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careers
Two majors better
than one for some
By Jamillah R.
Gabriel
On-line Forty-Niner
At some point in
life, every student must decide if his or her chosen major
will ultimately lead to a career the student desires. Some
students may find that one particular field of study does
not address all of their interests.
The answer to this
dilemma, for some, comes in the form of the dual major.
This is true for
Teresa Gonzalez, a sophomore double majoring in health science
and information systems. Having interests in health and computers,
Gonzalez stumbled upon a career that would allow her to combine
two areas into one.
"I would like to
have a career in health informatics, which will allow me to
design information systems specifically for the health industry,"
Gonzalez said. "There aren't that many programs that combine
the two, especially at the undergraduate level."
Reasons differ
why students want to major in more than one area, said Robert
Wendt, career counselor for the Career Development Center.
Some students will choose a major that they truly enjoy, he
said, such as dance or music, and choose a second, more practical
major in business or education.
"Sometimes students
will select an alternative major that will give them more
economic power in their career search," Wendt said.
One student found
that a double major in music and education combined her goal
of becoming a teacher with her love of classical music. Kimberley
Schmidt, a junior, decided that she wanted the option of teaching
academic subjects or music in an elementary school.
"I would like to
teach music," Schmidt said, "but I might decide to teach regular
subjects during the school year and teach music as a summer
job."
For those students
who do not want to pursue two majors, Wendt suggests the interdisciplinary
major. The major allows the student to design a course of
study that pulls courses from more than one discipline that
is combined into one major.
Tanya Johnson,
a freshman, decided that the interdisciplinary major was the
best thing for her. With interests in biology and political
science, Johnson plans to attend both medical and law schools
in the future.
"I know I'm interested
in medicine and law, but I'm not sure which one I want to
pursue first," Johnson said. "I think an interdisciplinary
major will provide me with a foundation that will allow me
to do both."
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