Advice Needed! Double major in NUS

[Joltkiller]

Hey guys, I am really desperate for advice and bope someone can help me out with this query i am facing.

I am gonna pursue a Degree in Science Major in Chemistry, and am considering to aim for a Second Major in Management (Mgmt).
I am thinking whether this is a good choice for a double major?
Are these 2 fields considered distant?
Will this actually improve my employment opportunities?
Will companies looking for business executives and project managers actually consider my application seeing that I have a major in Mgmt?
How will my pay be like and what other career prospects?

So many questions. Hope someone can help me out. Thank you for even reading this

 

[mgx-alander]

can only ans 1st qn..

yes it is very very distant, why would u wanna do a double major with absolutely no relation at all? you have to ask urself y..

 

[hiroki01]

Hey guys, I am really desperate for advice and bope someone can help me out with this query i am facing.

I am gonna pursue a Degree in Science Major in Chemistry, and am considering to aim for a Second Major in Management (Mgmt).
I am thinking whether this is a good choice for a double major?
Are these 2 fields considered distant?
Will this actually improve my employment opportunities?
Will companies looking for business executives and project managers actually consider my application seeing that I have a major in Mgmt?
How will my pay be like and what other career prospects?

So many questions. Hope someone can help me out. Thank you for even reading this

Hi.. I'm also a chem major and I'm doing a double degree in sci/arts (it's hard to get more "distant" than that).

Let me begin by qualifying myself heavily: the reason I've chosen to do such a combination is purely because of interest, and I haven't for a second considered anything like your questions 2-5 above. For that reason I'm probably not very well-positioned to advise you on what impacts (if any) certain combinations will have on your future.

Although let me say this: expect yourself to have to invest more time/effort than an average student if you decide that you're going to do more than them. If you actually -like- what you're studying, this is perhaps less difficult/painful than it might sound; the converse is true if you -don't- enjoy what you're studying and are doing it only because of the potential prospects, or because someone else is telling you to, or whatever other reasons.

Ultimately, what constitutes a "good" choice depends on you, not what other people may think. If you have other questions/concerns I'll be happy to help if I can.

 

[Joltkiller]

mgx-alander, hiroki_01: Firstly, thanks for your advice and time, appreciate it. I was thinking of getting another major in business management assuming that it will be an added point when I am qualified in terms of experience to climb up the corporate ladder. Marketing and Human Resource management may come in handy when it comes to higher managerial posts. That is what I THINK which may not have any basis, thus i'm seeking advice. I am most definitely pursuing an honors as my primary goal, but since I have 40% of unrestricted electives to take, planning to dedicate them and pursue an additional major that may help my future. So any other futher advice?

Truly thankful for your guidance and helpful advice.

 

[Darkzi0n]

u seems to be really keen to be in the biz sector... den y r u choosing Chem as ur first major?

And do be aware that a biz and chem combination will probably be quite hectic.. altho i nvr took any chem mod before but like all hard sciences, i think u need considerable amount of effort and consistent work to do well... biz on the other hand will have alot of projects and presentations which will eat up alot of time as well.

 

[yoshi_fanboy]

Given that you have the intention to pursue managerial posts at some point in your career, then my question to you is: So why do you pursue a primary major in Chemistry? How would that be related to your future career?

 

[hiroki01]

mgx-alander, hiroki_01: Firstly, thanks for your advice and time, appreciate it. I was thinking of getting another major in business management assuming that it will be an added point when I am qualified in terms of experience to climb up the corporate ladder. Marketing and Human Resource management may come in handy when it comes to higher managerial posts. That is what I THINK which may not have any basis, thus i'm seeking advice. I am most definitely pursuing an honors as my primary goal, but since I have 40% of unrestricted electives to take, planning to dedicate them and pursue an additional major that may help my future. So any other futher advice?

Truly thankful for your guidance and helpful advice.

This might be a bit of an overgeneralization, but a good proportion of chemistry majors end up in teaching or industry. I'm actually not very familiar with the "business" side of industries since I'm under the impression (which may be inaccurate) that most of us are more likely to be in the technical sectors. Of course if you're still unsure if research is really for you, having a major in business management may be helpful if you can see yourself doing something like that next time.

Credits wise, there are only 28MCs of free electives for a chemistry major, i.e. 7 modules. That's just nice for a minor, but if you're doing a second major or a double degree, you'll definitely have to overload during some or all semesters, and/or delay graduation. Also note that they have revamped the syllabus last year to include experimental modules even in years 1 and 2 which will need you to commit a 7-hour period every week (although the experiment itself isn't likely to take that long) - these modules are the ones to especially look out for when planning your timetable to avoid clashes. The chem department is rather notorious for its inefficient admin, so the onus is usually on us students to look out for ourselves in these matters...

 

[hiroki01]

u seems to be really keen to be in the biz sector... den y r u choosing Chem as ur first major?

And do be aware that a biz and chem combination will probably be quite hectic.. altho i nvr took any chem mod before but like all hard sciences, i think u need considerable amount of effort and consistent work to do well... biz on the other hand will have alot of projects and presentations which will eat up alot of time as well.

Dark has a very good point here. Actually if you ask me, the single most important thing you need to survive uni (especially if overloading) is good time management (not saying other things aren't important).

Try to aim for a mixture of modules that require more consistent coursework (e.g. arts/language mods, or modules with essays, seminar-based stuff, etc... are biz mods like that?) and those that require more intensive/focused work over short periods of time (e.g. most sci mods, with test/exam being their main modes of assessment). If you are overloading too many mods of the same "kind", it can be really taxing.

Also... avoid having more than 1 exam on one day (I had 3-paper days before - they aren't fun).

 

[methylc]

I guess it'll be worth trying out 1 or 2 biz mods per sem for one sem or one year... then make a decision... you'll have a clearer idea by then. I'm not anywhere close to being an expert in this though.

 

[mgx-alander]

fac of sai is very hardcore 1, not CSB especially physics and chemistry..

I am a Computer Sai major, i have to take a total of 8modules from FAC of sai to clear degree requirement (dont ask me why)

Once i took 3 fac of sai module together (Bcos i hate those and wanna clear it ASAP), oh my ******* god, it was a total disaster, fac of sai is really time consuming (4hours lecture per week 1hour tutorial, if suay 3hours lab),

and sch of biz mods although is more slack (the workload) compared to fac of sai (2hour lecture per week, 1hour tutorial), but the projects and presentation that u have to do also alot

and i dun think u have 40% of modules that can go to your 2nd major thats alot 40% of 160MCs = 16 Modules (i.e. 3semster equivalent) as hiroki has pointed out, its 28 not 64..

 

[Joltkiller]

Thanks hiroki and others. I think i will probably get a minor in management with pursuing an honours in chemistry as the primary goal

Question: why dont i pursue a degree in business instead... Yeah that's my primary dilema since i have offers for these 2 courses... My mindset is that.. Business is very competitive and it would be hard for me to stand out and climb up the corporate ladder in my future career.. And i assume that business modules are nth but words which make them very dry... But i see chemistry as not so distant from what i learnt in JC.. It's just like further studying chem to a deeper extent. Comparing science logics and business ethics, legislation and definitions.. I think i will be more interested in chemistry.. Please DO correct me if i have the wrong conceptions

 

[hello7777777]

Chem degree prospects quite limited, and I was a Chem major. Do consider carefully. But you have to enjoy what you do in uni. Nowadays, bank sector usually require Business/Accountancy degrees, and you are limited to the few industries you can go with a chem degree.
That said, there are lots and lots of business degree grads, and some newly grad MBAs cannot find jobs. Talk about hypercompetition...