Liberal arts majors vary widely. Some people pursue popular majors such as finance and international trade, while others pursue the charm of "Chinese studies" with erudite ambitions and choose subjects such as Chinese and history. But for most students, major is just a vague term. Are liberal arts majors "flashy"? Are liberal arts majors more difficult to find jobs? Are there really big differences between liberal arts majors? Is the major good at this school? What can I do with this major? Is the major suitable for me... These are all "professional" issues that trouble students.
In fact, professionalism is not a cold term lying on a catalog. Professionalism makes people have a personalized way of thinking. Professionalism makes people unique. Professionalism makes people step into the world of industry. Professionalism makes people lay a solid foundation. development basis. Starting from this year, we will introduce a new guiding ideology, return to the profession itself, and reflect the essence of the profession in a new way from the way of thinking, uniqueness, sense of belonging, development direction and other factors, so that students can truly understand and love the profession. .
Clarify the four major misunderstandings of majors
The experience of people who have been there tells us that we should have a clear idea when choosing a liberal arts major: choose the one that suits you best, interest is the key, and the future development direction is Purpose. As for some rules and regulations heard from hearsay, you should laugh them off.
Professionalism does not matter whether it is good or bad, only whether it is suitable or not. It's just like attending a wedding. On the surface, everyone praises the bride for her beauty, but behind the scenes, everyone talks about it. However, if the newlyweds look like a married couple, they will be happy. Instead of choosing a "good" major that you are not familiar with, it is better to do some homework on your own and choose a familiar major, no matter what others say. As long as it is something you are familiar with, you will become interested, stimulate motivation, keep moving forward, and achieve results. There is no absolute good or bad in majors, only the affinity or disapproval in your own eyes. Be a well-prepared professional chaser and everything will become relaxed, enjoyable and high-spirited.
Misunderstanding 1: What kind of job will you do after studying a major?
Analysis: Major is not the same as industry or occupation
A classmate was rated as "985" for his high score "After being admitted to a key university, I firmly chose "Business Administration" when choosing my major. When asked why, the answer was: After studying Business Administration, I can work in the fast-moving consumer goods industry and enter a consulting company. In fact, fast-moving consumer goods companies and consulting companies are the companies with the least professional characteristics. When recruiting management trainees, they clearly state that they do not limit their majors, and even place special emphasis on diversifying the professional backgrounds of their employees. When L'Oréal held a marketing competition for college students in 2007, its main person in charge graduated from the Department of Finance, but was engaged in marketing planning; Procter & Gamble is the world's largest consumer goods company, and the person in charge of the brand at the Shanghai seminar The promotion staff introduced themselves and graduated from sociology, chemistry, and electronic engineering. The author participated in the interview with KPMG accounting firm. The manager introduced himself that his undergraduate degree was in international relations. In fact, accounting firms are places with complex and diverse professional backgrounds. Accounting There is no doubt about the professional requirements, but the internationally renowned Big Four accounting firms pay great attention to the diversification of subject backgrounds when recruiting fresh graduates: accounting is a technology that can be learned on the job, and contact with different types of companies requires basic knowledge of different professional backgrounds. , this is difficult to cultivate. From many aspects, majors are not equal to professions or industries. If a professional background wants to be in line with certain industries and professions, it also needs a lot of "soft power" to support it. It is not the professional background that selects future careers, but the employer that selects suitable professionals. The simple and mechanical idea of linking finance with banks and law with lawyers is completely wrong.
Misunderstanding 2: The name of a major is absolutely important
Analysis: A major cannot be what its name implies, and the development direction under a professional name is also very different
The professional name is just a symbol , the content and nature of majors vary widely and require in-depth experience to gain anything. Some students said that they did not want to study economics or finance because the winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics were all mathematicians, and it would be a headache to study mathematics, so they switched to management. In fact, in college, the mathematics requirements for management are one level higher than those for economics, and are more difficult! Some people lump accounting and financial management together. Accounting pays attention to meticulousness and meticulousness, requires evidence-based and micro-level at every step; financial management mainly studies financial statements, finds problems reflected in details in cumbersome statements, and grasps the development context of the enterprise from a macro perspective. Some people think that studying accounting and financial management is just playing games with numbers. In fact, a large part of accounting and financial management courses are laws and regulations, tax law, economic law, accounting practice standards, etc. Investigative studies require you to learn many methods of follow-up investigation. Real estate companies and property management companies are very fond of recruiting students with this major; the main courses of museum studies include a lot of knowledge about exhibition arrangement and display, and many students later go on to engage in exhibition management and marketing. Marketing work; cultural heritage management is actually dealing with classical architecture and is inseparable from garden design and architectural design... The true face of the profession under the professional name includes boring basic knowledge and vivid case anecdotes. You cannot one-sidedly follow your own Understand and define arbitrarily.
