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Double Majors, and to Study or not Study Abroad?

Antimony

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First part:
I'm considering a double major in anthropology and economics.

Why I think this is smart: I could work with economic theories in a context that makes cultural sense for certain given situations

Why I think this is not smart: technically such a job doesn't exist (except maybe as a consultant of sorts). Anthropology is also tough because (though I adore it) there is only so much I can do, besides teach. My options are: archaeologist- fun, but not a lot of money. Or I can do forensic anthropologist- just downright fascinating.

Second part:
I think I would really like to do a semester abroad. I have an idea of the pros and cons, but not really a full list. I really have England on my mind. And, since I work at Starbucks, it is very feasible for me to transfer to a store over there (or any country for that matter).

I am considering: England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France and Russia. More so the British countries or Germany. While I think it would be immensely fun and wicked enlightening, I am worried that it will be for naught and will just drain me of money in order to have some fun overseas learning about other people, etc.

I am also concerned that transferring credits will be an immense pain. These are just some ideas I've thought up in the course of my time MIA from the board.

/Fin
 

Rasofy

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Aquarelle

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Second part:
I think I would really like to do a semester abroad. I have an idea of the pros and cons, but not really a full list. I really have England on my mind. And, since I work at Starbucks, it is very feasible for me to transfer to a store over there (or any country for that matter).

I am considering: England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France and Russia. More so the British countries or Germany. While I think it would be immensely fun and wicked enlightening, I am worried that it will be for naught and will just drain me of money in order to have some fun overseas learning about other people, etc.

I might be a *bit* biased, but I definitely think you should study abroad! Regarding working while abroad, however, you should be aware that there will likely be restrictions as to whether/how much you can work while abroad, due to student visa issues. I am pretty sure the UK is one of the stricter countries in that regard. Ireland, as well. The countries I know for sure you can work in are Australia and France, but even those have a limited number of hours per week you are allowed to work. Don't let that stop you, though! If you can manage to skip a semester of work, that would leave you more time while you are abroad to explore your host culture, or you could consider doing an internship or volunteer work to supplement your resume.

As far as credit transfer, check with your university's study abroad office. Some universities offer resident credit for certain study abroad programs (meaning you don't have to transfer the credits in, but only get courses approved for certain requirements).
 

Usehername

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First part:
I'm considering a double major in anthropology and economics.

Why I think this is smart: I could work with economic theories in a context that makes cultural sense for certain given situations

Why I think this is not smart: technically such a job doesn't exist (except maybe as a consultant of sorts). Anthropology is also tough because (though I adore it) there is only so much I can do, besides teach. My options are: archaeologist- fun, but not a lot of money. Or I can do forensic anthropologist- just downright fascinating.

Second part:
I think I would really like to do a semester abroad. I have an idea of the pros and cons, but not really a full list. I really have England on my mind. And, since I work at Starbucks, it is very feasible for me to transfer to a store over there (or any country for that matter).

I am considering: England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France and Russia. More so the British countries or Germany. While I think it would be immensely fun and wicked enlightening, I am worried that it will be for naught and will just drain me of money in order to have some fun overseas learning about other people, etc.

I am also concerned that transferring credits will be an immense pain. These are just some ideas I've thought up in the course of my time MIA from the board.

/Fin

Research on successful careers shows that it doesn't matter if someone gets into Harvard, it matters if someone applies.

So the actual plans don't matter so much as the attitude behind them. You're showing evidence of gaming your life experience, interests, and marketable characteristics into a win, and you need to keep doing that for the rest of your life and career even when you feel you're in a setback.

Given your Sbucks situation, I'd do the living abroad thing, definitely. If the double major wasn't unbearably hard, I'd do it. Don't forget, though, that you can also just take enough classes in a side interest as you can comfortably handle, and then supplement that with a project or accomplishment of some sort that shows you learned about it by an experience that companies might value. Think: portfolio, volunteering, etc.
 

FDG

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As far as I know, in Germany - as an American student - you can work up to 20 hrs a week, no more. It would likely be convenient, since there's a Starbucks in every major city. For an american, I would suggest east-center-south, the northern part is a tad bit too cold (Hamburg, Bremen, Rostock).
 

mmhmm

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q1 : you can ask yourself... "does the world need another econ major?"

q2 : sure go study abroad if you have the spare $$,
but judging by your selection , i say, skip the study abroad,
and do a summer programme/trip/shennanigans to those places.

and as for working... i mean as if you HAVE to have legit shit to work.
pfffft. if you looked hard enough you can find something. i was in the
us & uk for school and hold a totally sketchy passport. had no problem.
 

kyuuei

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Disclaimer: I have never double majored or studied abroad.

Question 1: I think a major and a minor would suffice.. Unless you plan on being a career student, it would be more worth your time, efforts, and money to have a master's degree than a double major. I'd pick the one you enjoy more and go with it.

