What will my bachelor degree from a liberal arts college(Middlebury) mean in real life?

Question

I'm trying to figure out if I should just major in french or if it will be "better" to join my degree in french with another one, either in computer science or psychology.

It is also possible for me to do either Neuroscience or Biochemistry but I established that the effort it would take to do those may not be worth the outcome.

What does it really mean to have a bachelor degree in terms of getting a job and/or getting into grad school

Answer 1

LOL

would you like fries with that?

Answer 2

Its neccessary in grad school, of course, and they'll be very interested in specific coursework and projects completed related to what you want to go to grad school for.  Make sure you have a few internships under your belt, and research in any discipline is always a plus, especially if its published.

Your degree is what you make of it.  I find I'm more well-rounded than many people, and that alone is worth it. You'll also have academic contacts and mentors in your professors (get to know them!), which may help in job networking.  And depending on where you live, your bachelor's degree will have an upper hand on 70% of other applicants.  

I'd double-major if possible, but none of your choices really seem to compliment each other except Psychology and Neuroscience or Neuro and Biochem.  if you're worried about a good job, Comp Sci and the sciences are going to be MUCH more lucrative.  Your french major will do well if you want to teach. and for psych, you have to go to grad school to make it amount to anything

Answer 3

Regarding employment:

Most jobs out there don't require that you did any specific major as an undergrad. Instead, they want people with a good, solid liberal arts degree from a good school. However, if you hope to get a job after you graduate, you'd want to do an internship in your prospective field, as well as doing field-related work on campus for clubs and etc. This will allow you to build a resume, and will make you employable. You could also consider doing a minor in something directly related to the job you want in business, such as marketing.

With that said, you certainly would be able to become a computer programmer were you to major in CS. I see no benefit to you adding a major in psych to a French degree, as psych, like French, isn't a subject that employers of entry level college grads specifically seek out. Science of course would work if you were planning to work in science.

But French on its own is fine, or do it in combo with something specifically related to a career. But French plus psych? Only do that because you're personally interested, not because you think the combo will make it more likely you'll get a job.

Regarding grad school:

There are fields where, if you want a masters in that field, you need to have done a specific major as an undergrad. The sciences are one example. But if you wanted to get a grad degree in law, or business, or even medicine, an undergrad in French is just fine.

Answer 4

If you investigate, I think you will find that there are number of degrees out there for which there simply are few (if any) jobs.   Most of the degrees in question are in arts, humanities , languages and so forth.   I'm not disparaging the degrees, but the job market dictates whether or not you stand a good chance to make money in it.

Many with such degrees wind up in occupations that aren't remotely related to their original field of study.

I'd go for the harder sciences, unless you flat-out just cannot stand them.

Answer 5

Nothing