Arguing with DS over major

[Anonymous]

I am a mid-career policy analyst making $140k. Most of my colleagues have masters degrees in public policy, public health, and public affairs or PhDs in economics/political science/public policy. What we majored in in college:

anthropology
biology
African and American world studies
math
linguistics
urban planning
economics
government/political science
history
business
sociology
religion

We all work on issues related to health care. No shortage of jobs in this area.

[Anonymous]

My parents did this and my brother never got his bachelors. He is working in a clerical job now.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're not a troll then you're an idiot and a shit parent. And if you are a troll and you have kids then you're still probably an idiot and a shit parent.

[Anonymous]

I actually know quite a few people in this area with Geography majors who do intel work and make $$$. They are all in their 20s and got jobs immediately after college.

Please push your kid to choose a career path. I feel like this wasn't explained to me enough when I was in college. You were just encouraged to choose majors you liked instead of careers you liked.

--said by an English major who was very good at STEM and wish parents had pushed harder for a different major!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually know quite a few people in this area with Geography majors who do intel work and make $$$. They are all in their 20s and got jobs immediately after college.

Please push your kid to choose a career path. I feel like this wasn't explained to me enough when I was in college. You were just encouraged to choose majors you liked instead of careers you liked.

--said by an English major who was very good at STEM and wish parents had pushed harder for a different major!

Too true!
Signed, fine art major.

[Anonymous]

OP it seems to me you already have your mind made up that it's a stupid idea and you won't pay for anything other than engineering. What you need from us is to tell you how to convince your 18 year old to comply, right. Well I hope you realize that it's not happening and that you let your son live his own life and and find his own way. Not only would be he be miserable (and I can't even fault him for not wanting to take calculus) for the next 4-6 years, but if he hates the major how do you think he'll feel about a career? He'll be miserable! I hope you back away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually know quite a few people in this area with Geography majors who do intel work and make $$$. They are all in their 20s and got jobs immediately after college.

Please push your kid to choose a career path. I feel like this wasn't explained to me enough when I was in college. You were just encouraged to choose majors you liked instead of careers you liked.

--said by an English major who was very good at STEM and wish parents had pushed harder for a different major!

Intelligence recruiting is down compared to pre-2010 on analysis side which is where many geography majors go - it is very competitive so it isn't exactly a 'gimme'.

furthermore, if you want this route, also be cognizant of security clearance requirements which can trip up many recruits. Polygraphs wash out good candidates and can be a crap shoot.

If he wants to work in it, to hedge bets I would suggest doing ROTC and then detaching after 5 years into the IC.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you are completely misinformed. I work for a college of arts and sciences at a top US university. On my advisory board are several alumni who graduated with "useless" degrees who are now executives at Fortune 500 companies, VP's at investment firms, successful entreprenuers, attorneys and doctors. Many of them did not major as undergraduates in what they eventually went on to do.

I suggest you read research from the American Association of Colleges and Universities that demonstrates what employers really want - http://www.aacu.org/leap/presidentstrust/compact/2013SurveySummary.cfm.

Here's a summary of the skills they want to see MORE of: "More than 75% of employers say they want more emphasis on 5 key areas including: critical thinking, complex problem-solving, written and oral communication, and applied knowledge in real-world settings."

At a good school, if you work hard and apply yourself, you can gain those SKILLS (vs. specific knowledge) through any major and by participating in research opportunities, internships, and experiential (hands-on) learning opportunities. Students who focus on a very narrow subject, and who take a minimal number of liberal arts courses, may be trained to do something very specific but lacking in the exact skills employers say they want.

Bottom line - you are looking at this the wrong way. If you try to force your (now legally adult) child down a path YOU want, versus supporting them in what they are passionate about, they will not do well in school. Period. I have seen it time and time again. Your child will be more successful if you allow them to pursue their passions academically while encouraging them, throughout their college experience, to take advantage of opportunities that allow them to apply what they've learned in practical, real-world settings.

Do it your way and you will not only damage your relationship with your child, but you will stymy their learning (and future earning) potential. Think on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

People need to qualify these things then: when they graduated, where from, and how they got on their career track then.

A history major from geogetown SFS or princeton has options more open for a wider variety of careers than one from a state school.

As someone who has an intense passion in history and geography and wish I double majored in it - if my children wanted to major in it but did not get into a top 25 private with great recruiting for a wide variety of careers, i would ask them to double up in econ, applied math, cs, finance, even take the 8 pre-med foundtaion classes....OR do rotc/ocs.

something to augment it. It's a different recruiting world out there.

[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 haven't read the wholel thread because i knew people were going to attack you. your money, your rules - no such thing as 'adult' while parents are paying the bills.

OP, you are correct but you need to broaden your options. nursing sounds bad (for a man), but being a doctor sounds great. is he interested in being a doctor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

And given your age and when you came into the work force and the economic and geopolitical forces that have shaped the work place in a multitude of sectors, your experiences are not very useful.

I think those who graduated in the mid 2000's and beyond have a better idea for UG's on this topic.

[Anonymous]

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.

i haven't read the wholel thread because i knew people were going to attack you. your money, your rules - no such thing as 'adult' while parents are paying the bills.

OP, you are correct but you need to broaden your options. nursing sounds bad (for a man), but being a doctor sounds great. is he interested in being a doctor?

There's difference in interest in ability - most interested pre-med's don't make it to med school.

[Anonymous]

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.

i haven't read the wholel thread because i knew people were going to attack you. your money, your rules - no such thing as 'adult' while parents are paying the bills.

OP, you are correct but you need to broaden your options. nursing sounds bad (for a man), but being a doctor sounds great. is he interested in being a doctor?

Clearly, no. He is interested in history and geography.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think you are completely misinformed. I work for a college of arts and sciences at a top US university. On my advisory board are several alumni who graduated with "useless" degrees who are now executives at Fortune 500 companies, VP's at investment firms, successful entreprenuers, attorneys and doctors. Many of them did not major as undergraduates in what they eventually went on to do.

I suggest you read research from the American Association of Colleges and Universities that demonstrates what employers really want - http://www.aacu.org/leap/presidentstrust/compact/2013SurveySummary.cfm.

Here's a summary of the skills they want to see MORE of: "More than 75% of employers say they want more emphasis on 5 key areas including: critical thinking, complex problem-solving, written and oral communication, and applied knowledge in real-world settings."

At a good school, if you work hard and apply yourself, you can gain those SKILLS (vs. specific knowledge) through any major and by participating in research opportunities, internships, and experiential (hands-on) learning opportunities. Students who focus on a very narrow subject, and who take a minimal number of liberal arts courses, may be trained to do something very specific but lacking in the exact skills employers say they want.

Bottom line - you are looking at this the wrong way. If you try to force your (now legally adult) child down a path YOU want, versus supporting them in what they are passionate about, they will not do well in school. Period. I have seen it time and time again. Your child will be more successful if you allow them to pursue their passions academically while encouraging them, throughout their college experience, to take advantage of opportunities that allow them to apply what they've learned in practical, real-world settings.

Do it your way and you will not only damage your relationship with your child, but you will stymy their learning (and future earning) potential. Think on it.

BS. my mother forced my brother to study engineering (his passion was physics) and he was the top student in a very competitive school. he has always been very thankful for it.

[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.

i haven't read the wholel thread because i knew people were going to attack you. your money, your rules - no such thing as 'adult' while parents are paying the bills.

OP, you are correct but you need to broaden your options. nursing sounds bad (for a man), but being a doctor sounds great. is he interested in being a doctor?

Clearly, no. He is interested in history and geography.

well, that settles it. he clearly knows all there is to know about life and careers.