« A New Market for Self-Interest | Main | Answering the Question We Hate »
What Matters in Major Choices: The Double Major
This story was published on Friday, April 30, 2004, in MIT's student newspaper The Tech, Volume 124, Number 23.
-------------------------------------
What's Next?
By Ian Ybarra
"What Matters in Major Choices: The Double Major"
Like most things in life, choosing your own major is simple in theory but can be a hassle in practice.
During recent meetings with the freshmen I help advise, I was reminded of many unfounded beliefs that prevent students from writing the number they really want on their course selection forms. Here are three of the most troubling, which I have paraphrased.
I should double major to make sure I have options when I graduate.
If I don't choose a technical major, then I will have come to MIT for no reason.
I should major in [Management Science] because I'm interested in entrepreneurship.
I did my best to convince my advisees why they'll have more work options than Simmons has windows without double-majoring, enough "tech cred" even if they studied coloring books at MIT, and learn more about starting companies by simply talking to and working with entrepreneurs (or from trial-and-error of starting-up by themselves) than they would doing problem sets for Optimization or Statistics. Impressively, my freshmen seemed to realize that the only thing that matters about their major is that they pick it for themselves.
To give the rest of us additional strength to accept that conclusion, I asked Course VI-I senior Christophoros C Vassiliou '04 (call him Chris), for his thoughts on selecting a major and, specifically, the double-major dilemma.
If Vassiliou told you, as he told me, that he came from Cyprus to MIT to study electrical engineering and materials science, you would probably assume he has two majors. At the end of his sophomore year, he was indeed on pace to get two bachelor's degrees. Then he realized the feat would require him to take five or six classes each semester for the remainder of his time at MIT. Showing maturity, Vassiliou thought, "I knew I could do it, but why?"
In his shoes, many would have stayed the course because of a self-imposed fear of failing to reach a goal they had previously set. However, Vassiliou realized that binding himself to superfluous requirements had never been the goal. What he really wanted was to pursue his intellectual interests. His rationale -- "I don't have to get the degree in both to study both." -- was as powerful as it was simple.
Vassiliou is currently on track to graduate from MIT this June and begin working toward his M.Eng. degree later this summer. Does that sound respectable to you? Indeed, and that's about all that matters to the most superficial of potential employers, investors, or mates in a world where perception is reality.
But in the last two years while an aspiring double-major has been pulling off course loads of nearly triple-digit units, Vassiliou has had two terms of four classes and two more of three. Nice! Though, by no measure, is he slacking off.
Benefiting from the extra freedom, he will end his undergraduate career having racked up three UROP experiences in three disciplines, served as an editor of the Course 6 Underground Guide, and consistently contributed his talents to a Hellenic cultural dance group. He hasn't exactly shied away from MIT's rigorous
technical curriculum, either. He chose to take three advanced EE courses outside his degree requirements.
"I'd still stay up late doing problem sets for classes, but it didn't bother me as much," he said. "There's a big difference between thinking 'I have to do this' versus 'I want to do this' -- even if it's for the same class."
Vassiliou also took a couple of Course III classes that particularly interested him, which, combined with previous coursework, fulfilled the department's minor requirements. He points out that earning a minor turned out to be a great compromise, because he will have something to show for the time he already spent by studying things that truly intrigued him. The minor requirements, which allowed him to pick any combination of classes from a broad offering, gave him something a second major's requirements would not -- the chance to exclusively stimulate his unique intellectual curiosity. He was able to enhance his educational development, not overload it.
The bottom line, according to Vassiliou: "Whenever someone says to me that they want to double major, I say 'Don't do it.' "
-----------------------------------
This article originally appeared in The Tech, issue 23 volume 124. It may be freely distributed electronically as long as it includes this notice but cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of The Tech. Write to archive@the-tech.mit.edu for additional details.
Posted by Ian Ybarra on 30 April 2004
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ianybarra.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/9
