Most regretted majors and least regretted majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I see these lists and posts it makes me realize that most people have very limited imaginations. Many people do not work in their degree field, so why is one’s major so important? Also, when you graduate from college, you are 22 and have lots of life ahead of you. Who cares about your first job? If you have any intelligence at all, you would have to be bonkers to believe that your life is ruined because you pursued an English degree and now are 22. Even people who pursue more practical degrees like economics, get MBAs and law degrees after undergraduate school. I think an English major could do the same.

Agree! Your career can be a winding path. It does not have to be a straight line slog through college, grad school and the same desk for 40 years. The interesting people have done many things so they bring a unique perspective to their workplace.

I hire people and I’m always interested in different experiences and how that shapes a candidate.

Of course, I am one of the posters who firmly believes college is not trade school and I don’t worship the T20 schools. I’m a flexible enough person to see that talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

College IS trade school for all but the 1%.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed my liberal arts education at a state university. Most of my profs had Ivy Ph.D.s
Later I went back for more science, but my job paid for most of it. I wish my kid in science had more liberal arts. Including art history and English and world lit. It engages you in the larger world.

Kindly disregard phone typos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I see these lists and posts it makes me realize that most people have very limited imaginations. Many people do not work in their degree field, so why is one’s major so important? Also, when you graduate from college, you are 22 and have lots of life ahead of you. Who cares about your first job? If you have any intelligence at all, you would have to be bonkers to believe that your life is ruined because you pursued an English degree and now are 22. Even people who pursue more practical degrees like economics, get MBAs and law degrees after undergraduate school. I think an English major could do the same.

Agree! Your career can be a winding path. It does not have to be a straight line slog through college, grad school and the same desk for 40 years. The interesting people have done many things so they bring a unique perspective to their workplace.

I hire people and I’m always interested in different experiences and how that shapes a candidate.

Of course, I am one of the posters who firmly believes college is not trade school and I don’t worship the T20 schools. I’m a flexible enough person to see that talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

College IS trade school for all but the 1%.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I see these lists and posts it makes me realize that most people have very limited imaginations. Many people do not work in their degree field, so why is one’s major so important? Also, when you graduate from college, you are 22 and have lots of life ahead of you. Who cares about your first job? If you have any intelligence at all, you would have to be bonkers to believe that your life is ruined because you pursued an English degree and now are 22. Even people who pursue more practical degrees like economics, get MBAs and law degrees after undergraduate school. I think an English major could do the same.

Agree! Your career can be a winding path. It does not have to be a straight line slog through college, grad school and the same desk for 40 years. The interesting people have done many things so they bring a unique perspective to their workplace.

I hire people and I’m always interested in different experiences and how that shapes a candidate.

Of course, I am one of the posters who firmly believes college is not trade school and I don’t worship the T20 schools. I’m a flexible enough person to see that talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

College IS trade school for all but the 1%.

Disagree so maybe we will need to agree to disagree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I see these lists and posts it makes me realize that most people have very limited imaginations. Many people do not work in their degree field, so why is one’s major so important? Also, when you graduate from college, you are 22 and have lots of life ahead of you. Who cares about your first job? If you have any intelligence at all, you would have to be bonkers to believe that your life is ruined because you pursued an English degree and now are 22. Even people who pursue more practical degrees like economics, get MBAs and law degrees after undergraduate school. I think an English major could do the same.

Agree! Your career can be a winding path. It does not have to be a straight line slog through college, grad school and the same desk for 40 years. The interesting people have done many things so they bring a unique perspective to their workplace.

I hire people and I’m always interested in different experiences and how that shapes a candidate.

Of course, I am one of the posters who firmly believes college is not trade school and I don’t worship the T20 schools. I’m a flexible enough person to see that talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

College IS trade school for all but the 1%.

+100

+1

You have to be extremely privileged to spend 4 yrs of your life and several hundred thousand dollars on honing your "critical thinking" skills. This is the reason why the college industry needs to blown up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that criminology is one of the least regretted majors and sociology is one of the most regretted. Almost all of the criminology classes are sociology classes. A criminal justice degree is a waste of 150k because you don't need need the degree to get a job as a police officer. Furthermore, college doesn't give you any of the skills it takes to do the job, so big waste of time/energy/money.

I noticed the same thing, but my kid wants to major in criminology.

Maybe have them major in something more general and then apply to the police force after graduation, then they could go to law school later or something else they might discover later on if they wanted to, with a less specific major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I see these lists and posts it makes me realize that most people have very limited imaginations. Many people do not work in their degree field, so why is one’s major so important? Also, when you graduate from college, you are 22 and have lots of life ahead of you. Who cares about your first job? If you have any intelligence at all, you would have to be bonkers to believe that your life is ruined because you pursued an English degree and now are 22. Even people who pursue more practical degrees like economics, get MBAs and law degrees after undergraduate school. I think an English major could do the same.

