Whether you’re campus faculty/staff or the parent/family of a Badger, Career Exploration Center (CEC) advisors are available and eager to help your student(s) talk through their interests and options!
We provide a variety of resources to help them explore their unique interests, skills, and values, including one-on-one advising appointments, drop-in advising, and exploration programs. For students who’d like to get started exploring on their own, the CEC website provides information, guidance, and resources on both majors and careers.
Parents/Families: We understand that students thrive when they’re supported by people they trust most—including you. We’re here to guide your student as they explore academic and career possibilities. And we want to support you, too. Below, you’ll find information to help you encourage and empower your student in their career development.
Request a Workshop
We provide a variety of workshops upon request. We are also available for informational class visits, and for presentations about the CEC and other campus career services.
Supporting Exploring Students
- Be open and willing to listen to your student’s ideas about majors and careers. Encourage your student to explore their options, and help them plan out steps for exploring.
- Remind your student they are not alone if they are in an “exploring” rather than a “decided” mindset. (Many students are!)
- Encourage them to set up appointments with both their academic advisor and a career advisor, and to attend major- and career-related events on campus.
- Emphasize the benefits of outside-the-classroom experiences, such as volunteering, students jobs, and student organizations.
- Help your student understand the common misconceptions surrounding majors and careers — bust major and career myths that can cause stress for both students and their parents/caregivers.
- Read the CEC’s article from the UW-Madison Parent and Family Program newsletter — Career Services Support Student Success
Major Myths
Myth: Students should know their major when they start college so they don’t fall behind in their coursework.
While some students enter college knowing their major, many don’t; and even those who do may change their minds.
Most majors don’t require that a student start them as a freshman. Some exceptions are the pre-professional programs, e.g. engineering, landscape architecture, and dietetics. And even in those majors, students need to complete general, introductory coursework in their first few semesters before they start on the major-specific classes. Since many UW-Madison majors are only 30-40 credits (a quarter to a third of their degree requirements), students have one to three semesters to explore their interests before committing, while remaining on track to graduate in four years.
Myth: Your student’s major will determine their career.
Not necessarily! It’s often assumed biology majors become doctors or history majors become teachers. Most of the time, though, major does not equal career. According to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, only about 27% of college graduates work in a career related to their college major. Biology majors may work in market research, public relations, or academia. History majors may wind up in banking, artificial intelligence, or communications.
Career-readiness involves more than the major. Your student’s outside-the-classroom experiences, their professional connections, and how well they are able to articulate their skills to employers are all factors in finding a job after graduation.
Myth: Students who major in the social sciences, arts, and humanities will not be as prepared for careers as those who choose business, computer science, or engineering.
While there are certain careers that require specific undergraduate training (engineering, accounting, and dietetics, for example), many, many careers do not. And don’t underestimate the value of a liberal arts & sciences education: students in these majors gain crucial skills that employers seek, such as problem-solving, analyzing, communicating, and critical thinking.
We also strongly encourage students to enhance their education with out-of-classroom learning – student jobs, internships, volunteer work, research, and leadership all help students gain skills, become career-ready, and learn more about themselves and the world of work.
