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What do I want to minor in? How did you pick your minor?
I can't think of any good reason to choose one thing over another except time - what can I get the fastest?
For those that don't know, I'm trying to finish my undergraduate degree so I can get into school for my MLIS (master's in library science) I want to be an academic/research librarian though I must admit medical librarianship is beginning to look tempting.
I was originally going to major in education so I could work in elementary schools but the limitations of that degree dissuaded me - as well as the time factor - to get an education degree would take two semesters longer than my current program.
My major is communication management. The time pressure is the MLIS program I want to get into only accepts applicants every other fall. If I don't make it in the fall 2007 semester I have to wait until 2009 or find a different program. There are no others in the state, so it would mean paying out of state tuition for an online program somewhere. So I need to graduate in two years.
Is a minor important on your resume at all? Do you think any library looking over my resume is going to base their decision on my minor? Are there minors that can actually hurt you or does it really not make that much difference?
Thoughts? Anybody?
By the way, my first semester back to college in over 12 years of absence - and I made all A's! Go me! It may not be that big of a deal, they were all freshman level courses, but it still made me happy. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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If you don't feel passionately about what minor to get, I'd say go with whatever minor you can get the fastest.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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There are three strategies in minors: pick something that supports your major (typically with heavy course overlap), pick something that doesn't support your major but shows you have interdisciplinary skills, or pick something for the heck of it.
None is really better than the other, but I definitely wouldn't worry about the job prospects being influenced by it. What I'd think about would be acceptance into the MLIS program being influenced by it (which would matter more to them?), pretty much.
Because of that, I'd advise going with something related to L&IS, at least somewhat. Anything from sociology to business, nearly.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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If you don't need a minor and don't feel strongly about any particular possibility, why get a minor at all?
I ended up not getting a minor, because I was interested in getting done quickly. The subject I considered getting a minor in (anthropology) required too many classes I couldn't fit into my schedule. The people that I talked to about it didn't think that minors meant much "in the real world", so I wasn't worried.
I am in a fairly unique position employment wise though (in that not even my major matters), since I work for a friend and pre-degree employer.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I don't really know about your major or what would be helpful, but I'd suggest picking one that you would enjoy doing. I just recently selected a minor in humanitarian engineering and I'm really looking forward to doing it.
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I don't have a minor. It seemed silly to me when I was already struggling to fit in classes for my major to deal with the added pressure of a minor. Plus, there wasn't even one that I liked that well. I talked with my advisor, and she felt it was a great decision for me. Maybe you should look into it - unless you're strongly interested in one, of course.
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ludosti, unfortunately I do have to choose one - a minor is required for my degree.
The library school doesn't care, fugu though you offer some good advice. The only recommendation is that you have a good solid liberal arts education. And, in fact, many people more interested in technical library services get degrees in computer science or the like. A degree in business works well, even medical or pre-professional health related fields. So as far as the library school is concerned, I can major or minor in virutally anything.
Probably the quickest thing I could get is history, because I already have to take a six hour sequence for my major and the minor only required 18 hours. While I like history, I don't just love it to pieces. I was originally going to minor in linguistics, but the linguistice program at the school is so small, they only offer one or two courses per semester and it would be very hard to get all the courses I need in the time frame I have.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I just got my diploma in the mail and they don't put your minor on it anywhere. Not that I should have expected them to, I suppose, but still! I want some fancy-font proof, dangit!
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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If you are serious about the medical librarianship thing, but still want to keep your options open then why not minor in biology?
In my experience, biology is the most adaptable of science degrees for those who want to go into the fields of communications, information managment, etc. -- science writing or reporting, tech and professional writing, pr and marketing (for health and drug firms), etc.
If that doesn't interest you, then I agree with fugu -- sociology.
If you are really interested in becoming an academic librarian then minoring in a language might be good [albeit more time consuming than you'd like] -- esp. German, Russian or French. Somebody has to be able to review, order and catalog all the foreign language journals and book acquisitions.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Minoring in a second language can be pretty sweet, especially if you already have a pretty good grasp of the language. I can think of tons of career fields in which proficiency in a second language would be a plus, and in that respect listing your minor on your resume can be a great bonus. My minor is in Spanish, and I have often been asked about that in interviews.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Is a minor important on your resume at all? Do you think any library looking over my resume is going to base their decision on my minor? Are there minors that can actually hurt you or does it really not make that much difference?
The minor is only important on a resume when it relates to a valuable secondary skill and you need to show you are serious about it. Language is a good example, so is a technical skill such as drawing.
But really, it doesn't matter from a resume perspective. Choose the classes you want, and when you want to call attention to some of them, mention them in a cover letter.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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*this is breyerchic, I had to relog in and couldn't remember that password without looking*
Do any of the minors possible require similar courses to the history one, or are related but not entirely.
I guess i'm lucky because instead of a minor I have to pick a "core area" which is basically a minor but there are only four choices and only one at all intrests me.
Posts: 94 | Registered: Apr 2005
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If your program has distribution requirements, you might want to look into getting an interdisciplinary minor, or, if your school allows it, designing your own. While these type of minors sometimes require more classes, you can often complete them by taking classes that you would have to take anyways to complete distribution requirements. For instance, at my liberal arts college we’re required to take two math/science courses, two social science courses, two lit courses, two historical/philosophical classes, two foreign language classes (or test out of it), and two p.e./art/music classes.
If someone planned well, they could complete a minor in, say, European Studies (take a couple French/German classes, a European history class, etc) while completing the distribution requirements.
Or you can try to find some overlap with classes required for your major, as another poster suggested. Just be sure to read the catalog (or guidebook or whatever) that spells out all the academic policies. Most schools have rules concerning overlap between major-minor for just this reason.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Oooohhh... a minor in Spanish! That's a great idea. Why didn't I think of that? I've had two years of Spanish in high school, granted a long time ago, but I've kept some of it up because we have been teaching Spanish basics to our children - making sure they can count and know colors and basics in both languages. Natalie also took a semester of Spanish in junior high and I practiced with her. Alabama has a rapidly growing Hispanic population, and if I want to be employed in either a public library or academic library in Alabama Spanish certainly could be a bonus to a potential employer.
Plus, my major requires at least one course in a foreign language anyway. I checked the catalog and there's no problem with the overlap.
Good idea, guys! thanks! I knew hatrack was the place to go for suggestions. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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