second Bachelor's degrees

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I just got my .B.A. in Psychology and I can't figure out what I want to do now. I don't want to go to grad school for Psychology. I was thinking of pursuing a second .B.A. in Linguistics and then maybe going to graduate school for Linguistics because I have an interest in the subject now.

Who here has two undergraduate degrees or is working on their second undergraduate degree? For those of you who have obtained a second undergrad degree....are you glad that you did ? Did it help you with your career path....maybe enabling you to get a job you found more interesting? Do any of you (who have obtained a second Bachelor's degree) consider it to have been a waste of time and/or money?

I think this is strongly dependent on what the degree is in, what you plan to do with your life, and how talented you are. I went up to the senior year in a Computer Science B.S. degree after finishing my Physics B.S.. That combination would probably have been nice for getting into graduate school, but it is rather useless for the IT industry because job experience is more important, and a Physics background is more or less useless in IT except for specialized jobs in the aerospace industry. It was not totally a waste of time because I enjoy learning, but it was definitely a waste of money since I mostly used student loans.

Like most humanities, degrees in Linguistics will be quite useless in the job market, and the extra time spent in school (rather than working) will make you look bad to employers. The only real hope is if you are just amazing in linguistics and can compete (and are interested in) teaching positions. Don't even think about it if you need to take out more than, say, a maximum of a few thousand dollars in loans for the entire time it takes to complete the second (and third, if you want) degree. Also, only do this if you are absolutely sure. Don't use it as something to fill up your time when you don't know what to do with your life. Getting a job (if you want to and can work) sweeping floors is more likely to be valuable to you than taking linguistic courses, both in terms of money earned and work history.

I don't know where you live, but in Australia there are many grad dip/masters courses that don't require a bachelors from their department, just a degree in anything. If something like this is possible for you, I'd certainly at least look into it, as you might as well get a 'higher' degree (i.e. masters/PhD) with the time it'd take you to get another bachelors.

If this is not possible for you, though, then I think it's best to ask yourself if doing another degree is really going to enhance your chances at getting the type of job you want. If you really want to be a linguistics professor then yeah, an undergrad in it is probably important, but if it's just something you have an interest in, I'd suggest studying it in your own time. Formal study of a subject tends to suck the enjoyment out of it anyway.

Also, like starkid said, future employers might not like that you've changed your mind, unless you can weave a great story around it. I have quite a few letters after my name, and since they don't make much sense (i.e. don't follow rationally), I always get asked about them. But at least they go 'up' in level, so it looks like I'm being progressive rather than indecisive (even though it's exactly what I was). And I have my explanation down to about five seconds so if a potential employer asks, I can explain succinctly and leave them nodding thier head in agreement.

But hey, just my 2c.

I've just started my second bachelor's degree. I did media first time around, now it's science. Yes, I'm indecisive. Although it's too soon to tell if it's going to be a good decision in terms of a career, I'm enjoying it for interest's sake. I have a vague idea that it might lead to science journalism and documentary film-making, but right now I'm happy to go with the flow.

Dont. Go for a Master's after the BA. You can easily master in linguistics with a psych BA.

A Master's increases your pay rate and job finding potential.

Thanks for the replies and advice so far everyone. I live in Canada. In order to get an .M.A. in Linguistics with a Psych degree I need to have completed certain Ling courses (which would take me 1-2 years to get) which would bring me close to having another B.A. in Ling anyway (because I don't have to re-do gen ed requirements that I already did for my first degree). I'll have to find out how close and if it's worth just doing the courses and Applying for the .M.A. or doing the B.A. and then the M.A. The general consensus here seems to be that I should just to do the M.A. if I can (which probably makes sense…)

Last edited by daydreamer84 on 19 Apr 2012, 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I know some ppl who have done a humanities degree and then a life sciences degree. This I don’t think is a waste of time because there are a lot of job opportunities with a B.A. in life sciences. I wish I was interested in something more useful than Linguistics...... I'm glad there are other indecisive ppl out there like me though ................

The Canadian system is very similar to the US system when it comes to graduation requirements and credit hour requirements.

In the US to get a 2nd bachelor you just need to do 30 or 40 credit hours (1 year of classes full time) because you already completed the general ed. required classes with the 1st bachelor. MA degrees are also 40 hours but are much harder classes so people tend to spend 2 or 3 years completing it as they take one or two classes per semester.

Bottom line however is that when you go to apply for a job in linguistics with a BA in it... you will *always* be put in 2nd place after someone with an MA in linguistics. Always.

Also, regardless of if you take the BA or MA in linguistics you still have to take the same required basic courses.. im betting that if you look at the university catalog and see what classes are pre-requirements for the MA level classes you will find them to be the basic level linguistic BA classes and they are not that many..they're roughly one semester full time worth of class.

So.. why not just go for the MA? Its just one semester of BA level classes to get through first then do the MA

You are completely right. I only need one year worth (5) credits in Linguistics in order to apply to the Master's program.....I was finally able to speak to the right person today. The courses I was interested in taking are actually the ones I need in order to apply to the M.A. program ( syntax and phonology)! I think it's definitely worth going for the M.A. It will probably take me 2 to 3 years to complete the one year Master's but I'm prepared for that. Now I just have to take the GREs, write a letter of intent and email prof's to beg for academic references.....(scary)

I'm working on my second bachelor's degree right now. For my personal situation I think it's the best decision I could have possibly made and am very happy with it, but it may not be quite so advantageous given your situation. It pretty much instantaneously opened up a huge number of doors for me career-wise. However I can't see a bachelor's in linguistics helping in any way. It doesn't really have any direct relation to psychology and honestly I don't think there's very many jobs at all that would require a degree in it. Make sure that you are balancing personal interest with employer interests...you want to make sure that if you do put in the time and money to go back to school, someone will be willing to hire you when you get out!

snap, I am doing a double degree one in psychology and one in linguistics. I think the two work really well together. I'm in my last year.

I'm happy for you!

Wrong, so much wrong I had to write this:

I have a second degree in Literature (1st is Law). It helps a lot, I write about Law and Literature a lot, and even use it in my practice.

Psychology draws a lot from Literature (take Freud and psychoanalysis). It will help both in your practice, and understanding.

And last but not least, you can pursue an academic career... which would make a lot more sense than "sweeping floors", since you like to study and all.

That is my experience, at least.

Good luck!

I hope you are not suggesting that your personal experience alone proves what I posted to be wrong. Take a look at job advertisements anywhere in the world and see which skills and degrees are in greatest demand. Humanities degrees are not.



If liking to study is the main or only motivation, sure. But, if money/career is more important, no. I mentioned an academic career, but those are not easy to get (depending on where the OP is located/planning to live).

now that is what I should have done.....................

Thanks