Choosing a major & a career path can be extremely difficult. Important considerations include cost of education, expected salary, job market & more. My last semester starts tomorrow so I wanted to share how I chose to major in Marketing, tips on how to chose a major & my career path.

How I chose Marketing/My Career Path

When I was little and in elementary school, I wanted to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. In middle school, I chose a more realistic career path and decided that I wanted to study journalism & become a Reporter. As well as potentially be an author on the side or work for a magazine. I did EVERYTHING I could to start right away. I was in Yearbook all 3 year and was co-editor in chief (I should’ve been Editor in Chief because I was the only one who did yearbook all 3 years & actually went to a Herff Jones training/workshop one summer but the new advisor gave it to her favourite student because I was “Co-Captain of the Cheerleading Squad” and “in advances courses” so it would’ve been too much for me. I AM STILL UPSET ABOUT IT IF YOU CANT TELL). BUT ANYWAYS, I was also in Newspaper and I was the Sports Editor and Fashion Editor (The goal was to be a Sports Reporter). I LOVED doing both. For the Fashion articles, we had “standardized dress” which is essentially uniforms but you had to buy your clothes: it was specific colour polos and khaki or black pants and skirts. I would share where to buy your uniforms, how to accessorize, and how to personalize your uniforms (I was meant to be a blogger LOL). For the sports articles, I would report the scores and interview the coaches and players. I LOVED being in the Newspaper & I loved everything about journalism.

In high school, I continued to do everything I could in journalism. I was in the same extracurriculars & I was in Broadcast Journalism. So our school actually had a news channel so it was like we were actual reporters. We reported the school news and announcements. We also had to edit and send our videos. In my college prep course, I realized that a journalism career wasn’t going to be realistic for me. The college I was going to didn’t have a program & there weren’t any great career options where I was at. BUT I learned to use that same determination in everything I do. Do everything you can & do what you love. I loved every class & organization that I was in surrounding journalism & even though I wouldn’t have a career in it, it was okay because I loved what I was doing.

It wasn’t until my Junior year of high school that I took my Co-op/Business class. You could take this class if you had a job & could get early release. I LOVED my teacher & her passion for business. & by my senior year, I knew I was going to major in Business, I just didn’t know what aspect of business. But, I knew that you could apply business concepts EVERYWHERE no matter where you worked.

In my first semester of college, I took my Business Principles class and REALLY loved learning about Marketing. At the time I was working at Starbucks & my favourite part of the job was doing the Merchandising displays. After I started working for AT&T, I met the Visual Merchandising Manager and we talked about Marketing and Merchandising and I KNEW that was what I wanted to do: Marketing. You can learn concepts in school, but the best way to learn about a field is to shadow or meet someone in that field for a better perspective.

So I majored in Marketing. The only issue was that finding a job in Marketing was HARD & the jobs I could find required experience. I couldn’t take an internship because I had bills & had to get paid. There are also a lot of “marketing jobs” that aren’t actually marketing. Most start ups and a lot of smaller to mid-size companies post “Marketing Positions” but it ends up being sales jobs. So when I was at AT&T, I applied for their Retail Management Development Program. The Area Manager selected an amount of employees and then the Director of Sales would approve who would be apart of this program. In this program, you learned a lot of AT&T’s management concepts and business model. This program essentially pre-trained employees for management and you could get the opportunity to shadow employees at corporate. So I was selected to be apart of the program & at the same time I applied for & transferred to a “Store of the Future” stores in Dallas. AT&T’s corporate building was in Dallas as well as their Marketing Department and so my goal was to try to work my way up to corporate. But as y’all know – that didn’t happen. I was promoted and moved to Austin. I had to have my degree to work for corporate but they wont give you specific days off to go to school unless your part time and non-management.

It’s a REALLY tough decision to leave job security and good pay. Especially when you do “everything right” & put in extra work and time in your position. I worked my ASS off at AT&T, I even moved to two different cities, but I wasn’t going to move back to Dallas so Marketing wasn’t an option & there just wasn’t anything else that I wanted to do. I wasn’t happy with what I was doing because I wasn’t working toward anything or my goal. I was taking online courses for my degree but if I wanted to study Marketing, I had to take required courses on campus (which wasn’t going to happen while working there). So, I decided to focus on school because I wasn’t happy with what I was doing & I needed to do something about it. Although the money was really good, I wasn’t happy because it wasn’t what I wanted to do. & that’s not me. I ALWAYS worked towards my goals & if I was working harder towards my goals in middle school then something wasn’t right & I needed a change.

So I found another job where I could go to school that was a mix of sales and marketing and I focused on earning my degree so I could do what I want. The following year I had my degree & started this blog. Both of which I used to get my current job & finally work in Marketing. I LOVE where I work & every aspect of my job. I’m not going to lie, there were rough times especially after taking a pay cut, but it was WORTH IT. & even when things were rough, I was still happier than I ever was because I was because I was working toward what I wanted to do. Which should always be the goal: have a job you love & be proud of your work.

Choosing your major is so important & it’s the first step to pursuing the career path you want. The next step is doing EVERYTHING to achieve your goals & get where you want to be by prioritizing your goals & doing what makes you happy.

Finding a Major & Career Path

• Think about what you like to do. What do you like at your current job? What can you see yourself doing ten years from now?
• What are you good at? What do people say you’re good at? What are you complimented on? Where do you see results?
• Intro classes. If there is a department you know you’re interested in (Example: Business) then take a “Intro to _” or “_ Principles” class to learn more about the different departments/majors (Example: Management, Marketing, Accounting, Human Resources, etc).
• Job logistics. Will this position be around five years from now or is it being phased out? What is the pay like for positions in your field? How competitive is your major/job field?
• Talk with an advisor, mentor, or counselor.
• Disadvantages. What are the prerequisites or courses you would dislike for your major? Where and how is the job market? Would you have to move? Are promotions hard to get? Will you still love what you do or want to finish your degree when there’s a “bump in the road” or “things get tough”?
• Requirements. What experience do you need? How much education do you need? What is required for promotions?
• How. How will you finance going to school? How will you manage your time? How are you going to make it happen?