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So you’re an undecided freshman trying to find a major? Or maybe a sophomore who is interested in changing your career course?
Not to worry—you’re not alone. Studies have found that 20 percent to 50 percent of students begin college as “undecided,” and the majority of students will change their majors at least once.
The good news is that NIU offers 56 majors with 90 emphases, 73 minors and seven pre-professional programs. It doesn’t take a math major to realize these areas of study can lead to countless careers.
Some of NIU’s most well-known academic programs include accountancy, nursing, engineering and teacher education—all areas that lead to rewarding careers. But the NIU Newsroom asked our experts in Career Services to drill down within academic majors to identify some awesome careers that more often than not fly under the radar of students.
Here are six careers that you might not be familiar with—but you might want to consider.
1. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst/Technician
About the job: Geographic information systems are designed to capture, manipulate, analyze, manage and display all types of spatial or geographical data. If you’ve ever used Google Maps, for example, you have benefitted from the technology.
What to major in at NIU: Geography with a specialization in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The GIS specialization emphasizes the creation, use and analysis of digital geographic information to examine economic, environmental, physical and social phenomena.
Entry and mid-level salary: $40,000 to $60,000
Why it’s a great career: Because the uses for geospatial technology are so widespread and diverse, the market is growing at an annual rate of almost 35 percent, with the commercial subsection of the market expanding at the rate of 100 percent each year. The northern Illinois region has long been a leader in American cartography and continues to be a rich source of internship and career-development opportunities in both corporate- and public-sector mapping.
2. Supply Chain Analyst
About the Job: Supply chain analysts (logisticians) coordinate and analyze the processes and systems that provide raw materials to the company for production and deliver the final product from the supplier to the consumer.
Median salary: $72,780 (with starting salaries in the $45,000 range)
What to major in at NIU: Business management, operations management and information systems (OMIS) or business administration.
Why it’s a great career: Employment of supply chain logisticians is projected to grow 22 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Successful job prospects should be best for those with a bachelor’s degree. In addition, the skill set required for supply chain logistics are transferable to other areas of business, including operations, human resources and training.
3. Audiologist
About the job: Audiologists diagnose and treat a patient’s hearing and balance problems using advanced technology and procedures.
What to major in at NIU: Communicative Disorders. Further education is required, however, because audiologists need a doctoral degree and must be licensed in all states (requirements vary by state).
Median salary: $69,720
Why it’s a great career: Audiology is a growing field with projected job growth of 34 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Hearing loss increases as people age, so the aging population is likely to increase demand for audiologists.
4. Public Relations/Fundraising Managers
About the job: People in these positions are responsible for planning and directing activities and projects that build the public image of an organization and raise awareness for a cause or mission. They could also be responsible for raising funds for organizations or causes.
What to major in at NIU: English, communication studies or journalism
Median salary: $95,300 (with starting salaries in the $45,000-to-$50,000 range, according to NIU Career Services)
Why it’s a great career: These professionals are in demand because they use social media, provide good customer service and possess leadership skills to communicate the mission of an organization. They help to maintain a strong public image for the company and to generate revenue necessary for the existence and maintenance of organizations and programs.
5. Manufacturing Engineer
About the job: Manufacturing engineers identify opportunities or implement changes to improve products or reduce costs using knowledge of fabrication processes, tooling and production equipment, assembly methods and quality control standards.
What to major in at NIU: Industrial and systems engineering or technology
Median salary: $88,600 (with starting salaries in the $52,000-to-$55,000 range, according to NIU Career Services)
Why it’s a great career: Occupations in this career area are expected to grow rapidly in the next several years. These jobs offer a great opportunity to demonstrate leadership, problem-solving and creativity.
6. Information Security Analyst/Cyber Security Analyst
About the job: Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization's computer networks and systems. Their responsibilities are continually expanding as the number of cyberattacks increase.
What to major in at NIU: Computer Science. Many companies prefer a graduate certificate in CyberSecurity and/or other certifications.
