Should You Minor? Double Major? Double Minor? Tips on Customizing Your Career

By: Alex Dediu

As for many of you first and second-year college students (myself included), the selection process in choosing a major can be overwhelming at times -- so much so that the thought of adding a minor (or two!) doesn’t quite fit the picture -- let alone a second major for any of you overachievers out there. This morning felt like the right time to reflect upon my first 15 months as a Buckeye, share my story, and leave some advice.

My story, fortunately, saw direct admission into the Fisher College of Business Honors Program in November of my senior year in high school and came into THE Ohio State declared as -- yes, you guessed it -- Marketing. But do you stop there? No, not in my book! Many of our roommates, classmates, and teammates (shoutout to mine) sell themselves ~professionally~ short when it comes to ideally customizing your academic profile and experience here at OSU. I decided to double minor in Organization & Performance Psychology as well Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability (EEDS) to pursue psychological consumer advantages and more modern sustainability goals.

As secondary disciplines, additional minors and supplemental majors can drastically help improve your value to recruiters and future admission counsels by illustrating your unique interest(s) in accompanying your back pocket major. Simply adding that extra course or just swapping out that inefficient elective for more influential knowledge to pair with your major will separate you from your peers when it matters. An opportunity to impress your interviewer, adding minors or majors tailored to your prioritized studies can illustrate your intention to be specific in your career path by making your profile THAT much better than any future candidate.

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