We at WISE Words want to extend our warmest welcomes to Shaira Bhanji, who has been appointed the Harvard - WISE Words branch director! Shaira has been a dedicated and passionate WISE staff writer for the past year and we couldn't be happier to have her on board.  You can read a little bit more about her below.

Shaira Bhanji is a sophomore at Harvard (and a proud resident of Kirkland House!) concentrating in Economics with a secondary in Global Health/Health Policy. Her science experience includes research internships at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as well as at City of Hope National Medical Center. She is also a Global Health and Finance columnist for the Harvard Global Health Review. Her other interests include playing soccer, taking walks along the Charles, and making frequent visits to Pinocchio's Pizza and Boston Tea Stop (and sometimes the gym).

Welcome to the team, Shaira!


Want to start a WISE Words branch at your school? Email us at [email protected] for more information.

- Julia and Christina

Choosing your courses and majors may not feel like the biggest decision these days. In college, we are inundated with anecdotes of English majors who still became premed, and "Ec" majors who found swanky jobs in Wall Street. Indeed, what you major in and what courses you take may not necessarily prevent you from getting certain jobs right out of college. But which subjects are going to be most valuable to you in the long run? The Wall Street Journal decided to ask its readers what skills they would have acquired in college that would have helped them in today's workplace. According to their poll, if people could go back to college, many of them would major in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.

Though this is no shocker to us (the job market is increasingly favoring STEM majors), it is quite telling that readers of the WSJ, which likely include many economics and business majors, are now regretting not taking that intro to computer science (CS) and basic engineering class. According to the article, "turns out, there's a lot of interest in engineering and computer science." In these unstable economic times, job security is hard to come by. Yet, there will always be a need for professionals in sciences/tech/engineering and health as they have highly specialized skills that remain in high demand. A WSJ reader raved about the value of pursuing health careers. She states, "I have now gone back to college at the age of 55 and am enrolled in a health information technology program. Coding and medical records positions are about to increase tenfold…"

So whether you're a sophomore getting ready to declare your major, or a senior looking for valuable electives, definitely consider adding a few science, tech, or math classes to your schedule. I know that basic CS course I took my senior year was worth every minute!

- Julia

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903341404576482690258564996.html?mod=WSJ_Careers_CareerJournal_5