Looking for some college classes that will make a difference in your career and your future? Regardless of your major, here are a few good classes to consider.
Business Writing (and Other Good Writing Courses)
No matter what career you choose, you’re going to need decent writing skills. Unfortunately, many college graduates are lacking in this area — which means that if your writing skills are excellent, you’ll have an advantage in the workplace.
Many college writing classes are useful and will allow you to practice skills that you’ll need later. However, if you’re going to take just one college writing class, a fantastic one to take is business writing. Business writing classes are designed to teach students how to write resumes, cover letters, memos, proposals, white papers, and other documents that you’ll really need to know how to compose in the workplace. Here’s more information about how to be successful in a business writing class.
If you plan to go into a technical field, another writing class you should think about is technical writing. Technical writing is a course designed to teach people in the sciences, engineering, and other hi-tech areas how to communicate technical information in a way that’s easy for people without a technical background to understand.
Public Speaking
Another important course that every college student would benefit from is public speaking. The ability to communicate information in front of an audience in an organized, professional manner is a skill that’s needed for almost every career. Moreover, the ability to organize your thoughts into a well-written speech is a great ay to improve your writing skills as well.
Of course, many—if not most—students are very nervous about public speaking. But don’t let this deter you from taking the class. You’ll be a whole lot less nervous about public speaking if you get actual instruction on how to speak well, along with some practice. It’s a learn-by-doing experience.
Contemporary History and Politics Courses
Do you understand what’s going on in your country? Or in a country halfway around the world? Do you understand the political process, and know how citizens can get involved to make a difference? College is a great opportunity to become a better informed citizen. Take advantage of the opportunity to take classes in contemporary history—both of your own nation and other nations—and political science.
Language Courses
Here’s one good reason to take a language in college. We live in an increasingly globalized world. The opportunity and the need to know more than one language is becoming more important in the workplace all the time. Mastery of second language—or at least a good working knowledge of it—can really help when looking for a job.
Here’s another good reason for learning a language in college: when are you ever going to have a chance again to do this? Learning a language is time intensive, and it’s not something you’re going to be able to fit easily into your schedule when you’re out of school and working full time. So you might as well take the language now—and get college credit for it to boot.
A bonus reason to take a language: it may lead to the opportunity to study abroad, and earn college credit while you live in a foreign country. When will you ever have an opportunity like that again?
A Few Other Suggestions
Need some other ideas for college electives that may provide useful information in the real world? here are a few more suggestions:
- Accounting
- Argumentation
- Business Management
- Career Management
- Child Development
- Computer Literacy
- Economics
- Interpersonal Communication
- Logic
- Nutrition
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Statistics
Good luck choosing electives for your college schedule! Remember, a class doesn’t have to be in your major to be useful and interesting.