Old (2019) NYT article—“In the salary race, Engineering majors sprint, but English majors endure”

[Anonymous]

Why are many here continually making the assumption that kids are being pushed into CS by their parents? Our public school district has been laser-focused on touting the importance of competency in STEM skills since my now-HS kid was in kindergarten.

Additionally, if a kid shows a preference for and aptitude in math and science over social studies, language and literature, doesn't want to be a doctor or lawyer but wants to make a fairly decent living, engineering/CS etc. seem to be one obvious answer for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is very misleading. The only people who study English at college are rich people with family money. Of course they do well over time with connections etc.

Let me guess: You are second gen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/business/liberal-arts-stem-salaries.html

College is not trade school! What you make starting out isn’t very relevant. Think long-term.

STEM majors aren’t in “trade school”. They are as highly educated as their humanities peers and have as many options for flexible career shifts long term.

Also, while salaries may eventually equal out, that fast start allows STEM majors to pay off loans quickly, save to pay cash for a car, and save for a down payment on a house. Compound interest and early investment in the stock market is a wonderful thing for retirement.

This! The VAST MAJORITY of STEM kids are smarter/more intelligent than the VAST MAJORITY of English grads. The only smart kids that WANT to get an English degree are those that love English or are getting an 'easy' degree for a high GPA as a stepping stone to grad school (medicine, law or MBA). The first group will score high on job/career satisfaction and the latter, of course, will make money compared to a CS grad that didn't go to grad school. A third group will just coast on family connections.. Get into a decent school, study English or something equally fu fu, get a job with daddy's company or daddy's friend's and go up the ladder. The skills needed for a high level job are less cerebral and more interpersonal. I know someone who dropped out of college (English major) who 20 years later is the COO of a large company in another country (daddy's connections) and seems to be doing well (anecdotal, of course). I also know many, many STEM grads that decided to get an MBA and are rubbing shoulders with the C Suite.

If you were to measure the collective wealth of ALL STEM undergrads and compare that to ALL liberal arts grads adjusted for college pedigree, I bet the the STEM grads would be way ahead of the LA peers at any age group. Common sense.

Provide data to prove your point, PP. Your post is pure conjecture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think what people who look down at English majors are missing is that there is so much you can do with that major. It is not limited to publishing. It is a flexible degree and you need to keep an open mind.

+1.

+100

It teaches how to write, critically think, etc. Issue is that initially upon graduation, it can be harder to find a job---there are not tons of places hiring that say "we want an English major" so you have to be more adept and willing to navigate the job search. It also helps as an humanities major of any type if you are not afraid of technology---as all tech companies need technical writers, marketing/comms employees. And they will be more willing to hire you if you have a few techie courses/data science/stats. Basically you have to work harder to find the first job, but your opportunities are endless if you are flexible.

My DC with a sociology major got a high paying job right out of college doing marketing for a prestigious firm. DC has a great personality and sense of humor and is very, very smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think what people who look down at English majors are missing is that there is so much you can do with that major. It is not limited to publishing. It is a flexible degree and you need to keep an open mind.

+1.

+100

It teaches how to write, critically think, etc. Issue is that initially upon graduation, it can be harder to find a job---there are not tons of places hiring that say "we want an English major" so you have to be more adept and willing to navigate the job search. It also helps as an humanities major of any type if you are not afraid of technology---as all tech companies need technical writers, marketing/comms employees. And they will be more willing to hire you if you have a few techie courses/data science/stats. Basically you have to work harder to find the first job, but your opportunities are endless if you are flexible.

My DC with a sociology major got a high paying job right out of college doing marketing for a prestigious firm. DC has a great personality and sense of humor and is very, very smart.

Yeah because he probably went to an elite college and/or is an athlete

School name matters a ton in the humanities & social sciences

If the only school you can get into is Towson you better major in STEM or accounting/finance/etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English major. Very content at 40 to be making $150K in a communications field, writing a lot, leaving every day at 4. My work is wonderful, and it never comes home with me. I’m sure I could be making a lot more money, but I value peace of mind and meaningful work a lot more. I’m happy!

+1. That’s awesome.

+2 this is me too, although I'm younger. Very happy with my career choice and salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
New (2023) CBSNews article

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-major-highest-lowest-incomes/

Sorry English is way at the bottom

This is the reality for short term, mid term, and long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMFAO the majors that require the highest level of math are trade school??

Morons.

+1

Math classes are generally harder than English classes. That's why the average SAT score in English is usually higher than the average SAT for math.

Average SAT Verbal 529, SAT Math 521. i'd hardly call that significant

By design since these are normalized scores not raw, but try explaining that to the STEM booster.

Regardless, more people struggle with high level math than with high level English.

Why do you think undergrad engineers get paid more than undergrad English majors? Because the degree program is harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think what people who look down at English majors are missing is that there is so much you can do with that major. It is not limited to publishing. It is a flexible degree and you need to keep an open mind.

+1.

+100

It teaches how to write, critically think, etc. Issue is that initially upon graduation, it can be harder to find a job---there are not tons of places hiring that say "we want an English major" so you have to be more adept and willing to navigate the job search. It also helps as an humanities major of any type if you are not afraid of technology---as all tech companies need technical writers, marketing/comms employees. And they will be more willing to hire you if you have a few techie courses/data science/stats. Basically you have to work harder to find the first job, but your opportunities are endless if you are flexible.

