ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On move in day at U Albany, students’ questions about future job prospects might come down to a decision between passion and opportunity.

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Wheeling push carts full of belongings into their new homes for the semester, the weight of the future might be just as heavy for these future graduates. 

Business Administration major Owen Hoey wants to get into sports management. While Hoey says he chose the most popular major because of its flexible opportunities, he was very much motivated by passion. 

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“When you’re working it’s, ‘oh I gotta go to work, work my 9-to-5 like I’m exhausted’ but if you’re working and you’re doing something you love, it doesn’t feel like a job” Hoey said.

Pre Med Major Alexandria Joseph thinks otherwise. While she’s passionate about her major, it was important for her to choose a high demand career path. 

“While it is important to be passionate about what you like to do and what you want to do for the rest of your life, it’s important that you know that you can make a living off of it” Joseph told us.

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Mike Christakis, Vice President of Student Affairs says the most popular majors he’s seen among students are business, criminal justice, and engineering. He says job prospects are a big influencer in those decisions.

“Students and families are keyed into sort of what’s happening after college. I think that we’ve always seen parents are very keyed into a career success trajectory” Christakis said.

Parents like Keisha Daley-Benjamin. 

“It’s definitely scary because you don’t know what path you’re going to take, then you’re constantly second-guessing yourself”… ” said Daley-Benjamin. “…And college is not cheap, so thinking about changing your major more than once scared me and her father” she added.

Keisha’s daughter, High Jump Champion Amelia, was driven by the opportunities athletics could provide. Ultimately Amelia chose to stick with Opthamology because she’s passionate about it, and it’s a high demand field. 

I’m definitely confident in ophthalmology, seeing how the rates are, especially in New York and Florida, Amelia told us.

Campus officials say there are a myriad of programs to help guide students who may be unsure about future career choices.