You double major in linguistics and computer science..
Much to your surprise, you discover that the analytic skills required to be a good computer scientist and the analytic skills required to be a good linguist, while not exactly the same, complement each other quite nicely. You totally blow the curve in many of your undergrad linguistics classes because 1) tree diagrams don’t scare you, and 2) you wrote a LISP program to do most of your phonology homework for you—those English Lit weenies trying for an “easy” minor in linguistics never had a chance. Your comp sci honors project is just that little program you wrote to do your phonology homework, with a few “optimality theory” buzzwords thrown in. You graduate with high honors.
While applying to grad school in computational linguistics, you stumble onto one of the fundamental truths of the field. Most computer scientists don’t understand linguistics at all, and most linguists don’t understand computer science at all. You actually have a solid background in both—and while you enjoy serious discussions in the field, you come to realize that you can BS your way through most conversations with a practitioner in either field by dazzling them with your competence in the other field.
Maybe you don’t need to go to grad school. Maybe you should just get a job.
Look for a job with your undergrad linguistics/comp sci degree.
Go to grad school in computational linguistics.
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