Question 2: I think a semester of something you need anyways like a fluff course that the school offers abroad might be the best way to go regarding that. I still wouldn't recommend it for the money you'd spend, but a fluff course (like one of those mandatory writing or art classes) would mean soaking in as much of the scenery as possible, and having it through your current college means no issues with credit transfers.

But! I agree that you ought to just save your money and go on trips between semesters in your off time. You should go explore, and study areas.. if you are bound to school terms, and studying after classes, and such, you may not get all you want out of an experience in another country. Also, if you take a summer off for school for example, you can just tell work you enlisted in a class like that anyways and then go have fun exploring all of Europe for a month or something. My friends have said they traveled around many of the countries for as low as $3,000 for the amount of time they stayed. It would cost you that much to stay put in a single country studying abroad, and more.

HOWEVER. If you are studying a language, I HIGHLY recommend going to a country where that language is spoken. But since your majors both seem to lack this emphasis, I stick with the above.
 

ygolo

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First part:
I'm considering a double major in anthropology and economics.

Why I think this is smart: I could work with economic theories in a context that makes cultural sense for certain given situations

Why I think this is not smart: technically such a job doesn't exist (except maybe as a consultant of sorts). Anthropology is also tough because (though I adore it) there is only so much I can do, besides teach. My options are: archaeologist- fun, but not a lot of money. Or I can do forensic anthropologist- just downright fascinating.

Second part:
I think I would really like to do a semester abroad. I have an idea of the pros and cons, but not really a full list. I really have England on my mind. And, since I work at Starbucks, it is very feasible for me to transfer to a store over there (or any country for that matter).

I am considering: England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France and Russia. More so the British countries or Germany. While I think it would be immensely fun and wicked enlightening, I am worried that it will be for naught and will just drain me of money in order to have some fun overseas learning about other people, etc.

I am also concerned that transferring credits will be an immense pain. These are just some ideas I've thought up in the course of my time MIA from the board.

/Fin

The short answer is that these sorts of things are not worth doing to look good on a resume. But I think the experiences themselves are valuable.

Don't double major if the only reason you want to do this is that you believe that this will give you a leg-up in some job search. If you are really interested in both economics and anthropology to the extent that you want to major in both, if it won't cost you appreciably more, and you are willing to put in the extra time, then go for it.

I got two undergraduate degrees at the same time...this had little direct bearing on my job prospects. I got my first job through doing internships. However, I believe I have internalized the thought processes that both disciplines train, and this training in thought process has served me very well.

I never studied abroad, but I have a friend who did, twice. She kinda regrets it because her grades suffered, but she also made many life long friends in both Asia and Europe (she live in the US).
 

The Great One

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I think that your idea to double major in anthropology and economics is terrible. You really, REALLY have to research the hell out of your degrees and pick a major/some majors that you can really do something with. For instance, I was just recently majoring in psychology because I love it. However, I later found out how hard it is to get a job in the field. I also found out that with a psychology bachelor's you can do virtually nothing with it. Most employers want you to have a master's bare minimum. That's not an option for me because I am literally dirt poor at this particular time and need a job FAST (and not a shitty minimum wage retail/restaurant job either)!

So I recently went to my financial aid counselor to change my degree audit to information technology. However they then "conveniently" told me about this little rule that they have with financial aid called, "The 150% Rule" that I had never heard of before. Basically what that rule states is that I can finish my A.A. degree and then after that, I can only get the financial aid backing for up to 50% more of a regular degree. My original goal was to change my degree audit, get an A.A. in information technology, and then get a bachelor's. So I am now literally fucked because I didn't do my research. My only option is to take a few classes in I.T. like hardware and software configuration and others and pick up as many computer certifications as I can so that I can get a job in the field that I can actually survive on.

Please my friend, learn from my mistakes, and study the right things! If you feel you have to do a double major, why not do something like, "economics and finance"? Economics is actually a really good major and you can actually do a lot with it. The same with finance. You really can't do much with Anthropology without a graduate degree.
 

mmhmm

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to think that an undergraduate degree is the end
all and be all of your future career(s) is fucking retarded.

if you can't figure out what to do with a BA degree,
because you can't find something in "your field".
hah, you got bigger problems than finding work.

and misplaced pride doesn't feed you.
 

The Great One

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to think that an undergraduate degree is the end
all and be all of your future career(s) is fucking retarded.

if you can't figure out what to do with a BA degree,
because you can't find something in "your field".
hah, you got bigger problems than finding work.

and misplaced pride doesn't feed you.

It is a proven fact that what you major in MATTERS. If you don't believe me, then just look at the unemployment rates among electrical engineering majors vs. film/drama ones. The statistics are staggering.
 

Antimony

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Reconsidering.

Just sticking with anthropology (archaeology or forensic anthropology), or economics. Still a few other ideas in mind (as usual), but I figured I'd give a general update.

