This big question everyone always asks after you tell them where you’re going to school is what is your major? Obviously, your major is very important, hence the name “major.” But unless you have a super specific major like accounting or elementary education, the array of potential future occupations is widespread. This is where a strategically chosen minor comes into play.
There are two reasons to choose a minor. 1. A minor can help to specify your skill-set and provide a niche for yourself within a broad area of a major. 2. A minor can also be chosen based not on something that will make you more marketable, but as something you have a great interest in and find enjoyable. I have two minors chosen for both of these reasons, respectively.
To give you an overview of my academic resume, I’m majoring in marketing communications with minors in web development and political science. I’m also entertaining the idea of adding a third minor in graphic design, depending on whether or not I go abroad next spring. A brief explanation of my political science minor is that I came in majoring in political science, loved it, but realized that unless I wanted to go to law school or run for a political office, my job pickings would be slim. So I changed to marketing in the fall semester of my sophomore year and have never looked back. However, because I do find politics so interesting, I decided to not put my polisci credits to waste and turned it into a minor. Will this help me in looking for a job when I graduate? Unless I want to manage someones political campaign, probably not. But I really enjoy my political science classes because they provide a break from the constant stream of business classes and cause me to think critically about the world in a broader spectrum.
On the other hand, my web development minor was chosen very strategically. I enjoy creating and developing marketable web content, and I want my education to reflect this specific skill-set. Stating web development on my resume distinguishes this to employers and shows them that I do have these skills not only from internships, but from actual classroom learning. Similarly, this is why I am debating on adding a minor in graphic design.
When it comes to college, obviously the end goal is to get a job doing something you love, but it doesn’t hurt to take some fun, enjoyable, interesting classes along the way. When choosing a minor, pick something that you’re really, genuinely interested in. Also, try to pick something that specifies you within your broad scope of a major. If you can combine something you enjoy and something that compliments your major, then you are very lucky. According to my advertising professor, finding your niche is the key to success, and a minor can help you do just that.
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Eye of an Intern 