Pray These 5 Things Before Picking Your Degree or Major
2 min read | 29 January, 2024
Your choice of degree is probably the first major decision of your career.
Here are 5 key things to be thinking and praying about, based on evidence on what makes for a good major:
1. Pray for a major that supports the common good🤝
"To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Corinthians 12:7)
Pray for discernment for the degree that would do the most good for God’s kingdom, not just for yourself. This might mean incurring more personal costs (time, money, etc.) for an education that helps you do even more good for others, especially by tackling one of these pressing problems.
2. Pray for a major that sends strong signals✨
Pray for a major & university that signal your strengths and talents.
Your first employers will use your degree subjects as a major indicator of your ability.
They will consider:
The prestige of your university
What you studied (there is evidence that employers prefer STEM and economics).
Consider praying specifically for:
Admittance to a high-prestige university, such as a top-20 US university or college or a Russell Group member in the UK.
The strength to study something difficult (think technical subjects and not just humanities).
3. Pray for a degree that connects you to wise people💡
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20)
Good peers shape your character and priorities.
So do bad ones.
That’s why we recommend praying for a major or degree program that connects you to wise peers, as well as value-aligned peers who will be influential in the future. These are potential allies on whom you can have a Christlike influence, and with whom you can partner to do even more good.
4. Pray for a major that honors health❤️🩹
Think sleep, diet, and exercise!
If an especially demanding major singlehandedly pushes you into seriously unhealthy habits, stress, and anxiety, make a change.
Scripture teaches that your body is “a temple of the Holy Spirit.”
Honoring your body is, therefore, a duty not just to yourself, but to God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Good health is probably also key to having an impact in the long-term.
5. Pray for a major that sharpens skills🗡️
It is estimated that your major does not matter for 80% of jobs.
But having the right skills does.
Pray for a major that would equip you with the right skills to do good work for God’s kingdom. We recommend broadly applicable skills like speaking, coding, communication, graphics, media, programming, etc.
Honing your aptitude for these is an aspect of stewarding your God-given gifts, which you can use to serve others (1 Peter 4:10).
