# Do some college degree plans actually decrease your job prospects? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244 "2012-04-09T11:42:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/41 "2012-04-10T14:25:42Z")
In Computer Science: BS good, MS better, PhD much, much worse than a BS. I’ve run into the worst, stupidest prejudice against PhDs. They want the students that I taught a fraction of my knowledge. After all they know the “new stuff” and I don’t. Um, _I_ taught them the new stuff. And they only picked up a tiny bit of what I know. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/42 "2012-04-10T16:55:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > In Computer Science: BS good, MS better, PhD much, much worse than a BS. > > I’ve run into the worst, stupidest prejudice against PhDs. They want the students that I taught a fraction of my knowledge. After all they know the “new stuff” and I don’t. Um, _I_ taught them the new stuff. And they only picked up a tiny bit of what I know. Are you sure you’re facing PhD discrimination and not age discrimination? I’ve never had a problem. However I agree that jobs you are eligible for are more limited, but they are better jobs. We interview new PhDs all the time, and I hired one last year, and tried to hire another. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/43 "2012-04-10T17:01:06Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Every hiring authority is going to have their prejudices whether they admit it or not. I freely admit I have prejudices. (IMO people who claim they’re “completely objective” are simply lying.) Though it may not be accurate, I make instant judgments on a person based on their chosen field of study when I review resumes. A women’s studies major? I picture an angry, spiteful, intolerant, and bitchy woman, and I won’t waste my time interviewing her. Psychology major? I picture a flaky person with no real talents or drive. Communications major? I picture someone who had no idea what he/she wanted to major in and sailed through college without any real challenges. Chemistry major? I picture an analytical person who’s not afraid to tackle difficult subjects. > > Fair? No. But I don’t have time to determine if a sociology major would make a good employee. Rightly or wrongly, I make a snap judgments based on what I see in their resumes. On the basis of your and **SoP** ’s colloquy above, it is fair to infer that you generally hire only for entry-level positions such as lab techs? Because my reaction to all this hand-wringing about college concentrations is that nobody cares what a person majored in and are much interested in what one has done professionally. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/44 "2012-04-10T17:47:45Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I seriously doubt that there any undergraduate degrees that actually decrease your job prospects, but there are some graduate degrees that might. If you have a PhD in women’s studies (or anything named \_\_\_\_\_ studies, really), there are very few academic jobs that you’re qualified for, and you’re competing with people from other humanities and social sciences fields. Private employers aren’t going to find you all that attractive either, worrying that you’ll think their work is too boring or that you’ll jump ship as soon as a professorial job pops up (this is a delusion). So that may be the answer to the OP. The graduate degrees can make a difference in a lot of areas. Companies are reluctant to hire overqualified people believing they will have dissatisfaction with the job. With graduate degrees this becomes a problem when salaries are tied to the level of education. Companies may not want to pay extra for the masters or doctorate where it’s not seen as a job requirement. This can also be the case for an undergraduate degree for a job where no degree is required. But in general, job prospects have more to do with experience, work ethic, recommendations, and specific areas of knowledge than a degree. Even where there is a specific degree requirement, those other factors will be stronger in choosing between applicants who meet the basic requirement. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/45 "2012-04-10T19:29:01Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > In Computer Science: BS good, MS better, PhD much, much worse than a BS. > > I’ve run into the worst, stupidest prejudice against PhDs. They want the students that I taught a fraction of my knowledge. After all they know the “new stuff” and I don’t. Um, _I_ taught them the new stuff. And they only picked up a tiny bit of what I know. Nah. You’re just too expensive and would probably be dissatisfied with the work. Good computer programmers in silicon valley routinely make 150k. What would you charge? Besides, good engineers don’t need to know a lot. They need to **DO** a lot. When what you’re doing is programming an API, designing a database or building some middleware layer. Most companies don’t need a Ph.D for this. