If you could, would you do a TRIPLE major? And if so, what would you major in?

I met a very nice lady at the career counseling office at ASU the other day. She was really upset because she will be graduating in May 2013 and apparently JUST NOW realized that she may not have made the wisest choice in degrees.

She is doing a triple major, added an extra year onto her timeline AND student loans, and she doesn't really have any prospects for jobs.

She is majoring in philosophy/history/religious studies. She does not want to teach college, do anything in business or research, work in a library, or go into ministry. She's not really interested in getting a masters degree, although she said if she does she might get one in either museum studies or liberal studies.

She asked what I thought since her parents told her she wasted her time and money because she's virtually unemployable now, and with a masters in one of those fields, would continue to be. I said I thought she would be better off talking to the career counselor because I really couldn't give a good opinion. When she pressed me for an answer, I finally said that I had to agree with her parents because if she wanted her bachelors degrees as stand alone degrees and took the obvious choices out, I couldn't really see where those particular degrees would give her much utility. And I said I really couldn't see much use for a masters in liberal studies as far as getting her a job. If she doesn't want to work in a museum or a library of some kind, then I don't see where a museum studies degree will help much.

So what do you all think? Did she make poor choices? Was a triple major overkill? Would you all do a triple major, and if so, what would you major in? Would you have all 3 degrees be useful as stand alone degrees, or would one of them maybe be for sheer enjoyment?

 

Her triple major should have included some type of job preparation course.
Kids in high school take college prep because they know they will be moving onto college next. They do this instead of vocational training. Now when they get into college they should bite the bullet and take job prep courses like accounting or something.

I love art and would have loved to sit in art classes all day long in college but its hard to get someone to pay you to draw pictures of super heroes all day. So I chose computers.

I always wanted a degree in humanities because I really enjoy literature, theater, history, and art. In fact I do have a good bit of humanities credit and even drew up a humanities degree plan for TESC. So that would have been my 3rd bachelors beyond the BSBA CIS and BA Natural Science.

 

Seemingly the nice lady does not have a clue as to what she wants to do vocationally; consider too … perhaps not working at all (?).

 

I wonder if maybe she just plans to marry rich so she doesn't have to worry about actually working LOL

 

I agree with you guys, I would however remind the girl that she has checked the box that says "college degree" ... that in and of itself is worth something, now learn to convince me it's relevant and we have a winner.

 

No. I would figure out the direction of my professional life and then point my degree program towards that target. I'd take the savings and invest in my retirement and/or a master's degree.

 

I would never triple major. Pick what you want (and can help with gainful employment) and get a degree in that...after that get a library card and read all you want. Of course I say this looking at a 3rd masters using tuition assistance.

 

Yes! Computer Science / Technology Management / Business Administration

(Products / Managing Products/ Selling Products) = Ca$h lol

 

LOL!!! I can see how that would work out well

 

I don't think I would triple major just because doing a double major is hard enough lol But if I were to really sit down and think about it, I suppose I would do International Relations/Political Science/Communications OR International Relations/Human Rights/Communications OR International Relations/Human Rights/Sociology. All very near and dear to me. I think that would be a long, tough, but very interesting set of courses. But I would have to be in school waaaay to long, rack up waaaay to much debt, and then I would be stuck on what to do for my masters degree(s). lol

 

A bachelor's degree is typically 120 semester hours. Majors vary more widely in length, but 36 sh isn't uncommon in the United States. If this worked out at a school, a student could complete three completely separate 36 sh majors and still have a remainder or 12 sh for gen ed or distribution requirements like freshman comp that might not count toward any of the majors.

So if the question is "Why not trade free elective space for an additional major?," a case for an additional major becomes clearer.

Of course, students often fill free elective space up early in the game with stuff that wouldn't group together toward an additional major. And majors have upper-division requirements, each major has its own specific subject and restricted elective requirements, etc.

 

It's tricky for me because out of the 10 classes I transferred in from Ashford, 5 of them went into electives. So that left me a lot less room for my 2nd major requirements. So I have to take extra courses to graduate on time or add to my timeline a bit.

 

That's why I'm doing the degrees I'm doing. They are quite different, lead to different jobs, yet compliment each other quite well and can be a good foundation for what I want to do. But if my career choice doesn't work out, I have loads of other options with my degrees.

 

I would choose psychology/biology/business administration or psychology/biology/information technology.

 

Just wondering what can you do with a human rights degree? If you check monster.com are there job openings for students with a human rights degree and no relevant work experience in human rights? I definitely believe in Locke's natural rights but think that subject is well covered by philosophy and history.

I like humanities but there are no jobs in it. Nobody ever said, "boy I wish we could get a humanities major in here to solve this problem"

 

Well I think a human rights degree would work well in conjunction with international relations if one is wanting to get into international human rights, work for the UN, that type of thing. As a stand alone degree? Maybe not. But as part of a triple major? Why not?

 

Don't think small...go for a quadruple major!!! Honestly, you need maybe 30 credits or so for another major. Why not just do a masters. I had enrolled in CSU Dominguez Hills, MA in Humanities but never ended up taking a class. I like humanities and figured it would be fun.