How do you prevent your weak-minded child from majoring in something easy?

[Anonymous]

It doesn't matter what you major in at an elite college. But if you're not at an elite, sorry to say it's 2016, your communications degree from Alcoholic State goes straight in the garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My degrees are in English. I make $110K a year, work from home often, have a gorgeous office, and leave every day at 4:30. I love my work.

Pity me for my useless degree!

Hear, hear! I was an English major who had a job in the editorial at a good salary a week before graduating with my BA. It's served me very well too.

Not the reality today.
- Humanities major who makes good money and who has steered her children in high-paying STEM fields.

PP (in bold), the reality today is that universities are now cranking out graduates with STEM degrees, and in IT at least, many are not ready for the real world of the workplace.

My husband is a senior manager for an IT firm. He says that new hires out of college, as well as hires with some work experience under their belts, apply for jobs and he sees that though they can be whizzes at programming, they are not good at communicating with the clients and users. They don't write well (whether it's a report or their own performance evaluation contribution or just a clear, simple e-mail) and they often are poor at verbal communications in meetings with clients. He has to hold their hands a lot when it comes to communicating. He says he wishes that STEM programs (particularly IT programs) would emphasize writing and communications skills much, much more.

I hope your children's college STEM programs put an emphasis on teaching students how to write and speak to convey what they're doing, both for other science/tech employees and for their non-tech, non-science clients. I think many young adults in college and a few years out of college are being told that that if they can do the technical side of things, they're golden. Then they're upset or resistant when they don't get terrific performance reviews right away--mostly because they failed at pretty basic communication skills needed in an office or lab setting where other people need to know what they're doing.

I am the PP in bold and I agree with your assessment. Both my kids are doing double majors. Majoring in STEM and minoring in humanities. Went to IB HS and earned their diplomas too, so I know how essential it is for them to be strong in all subjects and continue to get a balanced education. The STEM lets them get their foot in the door, but Humanities will be what propels their career forward.

[Anonymous]

All the philosophy majors I've met have always been super smart. Not a philosophy major, but I think that degree gets a bad rap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't matter what you major in at an elite college. But if you're not at an elite, sorry to say it's 2016, your communications degree from Alcoholic State goes straight in the garbage.

This. I am the poster who actually works at a university. It matters less what subject your child majors in and more how difficult the major is at that particular university. It varies, according to the professor's and the climate at the school.

If the young adult picks the easiest classes, to make the best grades, while really majoring in partying at alcoholic U then that can be a problem.

I know many people, myself included, who have done well majoring in the humanities and social sciences; they were some if the harder majors at the non-selective college I attended. At that school business was the easy "party" major. A friend of mine was thrilled when her parents "made" her major in business. It depends. One place I worked the party major changed from education to psychology, because the state mandated higher standards for future teachers.

It is up to your child to make good decisions for them. If you think they are weak minded, have them double major or pick a minor. They pick the major, and take your advice on the minor, or secondary concentration.

[Anonymous]

It's not 1970 folks, it's not even 1990 or 1995 when young parents were in college, it's about to be 2017. It's a global economy. Jobs are hi-tech. Dummy degrees from non-selective colleges are nearly worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the philosophy majors I've met have always been super smart. Not a philosophy major, but I think that degree gets a bad rap.

People who understand what the study of philosophy entails (complex analytical thinking and writing) don't give it a bad rap.

People who think it entails sitting around talking about the meaning of life give it a bad rap.

[Anonymous]

I majored in Government (not exactly "easy," but not hard science, either) and work in IT. Outside of a few areas (mostly science and engineering), one's undergraduate major doesn't have a great impact on one's career choices. I studied Government because I enjoyed it, but I hate politics and would never have considered a career in the field.

That said, we need to make a distinction between majoring in something because one genuinely enjoys the subject matter and doing so because the subject is "easy." In the former case, I would say not to interfere. In the latter case, there is a problem that needs to be addressed

Things may be different for non-selective colleges, but a degree in anything from a decent school should at least show that one was smart enough to get into that college and also has writing and reasoning ability.

[Anonymous]

I majored in a similar discipline, OP, and I can tell you that it WAS in fact, a mistake. I was smart enough to be phi beta kappa, but in a subject that doesn't lend itself to employment offers unless you get an advanced degree. Having been successful in school, I assumed that if they offered a degree in X, that there must be jobs for people with a B.S. in X. Not true. Just b/c a college offers a degree program, doesn't mean it is valued in the marketplace.

That's the strategy I'd take. Do some research on what jobs are available to people with BA or BS in sociology. Then have your child do some research on it... talk to a career counselor, etc. Focus on the practical usefulness (or lack thereof) of that degree. She might want to stick with sociology, but she should understand and be willing to commit to the types of jobs that it leads to OR understand what types of graduate programs she will have to do after graduating to get employment (i.e. MSW).

Don't try to change her program... just help her investigate where it will take her after she graduates. That can be hard for someone to see. I didn't have much experience or understanding of the way the world works... i.e. it's nice that you enjoy X topic, but ultimately, you have to have skills that the business world will pay for.

[Anonymous]

13:17 poster here:

One thing that I should add is that, if one chooses to major in a field that does not lead directly to a specific job, it _is_ important to develop marketable skills in some other field. Summer jobs/internships can help with this. One's first job out of college can be important here, too.

[Anonymous]

Make her sit down and look at occupational outlook. Then have her analyze the likelihood of getting a job, still having a job 5, 10 , 15 years out, how much she will likely earn and if these earning will provide the lifestyle she desires. Too few parents and even fewer kids are investigating any of the above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Raise them not to be weak-minded. Problem solved.

Yes, it's not the major that's the problem. It's knowing how to figure out what you want to do, network, and get connected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the philosophy majors I've met have always been super smart. Not a philosophy major, but I think that degree gets a bad rap.

People who understand what the study of philosophy entails (complex analytical thinking and writing) don't give it a bad rap.

People who think it entails sitting around talking about the meaning of life give it a bad rap.

Yes, I'm not a philosopher but I'm married to one. If you apply yourself, philosophy teaches you to think logically and write well. There are lots of jobs for people who can do that. The problem is that no one hands you a job when you graduate from college. You have do informational interviews and get out and meet people and sell yourself.

As a former theology major, I can tell you it was a blessing in disguise because it was so useless. That meant I had to start with my own interests and pursue them and figure things out. Today I'm a social scientist and I make a decent living.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I already went through this with my oldest who's currently underemployed because she chose to major in what she was 'good at'. She discovered she was 'good at' sociology because she got A's in sociology classes and struggled in the classes that required real studying and effort.

How do I prevent my youngest from making the same dumb / lazy mistake next year?

Well, if your youngest majors in sociology, tell him/her to take research methods and learn SPSS backwards and forwards and there will be plenty of jobs out there in the DC metro area. There's lots of work for researchers here but they have to show that they understand research methods.

[Anonymous]

My philosophy with my kids is that if they want something that "soft" then they should double major in something useful like business or education. Probably the best companion degree to those would be education as they could parlay their "passion" degree into teaching. Ultimately if this is the direction they wanted to take, this is an example where I wouldn't support them in choosing a high priced school. A degree like sociology can just as easily be earned at much more affordable places and net the same result in the long run.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My oldest initially wanted to major in philosophy. Then religion. I was getting concerned, but didn't say anything. He changed his major about five more times before finally ending up with a double major Political Science and English. He is 26 and working on a Masters. He had no trouble at all finding a job.

Philosophy is not an easy major.

+1. Significant critical writing and thinking which will be an asset to any company

If the company is able to see it as an asset.

Depends on what type of company you're applying to.