SOMETIMES it can be difficult to choose a major in college. It will most likely define your career path, right?

Not always, according to a CareerBuilder survey that questioned at least 2,000 workers with college degrees. It seems that more than one-third of these workers wish they had studied a different subject in college.

The fact that the job market has declined for certain occupations doesn’t help when trying to find a dream job. Twenty-six per cent of respondents say positions in their chosen field have declined during the period of entering college and graduating. And 19 per cent of workers are still looking for their ideal position.

With certain industries, the wait proves to be beneficial to employees — 21 per cent of respondents found a job in their desired field after three or more years. And it took at least five years for 12 per cent of workers to land that job in their college major.

“The job market has been challenging for all workers, regardless of degree level, and has prompted many to think about learning skills for high demand and emerging jobs,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice-president of human resources. “Many employers, particularly in health care, engineering, IT, and communications have open positions and can’t find skilled candidates to fill them. College students and workers considering going back to school should take note of areas with growth opportunities and more abundant hiring.”

Haefner provides suggestions for those employees who want to look into gaining more skills and educational opportunities:

* Communicate with human resources. Many companies provide certain kinds of learning programmes. Talk to human resources to see what type of classes or seminars would go along with your educational goals.

* Look into Web education. You may be able to further your education with online classes.

* Seek local resources. Local libraries and community centres provide various classes. Find out what programmes are available.