How useful is a linguistics major?

College Majors
1

<p>I'm interested in linguistics and hope to get an academic job in that field some day. However, I'm not sure if it's a well-paying field. And many people tell me to get into engineering instead because I can make more money with a career in that field. But I don't want to prepare for a job I don't find interesting at all. </p>

<p>Would a degree in linguistics give me good career opportunities? Or should I just opt for a major that is less interesting but good for a well-paying career? I have a feeling that I would be better off going for a career that is more intellectually satisfying than financially secure, but I could be wrong, hence my question.</p>

<p>EDIT: Also, which set of majors would give me better job opportunities: linguistics with psychology or linguistics with computer science? I'm more interested in the former, but the latter might be better for a good career. What do you think?</p>

2

<p>Consider a major in speech & language pathology/communication disorders if your primary concern is career prospects. It includes some of your linguistics and psychology interests. You could do a minor in psychology or linguistics, too. You’d need to get a master’s in it to get certified, however. </p>

<p>You also could do some major/minor combination involving linguistics and psychology. You could then do a master’s in speech pathology, but you might need to make up a few prereqs once you got to grad school. You could also decide on grad school in either linguistics or psychology.</p>

<p>If immediate job prospects are your primary concern, neither linguistics or psychology are your best bet without graduate study. Computer science is better. You could always do a minor in linguistics or psychology.</p>