Backrs Guide to College Majors
Explore over 200 career fields and paths. Everything you need to know about college majors, career paths, and their impact on your future.
Picking a major? Don't pick a loser.
Choosing a college major is one of the most important decisions a student makes. It shapes admissions chances, day-to-day college life, and long-term career outcomes.
While no single decision defines a whole life, research shows that majors matter a lot—for earnings, for early career opportunities, and for how employers view students after graduation.
This guide gives families the 10 most important things to know about how majors really work in the college and career systems.
We recommend starting with our Majors and Career Paths 101 section, followed by our overview of sources, data, and methods—we think everyone should read these first.
Understand the basics before you start
Major Tools
Use these tools to explore all majors and map to career paths.
Majors → Career Paths
Discover the relevance between college majors and career paths
Explore Majors
Search through over 200 common majors
Career Paths → Majors
Discover which majors most career paths expect or require
Major Decisions
Coach Lubav walks you through choosing the best fit majors.
Majors & Career Paths 101
Majors vs Paths: The Key Difference
No, college majors and career paths are not the same thing! They're related, but different.
Your major is what you study, your career is what you do for work.
How Are They Connected?
The relationship between majors and careers is complex and varies dramatically by field. Some majors lead directly to specific careers, while others provide broad preparation for many different paths.
Some majors are essentially professional training programs. These majors provide specific credentials and skills that employers in those fields require. Students graduate with clear career paths and often have job offers before graduation.
Nursing → Registered Nurse
Accounting → CPA
Engineering → Mechanical Engineer
Marketing → Digital Marketer
Liberal arts majors provide broad skills—critical thinking, communication, research, analysis—that are valuable in many careers. However, students often need additional steps like internships, graduate school, or professional development to translate these skills into specific career opportunities.
History → Marketing Manager
English → Content Strategist
Psychology → HR Specialist
Sociology → Policy Analyst
Some majors serve as gateways to graduate programs. The undergraduate major provides the foundation, but the real career preparation happens later in graduate school.
Biology → Physician
Political Science → Attorney
Psychology → Therapist
Chemistry → Research Scientist
Many professionals end up in careers different from their major, but this usually happens through logical progressions rather than random switches. The major provides a foundation, but career evolution continues throughout professional life.
English → UX Writer
Biology → Pharmaceutical Sales
Math → Data Analyst
Art History → Museum Director
Top 10 things to know about majors
Everything you need to know about college majors and their impact