Q: (Initially posted on January 27, 2003) FROM MENTEE ALAINA K. IN MA
In your experience is it best to have both a college
major and a minor in a Science,Engineering or
Technology (SET)field. Or should you have a SET major
and an Arts (English, etc.)minor?

January 29, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR SUSAN MODESITT IN KY
I would differ from some of the other mentors in their responses.
I think the choice of major and minor (or double major) should be made based
on your interests. Depending on what career you will pursue, college will
be your last opportunity to study something that is different than say
biology or physics. Whatever you choose, you need to make sure that you
have the basic requirements that you will need for either medical school,
graduate school or any science career but that shouldn't take up your entire
curriculum. I would advise you to use other time to minor or double major
in something that truly interests you. Most colleges have career advisors
who can make sure that you have the basics and requirements that you need
for any field. In my field (medicine) especially, you will learn everything
in medical school. You will need the prerequisite courses to apply
(Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Organic Chemistry) but you do not have to have
a specific major. Honestly, I would rather see someone with some other
interests when I review medical school applications.
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A: FROM MENTOR AZURE DEE EMERLE IN CT
Alaina,
I did not have a minor during the course of my studies, although
sometimes I wish I had. I agree with Mentor Sara Ramsdell who suggested
narrowing your career (or personal) interests down before choosing a
minor. However, I believe it is a good idea to "broaden your horizons",
so to speak, and supplement your SET interests with arts, such as
English and writing. Most science and engineering professionals will
agree that excellent reading and writing skills are required for letters
and reports, etc., and few college programs acknowledge that fact and
properly educate the students in those subjects. If you do not have a
sincere interest in something to supplement a SET career such as
business or politics, etc., I would encourage you to stick to the basics
such as English.

The arts will make you a well-rounded student. Also, you may find that
employers do not want engineers who live, breathe, and sleep science and
engineering alone. I encourage you to explore many extra-curricular
activities and supplement your SET studies with classes (or a group of
them to fulfill a minor requirement) that round out your interests. I
very much enjoy reading and writing, so I took all of my "electives" in
the English department. Unfortunately, I was a couple classes shy of
getting a minor in that subject upon graduation. I think having those
extra classes helped me in my current career path, and it also gave me
encouragement to do a lot of reading and writing of poetry and short
stories in my spare time.
********************
January 28, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR SARA RAMSDELL IN KY
Regarding your questions about majors/minors, you might want to try to
narrow your ideas of possibilities for the future before considering
specific fields. A minor in a non SET field may make you more marketable
in the future. For example, my daughter who is now a veterinarian had a
pre-vet major and Spanish minor as an undergraduate. a former employee
majored in geology with a minor in business. The latter helped prepare him
for the MBA he is now pursuing.

Consider also the specific requirements for majors and minors in the
college(s) you may attend.

A: FROM MENTOR SUZETTE MINORINI IN TX
Alaina - Yours is a very good question and can be answered differently
depending on the major itself. In general, I'd say that your minor should
be closely tied to your major although as you mentioned English as a
potential choice, it is an awful good one. Possibly if you do choose to
minor in english you may want to consider a double minor so you also have
something substantial that is more science or math oriented. Math is also
an excellent choice since it stresses your strength in analytical thinking.
I wouldn't look at other 'Arts' subjects as potentials for your minor
although they're interesting along the way. Good Luck!