Nearing my first year in college, I face the choice to choose a minor with my major. As stipulated by my personal philosophy, I tend to decide based on examples and bona fide stories instead of opinions. Have you heard of any stories of someone landing a job because he/she had a minor in a particular field? Or have you heard of any job that demands or “recommends” --as stated in their job application form or the like–a minor or certificate in a particular field?
As a postscript, I am an engineer.
Well, you’re not an engineer yet!
Before I even read what your major was going to be, I was going to post that minors don’t help engineers get jobs, usually.
You never know, though. My husband included “sailing” in the “Interests” section of his resume, and the interviewer spent almost the whole time talking about boats! And my husband got the job. So if you happened to get a minor in something that interested your interviewer, you might get lucky.
Most engineering companies, though, would rather that you took extra courses in your area of engineering interest. For example, as a structural engineering student, it would make more sense to take Masonry Design than French literature.
I know someone who got a good job working in a library for a large law firm because she had a minor in library science.
I majored in Math/Computer Science, and minored in Communications. Many years later, when I applied for a job doing web marke, they were mostly interested in the Communications minor. I’m not sure I would have made the cut for the interview had I not had a minor in Communications, English, or Marketing or similar field.
You never know where life will lead you. I recommend to my kids minoring in something completely different from their major, in part to take a break with a different type of thinking and also to be more “well-rounded”.