Agree! Your career can be a winding path. It does not have to be a straight line slog through college, grad school and the same desk for 40 years. The interesting people have done many things so they bring a unique perspective to their workplace.

I hire people and I’m always interested in different experiences and how that shapes a candidate.

Of course, I am one of the posters who firmly believes college is not trade school and I don’t worship the T20 schools. I’m a flexible enough person to see that talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

College IS trade school for all but the 1%.

+100

+1

You have to be extremely privileged to spend 4 yrs of your life and several hundred thousand dollars on honing your "critical thinking" skills. This is the reason why the college industry needs to blown up.

Exactly. DCUM is filled with 1%ers so they won't get it. But the middle class children of immigrants who disproportionately fill up the STEM programs at state schools do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/12/the-top-10-most-regretted-college-majors.html
No surprise given limited employment options of some majors

This is just more clickbait

Exactly. The real regret was not have my rich connected parents to hook you up after graduation. One of my classmates studied Russian lit and is a partner at Goldman.

My real regret is not understanding that in certain majors, success is largely dependent on your home financial situation. It's not just about connections, but also about being able to finance your trip to Russia to learn Russian better than you can in a classroom, or to volunteer overseas for a year instead of having to wait tables because your student loans are due.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I see these lists and posts it makes me realize that most people have very limited imaginations. Many people do not work in their degree field, so why is one’s major so important? Also, when you graduate from college, you are 22 and have lots of life ahead of you. Who cares about your first job? If you have any intelligence at all, you would have to be bonkers to believe that your life is ruined because you pursued an English degree and now are 22. Even people who pursue more practical degrees like economics, get MBAs and law degrees after undergraduate school. I think an English major could do the same.

Agree! Your career can be a winding path. It does not have to be a straight line slog through college, grad school and the same desk for 40 years. The interesting people have done many things so they bring a unique perspective to their workplace.

I hire people and I’m always interested in different experiences and how that shapes a candidate.

Of course, I am one of the posters who firmly believes college is not trade school and I don’t worship the T20 schools. I’m a flexible enough person to see that talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

College IS trade school for all but the 1%.

+100

+1

You have to be extremely privileged to spend 4 yrs of your life and several hundred thousand dollars on honing your "critical thinking" skills. This is the reason why the college industry needs to blown up.

Exactly. DCUM is filled with 1%ers so they won't get it. But the middle class children of immigrants who disproportionately fill up the STEM programs at state schools do.

Yes, this. When I was in college back in the 80's, people used to talk about finding a subject you love and majoring in that, because it wouldn't matter. Any degree would do. Except by the time I graduated, that wasn't true anymore, and entire graduating classes were thrown into a newly specialized job market without degrees that matched any jobs. Those on the middle and lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder don't have the funds to weather that kind of career limbo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I see these lists and posts it makes me realize that most people have very limited imaginations. Many people do not work in their degree field, so why is one’s major so important? Also, when you graduate from college, you are 22 and have lots of life ahead of you. Who cares about your first job? If you have any intelligence at all, you would have to be bonkers to believe that your life is ruined because you pursued an English degree and now are 22. Even people who pursue more practical degrees like economics, get MBAs and law degrees after undergraduate school. I think an English major could do the same.

Agree! Your career can be a winding path. It does not have to be a straight line slog through college, grad school and the same desk for 40 years. The interesting people have done many things so they bring a unique perspective to their workplace.

I hire people and I’m always interested in different experiences and how that shapes a candidate.

Of course, I am one of the posters who firmly believes college is not trade school and I don’t worship the T20 schools. I’m a flexible enough person to see that talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

College IS trade school for all but the 1%.

+100

+1

You have to be extremely privileged to spend 4 yrs of your life and several hundred thousand dollars on honing your "critical thinking" skills. This is the reason why the college industry needs to blown up.

Exactly. DCUM is filled with 1%ers so they won't get it. But the middle class children of immigrants who disproportionately fill up the STEM programs at state schools do.

Uh, no. College is literally not trade school. There are trade schools, and then there are colleges. Going to trade school to be an electrician or a dental assistant is not the same thing as getting a degree in computer programming.

I think what you mean is that most people in college need a marketable degree. I agree with PP that people shouldn't fret about their major *too* much. They do need to think about what job their major will lead to. Savvy kids who major in English can have good editing jobs upon graduation while somebody who majored in biology, on the assumption that STEM = a paycheck, can be working at Starbucks.