College majors: should they be useful or something you love?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Serious question, AHunter - how do you account for the tremendous difference between your experience and LOUNE’s.

I gotta say the anecdotes I’ve heard have me thinking more along the lines of LOUNE.

I’ve got 3 kids between 16-20, and my strong recommendation was that they choose something that will be marketable, while involving something they love.
-My eldest wants to be a HS band director, so she’s studying music ed.
-The next wants to design airplanes, so will study aero engineering.
-The youngest has no idea. I strongly suggested that if she did not have some true love, that she consider something involving science or math, or perhaps business. (While I consider much of business BS, my understanding is that a lot of businesses feel differently.) Right now she’s saying bio, pre-med. But that may well change several times…

22
  1. My major was psychology, which was both professionally-based and of personal interest.
  2. I do not work in a psychology-related field, but my degree was required for my job. Personally, I still have great interest in the field and frequently read books and magazines on the subject.
  3. I have no regrets whatsoever.

I think it’s worth mentioning that twice during my college career I changed my mind about what I wanted to do. I entered school totally believing I was going to be a kickass print journalist. I did extracurriculars related to writing and editing. I checked out my school’s journalism curriculum and read up on the professors. And then I waded through two journalism classes and was totally not into it. I did well, but my heart wasn’t into it at all. I couldn’t explain why my mind changed if my life depended on it.

So I dropped it as my major and picked up psychology. I chose it because I really liked the 101 class I had and thought the professor was great. (I wound up teaching one of his classes and working as his research assistant a couple years later.) I enjoyed abnormal psych and wanted to study organizational psychology. But as I got closer to graduation, the desire to spend more years in school diminished. I didn’t want to spend the next seven years doing research and writing papers. I would have hated it if I made myself do it. So I didn’t.

My point is you don’t know whether you’ll change your mind on what you want to do with your life, so don’t kill yourself trying to lay down the foundation for it now. I think the best compromise is to pick a major that is both of interest to you personally and of practical professional application, and supplement your studies with jobs/internships that round you out better or are more directly related to what you think you want to do. That way, you’re not heavily committing yourself down one path and you can tailor your experience to suit any change in direction you may decide upon.

Also, in your OP, you said that a liberal studies major would help you develop a lot of critical thinking skills. Don’t undervalue this. I think developing these skills is far more important than how the major will look on your resume. It’s far more important, IMO, to have valuable skills that you can take to ANY job rather than have qualifications that look good to employers in one particular field.

23

Ideally you want to study something that is both practical and enjoyable. Picture what you want to be doing 5 years after graduation. If you don’t picture yourself wandering around a construction site with your hard hat giving orders to big fat guys, you shouldn’t study Civil Engineering.

The value of a college degree hasn’t diminished. The problem is that we are steadily moving towards a professional services economy - accountants, lawyers, consultants, bankers, etc. The days when you could finish high school and go work in the local mill, mine or factory for a decent union wage are gone. You will be competing in a work force that is much more educated than it was 20 years ago.

“Nobody gives a damn about GPA” is a misconception. Clearly most people are working so B, C and D students do find jobs and many are eventually successful. On the other hand, there are MANY jobs and careers that are highly competetive.

The workforce tends to create a “tiered” effect. Your motivated A students will tend to go to better colleges, get better grades and go work for more competetive companies with their peers. More mediocre students will come out of mediocre schools and be forced into mediocre jobs.

People don’t generally realize this because they are surrounded by their peers. Every company I’ve worked for fed their employees a line of bullshit about being the “best and the brightest”. If that’s the case. why isn’t everyone here a Wharton MBA or a PhD from MIT? Because they are the “best and the brightest” of the people who actually showed up.

24

  1. Undergraduate double major in Linguistics and Archaeology, MA in Linguistics. Intended on getting a Ph.D but quickly learned that I was not very good at playing the graduate school game. My choices were all based on personal interest. I had some vague notion of eventually teaching but future employment never really had any bearing on my choice of studies.

  2. I work as a professional archaeologist now so it definitely helped professionally. There are certain permits one needs to have to work on federal lands that you cannot get without a graduate degree. It eliminates many very qualified people who went to grad school but never finished. I’m not sure what you mean by “personal environment.”

  3. No regrets. Never though that I’d be where I am today and doing what I do. I would be the first to admit that it has been somewhat fortuitous but I have no regrets.

25

I think I understand what you’re saying, but my point is that employers don’t generally ask you what your GPA was in college. (Or is my experience anomalous? It may very well be.) Sure, if you’re an A student, you’re probably more motivated than a B student, etc., but not necessarily. My profession had nothing to do with my undergraduate degree, so I concentrated on my professional skill set to the detriment of my GPA. Overall, I had a B- average from a very good university (with a B+ average in my major). But I didn’t care because prospective employers had no interest in my GPA or major, for that matter, just what my most recent work was.

