How to Choose a Major
The 4-step research-based method based on Holland's Theory of personality-major fit
Originally by Lawrence K. Jones, Ph.D., NCC — Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education, North Carolina State University. Updated by Juliet Jones-Vlasceanu, GCDF, J.D. — President & CEO, Career Key. Last reviewed May 2026.
Choosing a major or training program is one of the most consequential decisions you'll make in college. It shapes the next two to four years and, increasingly, what happens after graduation. The job market for new graduates has fundamentally changed because of AI.
The good news: more than 30 years of research shows there's a method that works. Even as technology changes, human behavior in this area has not. Start by exploring majors and programs that fit your Holland personality type and interests.
"Birds of a feather fly together!" You just need to find your flock.
By the Research
Studies of more than 200,000 college students across over 150 institutions have established that a close personality–major fit predicts:
Higher grades
Higher persistence in the major you choose (fewer changes, less costly in time and money)
Higher rates of on-time graduation
Your interests also tend to stabilize in late adolescence and remain stable into adulthood, which is why a validated Holland-based personality and interest assessment taken in college is a meaningful signal.
Why fit matters more than it used to
The job market new graduates enter today looks different from the one their parents entered. AI tools now handle many of the junior tasks that used to define an entry-level job — preliminary research, first drafts, basic analysis, routine communications. The result: in many fields, the bottom rungs of the career ladder are getting harder to find.
This shift makes the cost of a poor major fit higher than it used to be. Strada Education Foundation and the Burning Glass Institute (2024) report that 52% of recent bachelor's graduates are underemployed one year after graduation, and 73% of those who start out underemployed are still underemployed ten years later. Your first job after graduation is unusually sticky — which means choosing a major you'll genuinely engage with, perform well in, and use to build relevant skills matters more, not less.
STEM & Business majors are not a golden ticket
Many students still pick majors based on what someone else thinks will pay well, or on a guess about the job market. Think: STEM and business majors (good!), arts and humanities (bad!). Family pressure is real, and financial concerns are legitimate.
But study after study finds that (1) STEM and business majors are not an automatic golden ticket to the job market, and (2) students who choose majors that don't fit their personality are more likely to switch majors, take longer to graduate, and earn lower grades along the way.
What does matter? A major that fits gives you the energy to do the things employers now look for at hiring time: real projects, real skill artifacts, real evidence that you can operate at the next rung of the ladder.
Four Steps to a Major that Fits
Step 1. Take an accurate Holland personality and interest assessment.
Measure your strengths in the six interest areas Dr. John Holland identified — Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
Learn how Holland's Theory of person–environment fit applies to academic majors and careers. Career Key Discovery is a 10-minute, scientifically validated assessment that does both, and is used in undergraduate business and first-year experience courses at top public universities and AACSB-accredited business schools across the U.S. and Canada. This assessment is also included in PathAdvisor career readiness courseware.
For tips on choosing among different career assessments, see What is the best career test?
Step 2. Identify the majors and programs that match your strongest types.
After your assessment, Career Key Discovery shows you 440+ careers and 2,000+ majors and educational programs, organized into work groups within each Holland personality type. If your school is a Career Key institution, you'll see your own school's actual majors, minors, and concentrations — not a generic list.
Step 3. Learn as much as you can about the majors and programs you're considering.
Talk to faculty in your areas of interest. According to a 2024 National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) study, faculty are the source students seek out most often — and trust most — for career advice. Ask them what training programs and majors prepare people for the work, who else you should talk to, and what they're seeing in the job market.
Talk to students and recent graduates in the majors you're considering. Ask the alumni office for introductions.
If you’re applying to college, make sure you can actually major in what you want. Many large universities limit who can enter certain majors and many small colleges will not offer a big range. Don’t assume you can go in as one major and transfer later. Make sure you know what’s “on the major menu” at a school before you enroll.
Look at the labor market data. Career Key Discovery surfaces alongside each match — wages, growth projections, AI exposure — and think about what kinds of internships, projects, and skill artifacts you'd want to build during college to be ready for entry-level hiring.
For more on this step, see Learn about majors and training programs.
Step 4. Make a good decision. It's a life-changing choice.
Use the ACIP method of deciding. It is simple and effective. Research on career decision-making shows that students who follow a structured process are less likely to regret the choice later. By following Steps 1–3 above, you've already started using it.
Final Tips on choosing a major
Don't sell yourself short. Self-confidence plays a big role in making a career choice, in succeeding in school and at work. You can do far more than you ever imagined. Career Key’s founder Dr. Lawrence Jones, who was first in his family to go to college, says":
“I never dreamed that I had the ability to earn a doctorate degree, to do what I am doing. Fortunately, I met people who encouraged me; slowly I gained confidence...” (see My Story).
Surround yourself with positive people -- people who listen; who are knowledgeable and cheerful; who will encourage you, help you. Many want to help you, you just need to ask.
Be an active learner, grow as a person. Use your time in college with intention. Take on real projects. Volunteer. Read. Travel. Meet people different from yourself. Build a portfolio of work — including AI-supported work — that shows employers you're ready to operate at the next rung of the career ladder.
Use AI tools to support your learning, not replace your judgment. Employers are looking for graduates who can use AI responsibly, verify and improve AI outputs with their own domain knowledge, and produce client-ready deliverables. After your Career Key Discovery assessment, you can talk through your results with Ariel, Career Key's AI Assistant, which is grounded in your own assessment data and trained to ask questions rather than give answers — a useful way to practice using AI to think more clearly and creatively, not to think for you.
About Career Key Discovery
Career Key Discovery is a scientifically validated career interest inventory grounded in Holland's Theory of vocational personalities. It is used in undergraduate courses at the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University, the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama, the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Kansas State University, and the University of Toronto Mississauga, among others. The science behind Career Key Discovery has been published in peer-reviewed journals since 1989.
Career Key's founder, Dr. Lawrence K. Jones, is Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education at North Carolina State University. Career Key CEO Juliet Jones-Vlasceanu is a published AACSB Insights author on AI literacy and student employability.
References
Allen, J., & Robbins, S. B. (2008). Prediction of college major persistence based on vocational interests, academic preparation, and first-year academic performance. Research in Higher Education, 49(1), 62–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-007-9064-5
Allen, J., & Robbins, S. (2010). Effects of interest–major congruence, motivation, and academic performance on timely degree attainment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019085
Burning Glass Institute, & Strada Education Foundation. (2024, February). Talent disrupted: Underemployment and the way forward for college graduates. https://www.burningglassinstitute.org/research/talent-disrupted
Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
Low, K. S. D., Yoon, M., Roberts, B. W., & Rounds, J. (2005). The stability of vocational interests from early adolescence to middle adulthood: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 131(5), 713–737.
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2024). The integration of career readiness into experiential learning and high-impact practices. https://naceweb.org/research/reports/the-integration-of-career-readiness-into-experiential-learning-and-high-impact-practices
Tracey, T. J. G., & Robbins, S. B. (2006). The interest–major congruence and college success relation: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69(1), 64–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2005.11.003