Helpful Hints

Common Questions:

• If I change majors to a major with a higher average income will my salary rise? Maybe, maybe not. When one major has a higher average salary than another, it may be because the people who tend to take that major are brighter or communicate better on average than those who take another major. If this is the only reason that people in that major have better jobs, then your income will not rise when you switch to that major, unless you also have those talents and skills. On the other hand, it is possible that when you switch to that major your education will be more directed toward careers in an industry that pays more money. In that case, your income might rise.
• Are majors with higher incomes always better? No. The major you select has a lot to do with the type of job you get. Some jobs that don't pay as much on average are more pleasant. For example, it is common for students in performing arts to have a strong preference for jobs that are involved in the creative end of the motion picture industry. Even if the average salary of business majors is higher than the average salary of majors in performing arts, performing arts majors get jobs that they will often prefer to the jobs they would get if they were trained in business.
• Why can't I find my major?
  • We can only list majors that were in the National Survey of College Graduates study. Some majors were excluded because they weren't in the data set. Others were excluded because there were very few people with those majors in the data set. The best alternative is to look around for similar majors.
  • Some majors are in different colleges at other universities. For example, Economics is in "social sciences" in some universities rather than in the college of business and econmics. Typically you can find your major with a little experimentation.
• Are all of the majors listed offered at CSUN? No. Some majors in the data set were common enough at other universities to be included, but are not offered at CSUN. Other majors are offered at CSUN, but under slightly different names. Consult the CSUN course catalog for more information.