Subject Choices

There are two points to consider when choosing subjects in a generalist degree:

• which ones interest you and
• which ones might be helpful in relation to a career.

Interest in a subject is very important as employers are not just interested in whether you've done a particular subject, they also look at how well you've done. You are more likely to perform better if you like the subject rather than just taking it for career reasons.

Another point to consider is that if you choose your first year subjects poorly it may limit your choice of majors in your degree.

How can you find out more about subjects?

Make sure you know what each subject covers. You should ensure you read the description in the Faculty Handbook and/or check out the relevant Department's web sites. Some Departments have quite detailed information about individual Units of Study on their web site.

If you are still uncertain as to whether you are interested in a particular subject, check the Department's web site or contact them for a list of textbooks for that subject, go to the bookshop or library and have a look through the recommended texts to see if the material is interesting to you.

Remember to check what "Assumed Knowledge" is required for a particular subject. The Centre for Continuing Education at the University offers bridging courses in the areas of science and mathematics.

What careers can I get into with my majors?

Some subjects are more vocationally oriented than others. For example, if you do Psychology, you can become a Psychologist and if you do Economics, you can become an Economist. With other subjects, the link between the subject and the career is not so clear. In this case, it may be the skills you've developed from studying the subject rather than the subject matter itself that will be of more interest to the employer.

Here are some ways you can find out about the career prospects associated with some subjects.

• Check out the Department's web site to see if there is any career information on it. Not all Faculties or Departments have careers information on their web site but where they do exist, they can be very helpful so it's worth checking out.
  For example, the Department of Linguistics has a section on their web site on Careers in Linguistics (see http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/linguistics/alumni/index.shtml) and a number of Departments in the Faculty of Economics and Business have a section on Career Outcomes on their web site. Faculty pages might also have careers information.
• Another source of information about career options related to specific subjects or degrees is the web site of the Graduate Careers Council of Australia (www.graduatecareers.com.au). If you go to the section on Industry Career Profiles, you will find careers information for a wide range of Arts, Science and Commerce subjects. You can download PDF booklets that will give you quite detailed information about career options related to particular industries or particular subjects.
  
• You can also look at what disciplines some employers are recruiting from. See our list of Graduate Recruitment Programs to check out what disciplines some employers were seeking. It's important to note that the employers on the list tend to be from business areas and some are from the public sector so the disciplines sought by them tend to be fairly specific. If you can't see your degree or subject listed, look at any employer who has an interest in "all disciplines". Also, there might well be employers who would be interested in your specific but they may not be the type of employer who recruits on campus.
• Come to the Careers Centre and look through the resources we have.