Are you finishing up college and about to look for your first job?
If that’s the case, depending on your major, you may have an advantage when it comes to starting your professional career. If you’re in the class of 2024 it’s time to get your entry-level resume ready and prepare for your first real job search.
In this article, we go over which majors offer the best opportunities to get hired, but also some tips regarding how to land your dream job.
If your major isn’t on our list, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to still land a job once you wrap up your senior year. Keep reading to get all the details on your professional outlook for 2024.
College Majors With the Best Professional Outlook
If 2024 is the year you’re going to be donning the cap and gown, then you may be eager to know how easy your first real job search is going to be.
College majors with the best professional outlook in 2024 include:
- Business Management
- Computer Science and Information Technology
- Engineering
- Accounting
- Education
- Human Resources
Health sciences are also showing strong growth, so if you are a nursing student, you are also likely to have an easier time finding job opportunities near you or in another area of the United States.
If you have the chance, don’t pass up the opportunity to study a master’s in one of these fields. It would both strengthen your knowledge and your resume.
Do an Internship
Internships are a great way to test the waters and build professional experience. If you have no idea what type of work you want to do after graduation, internships are a great way to try out different industries and see if any of them fit your personality.
You can learn more about the industry and get hands-on experience that will look good on your resume, and go a long way to helping you land your first job.
Completing an internship while in school will usually help you to become a leading candidate for that company once you graduate.
The best way to prepare for an internship is by researching the company and its culture. You should know exactly what they do, how many people work there, what their goals are, and what they hope to achieve in the next year or two.
This helps you get a feel for the type of work environment you’ll be entering and whether it’s right for you.
Where to Look for Opportunities
Once you have finished studying or are about to finish your senior year, there are a few different avenues you can choose from to help you get going in your job search.
Check out the following services and websites you can use to get in touch with employers and job recruiters:
- The college career services office: You can use their database to find internships, see what companies are hiring in your area, and learn about what skills employers are looking for with each job description.
- Social media: LinkedIn is a fantastic example of a social media website used for job searching. You can search for jobs based on your major.
- Networking events: Career fairs are one type of networking event, and you can find them in your area or online.
- Websites: Many companies also post their job openings online on certain websites like Indeed and Monster.
With all the recruiting websites and search engines available, you can easily get in touch with a job recruiter that is looking to fill a position in your area of expertise.
It is also simple to contact a company that is in another area of the country that may offer remote or hybrid work.
If Possible, Be Open to a Move
If you’re hoping to get hired in the next couple of years, it would be beneficial to be open to relocating. You may find that the job of your dreams is located in another city or state, and many of the hottest tech and finance jobs are found in California and New York City.
Many jobs in business and economics are located in major metropolitan areas. So if you’re from a town in the Midwest, your best opportunities may be away from home.
While that may sound nerve-wracking, there are plenty of positives to making a move. Not only would relocating help you advance your career in this case, but it could also give you a chance to explore another part of the country.
However, if you’re completely against relocating, many companies these days offer remote work as a perk. Check with employers beforehand if this is an option for them so that you can plan accordingly (and maybe even save up for living expenses).
You Can Always Study Some More
Even if you’ve already got a bachelor’s degree, there are still ways to up your chances of getting hired. You can always study some more in different ways. That’s especially true if you graduated with a degree that isn’t quite as in demand by job recruiters.
You can take an online course that specializes in a certain topic. Coursera and Udemy have courses in many topics, from coding to public speaking to marketing strategy.
If you’re interested in continuing with your current bachelor’s degree but want to focus on another major or concentration, consider taking classes.
That way, you can quickly add useful information to the knowledge you already have and break into any field.
It’s important to remember that there are always new opportunities for people with a wide range of skills and interests.
Many people who didn’t begin college with a clear idea of what they wanted to do ended up finding their passion by exploring various majors and fields.
