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*U-Wire member papers have full permission to reprint all or part of this column. Enjoy! This Week: • It's near the end of my sophomore year, and I have to choose a major. How do I decide? • Is there any point to minoring in something? (questions may have been edited for length, grammar and/or to maintain the sender's privacy.) I am an undeclared sophomore. I have been to see at least three different counselors and have done some research using my career center's computer software, but have not gotten much help. I am good at English, but the upper-division course I am taking is kind of boring. I need to declare a major by the end of the year. What do you think I should do? Choosing your major can be really difficult - but don't get discouraged. The most important thing is that you're giving your decision careful thought. If you’re good at English, don’t let one boring (or wonderful) class be the determining factor. Get out your coursebook and check out the classes offered in the English major. See if they spark your interest enough to want to major in that subject area. English is a great major; it not only teaches you to write well (which will be a tremendous asset no matter what career you go into), it also encourages you to be creative and think critically. Today's fast-paced job market can be very competitive; you may be able to use your creativity to help you stand out as an applicant. I don't mean to sound like I'm pushing you to major in English - that is the only subject you mentioned that you're interested in. What other subjects are you considering? Do you have a favorite class that you've taken so far? If so, consider why it was your favorite. Was it the professor? The subject matter? If it was the subject matter, you might want to see what other courses are offered in that area. Try not to focus on choosing a career as much as choosing what you’d like to study for the next two years. The important thing about college is that you develop your learning skills and social skills in order to prepare you for life in the real world. You're not going to develop as much if you're not in a major you really enjoy. A close friend of mine wandered through his first two years of college. He switched his major from computer science to economics to film, unable to settle on what he wanted to do. During his junior year, he finally decided to just sit down and really think about his core interests. He realized that the most important thing to him was that he go into a profession where he could help people. Since he’d always had an aptitude for science and spent time during his first two years working in hospitals and labs, he decided to become a premed major. He knew right away that he’d made the right decision: He fell in love with his science classes and bonded with other premed majors far more than he had in any of his other classes. Try to take a moment, sit down and ask yourself serious questions about what really interests you. Think back to books you've read, favorite subjects in school, jobs you've had, and see what stands out. Talk to as many different people as possible; get a wide range of ideas to inspire your own thinking. Sit down and make a list of your top choices for a major; write the pros and cons of each major you're thinking of choosing. Sometimes sketching things out on paper helps you to get a clearer idea of your thoughts. What's most important is that you decide on a major that you will happy with, learn a lot from and also do well in. It's important you make the decision for the right reasons and do what's best for you. Mary Anne Feeney, General Advisor I was wondering if minors are worth it. I have been told that they mean very little, and it might be better to double major. What do you think? The key to choosing whether to major in a subject or minor in it is your own interest. If you've taken a few courses in the department and enjoyed them, and if you look through the course descriptions for the major and realize you want to take many or most of those courses, then taking the subject as a major might be a good choice. If you're mildly interested in the subject matter and a few scattered courses, a minor may be your best track. Minors are there to help you focus your interests a little more. If you're interested in a subject but can't commit the time and energy that a major would require, you can go for the minor. That way you'll still learn about something you like, and you'll get the structure of taking a set number of classes that will hopefully give you a basic level of expertise in that field. In terms of the job market, you heard right - a minor is basically meaningless. It will carry much greater weight for the experiences it brings you and the knowledge you gain than for any neglible benefit it'll bring to your resume. Put it this way: it's much cooler for you personally, and much more meaningful, to say "I'm fluent in Spanish" rather than "I minored in Spanish in college." In much the same way, your major is essentially meaningless too - what's far more important is what you learn about yourself and about the subject you're majoring in. That's why so many folks go on to professions that have absolutely nothing to do with their majors. So here are my two recommendations: -Follow your interests, not your concern about job prospects. If most or all of the courses required for the major look cool, then go ahead and take them. Don't major just for the sake of majoring. -Know yourself. If you feel can handle a double major and the extra courses it requires - and you can fit all your requirements in before you graduate - then go for it. If it looks like it's going to be too tight of a squeeze, or if you're afraid you'll burn out or sacrifice too many non-major classes, then don't bother. Myles Helfand, General Advisor While our VAVAs are good, we're not gods - please keep our disclaimer in mind when reading our advice.
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