos mis años de trabajar con estudiantes universitarios, hay sólo unos pocos que saben realmente lo que quieren estudiar cuando empiezan la universidad. Otros lo descubren durante el segundo año, mientras que otros no están seguros de qué especialidad quieren estudiar hasta después de 2 o 3 años en la universidad.

Aunque yo no estoy promoviendo el que se tome el tiempo en escoger una especialidad; es muy importante que escoja una. Debido a mi especialidad, me gustaría promover la especialidad de Educación.

Primero, porque ésta es una carrera que la mayoría de hispanos están dejando pasar. Y, yo no digo esto porque soy profesora; pero, la realidad es que necesitamos maestros hispanos en nuestras escuelas norteamericanas. Esta necesidad no es sólo por maestras sino maestros también.

Necesitamos no sólo maestros que puedan comunicarse en español; sino que puedan relacionarse personalmente con sus estudiantes y que entiendan nuestra cultura mejor que nadie.

Pero, hay más especialidades de las que puedes escoger. Una página web (best colleges website) publicó el año pasado una lista de especialidades con salarios altos para 2011-2012. Entre estas especialidades estaban:

• Ingeniería: De petróleo, Química, eléctrica, Aeroespacial, Computación, Informática, Sistemas de Informática y Tecnología de Información.

Math, Finance and Economics: Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Finance

Though it is not a surprise that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) majors were among the highest paying majors, you need to look at not only salary when choosing a major; but also look at majors with the lowest unemployment rates.

A Study done by Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce found that what you major in college is closely related to whether you will have a job when you graduate. The majors that experienced the lowest unemployment rate in 2010 were Education, Health, or Agriculture and natural resources. While the majors with the highest unemployment rate were majors like Architecture, Arts and Humanities. In plain English means that those students with major in Education, Health or Agricultural and natural resources were more likely to get a job upon graduation than those who majored in Architecture, Arts and Humanities.

So, majors are important. And if you are about to start college and do not have an idea what you want to major in, visit a counselor at your college career center. Or, you can also take a free quiz online at http://www.mymajors.com/ . This quiz might give you an idea on what you may want to major in. And, from my own experience, it’s pretty accurate.

But, after reading all this you may be asking yourself “Is College really worth it?” My answer is “Of Course, It IS!” It has been proved that the unemployment rate for those with bachelor’s degrees (9 percent) is much lower than for those with only a high school diploma (23 percent) or for a recent high school dropout (32 percent).

And, though college majors are very important, what you make of it is even MORE important. No major guarantees employment. Employment upon graduation will really depend of how you holistically develop while in college. Were you involved in student organizations? Were you in a leadership position? Did you do an internship? Did you study abroad? Do you speak more than a language? Did you have a great GPA? Did you receive awards and recognitions? Do you know your advisor(s)? etc, etc.

Going to college is very important, but, so is choosing a major. So do not delay choosing one. Delaying to choose a major (or changing majors too often) will not only add more time to your graduation plan; but will also cost you more money. So choose faster and wisely!!

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at veronikhas@gmail.com I would love to answer some of your questions!