<p>I will be in JMC this fall and am wondering how I can best use the resources that JMC has to offer in order to make myself more marketable. I am considering majoring in Social Relations and Policy and also Spanish. Will BAs in these two categories (along with internships) be enough to land a job after graduation? The reason this worries me so much is that right now I am taking out my entire tuition in loans, and I need to make sure that I am financially sound in the future. I don't see grad school as a realistic option. I hate worrying about this because I feel as if I am trying to convince myself to take a safe route (ex: nursing) instead of pursuing what I find most interesting. I feel as if I am running into a barrier but I just can't seem to gain enough confidence to break through. It seems like I should have a backup plan if I am not able to land a job having to do with my SRP degree. Would a dual major in something else rather than Spanish be a better choice? Any advice is greatly appreciated. </p>
<p>Oh, I forgot to ask, if you know a grad who majored in SRP, were they successful in finding a job? And if so, what kind of work are they doing? Or, which JMC major is most lucrative if you possess a BA?</p>
<p>I’m a madison student going into my last year of undergrad (international relations/economics major). I was majorly concerned with the marketability of my degree going into JMC as well. But one of the main things I have realized that it is not so much the degree you have itself, but what you’ve done in undergrad in terms of work experience. So make sure to get as many internships as you can. Especially for SRP, there are tons of related academic clubs/organizations that you can join to get that relevant experience. MSU is a great place for SRP majors especially because of the domestic element of many social relations issues with Detroit being in such a close proximity (i don’t know if you are interested in race, income issues but there are a lot of opportunities for you at MSU/JMC if so). Is the SRP major “lucrative”…no. But there have been tons of grads in a variety of jobs, many with direct relevance to SRP topics. The madison degrees are marketable in terms of the hardcore writing/critical analysis skills you will learn by going through the program - the degree itself is not as marketable. Of my friends who just graduated with SRP degrees, 2 are in Teach for America, 1 is in Americorps, another is working for the Urban Institute in DC etc. Some SRP grads end up work in local government, equal opportunity offices, law, or domestic politics. The possibilities are endless.</p>
<p>As for spanish being your dual major, I really don’t know how much that would help you, unless you were super interested in refugees or working in heavily-spanish speaking communities (ie south texas, southern CA or miami). You can still do spanish things without getting a spanish degree. I don’t know exactly what would be the right double major for you - you kinda just want to wait until you get to MSU, take some courses and see if your interests change or evolve at all based of your experiences in them. Coming into MSU, I initially wanted to double major in accounting, but I took an accounting class and hated it (but loved my econ classes) so I ended up adding the extra econ degree instead. There are tons of specializations and minors that you can take advantage of too - these are especially useful to clarify to employers your particular areas of interest. You don’t have to decide right away</p>