I know plenty of people who had horrible undergraduate GPAs (mainly journalists and photojournalists) who are at the top of their profession (two have won Pulitzers), working at places like the New York Times, Washington Post, etc. I’m just saying GPA isn’t as important as it’s sometimes made out to be.

26

  1. English. Went into it purely because it was what I loved doing and was good at, with no particular thoughts about how it would translate into a career. As it turned out, one of my professors collared me after class and said, “Hey, you should think about being an English professor,” which I did, since I didn’t have any better ideas. So it ended up being a pre-professional major, but didn’t start off as one.

  2. Since I ended up going to grad school, yeah, it’s obviously helped professionally. I do think it was a gamble: getting a PhD and going into this particular career was, and is, a precarious leap of faith. I count myself lucky that I’m teaching full time, and I’m not tenure-track (keep your fingers crossed that I will be). On the other hand, people who can write will find jobs, period. I’m not going to say that having an English degree goes hand in hand with being able to write, but it helps.

Personally? I got to spend four years reading really good books, and I can think of few more pleasurable ways to spend them.

  1. No, I don’t regret my decision, and I don’t think I would regret it even if I knew I would never work in academia again after this year. It’s been a pleasure.
27

Here’s one study I could find.

Another study:

28

I’m only 26, so it’s not like I couldn’t get back into academia and get something going schoolwise, but there’s a desire to get life started. The area in which I live is not condusive to someone in my situation at all (no jobs around) so I have entertained the notion of moving, but I don’t have the money for such a thing and I don’t know where I’d go.

I’ve entertained the notion of hopping to Chicago a few times. It’s close and I presume that there could be employment. I have no clue, however.

29

I majored in English and minored in history, and teach English and social studies (Economics, actually) so that worked out just like I planned.

As far as a major goes, I think they should be useful unless you really, really love something. If you really, really love something–if there’s something you’d rather do over anything else in the world, something where motivation is never an issue, study that in college no matter how useless it seems or how competitive the field is–if you love it that much, you’ll be able to make a living that way. However, it has to be something you really love, not just something you love the idea of–i.e., if you’ve written 3 bad novels and submitted poetry to journals all over the US by the time you graduate, major in creative writing. But if what you’ve mostly done is thought about how cool it would be to be a writer, major in something more practical and take some creative writing classes on the side.

On the other hand, if you just like something a little more than you like anything else, chose a practical major, one that will get you a job you don’t hate,

30

Major: Political Science & Economics
Career: Currently an executive in technology. Picked up an MBA along the way.
Thought: No regrets. Knowing how to write, reason, read and run statistics makes a difference in business. Unless you go into a technical field, your major won’t matter within 5 years of graduation (though your alma mater will be with you for LIFE).

31

  1. I have a BSc in Biochemistry, though in that time I studied mostly organic chem. I suppose it was a personal interest decision to begin with, since I didn’t know what to choose, but it was motivated largely by the desire to get a degree that could pretty much translate directly to a job (rather than a BA, I suppose). I also enjoy(ed) science, so it was never in doubt that I’d pursue a science-based education.

  2. That choice pretty much led me directly to a summer student job at a pharmaceutical company, which meant I was hired when I graduated, and I worked there for 2 years after. I moved to Montreal, and was hired within a couple of weeks of beginning to search for a new job. I was with that employer for a year. From a personal standpoint, I made some good friends.

  3. For the last 2 years of 3 working full-time, I regretted my career path every. single. day. I intensely disliked the job, though I liked the people I was working with and for (for the most part!) I was in a lab, as an analytical chemist, and I very quickly felt like I wasn’t learning anything new anymore. I was training new (and old!) employees, I was taking more and more responsibility, and when I was 24 my supervisor told me that she wanted me to start taking a bit of a management track, because she was sure that was the best direction for me. I don’t know why, but that depressed me so much! I just didn’t want to be in her shoes, EVER! As I started to look around at the industry, I realised that there wasn’t a single other position that held my interest; I just didn’t want to be there. I spent a lot of time looking for other jobs, looking for things that interested me more, and the more I did that, the more I realised that I had the entirely wrong university education/qualifications for any of the jobs that piqued my interest!

So. I’m 26 now, and a first year Engineering student. I have a pretty good idea of the types of work I’d like to do, and I’m working towards that. I’ll let you all know how it goes!

32

I majored in something I loved in undergrad because I planned all along to go on to SOME form of graduate training (ended up in medical school - which is also something I genuinely enjoy and find interesting!). However, in the midst of my med school training, a family crisis occurred that made me think I’d have to drop out midway through, and it would have royally sucked for me if I had ended up having to rely on my crappy liberal arts BA degree to make a living (much less to pay off my med school student loans!).