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/46 "2012-04-10T19:57:56Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > Nah. You’re just too expensive and would probably be dissatisfied with the work. > > Good computer programmers in silicon valley routinely make 150k. What would you charge? > > Besides, good engineers don’t need to know a lot. They need to **DO** a lot. When what you’re doing is programming an API, designing a database or building some middleware layer. Most companies don’t need a Ph.D for this. Good programmers don’t make $150K. Those who do are great programmers who design and not just program. The PhDs I look for are able to not just do the job, but to create the job. Most jobs don’t need this level of skill, but those who do have a lot less competition than for grunt programming jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/47 "2012-04-10T20:32:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Good programmers don’t make $150K. Those who do are great programmers who design and not just program. > The PhDs I look for are able to not just do the job, but to create the job. Most jobs don’t need this level of skill, but those who do have a lot less competition than for grunt programming jobs. Sorry, yes great programmers. My view is probably a bit skewed as I know several of those 150k programmers personally. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/48 "2012-04-10T20:40:31Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > Sorry, yes great programmers. > > My view is probably a bit skewed as I know several of those 150k programmers personally. And, **Harmonix** will not mind my sharing with you, he also has a very big dick! Heavens, are people so anxious about their professional trajectories that we really are going to argue about who had the better college major fifteen years after the fact?!? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/49 "2012-04-10T20:52:00Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > And, **Harmonix** will not mind my sharing with you, he also has a very big dick! > > Heavens, are people so anxious about their professional trajectories that we really are going to argue about who had the better college major fifteen years after the fact?!? :rolleyes: Did I say I was the one making 150k? I said I know several programmers who do. I was addressing someone who was complaining that s/he wasn’t getting hired despite ‘knowing’ more. I am not a programmer. I’m back in grad school for science and I expect to make significantly LESS money then if I continued on with the career trajectory I was on with just a bachelors. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/50 "2012-04-10T21:33:08Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > They got marked off and chastised by the TA because they should only “talk about their feelings on the matter” and that “facts didn’t belong in discussions about \” And this was with two different TAs. I feel compelled to note that I have serious doubts that this story has been relayed accurately. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/51 "2012-04-10T22:17:37Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Is math considered liberal arts? Yes: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal\_arts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts) But especially classically, when 3 of the 7 Liberal Arts were math. (grammar, **logic** , rhetoric, **arithmetic** , **geometry** , music, astronomy) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/52 "2012-04-10T23:02:49Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But I don’t see substantive evidence of this discrimination. > > Is there evidence that a liberal arts degree results in WORSE employment prospects than no university degree? No, but there is evidence that majoring in Underwater Basketweaving is less employable than majoring in Accounting or Engineering. I thought we were going for “decrease your job prospects over other degrees” rather than “decrease your job prospects over no degree.” If the question is the second, I’d think that for most “corporate” jobs any degree is better than no degree, though I think Crafter Man is right and that everyone has personal prejudices - but I doubt Women’s Studies is the only major like that - other than the other “oppressed people” sorts of fields, there is probably prejudice against those “flighty” Theatre majors, those “proselytizing” Religious Studies majors, conservative “ROTC” majors (though they generally aren’t looking for a career post college)…there are lots of strange prejudices. But I think Kimmy’s point is valid - after you land that first career job…it probably doesn’t make a ton of difference in the end if you majored in Studio Arts or Applied Math - if you have established the skills (with an Art History degree I did two years of Six Sigma statistical process analysis…no one really cared that I hadn’t taken a math class in 20 years, I got trained and was fairly competent at it). ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244/53 "2012-04-11T02:00:46Z")
I’m an English Lit graduate. Would you like fries with that? Seriously, I got lucky. Very lucky. Not that I remotely in the slightest want the “office job with steady hours” I hoped for way back when, but I managed to make it due to some other circumstances. And now 10 years later I’m still trying to find what I really wanted to do. (Editing. Which I hear is outsourced these days.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-college-degree-plans-actually-decrease-your-job-prospects/618244.md?page=2)