<p>Do employers mainly look at your GPA and the courses you took? Does your degree matter at all? I know for specific professions such as in the physical/biological sciences and engineering you must have a degree in that area. For example, if I major in East Asian Studies and take calculus and physics courses on the side would an employer (for corporate business and such) like that since, even though I didn't major in a math/science/engineering, I would show them I have quantitative skills as well as qualitative?</p>
<p>My plan at the moment is to major in East Asian Studies and take calculus and physics courses for gen ed and electives and become very proficient at Mandarin Chinese (already taken 2 courses and taking a third right now). After graduating I would work for a couple years and then go to graduate school for a MPIA (International Relations). I just want to make sure I won't be screwed for jobs after I graduate from undergrad. I know China is a huge asset to many companies and that is increasing, so they need people to help them deal with matters of international/inter-cultural concerns.</p>
<p>Instead of physics, look into econ. courses after you have the math pre-reqs. You will get the same quant. bang and also gain a useful job skill.</p>
<p>If you are a US citizen, you'll want to look into State Department type jobs - Chinese is one of the "critical languages" and there are some useful scholarships and programs you can look into.</p>
<p>The state dept. is crazy.
I plan on getting a PhD right after undergrad, and hopefully ill be fluent in Japanese, and very proficient in Chinese, Italian, and spanish by the time im done--and ill either be gettin my PhD in applied linguistics or East asian studies. What's good though is that if you can't get a teaching job or somethin with your PhD or somethin, if you join the State Dept, you the minimum pay for a PhD holder with no workforce experience is like I think a little over 70k, which is pretty good since housing is paid for, jobs are supplied for spouses if they need one, taxes are less cause you will likely not be a state resident/own property, etc.</p>
<p>And then you get hiring bonuses for every languages you are proficient in up to like 5 or 6 languages.</p>