How to choose a major without guessing

Start with a shortlist of lives, not majors

Majors are labels for work. Before comparing them, write down four or five jobs you would not resent at 8am on a Tuesday. Then work backwards to the majors that lead there — you will usually find three or four routes into the same job, and they do not cost the same.

Then check the spread, not the average

Open the major summary and look at the range of outcomes inside a single major, not just its average. Nursing is remarkably consistent across institutions. Business and communications are enormously spread out — the school and the internships do most of the work. That spread tells you how much your choice of institution matters for that field.

Then check what it costs to get in the door

A major with a modest premium can still be an excellent decision at a low-cost public institution, and a major with a strong premium can be a bad one at four times the price with borrowing to match. Look at premium per dollar of cost before falling in love with a rank.

Then ask the awkward questions

Does this field require a graduate degree to actually pay? (Psychology, biology, and most of the humanities routes to a profession do.) Is licensure involved, and does this program have a pass rate it is willing to publish? Is the five-year picture early — as it is in teaching, architecture and social work?

What not to do

Do not pick a major because a ranking put it near the top. Do not pick one because a relative said it was safe fifteen years ago. And do not pick one purely on earnings; the fastest way to waste a degree is to be miserable in year two and start over in year three.