So few liberal arts majors

[Anonymous]

I was looking up colleges on this government College Navigator site and it was somewhat eye-opening how few students are majoring in liberal arts disciplines, with the exceptions being science and psychology. I guess it shouldn't be surprising given the high cost of college and economic uncertainty, but as a former social science major it makes me a bit sad.

Site: https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

[Anonymous]

And psych isn't even a real liberal arts major. It's mostly kids who want business but can't handle the math.

[Anonymous]

The US decided it was “behind”min STEM so the pendulum swung too far in that direction. And just look at all the joy all this tech has brought us.

Social media algorithms that polarize us politically and socially and keep us addicted to it.

A generation of students who’ve never read a novel.

Algo trading that has lead to flash crashes, and just siphons off value from the financial markets without creating any actual value.

Crypto nonsense.

I’m not a Luddite, and I know technology is important for advancement of humanity, but our students should spend at least as much time considering what they SHOULD do (and for whom they should do it) as they spend considering what they CAN do. Which is why I encouraged my DC to only consider colleges that have a strong liberal arts core (even if DC majors in a STEM subject)

[Anonymous]

It is a bit sad.

[Anonymous]

Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

Yet many study the sciences...Not to be anti-intellectual, but many scientific pursuits are purely meaningless, require a PhD, and pay $30k-40k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

This.
My daughter is graduating with her Master of Accounting. Not a fancy major, but she looked at her options and decided that she would have a decent paying job with right out of school and she could see a career pathway. She interned at a big 4 and will be full-time after graduation. So, you're correct, some kids look at college as a means to start a career. However, in undergrad she did complete the honors college program, so she got a good exposure to the classics - which she enjoyed. And her school has a 60-credit core curriculum so she's not pointy, but when selecting a major, her job prospects carried a lot of weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

Yet many study the sciences...Not to be anti-intellectual, but many scientific pursuits are purely meaningless, require a PhD, and pay $30k-40k

So friggin true it hurts. Studying physics was great but possibly one of the most useless things I have done in my life. It is mostly a field that generates no profit and has been consistently a mess for the pass 50 years with little progress to the fundamental questions still lurking. Overall, I would not recommend a science degree over a mathematics or engineering pursuit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The US decided it was “behind”min STEM so the pendulum swung too far in that direction. And just look at all the joy all this tech has brought us.

Social media algorithms that polarize us politically and socially and keep us addicted to it.

A generation of students who’ve never read a novel.

Algo trading that has lead to flash crashes, and just siphons off value from the financial markets without creating any actual value.

Crypto nonsense.

I’m not a Luddite, and I know technology is important for advancement of humanity, but our students should spend at least as much time considering what they SHOULD do (and for whom they should do it) as they spend considering what they CAN do. Which is why I encouraged my DC to only consider colleges that have a strong liberal arts core (even if DC majors in a STEM subject)

Well said

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

Yet many study the sciences...Not to be anti-intellectual, but many scientific pursuits are purely meaningless, require a PhD, and pay $30k-40k

So friggin true it hurts. Studying physics was great but possibly one of the most useless things I have done in my life. It is mostly a field that generates no profit and has been consistently a mess for the pass 50 years with little progress to the fundamental questions still lurking. Overall, I would not recommend a science degree over a mathematics or engineering pursuit.

Even worse is when scientists need to fund their own labs. I know a few highly intelligent 'unemployed' ones right now. It's rough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US decided it was “behind”min STEM so the pendulum swung too far in that direction. And just look at all the joy all this tech has brought us.

Social media algorithms that polarize us politically and socially and keep us addicted to it.

A generation of students who’ve never read a novel.

Algo trading that has lead to flash crashes, and just siphons off value from the financial markets without creating any actual value.

Crypto nonsense.

I’m not a Luddite, and I know technology is important for advancement of humanity, but our students should spend at least as much time considering what they SHOULD do (and for whom they should do it) as they spend considering what they CAN do. Which is why I encouraged my DC to only consider colleges that have a strong liberal arts core (even if DC majors in a STEM subject)

Well said

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

Yet many study the sciences...Not to be anti-intellectual, but many scientific pursuits are purely meaningless, require a PhD, and pay $30k-40k

So friggin true it hurts. Studying physics was great but possibly one of the most useless things I have done in my life. It is mostly a field that generates no profit and has been consistently a mess for the pass 50 years with little progress to the fundamental questions still lurking. Overall, I would not recommend a science degree over a mathematics or engineering pursuit.

Even worse is when scientists need to fund their own labs. I know a few highly intelligent 'unemployed' ones right now. It's rough.

Not just funding their own labs but funding the institution via their labs. That is a very broken system.

[Anonymous]

I'm a teacher (not in the DC timezone, before anyone wonders why I am posting now).

Last year I had one senior intending to major in English Literature, and another in French Literature. Both came from families so wealthy they would never need to depend on a career for money.

The state of liberal arts in academia today reminds me of the way study of things like music, art, and classical languages was treated as purely the realm of the aristocracy in Regency and Victorian novels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

False dichotomy. You can have a rigorous liberal arts education AND major in something “practical”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Very few kids live in the DCUM bubble and can afford to major in something frivolous knowing that their school’s prestige and parental connections will ensure they do well anyway. Most kids are forced to be practical.

This.
My daughter is graduating with her Master of Accounting. Not a fancy major, but she looked at her options and decided that she would have a decent paying job with right out of school and she could see a career pathway. She interned at a big 4 and will be full-time after graduation. So, you're correct, some kids look at college as a means to start a career. However, in undergrad she did complete the honors college program, so she got a good exposure to the classics - which she enjoyed. And her school has a 60-credit core curriculum so she's not pointy, but when selecting a major, her job prospects carried a lot of weight.

What fuggin school?