I started out to be petroleum engineer then switched to economics. With the current price of oil, I'm not sure my decision was economicly sound.

Another Philosophy major here. I had naive undergraduate dreams of opening a little roadside philosophy shop. "Life is a Twinkie. That'll be $5."

(okay, I stole that bit from Jay Leno....)

My minor was English, just because I had to have a minor and English would only require another 6 hours over what I already had when I switched majors. I could have picked up a Math minor for 6 hours as well, but that seemed more like work.

I was English major / History minor.

The history minor in me comes in handy occasionally when making closing arguments, while the English major in me makes me compulsively point out grammatical or spelling errors. (Like "economicly")

Undergrad--University of Texas: Political Science (I can overthrow a 3rd world country) minoring in History (and tell you why)

Grad--University of Houston: Business specializing in Quantitative Management Science Concepts (computerized inventory control in the 1980's--my COBOL programming experience comes in real handy nowadays); didn't finish this degree. My (now ex-) husband tried to kill me so I left Houston.

I have a major in history and a minor in English. I got there after starting out in architecture (and figuring out that I was probably not going to be the next Frank Lloyd Wright) and moving to Agricultural Economics (trying to be practical).

My most useful courses, however, probably are the four semesters of Latin (which I took because I thought it sounded pretty impressive and because the classes were not conducted in the language). So far, no one has needed my bilingual skills.

Hey, Jim's Latin post made me realize my youth was even more misspent before college. I did A-levels in England (sort of like an associate's degree). One was in Classical Civilisations (to use the British spelling!). So I spent two years studying Greek history, art, architecture, and literature. Fascinating subject, but not something that gets a lot of daily use. (Although if you ever need a discussion of the political commentary in Aristophanes' "The Frogs", I'm there.)

Double major: I got B.A.'s in Political Science & German in Dec. 1981, then on to graduate school (putting off law school one year) to obtain an M.A. in German, which was bestowed upon me in Dec. 1983.

I do think 2 undergraduate courses I had helped me in law school - Constitutional Law: Powers & Constitutional Law: Limitations. Taught by a Prof. w/ a J.D. and in the Socratic method style. We had a case book, read & briefed the cases & had to recite & regurgitate. So law school's basic format was not new to me.

My German helped me only in that it made me more aware of grammar in both English & German, so I believe I came out of that understanding both English & German better and better able to discern that which I read. And the old, middle-high German junk I read in grad school was remarkably similar to old English.

Being an Episcopalian, I was not surprised and confused when the word, "vouchsafe" popped up in legal reading, 'cause our old Book of Common Prayer was chock full of funny old language.

BA History and English (Yawn). 1st 2 years in AF as supervisor of jet aircraft mechanics. Air Force sent me to law school at Texas Tech. Got my commercial pilot's license while in law school! (One has to know one's priorities!) 6 years in England, 7 years in Turkey, with tours of Texas in between. Finally escaped to civvy street in '98.

This will really date me, but my major was Poly Sci (at USC--go Trojans!) with a double minor in English and International Relations. I believe Poly Sci was the standard major for pre-law in those days. I had a class mate who got her degree in Meteorology from the Univ. of Kansas and then did a stint in the Air Force as an ICBM launch officer.

Janette Ansolabehere

Shannon, I do not want to get off on any tangents, but always be careful what you "ask for".

My studies were carefully designed for a legal career, taking courses such as American Legal History, Criminology, English History, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law. Then I met my first judge and found it was a whole 'nother ballgame.

Major: history; minor: poly sci. I did go to law school with a young lady whose major is interior design. She made a darn good lawyer. I always advise people interested in law school to major in the subject where they will make the highest grades.

B.A. in the Science of Nursing--actually quite useful when I need a supplemental income--the pay is much better

I majored in "graduation." Anything to avoid going back to the "Nam"

I majored in Sociology and didn't bother with a minor, other than the Dixie Chicken. Why would I need a secondary field of study with a cash cow like Sociology? When my mom asked in the September before I graduated what my grand plans were in May, my only answer was a shrug. She then proposed law school as an option in contrast to what likely would have been a fast-paced career in food service.

Nothing special about mine (BS in Criminal Justice) but my wife ...... Double majored. BS in Music Education and a BS in Applied Piano with flute as a secondary instrument and an English minor. She taught K-4 music in public school and private piano lessons before deciding to go to law school. Now she is a board certified family law attorney.

One has to have earned bad karma to marry the church pianist and end up with a divorce lawyer. It does make for short arguments. She simply writes down what I would pay in under the child support guidelines and walks off.

[This message was edited by Tuck on 08-03-06 at .]

I started out as a Environmental Sciences major....changed to Radiological Technology....then graduated with a degree in Broadcast Journalism (and almost enough hours to have a minor in history!). As I dreamed of being next Katie Couric, I was surprised to discover that my first job out of college was going to pay me a whopping $6 an hour. So, I applied to law school.

Refugee from the business school at UT. Changed to liberal arts. Majored in History with a Minor in Classics...thus making me the most educated guy at McDonalds.

Letters. I bet not a soul has heard of that.
It is a liberal arts major that is similar to humanities. I studied an ancient language (Latin) and a modern language (French). And concentrated on English and the classics.
Sounds boring, I know, but I actually loved it.

Actually, I worked for an immigration attorney who had a degree in Letters. All I knew about it was what you said - some sort of lib arts something-or-other. But at least one soul reading your post has heard of it