<p>I'm trying to decide whether to major in linguistics or economics. I've ruled out a double major since I'll either be going to McGill, which has an amazing linguistics program and decent economics one, or UBC, where the opposite is true. I have a passion for linguistics, but I'm not sure what my career options would be. I'm definitely interested in economics, just not to the same extent. It's more a choice of practicality. Which should I pursue?</p>
<p>As a McGill grad, I would recommend McGill for linguistics. If you are Canadian, you know that Montreal is obsessed with language. Also, at McGill you will encounter more of a linguistic mix of students than you would at UBC. Career opportunities in both fields usually require graduate study though.</p>
<p>Linguistics doesn’t necessarily have to be unpractical. If you pair it with some computer science courses, you can go into a very lucrative field called computational linguistics. You’d also be a great candidate for becoming a teacher of English language to non-speakers, domestically or internationally. Outside of those there are the usual “liberal arts” jobs. And for god’s sake, do you really want to become a financial analyst for a corporation? That’s where an economics degree will take you.</p>
<p>[SpecGram—Choose</a> Your Own Career in Linguistics](<a href=“http://www.specgram.com/choose/index.html]SpecGram—Choose”>SpecGram—Choose Your Own Career in Linguistics)</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. To get into computational linguistics, would a few computer science courses be sufficient? Or would I need to double major?</p>
<p>A double major would be better, and a master’s degree would be much better. It’s a highly specialized field, so employers are looking more and more for post graduate degrees these days. Comp ling tends to lean more toward the computational side than the linguistics side. Computer science courses you take should focus on programming, software, and artificial intelligence.</p>
<p>It’s not clear why you would not/could not double major at either university. You are grossly underrating each of their ‘weaker’ programs and it’s not clear why this should suggest avoiding a double major.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t think I should enter university with the clear-cut intention of double majoring. I think that’s a conclusion I should come to after my first year, to see if I could handle the work load or not. I feel pressured to choose my university based on the major because I wouldn’t want to pursue a career in linguistics with a degree from UBC nor a career in economics with a degree from McGill. I’m not saying they’re inadequate, but comparatively, it’s foolish when I could go to a top program at the other school.</p>