Major for practicality, minor for passion

College Life
1

<p>How many people have followed this advice and had it work out for them?</p>

<p>I'm considering it particularly in the case of computational linguistics (CS being the practicality and linguistics the passion). I'm not overly thrilled with CS, but if it gets me a stable job in something partially related to what I enjoy, should I suck it up? I mean, reality has to hit at some point.</p>

2

<p>It all depends on your personal values. </p>

<p>How do you value knowledge in relation to material wealth? Can you study the subject that interests you (linguistics) later in life? Would that be practical? Will you be able to flourish in an occupation that doesn’t interest you?</p>

3

<p>If you think it that way, I guess you should suck it up.</p>

<p>I mean, CS is a pretty intense major, and if you’re not too thrilled at choosing that major, most likely you won’t have the passion to learn it.</p>

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<p>Don’t minor in anything; just take electives in something you like. ESPECIALLY in CS you’re not going to get a better job for having minored in something unrelated.</p>

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<p>It depends on how you feel - if you want to make a lot of money or do something you love, or if there’s intersection. I’m majoring in something I enjoy and minoring in something very practical, but it’s something I also enjoy. Then again, I’m really odd on this board because I have no need to make $100,000.</p>

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<p>I’m sort of doing that. I’m majoring in biology for practicality and because half of the field interests me. [Cell biology, microbiology, biochemistry… those all bore me to tears. I love evolution, genetics, populations, the big stuff.] My minor is theatre arts, which is my true passion. I’ve been in the theatre for over a decade now, and I hope to act in community theatre. I also take courses in women’s studies and writing, which I love.</p>

<p>Here’s what I’ve learned and heard from a friend of mine who went through years of college and grad school:

  1. You don’t have to have a minor to be happy. Like Chuy mentioned, if your interests are broad, take broad courses. If linguistics is your thing, then go ahead and minor in it.
  2. Your major doesn’t necessarily correlate with your career. However, you are stuck with your major for two to four years, depending on when you declare. If you’re dragging yourself to class out of misery, consider changing. Lots of subjects can get you jobs without boring you to tears.
  3. College is a buffet, so sample it. I don’t know what year you are, but if you’re a freshman/sophomore, you probably have time to sample a few more classes. Take some math proofs, bio, chemistry, physics, engineering, health, or architecture classes to see if any interest you. All of those majors/disciplines are the stereotypical “this will get me a job” majors. [Personally, I think any major can prepare you for a job if you put in some effort and have an open mind when you graduate, but it sounds like you want something that will definitely land you as close to a job as possible.]</p>
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<p>I’m not sure it’s entirely unrelated. Someone actually posted this on the UCLA board yesterday:</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/458282-what-do-linguistics-major-grad.html#post1065028798[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/458282-what-do-linguistics-major-grad.html#post1065028798&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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CS has a lot of applications</p>

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<p>Is linguistics really your “passion”? As in, if you had to power to do anything you wanted for a living, is it linguistics? I think the vast majority of people don’t realize that their favorite academic subject has little relation to their real “passions”.</p>

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<p>CS + linguistics could actually be a really good combination–you could, for example, develop software used for speech pathology patients, by knowing how people learn languages the first time. Or you could work for Rosetta Stone. Whatever.</p>

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<p>Work for Rosetta Stone–work for the NSA.</p>

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<p>I did pretty much the opposite. Majored in Materials Science & Engineering and got a minor in physics because I felt it would really help my marketability with all of the classes in modern physics I’d take.</p>