For that reason, with what I now know, I definitely recommend getting something practical for an undergrad degree. Once you have a way to pay the bills, you can study the stuff you’re truly passionate about in your free time (or maybe pursue it as a second degree if you really love it that much).
Besides, if you’re stuck struggling to make ends meet after college, you’ll probably end up being too tired from working crappy jobs to spend much time on the fun stuff you studied to get that philosophy or art degree. :wink:

33

1. What kind of major did you get?

Double major in biology ( natural history and systematics/taxonomy oriented, largest but not exclusive interest in herpetology ) and history ( no particular emphasis ). I was a professional undergrad ( with the occasional biology grad class for spice ) for five years full-time and another eight part-time.

** Professionally based or personal interest?**

Purely personal. I was another one that largely divorced jobs from academia. Starting out I suppose I had vague ideas of maybe getting a job as a government field biologist. The other possible job track I considered was teaching at the High School or CC level, but my continued public speaking issues soon nixed that idea.

But really I was fairly extreme in pursuing what interested me, rather than what benefited me. Hence my long and storied college career.

My family was a bit unusual in being well-educated, but essentially working class. Not at all ambitious or career-oriented in the usual sense ( not that there anything at all wrong with either of those things ). A job was simply something you got to pay the bills while you pursued your real interests off the clock. Which is pretty much how things have turned out for me. As I’ve noted before my father rather infamously suggested I pursue the oh, so lucrative major of philosophy ;).

2. How much has that choice helped you? In both professional and personal environments?

Professionally? Minimal. My biology/chemistry/lab background was of minor aid in getting my current job, but was far in excess of what was necessary or useful. The history background was completely extraneous.

Personal? Eh, I dunno. Nothing negative. Made quite a few of my friends that way - mostly biologists, as long field trips and labs made for bonding experiences.

Certainly it’s still where my intellectual interests lie ( history more than biology these days ).

3. Do you regret your decision or not? Why?

Mostly not, no.

Looking back with all the vast ( or whatever ) wisdom I’ve accumulated in my 40 years, I suppose if I had to do it all over again I might have buckled down, finished my undergrad in history and then gotten a grad degree in Library Science and become an archivist. As a career, that likely would have been the most congenial for my personality, if not necessarily the most lucrative.

But as it is I greatly enjoyed my life as a professional student. I fell into a low-stress job that I don’t care that much about ( but also don’t dislike ), that pays very well. And it allows me to pursue my interests outside the job or at times on it ( it’s slowwww most days ). I’m pretty happy with my choices :).

34
  1. I was a political science major - I loved the field, and I was pretty sure I’d be either going to grad school for international relations, or law school, so I felt it was a logical choice.

2.) It’s helped out about as it thought it would - in professional terms, I was a solid (if somewhat bland) law school applicant, and I think my college work prepared me well for being an actual law student. Personally - well, I focused heavily on foreign affairs in college, and I love being a font of useless trivia about obscure conflicts.

3.) I don’t regret a darned thing - I’m happy with the education I got. It’s brought me to where I wanted to be, and I loved the ride. The only change I might make, in retrospect, is doing a double political science/business major - it might have been interesting to have that practical knowledge as well as the bookworm stuff. :smiley:

Honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much about picking a “practical” major. Major in something you like, so that you do well, and your transcript looks good to employers. Besides, you’re only in college once, my friend.

35
  1. What kind of major did you get? Professionally based or personal interest? Mix of both?

I have an AA in LAS and I am graduating with a BA in Classics in June. Entirely personal interest.

  1. How much has that choice helped you? In both professional and personal environments?

I was making 30k/year on my AA in a field entirely unrelated to my course load (junior college counselor: “So, what do you plan to do with all these [sneer]fine arts[/sneer]?” Work in engineering, I guess!)

When I originally applied to transfer to UCLA to get my bachelor’s, I picked Classics because I thought I wanted to teach or become an archaeologist (I held on to that dream a long time!). I found a niche interest in my studies here (Roman law and feminism, on some aspect of which I’ll be doing u/g research) and I will hopefully be on my way to law school after a year off.

  1. Do you regret your decision or not? Why?

No, I don’t. Frankly, I think that my Classics degree will stick out in the sea of PoliSci, History, and Philosophy majors that seem to make up the bulk of my law school applicants (just judging from my husband’s colleagues and other people’s statements “I am majoring in PoliSci because I want to go to law school!” I hear a LOT).

Also, I’ve had a broad range of exposure to other topics through Classics - for example, I am learning about filmmaking through a Homeric perspective this quarter; other topics have touched on everything from contemporary civics to art history. I make models, give lectures and engage in debates in addition to writing (lots and lots of writing). My major is very exciting and I have been pleased that I have a range of skills to use in it.

