Good Morning Green Panda Friends and Happy Labour Day. I hope that you are all enjoying this lovely long weekend, I know that I am.  I actually also took Friday off work so I am going to have a lovely 3 day work week.  OK enough about me and let’s get back to blogging.  This is the last post in our Going Back to College Savings series, and we will start another series very shortly.  Hopefully everyone made it to college ok and by now everyone is settled in and ready to start the fall semester of the 2011-2012 academic year.

If you are entering your first year of college I ask you, have you already picked your major? If you are a seasoned college veteran I ask you, is your current major the same as it was in your first year of college, or have you changed your major?

Changing College Paths

I personally changed my major during college.  I was originally accepted to college in Urban Planning, and I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics.  There were two reasons why I changed my college path; the first reason is that I started working at the bank and I really started to really like finance, the second reason is because I was really good in Economics and I really sucked at Urban Planning.

I changed my college path from Urban Planning to Economics mid way through my second year of college.  Although the decision to change my major was mostly for personal reasons, I did also consider the academic consequences.  My decision to change my major did not hurt my college transcript and it did not add any additional time onto my college career.  I used my completed Urban Planning courses as my elective courses on my college transcript.  Unfortunately this left me with no other option except to enroll in only compulsory courses for my final two and a half years of college.

Changing my college path and using my original courses as elective credits turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  It is very well received by potential employers and academic bodies to show concentration in one subject area.  Getting a good job after graduation will help us repay our student loans.

Finding a New Career

The choice to change my college path was a good decision for me because it allowed me to find a job directly out of college; actually it helped me find a job even before graduation.  The financial services industry definitely offers more job opportunities than the field of Urban Planning.

The key to graduating college is not to expect to find a new career overnight.  I suggest that we actually start looking for a job the summer before we start our final year in college.  Juggling a school schedule with a work schedule shows potential employers dedication and time management skills.

Finding a new career after our college career ends may prove to be very difficult for some recent college graduates.  The important thing about entering the workforce after college is to remember that no one starts at the top in their new career.

I hope that you have enjoyed this savings series. Here are all of the posts in our Going Back to College Savings series:

My College To Do List

My College Check List

Can You Afford To Go To College

The Opportunity Cost of a College Education

Find Free Money For College

College Students Saving Money

Make Smart Money Moves

Photo by Kevin Dooley

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