Choosing a college major

An undergraduate degree has gone from an option that will get you ahead, to a minimum prerequisite for most jobs. After college, people are changing jobs and careers more often than ever before. Because of this, the field you actually major in has become increasingly irrelevant.

That being said, I believe the smartest thing a confused undergrad can do is to choose a major with a good job market. Here is why.

A first job is never easy to get

Landing a first job is difficult no matter what you major in. Considering today's job market, choosing a major like Computer Science, Nursing or Accounting makes your life much less stressful.

As long as you are somewhat interested in the field, give it a shot. If you choose a major with no clear career path, you could spend months on Monster.com not only trying to find the best jobs, but trying to find the best career to start in. It's not worth your time. Land a job you might like and enjoy senior year. If you end up hating the job, then it's time to find a new one. No big deal.

You will have many careers over your lifetime

No matter what you major in, it's unlikely you will be in the same field by age 30. College is not the time to figure out what you want to do with your life. College is the time to figure out how to manage your life. The real lessons you learn in college are how to manage your time and develop relationships with peers and professors. Focus on those skills rather than worrying about the perfect major and you will be successful in any field.

A long job hunt is worse than a bad job

Most of my friends who didn't have concrete majors and weren't quite sure what they wanted to do after school had the hardest first year in the real world. Searching for a job in whatever "dream career" they were chasing, turned into a stressful full time job itself. A better approach to take is to get your foot in the door with a first job in whatever field, and keep your eyes open for potential jobs in a more exciting field. You won't stress about needing to find a job, and who knows, maybe your will actually enjoy your first job.

If you like something enough make it your hobby

With all the free time that college provides, you may as well have a hobby. Choose one that could turn into your career. Major in engineering, but start a blog about sports marketing. You could graduate with a 4 year technical engineering degree, and be considered the young subject matter expert in sports marketing thanks to your blog. Then you'll really have your choice in jobs.

Ultimately, the major you choose will not dramatically affect your life. You can be successful no matter what you decide on. If you're totally stuck on choosing a major, research the current and projected job markets for a few fields, and choose one that might interest you. If it's not perfect, don't worry, you have the next 50 years of your life to figure out what you want to be when you grow up.