My DC with a sociology major got a high paying job right out of college doing marketing for a prestigious firm. DC has a great personality and sense of humor and is very, very smart.

dp.. that's awesome for your DC, but you understand the concept of anecdata vs statistical data, right?

[Anonymous]

More colleges are getting rid of the English major due to waning interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/business/liberal-arts-stem-salaries.html

College is not trade school! What you make starting out isn’t very relevant. Think long-term.

STEM majors aren’t in “trade school”. They are as highly educated as their humanities peers and have as many options for flexible career shifts long term.

Also, while salaries may eventually equal out, that fast start allows STEM majors to pay off loans quickly, save to pay cash for a car, and save for a down payment on a house. Compound interest and early investment in the stock market is a wonderful thing for retirement.

This! The VAST MAJORITY of STEM kids are smarter/more intelligent than the VAST MAJORITY of English grads. The only smart kids that WANT to get an English degree are those that love English or are getting an 'easy' degree for a high GPA as a stepping stone to grad school (medicine, law or MBA). The first group will score high on job/career satisfaction and the latter, of course, will make money compared to a CS grad that didn't go to grad school. A third group will just coast on family connections.. Get into a decent school, study English or something equally fu fu, get a job with daddy's company or daddy's friend's and go up the ladder. The skills needed for a high level job are less cerebral and more interpersonal. I know someone who dropped out of college (English major) who 20 years later is the COO of a large company in another country (daddy's connections) and seems to be doing well (anecdotal, of course). I also know many, many STEM grads that decided to get an MBA and are rubbing shoulders with the C Suite.

If you were to measure the collective wealth of ALL STEM undergrads and compare that to ALL liberal arts grads adjusted for college pedigree, I bet the the STEM grads would be way ahead of the LA peers at any age group. Common sense.

Provide data to prove your point, PP. Your post is pure conjecture.

Mmm.. I made a statement along the lines of "If you jump off your second floor bedroom window, you'll break your leg" and you want me to bring data to prove it! Looks like common sense is not your forte.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is also less obvious about an English major is that it also teaches one how to be empathetic and how to interact with others no matter the situation.

Yes. Majoring in English teaches you empathy, increases your life, change water to wine and fly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/business/liberal-arts-stem-salaries.html

College is not trade school! What you make starting out isn’t very relevant. Think long-term.

STEM majors aren’t in “trade school”. They are as highly educated as their humanities peers and have as many options for flexible career shifts long term.

Also, while salaries may eventually equal out, that fast start allows STEM majors to pay off loans quickly, save to pay cash for a car, and save for a down payment on a house. Compound interest and early investment in the stock market is a wonderful thing for retirement.

This! The VAST MAJORITY of STEM kids are smarter/more intelligent than the VAST MAJORITY of English grads. The only smart kids that WANT to get an English degree are those that love English or are getting an 'easy' degree for a high GPA as a stepping stone to grad school (medicine, law or MBA). The first group will score high on job/career satisfaction and the latter, of course, will make money compared to a CS grad that didn't go to grad school. A third group will just coast on family connections.. Get into a decent school, study English or something equally fu fu, get a job with daddy's company or daddy's friend's and go up the ladder. The skills needed for a high level job are less cerebral and more interpersonal. I know someone who dropped out of college (English major) who 20 years later is the COO of a large company in another country (daddy's connections) and seems to be doing well (anecdotal, of course). I also know many, many STEM grads that decided to get an MBA and are rubbing shoulders with the C Suite.

If you were to measure the collective wealth of ALL STEM undergrads and compare that to ALL liberal arts grads adjusted for college pedigree, I bet the the STEM grads would be way ahead of the LA peers at any age group. Common sense.

The fact you think this way shows you have no real idea how the business world works, and I say this as someone with a graduate STEM degree from HYPS.

Lady, I AM in the 'business world'! Saying 'I don't think so' is not really a strong argument.. but then, I don't expect any better from an liberal arts major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More colleges are getting rid of the English major due to waning interest.

In a society obsessed with technology, its not at all surprising that there has been decreased interest in the humanities. Gen Z students have shorter attention spans than previous generations which should not be surprising as they grew up with iphones, Snapchat, and TikTok. I believe that the obsession with STEM fields is shortsighted. For instance, the current debate about the impact of AI on humanity makes it even more important that we have people who are able to think about big picture ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an English major. Very content at 40 to be making $150K in a communications field, writing a lot, leaving every day at 4. My work is wonderful, and it never comes home with me. I’m sure I could be making a lot more money, but I value peace of mind and meaningful work a lot more. I’m happy!

+1. That’s awesome.

+2 this is me too, although I'm younger. Very happy with my career choice and salary.

English major from a small college with a party school reputation. Over 50.

I’m in a healthcare field and likely because I’m the only English major, I’m always asked to review content before publication. This is only one small part of my job and I absolutely love being the in-house editor.

I also get to delve into research and do extensive narrative report writing.

Another happy English major in a fulfilling career. I’ve held myself back salary-wise with a long gap as a SAHM.