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Just from the first of the year introductions, I know that a good amount of CU students have more than one major or a minor that will be included with their degree. As one of these students, I am beginning to think twice about the decision I made just over a year ago to add on major No. 2.
While adding a major doesn’t double the amount of credits needed to graduate, it does add just a few more things to our to-do list. But why do we decide to add those things? Even though it gives me just a little more umph on my resume after I graduate, will it really be helpful to me in the long run? Is it worth the extra semester I’ll have to finish or the extra loans I’ll have to take out just to give my future employers something more to read on my resume?
“Twenty-nine percent of the permanent positions at the Book Store alone require a four-year degree, and those positions tend to be higher paying,” said Katie Gaudreau, a human resources representative at CU who plays a role in hiring at the Book Store.
Capitalize on strengths when applying for jobs, Gaudreau said, like flaunting your grades, specific majors, minors and certifications.
“However, I don’t seek out transcripts unless I am required to for the position,” Gaudreau said.
As an affiliate of the university, staff of the Book Store follow the same application process and have several of the same job requirements of any personnel at CU, including a four-year degree. While most of us hope to move beyond this campus, the hiring process, I’m sure, works much the same as in other institutions where our interests lay.
Based on Gaudreau’s experience, it seems employers don’t care much about what it is we’re studying, just as long as we have the piece of paper says we’re educationally qualified. Of course, unlike some engineering degrees, there doesn’t appear any limit on the career options that we have in social sciences.
My first major, English (creative writing), was my passion and I’ve never had any doubt about what I wanted to study. I added a second major, Spanish, last year. While writing is my passion, Spanish comes easily given my small Puerto Rican background. Spanish has always been a fun extracurricular for me that seemed like an easy way to boost by employ-ability.
“I’m already fluent in Japanese, and I had 15 credits of Japanese already so I thought why not just add it,” Anna Winters, a 21-year-old senior psychology and Japanese major, said. “My passion for both is about the same, and whichever one I find a job in I would take.”
For me, neither degree has helped narrow down my post-grad career path. As those of us with more than one major work that extra hour on homework, it’s hard to ignore thinking that a second degree may not separate me any more from the rest of the class of 2014 when it comes to immediately utilizing my education.
We all have hopes of what we want, but we can’t see the future. Yes, you should make yourself stand out from the rest, but if you stress out over it, you won’t necessarily find your pathway.
Contact CU Staff Writer Corie Thompson at Corie.Thompson@colorado.edu.
