Many students that attend Ocean County College have various interests as to what they would like to study.  

When students come to college, some know without a doubt what career they would like to pursue, others don’t really have an idea as to what they would like to do and a majority of them come to the college as an undecided major.  

On a Survey that was conducted there are several areas where college students have the most interest in.  

Most of the students that answered the survey stated that they have an interest in different areas of criminal justice, Film and radio, teaching, finance, and computer science. 

Students going into teaching have said they like working with kids and have also said that they have a strong interest in teaching. At the college, most students who wrote down what they were going into said they wanted to teach students history.  

The courses that they are currently taking are all history and teaching courses to get their Gen Eds out of the way at Ocean County College before they transfer elsewhere if they so choose.  

Two students at the college gave different advice when it came to students studying to become a history professor or just a professor all together.  

“Read your textbooks, pay attention, and go to class,” one student said.  

“Get involved with local groups and projects,” another student had said.  

In the area of Criminal Justice, students have picked a more direct area to get into.  

Some students want to go into Law while others want to go into be a part of the FBI or being a police officer.  

A lot of other students have decided that they would like to go into psychology and become a therapist or a social worker.  

This is one of the most popular programs at the college, several of the students surveyed picked this area of interest.  

For their studies, they have to take multiple psychological courses to get their associate degrees. It is what interests them though.  

We also got some students that are going for accounting as a career they are pursuing with business, finance, new accounting degree and more business. The classes they are taking for accounting are business marketing, accounting, marketing, macroeconomics, management and business law. Some students have been attending college for at least one or two years according to the accounting survey. They are looking at Stockon, Kean, Rutgers and Fairleigh Dickerson as their next step towards an accounting degree. Those are great colleges for this program, and they will have all the resources to help them get to the goal. The advice they gave to other students was great saying to get involved early, be active with clubs, focus on studies, get internships, do it if you like math and stay focused on your career path. All the students said some fantastic things as they have a bright future ahead of them and continue to work hard on their goals.  

“Pursue your goals and work hard to attain them,” a three-year liberal arts major said.  

Students seeking a career in the media/film industry are pursuing interests in television/radio, illustration, video production, and film directing. To meet these credentials, surveyed students suggest majoring in digital mass media, media production, liberal arts, illustration/animation, and broadcasting. Students noted Montclair, Monmouth, Stockton, and Rowan as viable options for transferring.  

For students currently pursuing a career in media or film, it is recommended to take courses within the categories of Media Writing, Broadcast News, Video Production, and Art History.  

“Take the courses seriously and write a lot. Create as much as possible, even if you don’t think it’s worthy,” Autumn Freestone, a two-year mass media broadcast major said. 

“Join clubs related to the major/career to get as much experience as you can and definitely experiment on your own,” Patrick Fazzone, a two-year media production major said.  

There were a couple of students who also have interests in computer science and decided to attend OCC to pursue their ideal future career.  

One student that participated in the survey has been attending OCC for three years, in hopes to become a Game Designer. This student plans on transferring to Saint Peter’s University or Stockton to further their studies in computer science.
“Take it one step at a time cause it might be overwhelming at first,” the student said. 

Another student who is also majoring in computer science desires to become a Software Developer. They have been attending college at OCC for over a year.
“It’s easier than it seems, you can do it if you put your mind to it,” the student said. 

One student is deciding to major in Engineering to become a Software Engineer in the future. Classes that this student must take are General Physics I and Calculus II. Even though this student is unsure if they are transferring to a different college, they were asked if there was any advice that they would like to give for other students pursuing this major. 

“Love math and get good at solving problems,” the student said. 

Overall, students at Ocean County College have a good understanding towards pursuing their interests for the ideal future. 

We wish Ocean County College students the best in their future endeavors. Thanks to Ocean County College student life for giving us the opportunity to survey students on their interests, this was a great turnout, and amazing experience for us to learn more about the other students as they get ready for graduation or transferring.