If your kids are English majors they're destined to work at a shoe store

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked at a shoe store and loved it - 11th and 12th grades (no, I didn't have to touch feet (this is the most-asked question when people find out about that job)), but did not go on to become an English major.

Well duh, if you had studied more math you would know that the order of operations matters

[Anonymous]

An A student from a good college in electrical engineering/ computer science can probably get a job in strategy consulting, banking, and technology. That's a lot of opportunity. An A student in liberal arts has a much more uncertain future.

A student from a good college with a "desirable" major should be a well educated person. I am the poster with the English major for a dad - would love to see how many Anonymous posters had to look up the word "metallurgy" in their (online) dictionary to understand my original post. Not many English majors, I'll bet, but most of the STEM folks. BTW, in the 1940's, to get an English degree, you had to study chemistry, biologoy, physics and math in addition to Shakespeare, to graduate.

I've a dear friend with an Ivy League education and a top five law degree who survived high school, college and of course law school without ever taking a science class. I love her, but is she "educated?" I don't know.....

[Anonymous]

What does one do with a metallurgy degree? I know someone with a metallurgical engineering degree. Would you create substrates or polymers?

[Anonymous]

Nowadays, you'd have to speak Chinese. My dad's metallury education was vocational, not engineering. Gave him a good sense of the process, that's all they wanted him to have.

[Anonymous]

barista or sandwich artist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My father was an English major - when he graduated his first employer agreed to hire him if he would go back to school on the company nickel and "learn something." So he became a very well educated metallurgist. This was 1951.

And this one anecdote proves. . .what, exactly?

Many of us enjoy reading anecdotal comments and personal examples. Keeps the forum interesting. Not everyone is as cynical as you seem to be with your dismissive remark.

[Anonymous]

Aside from the level-headed people making comments on here, the rest of you are egotistical, self-centered, self-absorbed bigots. I find it difficult to comprehend that there are so many hateful people just in DC alone.

[Anonymous]

would love to see how many Anonymous posters had to look up the word "metallurgy" in their (online) dictionary to understand my original post. Not many English majors, I'll bet, but most of the STEM folks.

I was an English major and had to look it up. My STEM husband knew it as soon as I asked him. I don't know why you would make that assumption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an English major now practicing law. I never sold a shoe in my life. I will absolutely encourage my kids to be liberal arts majors. The liberal arts help develop critical and creative thinking. Besides, an undergraduate degree of any kind won't guarantee success.

Yeah, but you are basically relying on another degree for your profession. Lots of people can make a career out of math and science degrees, without going back to school.

An A student from a good college in electrical engineering/ computer science can probably get a job in strategy consulting, banking, and technology. That's a lot of opportunity. An A student in liberal arts has a much more uncertain future.

I'm not saying that we should abandon liberal arts. But I am watching my friends with PhD's in liberal arts struggle because there are no tenured jobs, few slots in their specialties, and not a lot of outside employment besides the journals and think tanks. So if you love it, do it but do it with eyes open. If your primary goal is to find professional opportunity, learn math, science, and engineering.

You are basing your perception on PhD's, who pursue them with the intent of teaching. Not everyone who studies art history, English or philosophy in undergrad will pursue a PhD and try to be a professor. So yeah, your anecdotes are not convincing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in Art History and I'm making six figures in a totally unrelated field.

My best programmer was a music major. He was way better than the computer science majors (who by and large are not a smart bunch).

Agreed. Working with our tech support people - especially the ones who write our database reports - has me convinced that you can be a total dipshit and work in IT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Liberal arts grads are losers too.

Thanks for adding so much to the discussion. Are you by any chance in 7th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My father was an English major - when he graduated his first employer agreed to hire him if he would go back to school on the company nickel and "learn something." So he became a very well educated metallurgist. This was 1951.

And this one anecdote proves. . .what, exactly?

Many of us enjoy reading anecdotal comments and personal examples. Keeps the forum interesting. Not everyone is as cynical as you seem to be with your dismissive remark.

I enjoy reading anecdotes too and wasn't being dismissive. I was genuinely curious, and the poster answered. Get your panties out of a twist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

would love to see how many Anonymous posters had to look up the word "metallurgy" in their (online) dictionary to understand my original post. Not many English majors, I'll bet, but most of the STEM folks.

I was an English major and had to look it up. My STEM husband knew it as soon as I asked him. I don't know why you would make that assumption.

Yeah, I also had the exact opposite assumption (STEM PhD here) and would assume all physical scientists and engineers know more about it than anyone else. The science of metallurgy would be under the umbrella of materials science these days which has many applications in manufacturing as well as pure science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

would love to see how many Anonymous posters had to look up the word "metallurgy" in their (online) dictionary to understand my original post. Not many English majors, I'll bet, but most of the STEM folks.

I was an English major and had to look it up. My STEM husband knew it as soon as I asked him. I don't know why you would make that assumption.

Agree. What kind of leap in logic are you making?
I have an engineering degree and definitely know what metallurgy means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

would love to see how many Anonymous posters had to look up the word "metallurgy" in their (online) dictionary to understand my original post. Not many English majors, I'll bet, but most of the STEM folks.

I was an English major and had to look it up. My STEM husband knew it as soon as I asked him. I don't know why you would make that assumption.

Agree. What kind of leap in logic are you making?
I have an engineering degree and definitely know what metallurgy means.

I think we can all agree that the PP speculating on who had to look up metallurgy is a moron. I knew what it meant and I was an art major, which is just another example of something.