Okay - since it has been kinda slow on Hatrack lately - I'm going to throw out for input a quandry my oldest son is in regarding college, and get feedback from you - the greatest minds in the country.
He is a junior at the University. All along, he has continued as a planned double-major, Chemistry & Biology. (He's doing it under a full scholarship baesd on previous science awards, etc.). He is also the R.A. to the Chemistry professor and the top student in that department.
Okay - so he's making plans for his senior year classes. I told him to talk with someone OTHER than his advisor (who is the head Chemistry professor) because it doesn't seem to me that he has been taking all the needed core curriculums to get a dual major.
Sure enough, it shows that he has about 24 more hours of general ed credits to do, plus a bunch of classes in Chemistry and Biology in order to get the dual major. More than he could get in just the two semester left - unless he takes some summer courses at a junior college or something for some of the core stuff, and transfers them in. He is really ready to get done - doesn't want to go extra semesters.
So the question has come up -- how important is a dual major, really?
When he started out, the dual major just seemed "cool" -- and he equally liked chemistry and biology and didn't know what direction he really wanted to go.
Now, he is pretty set that he likes biology better of the two (especially because the Chem professor is not a very competant teacher). So he could easily do a Biology major and a chem minor, and be done with it easily next year.
But the Chemisty department is putting lots of pressure on him to continue with the dual major - they don't want him to scale back on Chem since he is their "star" pupil, so to speak. But he no longer has any passion for it, and probably doesn't even want any kind of employment in that area.
In the long run -- I told him I don't think it matters (whether you have a dual major or a single major) but I'm not in the science field, so I could be wrong. You only get ONE degree/diploma anyway - it says "Bachelor of Science" and will the major really matter?
Yesterday he found out that one course they had said he needed, he does NOT need, which now makes it possible to get the dual degree in just two semester after all. But now he's not sure he still wants to.
If he chooses one, it will be Biology - and at this University it is a health-science related biology degree (like a pre-med) although he is more intested in Botany.
I told him I have no feeling about it one way or the other - either dual or not dual is okay with me. He can't decide because people at the university keep giving different opinions. And because he doesn't know what he wants to do after college.
So what do you think?
Farmgirl
[ March 31, 2005, 02:46 PM: Message edited by: Farmgirl ]
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Not knowing what you want to do after college is definitely a hindrance to making plans.
My gut instinct is to say don't do the double major, just major in bio and minor in chem. But, sounds like he's not interested in going to graduate school. With only two semesters left, it's really time to start thinking about after-college plans. Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Well, he's sick of college enough that he doesn't want to do graduate work at this time.
He is leaning toward trying to find work in seed research - biotech crops, working in greenhouse hybrids perhaps, that kind of stuff.
But hasn't found anything like that locally.
Farmgirl
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
It's ultimately his decision, regardless of the pressure people are putting on him ( to them). Obviously it would help if he had a better idea of what he wanted to do afterwards, but as a major-changer and not working in the field of my degree, I don't think it's necessary to have a firm plan. It's crazy where life takes you sometimes, and being flexible to it can be enlightening.
Anyway, I say, if going the Bio route is what he wants, he should go for it and power to him.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
I guess the question is -- does anyone even LOOK at your "majors" once you are out of college? I mean, you list them on a resume' - but how much does it matter?
Farmgirl
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
I really don't know, but I think it depends on the job and the employer. Some places are happy with a degree. Some look more for experience. It just depends.
Posted by Lady Jane (Member # 7249) on :
Your major will matter for the first 3-5 years or so. Chemistry majors have a wider choice of jobs than biology majors.
Getting a job after college is interesting. If you want to stay local, then your options are limited as to the jobs available. If you are willing to follow the job, you may not be able to stay local.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I didn't take the last course I needed for a philosophy minor and I've regretted it ever since. Not because a philosophy minor would be useful in any way, but because I didn't finish what I started.
Finish the dual major. Even if he never uses it.
Posted by Jane_Lane (Member # 7665) on :
In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you've got a dual or single - You only get one degree and what's often the case is that people doing a dual get double the amount of work for one degree. If he's losing interest in Chemistry, whether he's good at it or not, it doesn't make sense to do a major in it.
I agree with Fiazko, but if he's not going to go into Chemistry in the future, I don't think it matters. The whole point of a degree is to serve as a launch pad for your future career, so if it won't benefit him to study Chemistry, what's the point?
Good luck to him, whatever he does.
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
On a side note, if he is interested in grad school somewhere in the future, going back to school after getting a job will be harder than going now.
