Life sciences or Web Design?

I’m pursuing a career to become a Dentist. At this point I’m not sure if Dentistry is for me but I’m still going to try. In the off chance I don’t become a Dentist I want to have a back-up career. Dentistry doesn’t actually require a specific major, so I’ve been told.

I’m currently majoring in Life Sciences and I was thinking of changing my major to Web Design. Typically you need a Bachelor’s degree to become a Web Designer and after I get my Bachelor’s degree, I may or may not get accepted into a Dental School. Therefore, I’ll be able to fall back on Web Design.

I’m conflicted though because I just finished my Freshmen year at a Community College and I’m moving onto my Sophomore year at the same college. If I change my major now, I’ll need 33 additional credits to complete to get my Associates degree. What should I do? Is doing web design as a minor helpful? I don’t actually understand the whole minor thing also. Or should I graduate as a Life Sciences degree and change my major when I transfer to a University?

Does it matter if you have an associates degree prior to transferring? You can spend 2 years at a CC and transfer without having fulfilled the requirements for an associates degree, unless you are part of some transfer agreement between the CC and a specific school that requires you to do so.

A minor in web design alone won’t give you the skills necessary to compete in the field if you choose to be a designer instead of a dentist. There are so many talented designers who are able to do it all - design, animate, program, market, and more - that a minor won’t set you apart. Your portfolio will be one of the most important factors in landing a job, and you will want to show a diverse skill set. However, these skills can be self-taught if you have the discipline and time to do so. You can learn coding (e.g, HTML, CSS, Java, C++), design principles, and programs, and then do some freelance work to build a portfolio, network, and referrals.

Landing your first job as a designer without a degree in a related field can be difficult, but if you market yourself and your portfolio well then it is possible. Self-marketing is one thing many schools don’t properly teach artists and designers, but it is critical to your success. You would want to add that to your self-study if you take that route.

So, you could start taking design courses, transfer after 2 years, and declare a design major without achieving an associates, or you could minor and/or teach yourself the additional skills you would need. A minor basically means you took a few courses on a topic to build some skill and knowledge in the field, but you didn’t go as in-depth as a major. The school will outline which courses should be taken to be awarded that minor on your transcripts. Minors don’t usually mean much on a resume, but could help if you major in something else but want to get a job as a designer.