Majoring in Success:
The Importance of Selecting a College Major

An interview with president of RealWorld University, Joe Martin

by LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke, MEd, NCC, NCCC

There are few educators today who approach the topic of choosing a college major with more optimism and excitement than Professor Joe Martin. Martin is a popular national speaker, author and president of RealWorld University, one of the largest college success resources on the Internet. Besides teaching communication at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, he is considered a leading expert on student retention and consults with college administrators around the country on developing strategies to keep students in school. Join us in this lively discussion on selecting a college major.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: Joe, how important is the choice of a college major -- particularly given today's labor market conditions and the expense of post-secondary education?

Joe Martin: This is exciting! You actually picked one of my favorite topics to discuss. Selecting a college major you love learning about is the first step to ensuring success in college and in life. It is also very closely tied in to student retention. If you can get students excited about what they are learning and tie it into a life direction, they’re going to stick around and succeed in school.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: You describe helping students find themselves, and helping college faculty and administrators support students in this process, as your personal mission. After eight and a half years as a university career center director, I know that has to be quite a challenge.

Joe Martin: Yes, it is. In higher education we’re so content driven. We’re focusing so much on what we’re teaching that we’re forgetting who we’re teaching. I believe that knowledge without application is trivia. Students need to understand that there is a purpose for being in college beyond the here and now. If you’re doing something you don’t want to do, it becomes a burden on you and drags you down. If you continue to do it anyway, for all the wrong reasons, you start to become a burden on others.

Students become a burden on higher education systems, faculty and their families when they haven’t made the critical career connection between what they are studying, who they are and what they want out of life. That’s what happens when students make their major decisions for all the wrong reasons!

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: So, what do you consider to be the right reasons for choosing a college major?

Joe Martin: Choosing a college major is a lot easier than most people think. Just choose a major that will lead to a job at which you would be willing to work for free! When I say this to students they always ask, "Who would do that?" My answer is, someone who loves what they do. Choosing a major becomes difficult when society, professors, parents, friends and circumstances pull us in different directions. Choose a college major based on inspiration rather than desperation! If you pursue your passion, success will follow. Purpose precedes profits.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: It sounds like you really believe in the old adage, "Do what you love and the money will follow."

Joe Martin: I do. But that’s not to say I advocate always following the path of least resistance or selecting the easiest major. You could really shortchange your future if you choose a major just because you can easily get the highest GPA with the least amount of effort. You’re going to have to pay your dues. If you don’t pay now, you’ll pay later. Often the most challenging major can be the most rewarding.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: In your Black Collegian article, A Major Decision, you described a process you used to discover your own college major that seemed to be as sound as anything I’ve come across. Would you describe that process?

Joe Martin: I can’t say this is the best method but it did work for me. I worked backwards, choosing courses first. I sifted through my college catalog looking for courses that interested me, reading each course description and highlighting those that seemed like they would engage me in something I would love. After that I looked at the majors under which most of those courses were listed, and voila! I majored in public relations.

With a few years to gain perspective, I now realize that this method focuses too much on the here and now to leave it at that. Now I always tell students to take the next step and be sure to find out about what you can do with that major in the future. Talk to professionals who are having fun working in fields related to a major that looks good to you. Find someone who loves their job and talk to them about it. Before you buy the career, you should borrow it. Try it on by conducting an information interview. See how it fits.

LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: And that’s what it’s all about -- finding the best fit! Thanks, Joe! You’re a great example of someone who’s doing what he loves. It has been exciting!

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