After getting a salary in the real world and eating real food, it's hard to reacquire a taste for Ramen noodles.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
that was so funny to me just because he LOVES Ramen noodles. He will chose to have those instead of real food I cook on the stove, some days.
Farmgirl
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I'd say for him to go with his gut.
Degrees also include classes from outside your major. If you take enough of 'em...well, there you go.
My degree is in English, and the psych department at my alma mater keep forgetting that it WAS English and not Psychology.
Go figure.
Anyway. Do what makes you content.
Posted by Hammer (Member # 7528) on :
Lots of good advice from lots of smart people. What it all boils down to is where he wants to go in the next 3-5 years.
He may be limited in the local work he can find from either degree but regardless, it would be a shame to place limits on your future becasue of geography.
Getting the first job is a challenge simply becasue employeers have to look for experience. Lots of book smarts without the application to reality may not be the ticket employers are looking for.
SO, what would get him a job doing what he likes where he can grow?
And, could he finish the other degree later along with a cup or Ramen noodles?
Sooner or later the degree will be outweighed by the experience.
Best wishes to this seemingly intelligent and gifted young man. Sounds like he will land on his feet either way.
Posted by Crotalus (Member # 7339) on :
I've actually got a Biology major with a chem minor. Was going to do the dual degree thing, but like your son, just got tired of all the schoolwork. Funny thing is, though I've got the Biology major, I'm now working as a Chemist at a Pharmaceutical Manufacting Plant. Probably not my first choice of work, but the pay is good and I like my job. Really I think he should start thinking about what he wants to do and see what he needs in order to get there. And of course if he wanted to go back and finish up the dual major later, what's to stop him.
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
I would say a dual degree would help him get that first job over someone who had a single degree with maybe a little better GPA. In today’s market you need every edge you can get. If he’s this close he’ll probably be sorry later that he didn’t get it. He’s almost there. I’d say go for it. Can’t hurt. But I can understand being sick of school. I keep getting told I should get a master’s. Yet, I can’t stand the thought of more classes. Ugh…
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Thanks to Crotalus and all the others.
I will pass along what all here have said. I know, in the end, he will just have to DECIDE - which is the hard part for him.
But I hadn't thought about whether or not he may have regrets later - I will ask him if he thought of that.
This may be one of those things where there is no perfect "right" or "wrong" decision -- and since we can't predict the future, we just have to choose one option and go for it.
Farmgirl
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
How many classes difference are there between the major in chemistry and the minor?
If it's only one or two (which is what is sounds like), I'd say it's likely worth taking them. The dual major is nice, and might make it easier to get some positions.
OTOH, it sounds like the positions he's most interested in, it might not matter. So if it's more than a couple classes, I would go with the minor.
Honestly, in ten years it won't matter what his degree was in. In five it will matter just a little. And there's a fair bit of overlap in bio and chem research -- I've seen lots of ads for positions that required a degree in one or the other, but didn't care which.
Good luck to him. Making that kind of decision (especially when the back of your mind is screaming just let me be DONE already!) is difficult.
Posted by Lost Ashes (Member # 6745) on :
Well, there's always this:
Keep going for the double major and plan for it to take three semesters. Bust it to knock out the majority of the requirements for the first two semesters and then churn out an easy third semester to get the full dual major.
As many of us know, college life with a light workload beats the dickens out of the regular work week.
He can also use that third semester to start his job search, but with a broader field to work in. He can also use that time at college to put their job-finding resources to work for him, while having time to interview and prepare.
Posted by Danzig (Member # 4704) on :
Tell him to flip a coin.
No, I am not being flippant. If he is totally and completely cool with the results, he should follow the coin. If he is not cool with the results, his misgivings are (or should be) far more apparent and should be listened to.
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
That's not bad, Danzig. I'll have to remember that.
I think the inability to make choices was probably how your son wound up in this situation. He would do well to choose which person he wants to listen to and then make sure they know he is putting them in that spot.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Just out of curiosity - don't answer if you don't feel like it - how does your son reconcile your religious beliefs, which as I recall tend to the Creationist, with studying biology? Or am I mistaken about your beliefs?
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[No No]](graemlins/nono.gif)
to them). Obviously it would help if he had a better idea of what he wanted to do afterwards, but as a major-changer and not working in the field of my degree, I don't think it's necessary to have a firm plan. It's crazy where life takes you sometimes, and being flexible to it can be enlightening.![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
that was so funny to me just because he LOVES Ramen noodles. He will chose to have those instead of real food I cook on the stove, some days.