How much difference does having a minor make?

[sarahss]

I am a senior and am thinking of picking up a minor in Child Development. I'm interested in working with kids and am interested in being a pediatrician. I'm not going directly to med school so will be looking for jobs after college. How much do you think having a minor help in terms of job and other post-grad opportunities? Would I have the same chances of getting an opportunity whether or not I have the minor?

edit: Majoring in Psychology-clinical concentration, perhaps looking for research position job, will be taking post-bacc classes to finish up premed requirements

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[DAPI]

Probably not much of a difference. What's your major in? How long are you planning on taking off? What are you looking to do with that time off?

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[armybound]

none

 

[RomanTaylor]

Agreed. The majority of the advice that I have received seems to indicate that Adcoms don't give a flying hoof if you have a minor or not. Your minor should be something just for you...something you enjoy. Something that gives of you something other than science and math.

 

[DAPI]

Having a minor is not going to make a difference when applying to med school, but when applying to psych research jobs it may be helpful to have some of those classes if the research areas are in child development as you could list the courses on your CV as relevant coursework or something.

So if you need one class to complete the minor, but have no interest in the course, don't worry about it, but if it's interesting and you would potentially be interested in research in that area, I would probably take it if it doesn't inconvenience you too much.

 

[jpark1800]

a minor is useless. just find easy science classes to inflate gpa.

 

[RomanTaylor]

a minor is useless. just find easy science classes to inflate gpa.

Ugh...that is horrible advice.

 

[TheGloaming]

The only difference I could see a minor making is if it was in Spanish and you applied to med school that places suggests med students know Spanish. However, even in this case, it really would not make a significant difference on its own. I minor should still just be completed if you are truly interested in the subject.

 

[gyngyn]

I am a senior and am thinking of picking up a minor in Child Development. I'm interested in working with kids and am interested in being a pediatrician. I'm not going directly to med school so will be looking for jobs after college. How much do you think having a minor help in terms of job and other post-grad opportunities? Would I have the same chances of getting an opportunity whether or not I have the minor?

edit: Majoring in Psychology-clinical concentration, perhaps looking for research position job, will be taking post-bacc classes to finish up premed requirements

I've never heard minors mentioned in discussions regarding candidacy for medical school.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

computer science or a foreign language would give you some skills

 

[Poetic Silence]

It isn't necessary for getting a gig with the kiddos. I don't have a child related major and I work in a children's therapy guild.

I just tell everyone I'm pre med and love kids. That's all they need to know.

 

[Mountaineer12]

My foreign literature in translation minor was one of the first things I was asked about in my interview at WVU. I don't think minors are useless especially if they demonstrate that you have an interest in a completely different subject.

 

[sarahss]

So if you need one class to complete the minor, but have no interest in the course, don't worry about it, but if it's interesting and you would potentially be interested in research in that area, I would probably take it if it doesn't inconvenience you too much.

yeah, I would need to take 2 courses this semester and 2 courses next semester to get the minor so I'm not even close. I always thought the courses sounded interesting but didn't have time to try them out before.

I've never heard minors mentioned in discussions regarding candidacy for medical school.

what about the importance of minors for the job search?

 

[DAPI]

yeah, I would need to take 2 courses this semester and 2 courses next semester to get the minor so I'm not even close. I always thought the courses sounded interesting but didn't have time to try them out before.

what about the importance of minors for the job search?

Yeah, so unless you are REALLY interested in the classes and have nothing else to take, I would say forget it. There is no need to stress yourself over this as there will not be a significant payoff, if any at all.

 

[silverhorse84]

I agree that I wouldn't do it for the sake of doing it. However, if it's something you really like, then go for it. Out of my medical school interviews I had one interviewer ask me about my religious studies minor - he had studied religion in college too. I don't think it directly helped me gain admission to the school, but it did give us something in common and was a conversation starter.

I've also been asked about it a couple of times in my residency interviews - "why was religious studies interesting to you?" type questions which opens the door for me to talk about my personality and thought process. My major was biochemistry, so religion was a bit different and noticeable. If you're doing the minor just to add something to your application, then you won't really have much to say about it if asked; but if it's something you're interested in then it could be a way to start or steer a conversation (though I will say I never brought it up without them asking about it directly or asking "what did you study in college?").

 

[MedPR]

Probably none, though I do have a minor in Theology and it was asked about during my first interview this cycle. I agree with the others though, do it only if you're actually interested. Officially my minor is in Theology, but it was basically a healthcare ethics/public health minor.