I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from a college they had a
strong liberal arts curriculum. I also took many credits in computer
science, religion, philosophy, and communications. Others have said this
earlier in this thread, but I highly recommend whatever you do decided to
get a degree in, that you make sure you get a well-rounded liberal arts
eduction. This is especially helpful in a library setting where you will be
interacting with people from all different academic disciplines; Having a
little background goes a long way. I'd also recommend a school where you
are able to (easily) have significant interaction with full-time faculty
and not have many or most of your courses taught by adjuncts or doctoral
students. It is not that adjuncts and doctoral students can not be
excellent teachers (in fact some of the best professors I have had were
adjuncts) but the connections and the help navigating your way into grad
school (should you choose to go in that direction after you receive your
bachelors degree) will be valuable.

If I were to do it all over again and had the resources and grades, I would
go to a highly ranked smaller liberal arts college and get a well-rounded
education (probably would still major in math) for an undergraduate degree
and than go to a highly ranked graduate program at a research university
(most likely a PhD program). I guess that isn't much different than I did,
except for the PhD part, but my undergrad degree wasn't from the highest
ranked school ever, even if it was a good school.

FWIW: I also have a MLS and unlike some people, I thought it was an
extremely useful and worthwhile degree (but that is another topic).

Edward


On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 9:16 AM, Pikas, Christina K. <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I highly recommend a Physics degree. 1) not as many required courses as
> engineering so more electives, more opportunities to study the important
> Russian Literature you might need as a surgeon :) 2) heavy math, heavy
> computer science but in a solve-a-problem sense, not in a maintain-a-server
> sense which gets out of date quickly 3) fascinating stuff in class 4)
> people who graduated with me went on to PhDs but others went on to do MDs,
> law degrees, and some started work immediately as computer scientists :)
>
> Christina, BS, MLS
> Oh, and adding a BS after your name is fun, too!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Riley Childs
> Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 11:17 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [CODE4LIB] College Question!
>
> I was curious about the type of degrees people had. I am heading off to
> college next year (class of 2015) and am trying to figure out what to major
> in. I want to be a systems librarian, but I can't tell what to major in! I
> wanted to hear about what paths people took and how they ended up where
> they are now.
>
> BTW Y'All at NC State need a better tour bus driver (not the c4l tour, the
> admissions tour) ;) the bus ride was like a rickety roller coaster...   🎢
>
> Also, if you know of any scholarships please let me know ;) you would be
> my BFF :P
>
>
> Riley Childs
> Student
> Asst. Head of IT Services
> Charlotte United Christian Academy
> (704) 497-2086
> RileyChilds.net
> Sent from my Windows Phone, please excuse mistakes
>