So . . . What's YOUR Major?

Sometime way back in the last century, I attended BYU. Back in those olden days, I remember three questions that always seemed to come up when meeting someone new:

• What's your name?
• Where Are You From?
• What is your Major?

For some reason, my most prominent memory of having this conversation seems to have occurred on the dance floor, more than anywhere else. -- What else do you have to talk about at a BYU dance anyway? I'm sure I asked these same questions in other settings as well. However, when I set the time on the Wayback Machine to go back to my BYU days, I can see myself conversing with a dance partner in the Wilkinson Center Ballroom, swaying to the music, and asking these very questions.

I recently visited Mark Hansen's blog, Mo Boy, the other day, and found this quiz. It's supposed to help you decide what would be perfect college major for you. After taking the quiz, these were the results I received:

You are an aspiring journalist, and you should major in journalism! You are passionate about writing and expressing yourself, and you want the world to understand your beliefs through writing. Journalism 92% Philosophy 83% English 75% Mathematics 67% Sociology 58% Linguistics 58% Theater 50% Engineering 50% Dance 42% Psychology 33% Chemistry 33% Anthropology 33% Biology 25% Art 17% What is your Perfect Major? created with QuizFarm.com

For me, the results of this quiz are quite accurate. In fact, when I first started college, I was really was a journalism major for my first year! After I came home from my mission, I switched to Business, which is what I eventually graduated in. Of course, now, I work in neither business nor journalism -- I'm a computer programmer of all things!

How the heck did that happen? (I suppose that that's where the "mathematics" and logic part of me comes out.)

I've always loved the written word. I see writing as a true craft -- even an art form. I love to find just the right words to communicate the point I am trying to get across. I also find writing as a way to express the feelings of my heart. So that explains why journalism and English are at the top of my list of "perfect" majors. Because I am a religious person, in nearly any of these kinds of tests, I usually get a high score in philosophy or I am advised to seek a career in the clergy. Well, since I am LDS, becoming a professional clergyman is just not an option. The closest thing to a professional clergyman would be a religion professor at BYU, or to be a chaplain in the military -- neither of which appeals to me very much. As for philosophy, there is just not much of a market for it. They don't have a Mars Hill anymore, where you can sit atop the hill and philosophize and pontificate all day long, and have people put tips in the hat, as they sit enraptured at your feet. Once again, academia seems to be the only place you can get away with something like that!

I've always thought that my favorite career would be that of a high school English teacher. However, being able to read (my English skills) and understand salary scales (my math skills) I could see that supporting a family in Utah solely on a teacher's salary would be a tall order, indeed. Most likely, my wife would have to work too, in order to make ends meet. So, I chose other opportunities as they came to me, which would better help me achieve my family goals.

I found that I had a talent with computers, and programming. When I saw that a programmer was about to retire from his position, I took classes and prepared myself for that position as best I could. When the time came, the way was opened up for me to make the transition from working in public safety to computer programming. I thank the Lord for opening these doors for me, and showing me the way to move forward. Sometimes it took a leap of faith to make the jump. More faith may yet be required of me before I enter retirement. (I still have young children, and am probably looking at working another 20 years before I can retire.) Thankfully, over time, we have been blessed with the means that allows my wife is able to stay home with our children. We're not rich, but we have sufficient for our needs. Currently she is homeschooling our oldest son. None of this would be possible without these great blessings that the Lord has given us.

I have been working in the full time work-force for a little over 22 years now. During that time, I have had 5 different jobs, and 3 different careers. I understand that this is not unusual. Most people nowadays will have up to 6 different "careers" in their lifetime. More likely than not, I will probably have to learn, grow and adapt more in the future.

One thing I found was that music was missing in the quiz above. Although my musical talents are pretty ordinary (not professional level) music is still very important to me. Even though "Art" is shown at the bottom of the scale, if you included music and writing as "arts", then it would be at near the top of the scale.

So . . . How does a writer, who normally writes computer code "gobbeldy-gook" and helps people with computer problems all day long have the chance to express himself in writing? --- Why he gets a BLOG, of course! For me, blogging has been a way to keep up on my writing skills, as well as to provide a form of self expression.

Now, back to the original question of this post -- What's YOUR major? Take the quiz above, and see if it matches your personality. Leave a comment, and tell me what the quiz suggested as your perfect major, and how close it came what you actually studied or what you have ended up doing in real life.

And I promise, you won't even have to come onto the dance floor to tell me either!