Median Salary: $86,170
Why it’s a great career: Cyber security matters to everyone. Infected devices or breaches of personal information can be devastating. Employment of information security analysts is projected to grow 37 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Demand for information security analysts is expected to be very high as these analysts will be needed to come up with innovative solutions to prevent hackers from stealing critical information or creating havoc on computer networks.
Keep in mind, these six jobs represent a sliver of the many dynamic careers NIU students can pursue.
NIU students who are undecided are strongly encouraged to speak with both academic advisors and Career Services counselors, investigate NIU’s online resource Careers by NIU Majors and attend the upcoming Academic Career Expo. The annual event (formerly known as the Exploring Majors Fair) will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom and the Capital Room of the Holmes Student Center.
The Academic Career Expo is designed for all students who want to find out more about majors, minors and other academic opportunities. Students will have the opportunity to speak with faculty and staff from each of NIU's academic units in a centralized location. Additionally, departments will showcase particular majors, minors and programs.
Tom Parisi, NIU Media and Public Relations
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There are two major issues with this article. Lets get the obvious one out of the way:
Why would you sell potential college students on the thought that majoring in Communications, English, or Journalism will result in the highest median salary? Please reaffirm with percentages including what the median salary is for all of those degree graduates as well as what percentage of fundraising managers actually have a degree with those fields. I believe after looking at the numbers you’ll find that portion of this article is a gross deception.
Now let’s move to the not so obvious one: Manufacturing Engineers. Clearly the author of this article does not know the difference between engineering disciplines as well as what NIU offers within each discipline. Students that graduate in Industrial and Systems Engineering are looking to become an industrial engineer, not a manufacturing engineer. Here are the differences:
•Industrial Engineers watch workers as they work, observing the workers’ movements. As the worker moves through the activities in a particular step of manufacturing, the industrial engineer performs time studies and looks for ways to make the workers’ routines more efficient to improve production. Think: Improves integrated systems
•Manufacturing Engineers improve a plant’s production and the quality of the product through the way a manufacturing line is arranged, the equipment and tooling used, or the way a machine works. They analyze the product and design a method to produce that product efficiently. They may work from an office — creating production machine layouts that fit within a space inside company’s building — or in the plant itself, coordinating with the production team to improve quality. The manufacturing engineer may even design the tools or equipment to manufacture a product if none exist. Think: Selects and implements systems
Now here is the kicker! NIU actually offers an amazing program specifically for manufacturing engineering, the CORRECT major should be: Manufacturing Engineering Technology
Why my opinion may or may not matter:
I began my career as a manufacturing engineer, then product engineer, and currently am a Sr. NPD Engineer. I also am an active leadership member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Chicago Chapter, focusing on education relationships and scholarships. I also am a graduate of NIU within he MET program and am currently getting my M.S. in Industrial Management.
– Salvatore Palazzolo
Why The income of GIS is so low
The purpose of this story was simply to spark students’ interest in investigating the many career paths that sprout from different majors. The figure we used for the median salary for public relations/fundraising managers links directly to the source of that information. (Scroll down to “State wages” and click “Local Salary Info.”) The Bureau of Labor Statistics also shows a similar median salary for these positions. On your second point, I checked with faculty members in engineering, who indicated either Industrial and Systems Engineering or Technology could lead to a career as a manufacturing engineer. So a link to the program you specify has been added. Thanks for pointing it out. We agree that it is an amazing program.
–Tom Parisi
Yea, I will agree with the comment earlier, a industrial engineer is not a manufacturing engineer, who are both NOT electrical engineers. Using the word engineer in the title does not qualify you for work within the other fields. Each engineering field has a VAST amount of detailed knowledge related to only that particular sector of engineering. Its like saying that a Statistics major could qualify for the jobs of a mathematics major, or pre-nursing and public health, putting a marketing major for finance jobs, similar but not so much. But to defend the authors point most jobs do look at soft skills as well as hard skills to determine a applicants qualification, so naturally an industrial engineer more than likely qualifies for manufacturing engineering jobs, but it would be an easy road applying for these jobs.