Picture this: it’s your senior year, and half of your classes are for your major and the other half are for your minor. You feel like you enter completely different worlds when you have a minor and major class on the same day, and you often feel like an outsider in your minor classes.
Oh wait, that’s my life right now.
As a graduating senior with my major units almost completed, I felt the want, and need, to minor in something that I am also passionate about that I feel will really complement what I hope to do in life. However, minoring has come with some obstacles that I never knew I would encounter, because it’s not really something anyone talks about.
Here are some of the pros and cons of minoring.
Pros
1. You meet some potentially important connections
A lot of people tend to see minoring as a useless thing to do and a waste of time, but I see the value almost entirely in the people you come to know. Within any department at your university are extremely smart and well-versed individuals who, especially if you come to know them personally, can help you out and connect you to places that can take you far.
2. You gain experience in something that could give you a leg up
If your minor is a good aid in your career choice, then it’s completely worth it. For example, I’m majoring in Sociology and minoring in Journalism. I see this as a great aid in being a credible journalist in the future if I decide to focus my writing on social issues because as a Sociology major I have access to real data that explain social trends.
Cons
1. It’s easy to feel like an outsider
This is something that I least expected from having a minor, but it makes sense. Everyone seems to know everyone else except you because you only need to take about half the units that everyone else does. This may depend on the minor that you chose and how people typically interact within the department, but just know that you, unfortunately, have to try a little harder to make friends and connections.
2. You feel like you have to prove yourself to everyone
Since you don’t have to take as many units as everyone else, you have less experience with the subject and things don’t come as easily to you as they do for others. This means you have to try a little harder to be on the same page as everyone else and prove that you’re just as capable.
3. You overall have a little bit of a harder time than everyone else
This goes hand in hand with the previous two cons because it’s really a result of them. You really do have a harder time than everyone else because you’re emotionally not there sometimes, you’re less experienced, you’re less educated, and you don’t connect well with everyone else.
Overall, minoring has its benefits but it also has its downfalls. I’ve met some of the coolest and most helpful people in my minor, so honestly I am willing to deal with the cons. Minors aren’t that many units, so if you can persevere for a couple of semesters and you really are interested in the subject, I say do it!