Misunderstanding 3: Popular majors are better than unpopular majors
Analysis: There is no absolute hotness or coldness in majors, there is relativeness in absolutes, and there is microscopic comparison in relativeness
If we look at admission scores and the number of applicants, there are indeed hot and cold majors. But in the long run, it seems that the degree of hotness and coldness is not so obvious. International trade majors always complain that students from the English department are taking over their jobs; students from the English department suffer from the fact that they have no professional characteristics, and the most suitable occupations are teachers and translators. Popular majors have large enrollments, many similar graduates, and high competition pressure. However, most of the so-called unpopular majors have relatively suitable receiving units, or there is a demand for talents with the development of society.
The author knows a female student who was admitted to the international trade major with high scores. She discovered that she had a strong interest in literature in college, and finally impressed the professor with three high-quality papers and obtained the recommendation. Later, he went to the University of Hong Kong to study for a doctorate. In the same year, the employment rate of his graduating class was only half of last year's due to the financial crisis. In fact, there is a certain degree of transferability in each major: students in the Chinese Department also took Advanced Interpretation in English, doing bilingual translation or simultaneous interpretation; students in the History Department passed the judicial examination and worked as lawyers or lawyers. Take the civil service examination to work in courts and procuratorates. The transition from unpopular to popular may only occur in a matter of seconds. No matter what major you are in, you need highly skilled talents, so if you learn this major well and love it, you will have great potential. In addition, the state provides a considerable amount of scholarships for less popular basic majors to encourage undergraduate students to study, and some are even recommended to prestigious overseas universities. The prospects for basic majors are also broad.
Misunderstanding 4: As long as you study the major you like, it will be the same in any school
Analysis: The characteristics of the major must be grasped. The same major direction and characteristics offered by different schools are different
The accounting major of the Civil Aviation University of China focuses on logistics accounting and has its own characteristics in logistics management and economic survey tracking; the international trade major of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications has advantages in communication industry trade research, and many graduates have entered the mobile phone industry. , China Unicom and other companies’ business departments; Beijing Jiaotong University’s economics and management major emphasizes the characteristics of the transportation industry and offers a number of courses on railway logistics and rail transit management; Shanghai Maritime University’s tourism management major is distinctive in the management of luxury cruise ships at sea , student internships can experience the luxury of a five-star cruise ship... Different schools offer majors with the same name, curriculum settings, content preferences, and development directions may be very different. At this point, if you are an old reader of "Qiu Xue", you will notice that the "Professional Compass" column is dedicated to solving this problem.
Majors with strong foundations should pay more attention to the school’s academic tradition and training plan. It is often the subtle differences between schools that have a profound impact on students’ future development. Taking philosophy as an example, Fudan University has its own advantages in Western philosophy, Nankai University in Chinese philosophy, Tongji University in German classical philosophy, and Renmin University in Marxist-Leninist philosophy. As a result, the Philosophy Department of Fudan University has a relatively large number of people studying abroad in the United States, and Tongji University mainly goes to Germany; a large number of students in the Philosophy Department of Nankai University will move closer to "Chinese studies" such as Chinese and history, and students in the Philosophy Department of Renmin University are distributed in the Party There are many government agencies. When many students take the postgraduate entrance examination, they often choose the relatively strong majors of their alma mater as their application areas: regional economics at Lanzhou University, modern history at Yan'an University, Korean at Yanbian University, Russian at Heilongjiang University...these schools' strong majors Having certain academic influence and popularity is undoubtedly a plus for students’ future development.
Majority makes you different
Professional learning is an independent process. Mastering various types of knowledge and research methods is just like playing various musical instruments skillfully and mastering what you have learned. Only by using it can you soothe your body and mind and appreciate the beauty of human wisdom. Even if it is boring professional study, even if it does not seem very practical, even if it seems to be an "unpopular" and difficult major, even if it is a "difficult" major, after we understand its true characteristics, we can combine it with ourselves and truly want to study. Understand it, learn it, and apply it well, and you will ultimately be able to maximize the value of your profession.
