So, while talking to my academic advisor yesterday I found out I’m eligible for a ‘free minor’ in mathematics, due to all the math classes I already have to take for my engineering major. That is, I don’t have to take any extra classes, I just have to fill out some paperwork and it is done. So what’s the point? Will it help me get a better job or something, or is it just supposed to make me feel better? Furthermore, is there any point to a normal minor, one that you actually have to take extra classes to get? Or is it just so you can have some interesting classes outside of your major while you are in school?
It’s a bullet point you can put on your resume, and if your school mentions your fields of study on your diploma, it’ll show up there. If all you have to do is fill out paperwork, go for it–a minor in math will sell well with potential employers.
Most minors are sufficient to get you into grad school in that subject, although you might have to take one or two extra undergrad classes. Other than that, declaring a minor will let you be affiliated with a department you’re interested in, and you might get newsletters and other announcements that you’d have to hunt for otherwise.
Majors don’t even mean a lot in many cases. Minors mean just a little less. If you want to do something with the subject academically later, it might help. If you have a minor that is appealing to business such as economics or a foreign language, it might help you get a first job.
I didn’t have a minor because I had a time-consuming self-designed major and many other people I went to college with didn’t either. All things considered, I suppose it is better to have one than not especially if it is in a rigorous subject. There is no quick prize though.
I was a couple of classes from a Physics minor when I got my engineering degree. My roomate decided to take the extra classes (we have the same major), but he didn’t have work-study to contend with.
If you’ve already taken the classes, why not have it as an extra feather in your cap?
In Michigan, we can teach in our Major or our Minor, as long as we have passed the MTTC test for both.
I picked up a History Minor and can teach that if I want. It’s quite useful. Many teachers pick up a “Special Education” or “Math” minor so they can get a job in it, then move over to their major.
I started out studying German Lit. and changed my major to linguistics, before eventually changing back to German. My college had a rule that the major and minor couldn’t be too close (they would not have allowed a math or physics minor with an engineering major, for example). So I wasn’t allowed to declare a minor in Linguistics, though I ended up with more than enough classes to do so had circumstances been different.
So whenever there seems to be a worthwhile reason to mention it, I’ll say that I minored in Ling, even though it’s not officially the case. FWIW I feel that I learned and retained more from those classes than just about anything else.
Also, it generally indicates that you were not simply one-dimentionally going for a particular major and seeking to fulfil the minimum requirements to graduate. In other words, you’re a hard-charging go-getter who should be hired.
I majored in Technical Journalism, and I was required to have a technical minor. I chose Computer Science, and many of my classmates minored in a branch of Engineering. The intent was that you would write about your field in technical journalism courses. I never did, as I never found Computer Science as newsworthy (at that time, 1975) as other research that was conducted on campus.
Same in California. My Anthropology major is next to useless for certification, but my European History minor isn’t.
Even if your minor isn’t directly applicable to your career field, it can still be useful.
I ended up with a minor in Medieval Studies. All the science classes I was taking were driving me mundane. So, my minor makes a converstaion starter. And what others have said, with the well-roundedness displaying an overall goodness of character.
Go for it. Especially if you don’t have to take extra classes.