Arguing with DS over major

[Anonymous]

Good thing all of us liberal arts majors in our 40s have wifi available so we can still post on DCUM while we are homeless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- we are paying for the college. He can't pay for it himself, so that is how we will stop him from going to college for a year or two.

Why he does not want to go into a good program because he does not want to take calculus.

And yes there are some jobs out there that might take a history/geography major, but for each opening thousands of unemployed liberal arts majors send their application in.

We worked really hard to get to the point where we can afford college for our kids, paying for a history/geography degree for us is like spending 100k for a car that will break down in a few years, it is not a good financial decision. Fact is your college major will determine if you are homeless or in the upper class when you are 40, maybe it is sad, but that is how it is in modern America.

This is so far from the truth. I believed you at first but you cannot be real.

OP here: how so? Are you saying a guy with a history has the same job prospects as a guy with an engineering degree, assuming the same stats? I may be wrong (I didn't go to college in the US) but doesn't what job you get depend on what major you chose, for the most part?

Maybe I exaggerated, my DS would probably live with us as I certainly wouldn't let him be homeless, but all I hear from parents of non-engineer/business/CS/nursing majors is that their kids have yet to get a job and are now in dire economic situations.

I think what you are failing to understand is that simply possessing a degree in the sciences - if your DS can even make it far given how much he hates the idea and the fact that engineering, for example, is a a total weed-out major - does not necessarily automatically give one better job prospects. It's so much more than that - your grades, your particular talents, your marketing, your networks.

There are several government agencies and private companies that actively recruit geography majors. In this area, going into the geospatial intelligence field can make you some good money. I'm the poster from before who has experience in this.

Even if you make your DS major in one of the fields you mentioned, there's no guarantee he'd end up even working in that field. It just sounds like a lose-lose situation for all involved.

[Anonymous]

This is a cultural difference.

Asians would never stand for those crappy majors. The whole white let them find themselves bull shit is why their numbers at TJ are falling.

The only sucesful people who majored in liberal arts are those that went to grad school for something useful.

[Anonymous]

You clearly have no idea what geographers actually do. It's not a liberal arts degree--at many schools its in an earth science or science college. Most graduate programs in geography offer full funding for their students.

The BLS projects geography jobs are going to grow by 29% over the next 10 years. Maryland has a very strong geography program (3rd in the country as of 2010).

Also, for what it's worth, average salary for geographers is higher than that of BS degreed nurses. If you're going to bump gepgraphy as an acceptable degree you better cut nursing as well.

[Anonymous]

What does he want to do for a job?

[Anonymous]

and here I am *hoping* my son will major in geography, LOL. Given his interests, I can't imagine something he would enjoy studying more.

OP, it is your job (as someone who can afford it) to help him go to college. Once he graduates, it is *his* job to find gainful employment. *He* gets to decide what kind of job he is interested in. Not you. If he doesn't want to be a nurse or engineer or programmer, he won't be. Did your parents tell you what kind of job to get?

Jobs rarely depend on the major, or rather, they depend on the major only for a very small share of jobs. Engineering, nursing--sure, you can't get those jobs without the major. But many, many, many jobs are open to people with a wide range of majors. Even computer programmers often major in something besides computer science. A major in history and geography will teach him to think and analyze and write. Those skills will serve him well no matter what he does.

Please, let go. This is the beginning of HIS journey. Have you raised him well? Then let him find his way.

[Anonymous]

Nursing, Computer Science, and Engineering are very specific and difficult majors. You need to really want to pursue these majors to stick with them and be ready for a lot of math/and or science.

[Anonymous]

My husband majored in geography (BA) and earns $120k. The key there he knows his GIS...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- we are paying for the college. He can't pay for it himself, so that is how we will stop him from going to college for a year or two.

Why he does not want to go into a good program because he does not want to take calculus.

And yes there are some jobs out there that might take a history/geography major, but for each opening thousands of unemployed liberal arts majors send their application in.

We worked really hard to get to the point where we can afford college for our kids, paying for a history/geography degree for us is like spending 100k for a car that will break down in a few years, it is not a good financial decision. Fact is your college major will determine if you are homeless or in the upper class when you are 40, maybe it is sad, but that is how it is in modern America.

I can't call troll on this because I would feel the same way. Here's how I would cope: mandate an 1) urban planning internship; 2) getting certified in GIS; 3) excellent grades. Uh, and of course, I'd offer a gap year as incentive and "real life" experience. Work with an architecture firm on an affordable green housing project for a developing country or something, for example.

Signed, Liberal Arts major with Ph.D. I don't use.

[Anonymous]

You're an idiot. My DH is a highly paid consultant who majored in political science (also a crappy major).

I can't believe you would tell a college student what to major in.

FWIW, I agree there are better major choices, but ITS NOT A PARENTS PLACE TO DICTATE THIS CRAP.

[Anonymous]

I would have thought this was a joke as well, but I know a couple who swears they will not pay for anything but a business major for their kids. Talk about a waste of money. Signed, another successful liberal arts major.

[Anonymous]

My only thought on reading this is wow, what the hell is wrong with you? And I say this as someone with an engineering degree.

Engineering is a tough grind for someone who's not really interested in it. I couldn't imagine pushing someone into it who wasn't interested and/or showing an aptitude. Plus the salaries flatline - they start out good for a college grad, but don't really go anywhere after that unless you get an advanced degree and use the engineering as a base for something else.

History/Geography are respectable majors. It's not like he's going for underwater basket weaving. Seriously, back the hell off. You are freakishly controlling and are on your way to either ruining his life, alienating him from you completely, or some delightful combination of both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so my DS has decided he will be going to Maryland-college park next year, and now he wants to major in History and Geography.

Obviously, we are not okay with this. We are paying his tuition, and don't want to waste our money on a useless degree. He knows which degrees are okay with us (nursing, engineering, business/accounting, and computer science). We have gotten in several arguments but he seems dead set on wasting our money. We are at the point where we are going to tell him we are not going to allow him to go to college and wait a few years until he is mature enough to make an informed decision on his major, but was wondering if any of you guys had any last-ditch ideas of how to convince him to choose a more acceptable major.

WTF is the matter with you?

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I bet most people on DCUM were liberal arts majors. This board seems populated with upper income people earning multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars, rather than computer programmers, nurses, accountants, and lab technicians toiling for $50k to $75k per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- we are paying for the college. He can't pay for it himself, so that is how we will stop him from going to college for a year or two.

Why he does not want to go into a good program because he does not want to take calculus.

And yes there are some jobs out there that might take a history/geography major, but for each opening thousands of unemployed liberal arts majors send their application in.

We worked really hard to get to the point where we can afford college for our kids, paying for a history/geography degree for us is like spending 100k for a car that will break down in a few years, it is not a good financial decision. Fact is your college major will determine if you are homeless or in the upper class when you are 40, maybe it is sad, but that is how it is in modern America.