<p>So my girlfriend, a California community college freshman, is still clueless about her prospective major. Her time is running out to complete any extra pre-requisites for majors to transfer and she is really stressed on it. When she thinks of a dream job she thinks of working at a book store ( do those still exist?!) Or publishing, or working for something like foreign relations with China or Japan. I recommended language studies at UCSC, some breadth with minor in select language. *But the thing is, are these majors practicable? Open doors to many jobs? Or harshly put "a waste of time"? What can a major like this get her to? I'm a science kind of guy so I'm not really keen on this stuff. Help a man out! Thanks</p>
<p>English majors can go into publishing (I know someone who became a publishing assistant with just a BA in English, but it’s the rare case), and language studies came to mind as well. She could always double major in one of those and something “safer” if she’s concerned about landing a job with them. She could also couple them with education so that she has the option to teach if she can’t find a job right away in the other fields.</p>
<p>^ I only have a BA in Medieval and Renaissance studies, and I’m a “publishing assistant.” (My job title is actually editorial assistant, and I work at a pretty big publishing company.) Every editorial, marketing, production and sales assistant I know has only a BA, so I’m not sure if that comment was supposed to imply that you need a higher degree because you don’t. And the majors are across the board - history, English, econ, psych, sociology, anthropology, etc. (At some point, sometimes, to advance you MIGHT need an MA, but not always. Publishing is much much much more about how much experience you have than how much school you attended.)</p>
<p>I majored in Medieval and Renaissance studies, did a lot of internships and everything worked out. I believe you should study what interests you and let the rest work itself out. When I started college I thought I was going to move on straight to a doctorate, then I went through a phase where I thought I’d become a curator and for a little while I was interested in arts non-profits. And now I’m doing none of those things. All humanities majors have applicable skills, like writing and research.</p>
<p>I wasn’t implying that you need a higher degree, just that only one of the dozens of English majors I knew got a job in publishing. The rest either had to accept jobs in other fields, or went into teaching, or don’t have jobs. Of course, some wanted to go in other directions. Many just couldn’t find anything, or weren’t qualified. </p>
<p>And yes, internships can be crucial to your success. They help you to network, gain hands-on experience, compile excellent references, etc. They can really add a lot to your resume and cover letters that a 4.0 student with no internships just can’t talk about.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input! I’ll pass it on to her. Choosing a degree is tough… especially with college prices now, with the “job guaranty” becoming more a myth. Hopefully she can come to a wise decision.</p>