This document aims to debunk common myths about college majors. It discusses how gender stereotypes can influence major selection and provides statistics on gender imbalances in certain fields at the University of Arizona. Several myths are addressed, such as the ideas that everyone has a major, careers must match majors, or that indecision is abnormal. The document encourages students to select majors based on their own interests and strengths rather than others' expectations and notes that skills developed in any major are valuable to future careers.

1. Unit Two: Mythbusting

2. Goals and Objectives
• Analyze your myths/misconceptions about
college majors
• Identify and explore options for majors at
the University of Arizona

3. Now, let’s do some
mythbusting!

4. • Have you ever been told that a career
path/major is too feminine or masculine?
• How has this influenced the way you
perceive majors?
• Has it prevented you from pursuing any
particular major?
Occupational Stereotypes

5. Too often women are underrepresented in
the STEM field.
Did you know that at the University of
Arizona, we have a program called WISE
(Women in Science and Engineering)?
If you are thinking about a major related to
science, math, technology, engineering,
medicine or more, check out their website!
Ladies, listen up!

6. Men are
underrepresented in
the fields of:
• Elementary
Education
• Nursing
• Fine Arts
• Sociology
• Psychology
Guys, you too!
UA Stats:
• 88% of Nursing majors
are female
• 88% of Elementary
Education majors are
female
• 77% of Psychology
majors are female
• 71% of Fine Arts
majors are female
• 70% of Sociology
majors are female
• 52% of UA
undergraduate
students are female

7. What other stereotypes or myths are
there?

8. Myth No. 1: Everyone has a major.
Fact:
• 20-50% of incoming students do NOT
have a college major
• 50-75% of students change their major
at least once in college
Gordon, V. N. (1995). The undecided college student: An
academic and career advising challenge (2nd. ed.). Springfield,
IL: Charles C. Thomas.

9. Myth No. 2: My career has to match my
major.
Fact:
Employers are looking for transferrable skills,
which you can get from any major.
The top five skills employers want, as noted by
Forbes magazine in 2014, are:
• Ability to work in a team
• Ability to solve problems and make decisions
• Communication skills
• Planning and organizational skills
• Ability to obtain and process information
Adams, S. (2014, Nov 12). The 10 skills employers most
want in 2015 graduates. Forbes [Online].

10. Myth No. 3: My major must satisfy my friends
and family members.
Fact:
You are the one taking these courses, so you
must be satisfied.
Your values, interests and strengths are key to
helping you select a major in which you will
succeed.

11. Myth No. 4: This class/resources will tell me
what major to take
Fact:
• An interest inventory will certainly help you
narrow down some areas of interest,
however you will need to consider your
values and lifestyle needs when selecting a
major.
• Alone, an interest inventory will not tell you
what to do- you will have to do some self-
reflection once you receive your results!

12. Keep in mind that your
major and your career are
not the only things that
contribute to your
happiness.
Myth No. 5: My major has to satisfy all
of my needs

13. Kyllo, S. (2014, March). Undeclared: How picking a
major is like picking a life partner. Academic Advising
• You decided to be “undecided”
• Your major does not define the rest of your life
• You need more experience to make an informed
decision
• Take advantage of opportunities to explore
• There is no “wrong” decision
Read this article to learn more about the process
of choosing a major.
Top Ten Ways to Date Your Major
Myth No. 6: Indecision is abnormal

14. Myth No. 7: A college degree will get me a
great job/career.
Fact:
Nope! It will help you, but it’s a combination of
education and experiences that will ultimately
secure you a position. Remember the top skills
employers look for?
What a college degree DOES say about you is
that you persisted and finished your education,
regardless of your major or even your GPA. You
committed to a goal and were able to achieve
it.

15. Regardless of
major, all
recent
college
graduates
have similar
starting
salaries
between 30-
40K.
Experience
and advanced
degrees
result in a
higher salary
in all fields
Myth No. 8: Only certain majors will
allow me to have a high-paying career

16. Check out which majors these UA alums graduated
with:
• Raul Grijalva majored in Sociology at UA. He’s a
member of the US House of Representatives.
• Kerston Block majored in Anthropology. She’s the
president of Buffalo Exchange.
• Geraldo Rivera majored in Business Administration
at UA. He’s a TV personality.
• Jerry Bruckheimer majored in Psychology at UA.
He is a film and TV producer.
Did you know?

17. FACT:
Your career may not exist yet.
Ten years ago, positions related to Social Media
did not exist and now they are abundant across
all professions. You need to develop knowledge
and skills that are transferrable across a variety
of positions.
Preparing for the Future

18. After your initial assignment, your next
assignment requires you to begin examining
majors at the University of Arizona. Did you
know we have more than 270 available?
Majors at the University of Arizona are each
housed in a college. Don’t let the name of the
college fool you- there may be more to the
major than you realize!
Check out Degreesearch to begin your major
exploration process!
Majors at the University of Arizona