<p>That degree has tons of potential – I think it can be one of the most employable/lucrative out there. Do some research and show them the evidence. I agree that they probably have no idea what linguistics is and the types of jobs it can lead to.</p>
<p>I know someone who majored in linguistics and went on to get a graduate degree in computer science. He now works for a large computer company, and is incredibly successful – he makes a lot of money and is quite renown in his field.</p>
<p>I went through the required courses in UCLA’s CS+L major for the CS part and they provide a good background for both theory and practice. There are a few common CS courses missing (operating systems and all of the hardware courses) but it’s still a solid base for work or graduate school.</p>
<p>First see the link for professors pay and send that to mom and dad. If anything you might pursue a professorship in ling & Comp sci. My great uncle was a linguist and a mathematician (Predecessor to a computer programmer). He found a very valuable occupation during WWII as a top code breaker. It’s not such an odd ball combination and you could do well pursuing both.</p>
<p>Do research, talk to a counselor, get the info you need to show them you CAN get a job after you graduate. If you could somehow bring them with you to the counseling session, that could help.</p>
<p>I just talked to someone today whose daughter is finishing her masters soon - in “forensic linguistics.” Undergrad was linguistics at large public in US, then Univ of York or someplace around there in northern England. Apparently that was the only place that has forensic linguistics. Sounded so interesting. So many crimes/threats/etc are by cell phone and are recorded, and they can profile and help solve crimes. A contestant on a game show had a scam going, and they filtered out the other noise and figured out how he won the million so easily (by cheating - had to give the million back.) It’s a little known field but is becoming more important.</p>
<p>BCeagle91 has done a lot of research for you! Give your parents this evidence.</p>
<p>As a former research staff person (AI/Speech Understanding) at one of the top university CS departments, I vote for the L+CS track. 97% of those coming out with a CS degree will initially go into a programming career - a great job, but with the potential to lead to an unexciting career. Having the L+CS degree will not prevent you from doing that. My graduate work was in “information science” which everyone figured was just “computer science” anyway.</p>
<p>But the linguistics addition set you above the crowd for more interesting jobs, and could lead to an interesting graduate school career and some research/academic jobs.</p>
<p>I always used to say that there were two types of computer people: those who knew how to use the tools of programming… and those who thought up and created the tools themselves.</p>
<p>From what I have heard, a CS/Linguistics combination could have a lot of potential for careers in national security. Perhaps that is something for your parents to consider.</p>
<p>I’m sorry I haven’t responded to any of your kind suggestions. Things have been really busy for me these past few days, and I do want to thank all of you for taking the time to share your advice with me. </p>
<p>Tonight for our small Thanksgiving dinner, my parents and I discussed the issue of what major I plan on studying and what I intend to do with it. Although I didn’t feel adequately armed with statistics regarding job placement and salaries, I expressed my strong interest in Ling&CS, making it clear that I do have plans for graduate school in either comp ling or CS and acknowledging that my plans may change should I decide that a career in programming is not for me.</p>
<p>I told them how I had e-mailed graduate programs in both fields to ask about my chances for admission based on my course list; I showed them my color-coded spreadsheet that details which quarters I will be taking which classes (it also indicates that I would be able to graduate fall of my fourth year); I described the conversation I had with the head of Ling&CS at my school.</p>
<p>And my parents surprised me. Rather, they completely flabbergasted me. They were calm and understanding, giving me credit for the work I had put in to researching this major and saying that my explanation made them feel more comfortable about my chances for success in this area of study, especially considering how interested I am in the subject. To say that I am happy with the turnout of this situation wouldn’t be enough; I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted, and I couldn’t feel any more grateful to have parents who are willing to support me even when they still feel a bit wary about the whole thing (or so I sense).</p>
<p>Thank you again for all your help. Reading your comments did help calm my nerves before I talked to my parents, though I think I’ve learned to cut my parents a bit of a break. This definitely wouldn’t be the first time they’ve responded to me in the very last way I would have expected.</p>
<p>OP–I’m glad things worked out for you.</p>
<p>Since you are still unsure about your direction, you may also want to consider looking into Neuroscience which also has a strong computational component and is a good path to premed if you so desire to go that route, and perhaps the related fields of Cognitive Sciences/Linguistics along with the Computer Science. These are all interdisciplinary majors that may also interest you and will also give you many options for graduate study and careers.</p>
<p>kantianethicist, I’m not interested in doing pre-med anymore, but I’m strongly considering a minor in Cognitive Science since it seems like it would fit really well with my studies. And even with the minor I’d be graduating a quarter early, so I’m really excited about the idea. Thank you for the suggestion.</p>