Value 1: Professionalism forges unique thinking
Some people say that people in the history department are extraordinarily rational. Reading history makes people have a very clear understanding of the historical context, and they always like to summarize and improve certain concepts. However, there are also some people who are particularly good at digging out the contingencies in history and experiencing the fun of strange things. Er Yuehe's series of Qing court historical novels and "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty" that are popular on the Internet seem to be full of emotional charm. A history graduate who is engaged in accounting work said: "Studying history has given me a sense of solidity and perseverance, which is very consistent with the requirements of accounting firms for employees."
Some people say that people in the Chinese department are particularly emotional. They are used to being intoxicated in literary fantasy, but there are also people who have experienced the complex and subtle relationships between people from biographical literature, and experienced the philosophy of life and management philosophy from hundreds of scholars. Don’t think of literature majors as pure literary styles such as poetry and prose.
Literature is not only an art form, but also a way of thinking, which not only allows us to enjoy unique aesthetic pleasure, but also allows us to consider the grasp and control of characters and situations from multiple angles, just like the diversity in the narrative method of a novel. The spatial and panoramic presentation separates the most important things from the numerous things. This advantage will have room to be used in any industry and any position. This is the most valuable place to learn Chinese major.
Majority is an enlightening way of thinking that establishes a perspective of thinking. Only when majors are combined with life experiences can they have an impact on people. Major provides us with a way of thinking and develops each person's unique thinking characteristics. Shui Junyi's composure and ability are closely related to his professionalism in the philosophy department; Yang Lan has a wise talent for language, which was helped by the influence of comparative literature from Columbia University in the United States. Maybe a person who graduated from an economics class will not be engaged in finance or business in the end, but he will definitely unconsciously use economic thinking guidance in dealing with people and making decisions: pay attention to opportunity costs, and always weigh the abandonment when making choices. The cost of another choice; pay attention to efficiency first, pursue maximization of marginal effects; be good at comparison and competitive analysis, and use game thinking to solve complex problems... Management people like to talk about organizational structure, and journalism people pay attention to it The power of propaganda and slogans. People in sociology have strong collective concepts and social human concepts. Maybe we don’t talk about our majors, but it will leave a deep imprint on our minds.
Value 2: Professionalism shows personality charm
I remember listening to a public class by a famous education teacher. The first sentence of this teacher’s opening class introduced that he was actually Chinese. He was born in the Department of Education, and then began to write the words "teacher", "learn", "teaching" and other words on the blackboard for us in traditional Chinese, seal script, and oracle bone inscriptions. We were very impressed with this teacher. A simple beginning, but it brings an unusual personal charm transmission effect.
Looking at the curriculum of Chinese language majors, it is easy to get a headache just by looking at courses such as exegesis, dialectology, genealogy, Chinese history, and ancient books and philology. Many schools put Chinese Language and Literature, Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and Chinese Language under the same department. Comparing the three, Chinese language has the solid foundation and the most profound professional knowledge at the undergraduate level. It is those difficult and obscure courses that make the Chinese language major a dark horse in the workplace among the three: many publishing houses (especially ancient books), major libraries, archives, and language work institutions come to the school every year to ask for Chinese language majors. graduate.
Modern society pays attention to interpersonal communication. How to contact strangers to attract their attention, how to maintain coordination and highlight your charm in a public environment, professional background plays a very important role. "Seek common ground while reserving differences" is a principle that is valued in interpersonal communication in modern society. If you cannot show yourself, it will be difficult to show your edge. Many successful people will proudly say that I am a graduate of a certain major, but this major may not necessarily be related to the industry I am currently engaged in. This sense of difference just increases personal charm and arouses the desire of people around me to talk. Just imagine how many topics a graduate from the Department of Philosophy will leave behind if he eventually becomes the head of China's largest private enterprise.
Professionalism not only gives us knowledge, but more importantly, gives us a banner to highlight our own labels. Many schools offer second majors. Economics, law, accounting, and computer science are the most popular electives. However, in recent years, majors such as Chinese, history, and international communication have gradually become more popular. Many students said that they can learn unique knowledge. , being able to differentiate yourself is the secret weapon for future development.
