Hi, as the title says, I’m a Sophomore (about to be Junior) who is a double major.
My Interactive Media degree is incredibly disappointing and frustrating. I learn about nfts, social media, the metaverse, and other bs on a daily basis, and there’s more theory than technical things in this major. I also dislike that they emphasize “feeding the algorithm” (ex. social media algorithms) because I think the algorithm is over controlling and addicting, and I do not want to contribute to that in anyway.
Because of my scholarships and financial status, I can’t just change to a different major without graduating late and taking out student loans (I have a fullride).
But I can drop my major without having to pay anything back.
I’ve loved Japanese culture and language learning since I was a kid and I’ve always knew that I wanted to do something with languages. I decided that I want to be a Japanese language professor, and that I’ll dedicate my life to learning about the language and culture because it’s the one true thing I know I’m passionate about. I’m sure I won’t make much money, but at this point, I don’t care. I don’t want a big house or a fancy car someday, so it’s not a big deal to me.
Does anyone have any advice for how to proceed, and if what I’m doing is a good idea? (And just any other advice and stories about your experience).
I understand that they suggest for you to have a skill with a language, but I figured I can always teach myself skills outside of college if needed. Interactive Media is extremely frustrating and draining to me and I need out.
TLDR: Becoming a Japanese only major, want to be a language professor, need advice
EDIT: I posted this in the comments, but
So the field I planned to go into with Interactive Media was user experience. There’s only one class that teaches that, unfortunately. But other than that, every other class doesn’t really apply to the field, most of them are social media based and I really don’t want to do anything with social media.
And I’ve heard that user experience is also something I can teach myself. It’s a bit of a new career, so there’s not really an industry standard of needing a degree for it (or if there is, they just require that you have a degree in general). So I think I’d have a backup plan atleast. I’m pretty set on becoming a language professor though, I really want to get my masters and Ph. D in Japan.
The only other major I’d consider if I could change from Interactive Media is Graphic Design, which is yet, another thing I feel I could learn on my own time.
9 comments
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I would keep the Interactive Media degree if you can – it can at least give you a boost/credential to find a job in the tech industry, which can be fairly flexible or require minimal additional education to get different associate level roles. I studied advertising and my program was total BS in that they would not even talk about anything digital – they were so far behind teaching anything I needed to know to get a real job. But I used some skills I learned in design to get an entry level job in tech and I’ve been able to change horizontally into something I’m happier with. A Japanese degree doesn’t seem like enough to get you a job without another skill to pair it with unfortunately. I hope you can figure it out! College can suck and feel useless sometimes. I think we need a cultural shift to having more training and less theoretical educations.
Don’t major in Japanese. If that’s your only skill, you have to compete with 100million native speakers… Get a real skill, minor in Japanese.
Don’t change your entire future for a temporary obsession with anime, you’ll regret it your entire life…
Speaking as someone who’s been in the workforce for almost a decade, I’ve met relatively few people who are doing something related to what they studied in undergrad. For example I studied film production in undergrad, taught English in Korea and Japan for five years, got an MBA, and now I’m a product manager in gaming.
In the long run I think there’s a good chance you’ll be ok. In the short run, yeah it might be difficult. It’s your choice.
That does sound frustrating, but as other commenters stated it’s not really a good idea to only do Japanese either… Is there a related degree that might be able give you more applicable skills?
I would recommend that you tough out the Interactive Media major unless your mental health is seriously compromised by the endeavour. In two, five and 10 years time, it might open doors that lead to your true passion – Japan and Japanese – that majoring in Japanese alone may not.
Your disdain of the Interactive Media program as a whole and “feeding the algorithm” specifically can become a valuable asset in the future in terms of establishing a counter narrative and highlighting systemic deficiencies. It would actually be refreshing to be honest.
Most importantly though, I’m sure that your versatile skill set, even if acquired under duress, would multiply your opportunities, especially in a place like Japan. That could then lead you to deepening your understanding and knowledge of the language and culture.
Also, remote work options along with negotiating your work hours, pay and holidays in a competitive high tech/interactive media job market adds to the flexibility you could provide for yourself.
Tough it out if you can, with an eye Japanese as your long-term goal.
Congratulations!
You say you want to be a Japanese language professor, which is a lovely goal, but you might want to do research as to what that entails.
First of all, you’ll need an advanced degree, at least an MA, if not a PhD. Many MAs are not “funded,” meaning you’ll need to pay for schooling out of pocket (or with loans).
Second, you say you know you “won’t make much money,” but please look into this more closely. Due to changes over the past few decades in academia, most of the language professors are part-time and contract lecturers or adjunct professors. These positions normally receive no benefits and are paid abysmally little. They’re also temporary, so you may have not life stability as contracts won’t be renewed. You might need to move every year or two around the country, chasing temporary contracts and hoping for something permanent.
There have been many news stories over the past few years of adjunct professors cobbling together multiple jobs at multiple universities and still living close to the poverty line, surviving off of food banks, living out of their cars, etc. I say this not to scare you, but to caution you to enter an academic career with your eyes wide open.
I suggest you take a two-pronged approach as you contemplate a major change. First, talk to professors in your current Interactive Media department. Yes, “the algorithm” is terribly depressing, but they teach you these things so that you can critique them! Voice your concerns, and maybe your professors will have some good ideas for your future projects that work more with your ideas about media and perhaps even can show you how your major would be advantageous to change those things in society!
Then go and talk to the Japanese language professors. Ask them how they got there. Ask them about their journey. Tell them you’re interested in this career and they will give you some good ideas as to how to proceed. You r got great resources at your school!
If you like Japanese I’d say still try to do something else besides just the language. Language theory, translation, pedagogy, and interpreter (i separate it from translation as a live interpreter takes a different set of skills).
Many people are discouraging you but I say you can do it, however, you do have to look at your market more closely. Try to see what were the requirements for the people you mention who work in your school. Look up salaries in the areas you think you want to work.
Other jobs also receive a great boost from knowing Japanese like public/human relations. You could look into those.