Double major dilemma

Hi Madison!

Pursue your dreams and investigate what others have done with a degree in English. The best thing that you can do is to talk the head of alumni relations at your school to arrange to meet and talk to graduates of your school who majored in English to see what advice they have, what they are doing, how they got there, and how you feel about it. There are many successful people majored in English.

Here is a site that will educate you as to what areas people have gotten into with a major in English. If you find anything that looks interesting, talk to the head of alumni relations at your school to arrange to meet and talk to people who graduated from your school who are doing that.
https://english.stanford.edu/information-for/undergraduates/careers-after-english-major

Best of luck! Please keep me informed. I would like to follow your progress.

Hi Madison,
Yes, both majors could help you at different times and opportunities. Since you enjoy English, then editing could be fun. Regarding math, you might study geometry to design cars or airplanes. You could even work on computer plans with algorithm. Best luck, Mark Wagner

Hi Madison,

Great questions! I can see you've definitely put a lot of thought into this. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, liberal arts degrees have unfairly gotten a bad rap over the years.
Thankfully, though, things are beginning to change. For example, an article in Forbes last year said that liberal arts degree had become the tech industry's "hottest ticket": http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/07/29/liberal-arts-degree-tech/380a0bd45a75.

CIO Magazine echoed that sentiment this year saying liberal arts degrees are "valuable in tech":
http://www.cio.com/article/3110007/it-skills-training/why-liberal-arts-degrees-are-valuable-in-tech.html

I emphasize this because I know what it's like to struggle with whether or not I selected the best major for me. Many of my friends and colleagues went through exactly that same experience. Many of us, now in our 30's, STILL question whether we made the right decision. For years one of my friends said his history degree was a waste until he began substitute teaching, caught the teaching bug, and is now in his first year of teaching middle school history (and working on a master's degree). A colleague majored in philosophy but now works as an operations analyst (a very technical job). My point is that I don't want you to be too hard on yourself when deciding on a major. You'll be able to define a laundry list of pros/cons no matter which choice you settle on.

One thing I'd like to propose is for you to engage in a bit of reverse thinking. Instead of thinking, "Will X major(s) help me to land X job?" think "What does X job require in terms of degree, experience, etc.?". I tell you this because obtaining a job is rarely ever about a singular element such as a degree (although I concede there are exceptions to the rule). A good employer will view candidates holistically - meaning they will look at a variety of factors include your degree (possibly your GPA as well), volunteer/work/internship experiences, involvement in extracurricular activities, membership in professional organizations, etc.

Personally, I don't think it is necessary for you to double major. It will potentially extend your time to graduation and will certainly result in more tuition dollars. Couple that with an increased workload and you risk facing severe burnout. A major in one field and a minor in the other field is arguably just as beneficial.

Lastly, since you seem to have a keen interest in technical fields, you may wish to consider joining a group such as the Society for Technical Communication: https://www.stc.org (be sure to check out their definition of technical communication as well, I have a feeling it will appeal to you: https://www.stc.org/about-stc/defining-technical-communication).

I hope this helps, but if you have more questions please post them. I wish you luck!