<p>I am currently debating what I want to study in college and feeling the constraints of so little time with so many class options. I have a major, history, but I am extremely unsure about possible minors. My basic question is how much minors will affect your job chances in the future. Are employers going to count a minor as something important? If you have taken maybe four classes in a subject but haven't reached the minor will that be something that comes up, and if so, in a positive light?<br>
Here's a more in depth explanation of my situation: Some of my options - like art history, English, and German, are all things I enjoy, infact I'd love to minor in all 3, and I think would help me out for my current future career considerations. The only problem is that it means that I would only have 2 or 3 more classes outside of major/minor available which I wouldn't be happy with. I am considering a field in which I do more writing so I think English would be helpful, most of all just to improve my writing abilities. I would of course enjoy five classes in English; however, that would mean not taking classes in some other areas which I'd have interest in. The same for art history - I want to take visual art classes too, but they count for a different minor, and so I'm not sure if I'll have time to take all those art history classes needed plus some visual arts. Since I plan to study away I figure I may end up getting a German minor anyway, and continuing German is much more important to me than getting credits. I am someone with lots of interests, and I am more curious to take a wide variety of classes in different subjects to have an introduction and better understanding in different areas, like international relations, creative writing, and anthropology. Overall I guess I am more inclined to take a variation of classes; yet I'm afraid that down the road, my lack of specialization in other areas may hurt me.
Thanks a lot for any advice!</p>
<p>Also, maybe I should mention that I'm a college sophomore to give a better perspective on my position.</p>
<p>Well, I'm a college freshman so my advice doesn't count for a lot.</p>
<p>But I think minoring in a language shows you have an important skill and is probably desirable, moreso than just another humanities minor.</p>
<p>employers don't really care about your major (unless you're engineering, tech, etc), so i doubt they will even care if you minor or not. also, be careful of trying to do everything. jack-of-all-trades = master of none</p>
<p>you don't actually have to minor in anything. you can just take electives in german, english, art history, etc. if you don't want to have to pick one. Or you could pick a german minor (probably the most useful out of those listed) and still take a couple electives each of the other two...</p>
<p>I'm thinking of a chem minor just because it would require only 1 more class (physical chemistry) than I would take anyway. But in general your minor and major don't really matter, even in grad school it turns out - for instance, I've had 1 linguistics professor who majored in economics and another linguistics professor who majored in math (neither did a ling major in college yet they got their ling PhDs and teach in college now). if you take the classes you are interested in, even if you don't do a minor, that's what counts in the end.</p>
<p>Most people I know (myself included) who had minors had them sort of by default or by accident. They really enjoyed a topic, kept taking classes in it, and suddenly found themselves with (or within easy reach of) a minor. German sounds like it would be a logical choice for you (and any level of skill in a foreign language holds some appeal). If you think an English minor would increase your writing skills, but that's the only real appeal, then just take a writing-intensive elective. For that matter, an Art History minor (or elective) would likely have you writing a fair bit.</p>
<p>Anyway, when it comes to minors, do whatever (if anything) appeals to you. Some combinations are particularly wise (technical major + English minor, for example, can be quite marketable), but for the most part, it's just not a big deal. While having a minor will probably never hurt you, it won't usually be an incredible leg-up, either. </p>
<p>I agree with the above poster who cautioned "jack of all trades = master of none." A major and a minor is a fine thing to have. A major and three minors just looks ridiculous (it's a bit counter-intuitive, but three minors makes me think "lazy." Perhaps it's because you could have sacrificed one minor and ended up with a double major and a minor, which would also be ridiculous, but three minors just screams "lack of follow through"). </p>
<p>I'm also amazed if you actually have room in your schedule to complete a major and three minors + electives. I had a major/minor and only took about 3electives total (and I overloaded most semesters). Be careful about spreading yourself too thin. You don't need a degree in every topic that interests you.</p>
<p>I've looked at my schedule and my different classes that I will take. By just taking classes that I intend to take anyway (or have to take) I will be 3 credit hours (or one class) away from a minor in political science. That'll be interesting to have a major of athletic training and a minor of political science;)</p>
<p>I don't see why having multiple majors is ridiculous. I am a triple major (one major might be downgraded to a minor) with at least one- possibly 2- minors and I have a MUCH deeper understanding of all my subjects due to pairing them with the other. My research focus is water and land policy in Latin America so triple majoring in Latin American studies, international relations (in the subfield of poverty and inequality), and politics with a minor in anthropology makes sense. If I was just majoring in one or two, I wouldn't get the full scope of the issues. </p>
<p>And I take electives and foreign language. Just if I'm interested in something, it just makes sense to follow through and minor or major in it. Since my interests are so focused, my elective courses in politics accidentally became a major. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>Minors generally aren't that big of deal - no one is going to hire you over someone else simply because you have a minor. </p>
<p>However, that doesn't mean that having your minor won't make you a better at your job - particularly if your minor is fairly divergent from your major/career choice. Having that fairly solid background in something unique could give you a different perspective and thus allow you to make better decisions. But that of course isn't a guarantee, and most people end up picking minors in things they are already close to getting the credit for. </p>
<p>So in the end, if a minor is going to be a positive thing for you, it comes down to how you sell it. If you can play it up, and say, this is important, it will help. But again, no one is going to say "oh candidate A has a minor in subject X and candidate B has no minors, we should hire candidate A because of that." The burden is on you to make it an advantage.</p>
<p>Perhaps to lose the "jack of all trades= master of none" image maybe you could pursue minors in subjects that are related to your major.(so it'll seem like you are doing these minors as a supplement to your major, to get a greater understanding of your area of expertise, I don't know) I'm an art major trying to pursue double minor in animation and 2D game design (and possibly art history, don't know yet.)</p>
<p>thanks for all of your responses!</p>
<p>My uni doesnt even have minors.</p>