#majoring

About a week ago I declared a second major in Jewish Studies! I wasn’t planning to double major, but once I decided I wanted to study abroad in Israel, I realized that if I took two more classes at Smith I would meet the requirements (I took Intro Jewish Studies first semester last year and was already planning to take a year of Hebrew). My liberal arts advisor, Joel Kaminsky, advises for the Jewish Studies department, so it was super easy for me to declare a second major.

i love politics and i love economics. politics is my major and econ is my minor but i don’t know if I should officially have two majors, because it’s a lot of work especially spring semester senior year.

If i double major i get an extensive study of both politics and economics, and i graduate with two degrees. I’ll not be able to take any other classes besides those in those fields. I’ll also have a thesis and big exams due my senior year, either of which is a big academic feat to finish.

if i don’t double major, i can take classes in other fields that i’m interested in (i go to a liberal arts college, this is highly encouraged) which i really want to do. i’ll still have a minor in economics and a major in politics, so one degree with a minor. I’ll be able to go for breadth and not depth in all subjects, as i’ll have a random class each semester to take for general credits. Senior year I will just have my thesis.

i’m a second semester sophomore so i need to decide this now, and this decision will effect my classes immediately. I’m so conflicted about it. I’d still be able to graduate on time either way, and it will cost the same either way (which i know isn’t the case at all schools)

I wanted to write this post because of my current circumstances and I can admit that i fucked up. I’m being kinda of dramatic but I’ve caused myself unnecessary stress. My lack of preparation and my habitual procrastination has made college searching and all that comes with it mentally exhausting. To put it into simple words I'm stressed AF. To all you junior's out there take my advice and don’t wait till the summer before senior year to get your shit together.

Create a resume or a list of every activity you've participated in. This includes clubs, volunteering, awards won, competitions, organizations like (National Honors Society), and jobs.

Start searching for colleges. There are websites like naviance that list basic information for each college profile and you can narrow your choices down by specifying what characteristics you'd like in a college. This saves you so much time and stress because you at least have an idea of what you're looking for.

Create a Common App account. This is a universal application that certain colleges accept. I say start this early only because there's a ton of information ranging from grades and family stuff you have to put in.

Look up potential scholarships to apply for. This makes looming college debt less intimidating.

Shadow professions. This is important and I don't think it's stressed enough in high school. When applying to college normally you specify what major your looking into. Having an idea of what job you want can make choosing your major easier.

Here’s what I suggest: Diversify.

I get how absurdly expensive higher education is right now, so my recommendation is to look for a highly rated junior college to do your first two years.  Not only are most of these institutions less expensive, but you’ll have smaller class sizes, better instructors who actually want to engage their students, and fewer costs. I also noticed that there were fewer “bullshit expensive textbooks” when I was in JC than when I transferred to 4 year college for junior and senior year.

The other bonus?  Many junior colleges have GPA-based scholarships.  If you go in with a relatively good GPA (3.0 or higher), you can get a good chunk of money. At my junior college, I was making about $1,400/semester plus $200 per every extra two units I took over twelve total units. This was all scholarship money that I never had to pay back (unlike loans).  Essentially, my first two years were free and that gave me the ability to work at jobs to save up for the expenses of living after I moved away to finish my college.

Most junior colleges will have programs in place so that you can take the exact sorts of classes that will fully transfer you into junior year at college. If you plan it right and keep your GPA up, there are programs that can guarantee you admission and ensure you don’t have to take any extra classes (and spend any extra money).

My other advice is that if you get a job, always make sure said job is:

1) Interesting to you in some way

and

2) Teaches you some sort of skill.

Good pay is obviously important too, but for that, you’ll generally want to work at a student job on campus.  Stuff like staffing the computer labs, working at the library, or any peripheral programs that offer flexible work to students are really the best.  Not only will you gain valuable experience, but most student jobs will be easier on you during finals week and you can often make a lot of fellow student friends that way.

One of the main reasons I got the job that I have now is that I had experience working full time during the summer at a job on campus.  This gave me a lot of entry level experience in managing an office and doing a lot of inventory work without having to do an unpaid internship.

Oh, and that reminds me, unless there are no other options into your desired line of work and you have the privilege to do so:

3) NEVER work for free.  Ever.

I also did things like have a major and a minor, and applied to a number of places that I wanted to work after graduation while ALSO getting a “bread and butter” job in retail. I chose specialized retail, though, which once again served me well, because I learned a bunch of skills and my work was rarely boring (and I got to sit sometimes instead of being forced to stand 8 hours a day every day because I did graphic design stuff and printing!).  Once I was offered a job (it took awhile, but don’t be discouraged), it helped me get to where I am today.

But I highly emphasize that you should always be willing to learn something new, take on new responsibilities, and leverage for the pay you want.  Let people know that you’re essential to their continued operation and that you know you’re worth it.  Obviously everyone will do this in different ways, but having a good attitude and being willing to try new things (even if I’m anxious or ambivalent about it at first), will take you far in life, and when you choose a major, figure out how that major will help you interact critically with the world.  Even though my job has nothing to do with Modern Literature, my experience and keen eye with writing and editing helps me with typing and editing important documents for my work. I have a high WPM from typing so much, which is very valuable in the workplace. I also have a more extended vocabulary and can write critically and eloquently about important stuff while also maintaining audience comprehension.  I’ve used my tech experience from my college jobs to not only help teach people in my department how to use their computers when they get stuck, but I work on administering websites as well. I do a lot of really exciting, meaningful work now, but it has taken awhile to get to where I am, and there’s no telling what the world will be like in the future.

It takes awhile to establish yourself and get to where you want to be. And sometimes, when you’re finding yourself, you find that what you initially thought you wanted is actually something very different. And that’s ok.

And finally:

Be kind to yourself. Life is not a straight line going up. It wobbles. Find your support network. Find your passion.  Find conviction in yourself. Find your footing.

Majoring In Economics Raises Earnings By $22,000

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By now, it’s a well-known fact that your salary after graduating college depends greatly on your major. An economics major will earn a median salary of $50,000 in the early stages of her career, while a psychology major will earn just $30,000. Indeed, a student’s major seems to make a bigger difference to her future earnings prospects than where she attends college.

But why do earnings…