As our daughter is getting ready to start CS major in UMD soon, we have been talking about specializing in some area on top of general CS. One idea is to add a minor in cyber security or math or business. From those who have gone through this journey, does minor really make a difference when it comes to career opportunities? Minor is usually 15 to 20 credits. Wondering how much value it would really add.
Should we rather plan for getting a masters in a field to show that specialization?
She, right? She needs to make this decision. In my experience, a minor or double major is not needed for just about anyone.
Thanks. Of course, she will be the one making the decision. We as a family like discussing pros and cons of these topics
Iâm guessing she will have a better handle on this once her classes actually start. Also, re: a mastersâŠshe might want some work experience first to tease out what really piques her interest in her field. Based on work, this could really change.
I donât think it matters but kids do them because they find an area of interest in electives and stay there.
My son did tell me one or two interviewees asked the âwhyâ but it doesnât mean it impacted a decision.
Of course if itâs related perhaps there is valueâŠ.so as you bright up. My sonâs wasnât related per se.
My daughter had 2 minors- one in chemistry which was automatic, and one in Spanish which was very valuable (added: due to interest, opportunity to regularly listen to different dialects etc).
Was it valuable for getting hired ? Or valuable just in practical uses - if I recall correctly, she worked in low performing schools which likely had kids with a language other than English?
It was helpful when she did TFA, it was helpful when she left that and moved to her next job, and it was helpful when she entered grad school rotations. She wonât call herself bilingual, but she can definitely hold a conversation and use it at work.
My son graduated with two minors and his major was industrial engineering. His two minors played a role in getting him his job since they both spoke to the mission of the company.
So it depends. Getting a masterâs is major dependent. My son doesnât see the need but an MBA will be in the works.
The coursework taken will be more important that having a minor. There is no need to decide now.
Congrats on UMD â hope she has a wonderful experience.
Sometimes, in the old days, like thirty plus years ago, a minor could help if a job opening specified something likeâ have at least 15 credits in___â
If a job requires business or math or accounting courses, a minor might allow one to check that box.
But I agree with others, many minors by themselves do not provide an advantage. Many minors are hard to accommodate when it comes to actual registration.
A minor may help one pursue a new interest or broaden their studies, for oneâs own satusfaction.
In general, having a non-CS minor means very little to CS employers. Learning the material could have various indirect benefits in both your life, career, and interview; but employers generally are not going to impressed by your resume listing a minor.
A masters in CS is completely different than a minor and could have a major influence in evaluating resumes and hiring decisions, as well as starting level/compensation. A significant portion of positions will say that MS is preferred/required, opening the door to some new opportunities that may be more rewarding, such as a greater focus on research/theory/design. However, if you mean a masters in a field that is not closely related to CS, it is likely to have a much smaller impact on hiring decisions for a position closely related to CS, such as software engineer.
It wasnât the Spanish minor that was a big deal- it wasnât. It was the fact that she speaks another language and is proficient in it.
A lot of corporate job apps ask about other languages and level of proficiency. I think the public service place my daughter will work for did too.
You donât have to minor in a foreign language to be proficient in that language.
You donât really need to minor in anything in undergrad school.
This is true. She spoke another language when she graduated HS and chose the minor because of interest.
She also spoke the language all the time when studying abroad.
Yep, immersion in a foreign language is always good and solidifies any classroom learning. Maybe something for OP to think about if language interests the student when itâs time to choose a semester abroad.
Thanks for all the input. I was asking my elder one to consider language as a minor as she is in a different career track. Well⊠she didnât take that but that is ok⊠she is doing well.
For our younger one, she wants to complement something STEM or domain specific like business/finance
I agree with others. I have sometimes heard employers say they may value certain coursework, knowledge, training, or so on outside the primary major, in a variety of forms. I canât think of a time one said it was important for that learning to be recognized by the institution as a minor, secondary major, or so on.
OK, so absent a truly open curriculum situation, youâll have some sort of gen ed/core/distributional requirements outside of your primary major. If you end up doing something in sufficient depth, for some career purpose or just out of interest, it might make sense to do it as a secondary major or minor, if say you would be close to meeting the requirements anyway.
But I would not force it, just see how it shook out as the credits were building up.
CS, cyber security, and math have a lot in common and complement each other nicely but, as mentioned several times above, a minor isnât necessary out of undergrad, and a masterâs program is the place for specialization. However, if credits toward one of these complementary areas can fit easily into your daughterâs program, I believe cyber and math could strengthen her overall CS profile. Business not as much, but it depends on her career goals which she has time to formulate.
Our son went in to the academy intending to study CS with an eye toward a cyber career, but he had a strong, mostly self-taught CS background out of HS so the Army felt it would be more valuable (to them) for him to study EE with a concentration in robotics (the academyâs equivalent of a minor) and save CS for his masterâs, so thatâs the route he took. He is now making a career in cyber, and each of his areas of study have enriched his skillset and value to the Army. (A bit off-topic, but the level of cyber security his team works at requires a deep understanding of systems at the bare bones hardware level, thus the value of EE.)
Concur. Even the Army requires an MS for both career and rank advancement in most branches.