Double Majoring & Minoring & Career..ing

[rainoneventide]

I'm going to be a sophomore soon, and I'm an English Literature major. I'm probably going to stick with it because it's a flexible major, and I like it, lol. However, I need to double major or minor in something because I'll be short on credits. But I don't know what I want to do.

For a while I've wanted to go into journalism and double major in mass communications, but newspapers are basically dying. Also, I'm afraid that you have to be super assertive and extroverted for that profession, and I'm neither, even if I tried.

I'm also really interested in psychology or maybe even teaching in different countries.

(So basically I like writing and helping people.)

Agh... does anyone have advice on possible majors or minors that are flexible? Like... can I still teach if I don't have a teaching degree? I'm sure you need a major in psychology to become a psychologist... so would double majoring in psychology be better overall (since you really don't need a mass communications major to become a journalist, they're mostly interested in experience).

I should probably know all of this stuff already... it's hard for me to digest all the details. Any type of advice, opinions, or your experiences with these majors/careers is appreciated.

 

[Alwar]

I am not sure if any of the social sciences or humanities are doing well in terms of employment.

 

[rainoneventide]

I am not sure if any of the social sciences or humanities are doing well in terms of employment.

Aw yeah, I've known that, but not the extent of how bad it really is. But I would be miserable if I concentrated on salary and became a pharmacist or something.

 

[Alwar]

You would probably always be safe if you got a teaching cert. Maybe if you doubled in something specialized like working with kids who have learning disabilities or handicapped etc. I have a family member who works with kids like that and she has a masters in English, I don't know if there was additional requirements.

 

[MBTIguy]

Your on The Right Track

Rainoneventide

I'd love to help you, by adding my two cents. I am a career counselor and relatively recent college graduate myself, so first let me say you’re on the right track.

1. You currently love your major. That's always a good sign, when you are doing something you truly enjoy. You may not know where it will lead you, but nobody truly does. Keep on trying new things; keep talking to people (like posting on this forum) and more and more doors and ideas will come to you.

2. Your undergraduate major really doesn't matter all that much. (You can major in social work and go to medical school, or major in business and then get your masters to become a teacher)

3.It sounds like you have many interests (most NFPs do). In this day and age, you can realistically do everything you wrote about, so don't think that your paths are mutually exclusive.

Now, some tangible steps to take action!

If you have an interest in journalism, hopefully you have started a blog. Keep writing about and following stories that have an interest to you. Newspapers are dying, be a part of the future of media on the Internet (it’s not dying anytime soon) You never know who you will meet, or who will notice you (and your talent) if/when you put yourself out there.

I was not an undergraduate psychology major. However, I am going to go to graduate school for psychology. All you have to do is take the GRE to get into a psychology graduate program. Of course I would recommend taking any courses, or doing reading on your own in psychology to see what exactly interests you.

If you don't understand the various directions to go in graduate school go to psychology department and talk with an advisor. They will help you with everything you need to know about that.

And finally teaching! Have you heard of international teaching programs that allow you to teach English in another country? I have two friends that are currently in South Korea and Taiwan who are teaching English right after graduation. They are very popular, I am not sure what the training process is for them, but you could easily go teach in a different country for a while after graduation.

There are so many possibilities. Don't apologize for not knowing this stuff. Colleges typically do a poor job of laying out and explaining career possibilities in the first place. That's why I am here.

And finally this video for inspiration.
YouTube - Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

If this was any help for you, or if you would like to hear about anything more. Feel free to drop me a line.