And I would love engineering, except I likely won't get to do with it what I'd really want to be doing.
 

Venom

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The practical advice Im tempted to "mansplain" to you: "this is what minors are for...". Major in the career, minor in the "fun".

In reality: It matters like getting into Harvard matters :). If you get in, it will put you on a great path. However not getting in puts you on a different path, and that path will be just fine!

I double majored in Econ and Bio. I thought I wanted med school. I didn't. I tried finance jobs, and hated it. I work in athletics now. The biology sort of fits, but not really. However, if I could do it all over again I don't think I'd change anything. Studying those fields made me who I am, programmed my thinking and left my brain with enough curiously to study philosophy/religion/psychology on my own. I'm confident I would have had a much better gpa had I done psychology or finance as my majors with some fun minors like religion or philosophy... But if I had done that, I wouldn't be the person or where I am today. I'd be afraid to trade :).

TLDR: your majors will matter a lot in your life path. Your majors don't matter though. No matter what you'll drift to what you're meant to do. Don't fight it by trying to "plan out your career life". Just live.
 

The Great One

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Reconsidering.

Just sticking with anthropology (archaeology or forensic anthropology), or economics. Still a few other ideas in mind (as usual), but I figured I'd give a general update.

And I would love engineering, except I likely won't get to do with it what I'd really want to be doing.

Okay, well just keep in mind, if you do archeology/anthropology, expect to get have to get a master's or PH. D to do anything with it. Maybe that's the best thing for you to do after all. To tell the truth, I'm actually reconsidering staying with psychology because engineering was not what I thought it was. I was under the impression that engineering majors design plans on how to build things, and then actually build them. I sort of thought of engineering like what Tony Stark from "Iron Man" does in other words. However, I've been doing a lot of research, and much to my surprise, this isn't what engineers do at all. Apparently engineers are just basically like architects: they draw plans and use of system called "autocad" and similar computer architectural devices to plan out how things will be made. Then, they hire the "engineering techs" to actually build the stuff. The engineers rarely if ever, make their own stuff. In fact, most don't know how to.
 

The Great One

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Disclaimer: I have never double majored or studied abroad.

Question 1: I think a major and a minor would suffice.. Unless you plan on being a career student, it would be more worth your time, efforts, and money to have a master's degree than a double major. I'd pick the one you enjoy more and go with it.

Question 2: I think a semester of something you need anyways like a fluff course that the school offers abroad might be the best way to go regarding that. I still wouldn't recommend it for the money you'd spend, but a fluff course (like one of those mandatory writing or art classes) would mean soaking in as much of the scenery as possible, and having it through your current college means no issues with credit transfers.

But! I agree that you ought to just save your money and go on trips between semesters in your off time. You should go explore, and study areas.. if you are bound to school terms, and studying after classes, and such, you may not get all you want out of an experience in another country. Also, if you take a summer off for school for example, you can just tell work you enlisted in a class like that anyways and then go have fun exploring all of Europe for a month or something. My friends have said they traveled around many of the countries for as low as $3,000 for the amount of time they stayed. It would cost you that much to stay put in a single country studying abroad, and more.

HOWEVER. If you are studying a language, I HIGHLY recommend going to a country where that language is spoken. But since your majors both seem to lack this emphasis, I stick with the above.

I highly agree with this. I have taken both Spanish and French: I took Spanish I and II and took all the way up to French III and I can barely speak any of it. Language is really a skill that you have to apply to learn.
 

kyli_ryan

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I both double majored AND studied abroad. Economics should much more relevant as a degree than anything I chose. Anthro also has a lot of graduate school opportunities, so that's a plus!

As for studying abroad, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY DO IT if given the opportunity. Studying abroad changed my whole life and perspective about the world. I was alone, forced to interact with people who I couldn't communicate with as well as I would have liked, and I learned A LOT. If I were you, I would look for a place that could help you with developing a language other than English. The people I talked to who studied abroad in English-speaking countries didn't get as much from the experience as I did (apparently). I was in France and living with a family there, so it was a really big difference from being here. Speaking French at home was helpful in learning to be more confident, etc.

Go for it!
 

21%

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I'm all for studying abroad too -- the more 'foreign' the more stressful, and more fun, and more rewarding :blush:
 

ygolo

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to think that an undergraduate degree is the end
all and be all of your future career(s) is fucking retarded.

if you can't figure out what to do with a BA degree,
because you can't find something in "your field".
hah, you got bigger problems than finding work.

and misplaced pride doesn't feed you.

I am curious what you believe are the principles of getting the types of jobs you are interested in doing. I agree that undergraduate majors are not that big a deal, but you seem to be a master at finding types of positions that are enjoyable and well paid.

What are the principles involved here? Is it "who you know"? How does it work? What steps are needed to be taken?
 
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