Maybe you don’t like your current major at first, or you may just be transferred into a certain major, but the rich nutrients contained in each major may make people "addictive". According to a survey related to changing majors at Fudan University, only a few students who submitted applications for changing majors ended up leaving their majors, and more than 80% of the students who gave up changing majors did so because they gradually developed a good impression of their current major after studying for a year. , found a new self in professional learning.
Value 3: Professionalism opens the door to the workplace
Professionalism cannot provide us with any guarantee of entering a certain industry or engaging in a certain career, but it can open a door for us. The door to a certain career goal.
First of all, the senior brothers and sisters who have graduated will bring a role model effect for the growth of the newcomers below. Many schools will invite past graduates who have graduated and have achieved success in their studies and careers to give reports and share their experiences; alumni in the same major will recommend juniors and juniors to relevant companies for internships, so as to enter an industry in advance to experience practical work; In a certain industry, graduates from a certain school have a good reputation and will have a relatively positive influence and guidance on employers.
Secondly, relevant professional knowledge lays the foundation for entering a certain industry. Besides accounting and financial management, which liberal arts major is the most popular for the securities industry to recruit? The answer is psychology! Basically, the majors listed by major securities companies when recruiting management researchers are related to mathematics, with the exception of psychology. The introductory majors in many industries are not just the vague impressions in students' minds. The application scope of professional knowledge is actually very wide. If there is no other halo, professional counterparts do play a relatively good role in promoting newcomers to enter the workplace.
Third, reasonable planning can make professional background more attractive. Students studying economics and management are engaged in news communication, specializing in reporting financial news, making financial comments, and entering "First Financial" or professional economic media; students studying Chinese enter advertising companies and are engaged in copywriting creation and product packaging, and they have to work hard every day Brainstorm to come up with beautiful advertising slogans that match the pictures; students studying sociology are engaged in market research; students studying education are engaged in human resources... In fact, majors open more than just one door. Which direction to choose depends on yourself. Go explore slowly.
Value 4: Professionalism creates a better future
Professionalism can make our lives more beautiful, and a professional life may be carried out among the permutations and combinations of different majors. One of my classmates studied philosophy as an undergraduate and management philosophy as a master's degree. He later got a doctorate in management and now works as the director of the research department of a company. From pure liberal arts to management, his original development goal was to be a scholar, but now he has joined the business world and become a management member of a well-known company.
At every crossroads in life, one faces the choice of major. A girl studying English is always troubled about which direction to choose to continue her studies - she does not want to continue to engage in literary research. Later, with her excellent English scores, she applied for a master's degree in education from a university in the United States. While in the United States, she also relied on her good language advantage to obtain the American lawyer qualification. A few years ago, she was still worried that "English is just a tool", but now she has become a lawyer at a well-known Wall Street law firm.
The most important thing in choosing a major is persistence. The hotness and coldness of majors will continue to evolve with the development of the times. Shanghai Pudong New Area has an open recruitment for social work talents with an annual salary of RMB 100,000. Applicants are required to have professional knowledge of social work, pass foreign language proficiency, and have relevant work experience. Many graduates of social work majors feel regretful because of their career change. In recent years, many graduates of ideological and political education majors have entered large monopoly companies such as tobacco, with good remuneration and development. Only by basing yourself on this major can you move towards success step by step.
A senior executive in the Securities Department of Hong Kong Emperor Financial Group is majoring in history. People who study history are particularly sensitive to changes in information, especially subtle information sensitivity. No one would think of a person who lacks solid information. People with basic mathematics can actually succeed in the securities industry. You don’t have to do anything to learn, but you can draw nutrients from the previous step. Economist Lin Yifu studied agricultural engineering as an undergraduate, and later obtained a master's degree in business administration. His engineering background and management ideas brought great benefit to his subsequent economic research. There is no final decision on major, and not many people choose one major for life, but the previous major can lay the foundation for future development.
Melodious and melodious music comes from standard musical instruments, nimble hands, and intelligent eyes. Only the coordination of hand and eye can produce perfect music. Liberal arts majors are all-encompassing, and the development space for liberal arts majors is vast. In the future, we will continue to launch relevant topic selections around this, so please continue to pay attention. To fight a well-prepared battle, you must be fully familiar with the major before choosing a major; choose a major that you are familiar with and like, and the one that suits you is the best. I hope everyone can realize your big professional dream.