Extra majors won’t win good jobs

As the job market becomes increasingly more competitive, some college students think that completing a double major will set them apart from other job applicants.

Ernesto Guerrero, a senior counselor and trainer for college academic counseling, said this is not usually the case.

“Double majors do not make a student more marketable for a job. What makes students marketable is their experience beyond academics: internships, and volunteer and work experience,” he said.

Guerrero said that in school, students have always been taught that doing more is always better, but in the workforce, things work differently.

“Experience matters more than how many different subjects you’ve studied,” he said.

Kathy Sims, the director of the UCLA Career Center, said that “majors do not get you careers,” no matter what the state of the economy is.

“There is no great value in extending your time at UCLA if you do not enrich it with internships and other experiences outside the classroom,” Sims said. “Employers look holistically at candidates. Straight As mean nothing if you haven’t had any internships or jobs.”

Janel Munguia, an undergraduate counselor in the English department, said she only encourages students to earn a double major if their primary reason is personal desire.

“If you have passion for something, no matter how taxing it may be, you are far more likely to be successful than if you do something because you want a certain job title or salary,” she said.

Third-year student Sarah Mallory said she decided on her double major of global studies and psychology because she was interested in both subjects, not because she thought it would make her a more competitive applicant in the future.

Mallory came into UCLA as a psychology student, and in her second year she decided to add global studies.

“I wanted to learn something about global interactions, but I was still interested in psychology and wanted to complete the major,” she said.

Kristin Olson, an undergraduate adviser in the math department, said it is vital for students planning to earn a double major to plan ahead, since many run into a unit cap.

“If a student is very driven, plans ahead and has specific plans in mind, by all means they should complete a double major,” she said.

If Mallory had majored in only psychology, she could have graduated a year early. So by adding the double major, she can still obtain both her degrees in four years.

Doubling also does not prevent her from interning and conducting research. She works for a non-profit organization called Break the Cycle, whose goal is to prevent dating and domestic violence; she also does research in the psychology department.

After Mallory graduates, she plans to go to graduate school in public affairs. Even though she is not going to use her psychology degree directly, she said she still thinks it is valuable to have.

The fact that students like Mallory have found time to intern and do research is extremely important, Sims said.

“It is important to demonstrate that you have a desire and eagerness to apply what you are learning while you are learning it,” she said.

Besides technical areas such as engineering, employers who recruit UCLA students through the Career Center are not looking for any specific major.

“They are looking for students thirsty to learn more, and who are involved and engaged in their campus community,” Sims said.

“Extracurriculars show you are not one-dimensional. In today’s job market, there is a base-line expectation that undergraduates have experience in something.”

It was through internships that fourth-year psychology and communication studies student Stacy Ko decided which field she wanted to pursue after graduation.

She came into UCLA as a communication studies student, and after taking an introductory psychology class her first year, she realized she was interested in two separate fields and added the psychology major.

In her first year she thought she wanted a career in entertainment, but after a few internships she decided that was not the career path she wanted to pursue.

Ko said she still enjoyed the communication classes, so she stuck with the major.

She currently interns at the UCLA hospital and does research in the psychology department. She said she plans to apply to graduate school in psychology.

“If you are involved in the campus and explore possible careers, you become highly competitive,” Sims said. “This is even more important than ever in a downward economy.”

But Sims also emphasizes that students can gain valuable experience even if their job or internship has nothing to do with their future career.

“People undersell themselves,” Sims said.

People think working in food services, for example, is not very valuable, she said. But employers see it differently.

“They see a student is learning good work ethics, doing things you don’t enjoy ““ which happens in the real world ““ and you can work with people. These are all important skills needed for any job,” she said.

Sims said the key is for students to show that they are involved in something.

“UCLA students are always going to do well in the job market,” she said. “What is most important is that they show they have done more than only study for their classes.”