Whether they are choosing a major based on love or money,University of Memphis students' "stick-to-it-ness" in pursuing amajor reflects growing U.S. career trends.
Majors in accounting, journalism and leisure studies areincreasing in popularity at The U of M, while majors inengineering, manufacturing and music industry are declining,according to the Office of Institutional Research at TheUniversity.
Accounting ranked the fourth highest in top jobs for 2002-03graduates by National Association of Colleges and Employersstatistics. Similarly, retention rates for full-time undergraduateaccounting majors has risen 3.9 percent since 2001 -- greater thanthe overall retention increase of 2.5 percent at the universitylevel during the same period.
Communications and leisure studies grew by more than 20 percentbetween 1995 and 2001, says the National Center for EducationStatistics (NCES). Since 2001, The U of M Journalism Departmentincreased retention by 4.4 percent, and Sports and Leisure Studiesretained an extra 3.5 percent of undergraduate enrollees.
On the flip side, degrees awarded in engineering fields declined7 percent at the national level between 1995 and 2001, whileretention for Electronics Engineering Technology has dropped 8.2percent at The U of M since 2001.
However, many U of M students have reasons more personal thanjob popularity affecting their choices when choosing a major.
"I chose business because if you graduate with a businessdegree, you have all these options open to you," said sophomoreCarter Wray. "That's probably why I stayed with my major."
Dietetics major Alaina Johnson and Mary-Katherine Phelps, juniorin fashion merchandising, considered feeling important on the job,helping people and workplace variety as major deciding factors.
"(Fashion merchandising) is a constantly-changing field, and itaffects everyone," Phelps said. "I get to help people choose theclothes they wear. Also, the classes aren't so huge that you can'thave a one-on-one relationship with your professor."
Morgan Allen's thirst for variety also lead her into otherventures.
"I switched from psychology to (a major in) the UniversityCollege because it had a wider variety of things I could do," saidthe junior social psychology major. "It also helps to have a goodadviser. Having a good adviser is very encouraging."
