<p>I have a dilemma. I can major in linguistics at McGill or economics at UBC. Respectively, they're both very reputable programs, but McGill does not have a solid economics department nor UBC a solid linguistics. </p>
<p>I love linguistics, it is, without a doubt, the subject I'm the most passionate about. But I'm really discouraged because my career options don't seem too copious. Originally, I wanted to be a professor, but I discarded that dream because of its total impracticality. The two lucrative paths that linguistics majors typically follow, computational linguistics and speech-language pathology, don't fit me very well. I can't see myself majoring in computer science, and neither can I see myself in a job that demands high levels of compassion, patience, and socialization. I enjoy mathematics, but both of these careers seem too science-oriented. I like my occasional privacy, and I consider myself more of a thinker than a people person. Are there any other realistic options with a linguistics degree? I enjoy education and research, but prospects don't seem that great for teachers, librarians, etc.</p>
<p>Economics is a subject I've developed an interest in more recently. I don't absolutely love it, but I can see myself studying it without much of a problem. Its main attraction is its alleged marketability. The thought of graduating from university/grad school after spending such amounts of money, time, and effort and not being able to find a relevant job with reasonable pay is terrifying and off-putting. But again, the problem is the careers themselves. I'm not sure if I could analyze finances and whatnot for the rest of my life. Being a government/academic economist would be interesting, but I don't know if I could pursue a PhD in the subject. However, my personality is classified as INTJ (Strategist), and many of the recommended jobs are economics-related, while speech-language pathologist is recommended for almost the complete opposite of my personality. </p>
<p>Essentially, I want to know which careers of these two majors you think I would be most interested in, and consequently which I should study.</p>
<p>Firstly, I’d like to say that I love your writing style. It’s very matter of fact. The world needs more people like you (or at least I do).</p>
<p>I’ve struggled with the very same problem you are wrangling with now: my passion, linguistics, vs. practicality. Fortunately for me, I don’t mind computer science, so I plan on going into computational linguistics. Are you sure you’re not interested in comp ling? It’s really not science-y at all.</p>
<p>A linguistics major also affords you the opportunity to teach English to non-speakers domestically or internationally. I’ve always considered this to be a pretty good back up plan; fly on over to Japan (or wherever else), see the world, and teach English.</p>
<p>It sounds like economics is out of the question. You don’t absolutely love the subject, and the jobs available to economics graduates don’t suit you. I considered this path as well and reached the same conclusion you did.</p>
<p>If all else fails, have you considered any other fields that you might be interested in? I know INTJs are frequently interested in engineering. Perhaps you should give that a try.</p>
<p>Honestly, if I were you, I’d major in linguistics and go get a PhD in it. To hell with it. You’ve got one life to live, and you’re going to be killing yourself twenty years down the road if you have a lucrative that you hate when you could have followed your passion.</p>
<p>Thank you very much. I tried to keep it concise, but it still ran fairly long haha.</p>
<p>Computational linguistics, at least ostensibly, seems quite fascinating. But the fact that the focus is more on the computational side, and I’d probably have to double major in CS, is a bit of a stretch for me. Could you tell me a bit about your experience with comp ling? The thing is, although I can obviously manage a computer, I’m not familiar with the more advanced technology. I don’t know any programming languages and I would feel behind. Maybe it’s worth it though if I can still study what I love. </p>
<p>I’m strongly considering teaching ESL abroad (probably in Japan) for a few years after my Bachelors degree and before graduate school to travel, raise some money, and see if I like teaching or not. I was also set on speech-language pathology for a bit, but I’m just not sure if it fits my personality career-wise. I guess the idea of applying some aspects of linguistics to the real world, and getting paid for it, is what’s really enticing.</p>
<p>I don’t think I could do engineering. I’ve heard the horror stories and my interests lie more in the humanities/social sciences than physical sciences and whatnot. Although, as I said, I do enjoy math, which is a plus for economics. But I’ve heard that theoretical linguistics is very mathematical in its thought processes too.</p>
<p>I’m definitely leaning towards linguistics, but I’d just like to ascertain my career prospects before diving into it. Perhaps if I can pull off a 4.0 GPA and can see myself doing/teaching/marking/researching that kind of work for the rest of my life, then I’ll pursue academia despite its uncertainty. You’ve certainly been of assistance.</p>
<p>You don’t necessarily have to double major in linguistics and computer science to go into computational linguistics. More and more employers are requiring graduate degrees in computer science, math, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, or computational linguistics to enter into the field. Seriously, if you’re good at math and languages, computational linguistics is the way to go. It’s all based on logic.</p>
<p>Here’s what I propose:</p>
<p>Declare yourself as a linguistics major and take courses on the side relating to your interests. Linguistics isn’t a particularly demanding major, so achieving this shouldn’t be too difficult. Take courses in economics, computer science, language teaching, and whatever else catches your eye. These courses may help you decide on what to pursue. Along the road you might decide to take the safe route (economics), or stick with language teaching after university. You can get a head start on this process now! Start messing around with programming languages, watch some online economics lectures, and learn about the teaching ESL abroad program.</p>
<p>If it were me, I’d go into language teaching abroad after university. This would give me time to “find myself” and decide on what I want to pursue in grad school - or maybe not go at all. It’s up to you!</p>
<p>I’ll see if I can take a course in a programming language, or just learn it myself, and see how that goes. I’ll study linguistics at McGill, and if I change my mind, I can always transfer to UBC for economics. And I’ll probably do the ESL abroad thing too. Thanks for the help.</p>
Sorry to revive this thread, but how easy do you guys think it will be to switch majors from linguistics to CS (I lean towards the computational bit of computational linguistics) at a school like MIT or Caltech?