Prediction of best & worst majors in the future

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Law enforcement of some sort will always be around and needed. DD wants to be a detective but I want her to pivot into some sort of investigator role instead.

Detectives are investigators, same job different title.

Law enforcement roles of all types will be difficult to outsource or automate, although robotics, AI and other emerging technologies will supplement and enhance humans will will still need to exercise discretion and judgment in responding to and in interpreting situations which call for a law enforcement response. The same is true of firefighting and emergency medical services.

[Anonymous]

Honestly? philosophy

A very difficult major and therefore a signal to hiring managers that the kid can think, and _likes_ to think. About anything you care to throw at them. Signaling intent with relevant summer internships and ECs will help with post-grad hiring.

In a rapidly changing professional landscape, adaptability will be key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? philosophy

A very difficult major and therefore a signal to hiring managers that the kid can think, and _likes_ to think. About anything you care to throw at them. Signaling intent with relevant summer internships and ECs will help with post-grad hiring.

In a rapidly changing professional landscape, adaptability will be key.

I was going to say this too. And add that we will need people to try to understand why we inflicted the disaster of the future upon ourselves.

[Anonymous]

As a programmer I'm with your DH. I've been actively trying to steer my kid away from computer science and towards a related field that will last.

And I agree that philosophy trains the brain in a way that is really valuable. My undergrad school offered philosophy with concentrations in basically every other major we had. It was really cool and in retrospect I wish I'd done it. My sibling did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? philosophy

A very difficult major and therefore a signal to hiring managers that the kid can think, and _likes_ to think. About anything you care to throw at them. Signaling intent with relevant summer internships and ECs will help with post-grad hiring.

In a rapidly changing professional landscape, adaptability will be key.

I was going to say this too. And add that we will need people to try to understand why we inflicted the disaster of the future upon ourselves.

I can answer that without a degree…

Greed. People want money and power and so they destroy other people with less power in order to get it. That’s it. Couple that with our apparent biological inability to prioritize long term sustainability over temporary comfort and here we are. This would all be manageable with about 7 billion fewer human beings on this planet but alas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a programmer I'm with your DH. I've been actively trying to steer my kid away from computer science and towards a related field that will last.

And I agree that philosophy trains the brain in a way that is really valuable. My undergrad school offered philosophy with concentrations in basically every other major we had. It was really cool and in retrospect I wish I'd done it. My sibling did.

Idk but currently philosophy majors are under employed and don't get paid much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? philosophy

A very difficult major and therefore a signal to hiring managers that the kid can think, and _likes_ to think. About anything you care to throw at them. Signaling intent with relevant summer internships and ECs will help with post-grad hiring.

In a rapidly changing professional landscape, adaptability will be key.

Philosophy, international relations/studies, regional studies, history, languages are all useful, and IMO fun and rewarding. Even with the talk of AI, STEM, and more "technical" degrees; anything that touches geopolitics, international affairs, cultures of the world, history, etc will always be in demand and useful. Sure, you might need to get a Masters and/or a PhD eventually; and/or work for the government, military, think tanks, NGOs, and other sectors; but people with knowledge of a particular region of the world, culture, language, philosophy, and more will find rewarding employment.

Couple those aforementioned degrees with experience in cybersecurity and other more technical fields and you might be set for a while, inshallah.

[Anonymous]

Best - something like Biorobotics

Worst - Anything that can be replaced by a robot or AI (which is nearly everything)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a programmer I'm with your DH. I've been actively trying to steer my kid away from computer science and towards a related field that will last.

And I agree that philosophy trains the brain in a way that is really valuable. My undergrad school offered philosophy with concentrations in basically every other major we had. It was really cool and in retrospect I wish I'd done it. My sibling did.

Idk but currently philosophy majors are under employed and don't get paid much.

The ones with a career plan do just fine.

[Anonymous]

Our dd is a college sophomore. At the accepted student/parent weekend in Spring 2023, they told us most of the jobs our kids would have by the time they graduated, didn't exist yet. I believe this

[Anonymous]

Mathematics.

Unfortunately math departments are having their resources divested to the latest "it" majors of moment such as data science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? philosophy

A very difficult major and therefore a signal to hiring managers that the kid can think, and _likes_ to think. About anything you care to throw at them. Signaling intent with relevant summer internships and ECs will help with post-grad hiring.

In a rapidly changing professional landscape, adaptability will be key.

+1. I graduated with a double major in physics and philosophy. And my philosophy courses prepared me to understand and think about physics in a critical way more than my math courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Law enforcement of some sort will always be around and needed. DD wants to be a detective but I want her to pivot into some sort of investigator role instead.

Detectives are investigators, same job different title.

Law enforcement roles of all types will be difficult to outsource or automate, although robotics, AI and other emerging technologies will supplement and enhance humans will will still need to exercise discretion and judgment in responding to and in interpreting situations which call for a law enforcement response. The same is true of firefighting and emergency medical services.

Not so. I know what I’m talking about. They are two totally different occupations. An investigator is one who may work on one’s top secret clearance not a detective who solves crimes.

[Anonymous]

engineering - chemical, computers, materials, civil are going to be fine

[Anonymous]

Pretty much none. AI will ruin white collar jobs first. Best option are the trades.