Did you know the college major you choose can impact your ability to have a thriving career in the future?
This is why it’s important to select the best college major for your personality type to ensure your studies fit with your interests. If your major aligns with your character, you’re more likely to achieve better grades, graduate on time, and stay with the same major throughout your college career.
However, if you study a major that doesn’t mesh with your personality, you might have a difficult time understanding the material and relating to your classmates. Of course, this can negatively affect your grades and your chances of graduating.
So, what is the best college major for your personality type? We’ve prepared all of the details for you below.
What Research Says about College Majors Based on Personality
In the past, John L. Holland worked to discover the connection between personality types and careers. He discovered that most people fit into six categories.
Here are the 6 Personality Types
Realistic
People with a realistic personality type are often independent, strong, conservative, and practical. They work well with physical objects and stay calm in emergencies.
The best college majors for realistic personality types are biology, chemistry, anthropology, geography, nursing, physics, and engineering.
Artistic
Artistic personality types are creative and have a big imagination. They see the beauty in things and tend to work better in unstructured environments.
The best college majors for artistic personalities are art, English, marketing, communications, Spanish, French, music education, theater arts, and philosophy.
Investigative
Do you love doing research, solving math problems, and learning about science? Then you probably fall into the investigative personality type. People with investigative personalities tend to be more introverted and enjoy reading and studying.
Some majors investigative personality types would be sure to enjoy are psychology, bio engineering, chemistry, criminal justice, law, medicine, and political science.
Social
Social personality types are natural-born leaders who are responsible and supportive. They aren’t fans of physical activities or tools, but they can use their words and ideas to make a difference. These individuals love working in groups and connecting with others.
Here are a few majors that would be good for you if you have a social personality type: community health, nursing, art education, counseling psychology, translation, public health, women and gender studies, and public administration.
Enterprising
Are you an ambitious leader who loves working with people? You might have an enterprising personality. These individuals like money and status, which is why they make great managers and excel in sales.
Here are some majors that work well with enterprising personality types: accounting, business administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, management, marketing, and law.
Conventional
Conventional personality types enjoy numbers, machines, and data. They are detail-oriented, quiet, and responsible.
Does this sound like you? If so, here are some majors you might like to pursue: mathematics, accounting, finance, urban planning, computer information studies, and business administration.
Be aware: you’ll usually have one main personality type and hints of others as well. For example, you can dominantly be social but also be a bit enterprising. Or maybe you have an investigative personality but have an artistic side.
How Can You Find Out More About Your Personality?
Maybe you’re saying, “I have no idea what my personality type is!” Well, luckily, now more than ever, it’s easy to take online quizzes that will give you an accurate read on your personality and what job positions would be best for you.
We suggest taking this quiz that was inspired by Holland’s work. It will help you get a better understanding of what kind of career paths would be best for you based on your personality. From there, you can choose the best college major for your personality type.
Let us know your results in the comments! We hope you choose the best major that’s right for you and fits along with your interests and personality. No matter what college major you choose, don't forget to start saving for college as early as possible, preferably through a 529 plan.