Is it better to choose a major early or later in an undergraduate career? Is it better, in other words, to accumulate more skills and knowledge in a particular field by specializing early, or to take the time to sample a variety of courses and find a field that’s a good “fit” with one’s interests and abilities?

Harris School Assistant Professor Ofer Malamud examined these questions by comparing undergraduates in the very different university systems of Scotland and England. The Scottish universities allow students to choose their major or area of specialization much later in the process, while those in England require that students specialize early, often while in secondary school. English students follow a narrow curriculum that allows for few courses in any other field. In contrast, Scottish students sample a broad range of courses before deciding on their interest area.

What Malamud finds is that later specialization appears to be a better course. English students in his study were much more likely than students in Scotland to work in occupations unrelated to their majors, which in turn led to lower initial wages. Within the first year after leaving university, those who switched to unrelated occupations earned around 6 percent less than those who did not change. He surmises that Scottish students had more time to figure out what they liked to do and what they were good at, and then held steady once in the workforce. Students in England, in contrast, were more likely to switch to careers outside their original focus, which caused them to temporarily lose ground in wages and advancement. After six years however, wages between the two groups evened out.

“When students switch to an occupation unrelated to their chosen field of study, they often start at a disadvantage,” says Malamud. “The fact that English students switch more frequently despite having more to lose suggests that having a good fit with their job is very important.”

In studying, students learn two things, he says. “They learn how good they are at something or how much they like the topic, and they learn the required skills for that occupation. For high wages and success in an occupation, having a good fit is more important than just acquiring skills.”

The results, he says, “emphasize that an important aspect of education is learning about yourself: what you’re good at, what you enjoy.”

As for US schools, they offer the best of both worlds, says Malamud, by allowing students to choose when to specialize. This flexibility allows those who want to experiment to do so while letting those who know what they want start immediately. “The only problem,” he says, “is if students aren’t able to experiment effectively and end up not learning anything. People need to learn how to experiment efficiently if they are to take advantage of the flexibility.”

So to all you undecided students out there—take heart, but be smart. Malamud’s advice to you: “Use your electives to explore different fields early, not just to make your senior year easier.”

Barbara Ray

Ofer Malamud, "Breadth vs. Depth: The Effect of Academic Specialization on Labor Market Outcomes," Harris School Working Paper #05.17 (October 2005).