36

What is your profession? I would imagine that for journalists and photojournalists, their body of work would matter more than grades.

Whether companies care about GPA depends on a number of factors. Law firms, investment banks, management consulting firms and Fortune 500 management programs DO care about GPA, what school you went to and sometimes even your SAT scores (if it’s a highly quantitative position).

37

I was at Georgia Tech last year, studying to be an Electrical Engineer. Lucking my way into the best job ever, I also was an actual practicing EE in a part time job on campus, at the microelectronics research place.

I did well, GPA well above what it should reasonably be, etc. But I love art. I write, make films, paint, draw, design fashion shit, photography, music. I simply couldn’t give it up, because if I stayed at Georgia Tech, it was going to become increasingly harder to ever learn everything I wanted to about art. So I left and am now majoring in Film Studies with an emphasis on Apparel Design, Photography, and Fine Arts at a school that you’ll never find in US News Report and I love it. Do what you love, if life beats the shit out of you enough you can always try again. You live in America, which has one of the best social safety nets in the world. You really can’t fall all that far, at worst you might be poor for a good portion of your life. Whatever happens, happens.

38

  1. What kind of major did you get? Professionally based or personal interest? Mix of both?
    Accounting. I’m in marketing now. :rolleyes:

  2. How much has that choice helped you? In both professional and personal environments?
    On the face of it, my accounting degree seems to have jack to do with where I am now.

However, I worked in public accounting for a while before deciding to pursue my MBA (I wanted to go full time into consulting branch of my firm which required one). My work experience (along with other factors) helped me get into a good business school. While there, I switched into marketing. When I graduated, I was able to get myself a good job marketing for a financial services firm (since I had knowledge in both marketing and finance).

So I guess it helped me get to where I am today, albeit in a rather circular route.

  1. Do you regret your decision or not? Why?
    Nope. I enjoyed my accounting classes in college (really). My experience at a big time accounting firm proved valuable later on, if only to show that I could cut it in “the big leagues”. And I like having a niche for myself in marketing financial products.

As for the GPA thing, we pay attention to it only for new hires straight out of school. Once you have several years of good work experience, it doesn’t matter. However, it’s much harder to get that good work experience if you don’t get the best offers when you graduate–and you often need a strong GPA to do so.

39

Well, yes, photography/photojournalism as I mentioned before. Regardless, any work experience is going to be more important than college GPA, I would think.

I don’t saying some places don’t (many business and teaching positions in particular do care). But it’s my impression that GPA is not as big a deal as some make it out to be, and the two studies I pointed to above seem to bear this out, that GPA only has a very minor–if any–relationship to future success. It appears that a high GPA can even be a hinderance (which I tend to :dubious: at, but the study shows that 81 of 548 decisions sets were against the candidate with a high GPA. So it seems to me that quite a lot of recruiters give much more weight to other factors.)

I mean, hell, look at George W. Bush. :wink:

40

1. What kind of major did you get? Professionally based or personal interest? Mix of both?
A bit of all three: I double majored and minored.
Theatre major: I loved stage management, and the only way to do it was by majoring in it. I had a blast in college working on shows constantly.
English major: I’m pretty good at it, and I wanted something serious on my transcript. A single major in theater makes a pretty strong statement about a person, and I didn’t feel that statement was accurate with regard to yours truly.
Legal Studies minor: I knew from the time I was a pre-teen that I wanted to be a lawyer. But I didn’t realize my school had a (very small) legal studies department until Junior year. By that time, all I could get was a minor. I might have been able to triple-major if I’d figured it out sooner, or if I had gone longer than 4 years.

2. How much has that choice helped you? In both professional and personal environments?
Eh. I took a couple of years off before I started law school, and intended to spend some of that time stage managing professionally. But it turns out that a B.A. in stage management from a prestigious school doesn’t do jack squat to get you work. All they care about in that field is professional experience and networking. I got plenty of offers to work for tiny playhouses for no money, but it would have taken me at least two years to work up to being able to support myself, and by that time I’d be in law school.
How it did help me, however, was in applying to law school with a looong transcript. People were surprised I was able to pull it off in four years.

3. Do you regret your decision or not? Why?
Not the choice of majors, no. I do wish I’d taken some computer classes though. Also, my undergrad advisors said the English major would help me in law school. It has not. In fact, it has hindered me. Legal writing is a universe apart from literary writing, and I’ve had to unlearn all of my “good” writing habits.
I cannot recommend strongly enough that you figure out a way to double major. It gives your résumé greater flexibility, and it shows potential employers depth of character. Each item on your transcript will make a statement about you. The more stuff you get on there, the more statements you can make.

Of course, the best thing to do, as has been mentioned upthread, is to be born loving some skill that is also highly marketable. That requires a lot of planning though.