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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a BA in Poli Sci and History, minor in Asian studies (1997). MS in international Relations (2007). Multiple certifications in… IT and IT program management. My job for the last decade has been IT program management. 
That said, today I would be less likely to be able to “get my foot in the door” with a these degrees.  My company does not hire people without a degree in computer science unless they have great experience to back up a more liberal arts type degree.
Most sciences fall under a BS, but many can fall under BA. For example, UVA has both a BS and BA in Computer Science, as well as Chemistry and some other sciences. Interesting breakdown for computer science can be found at https://engineering.virginia.edu/departments/computer-science/cs-undergraduate-programs
My kids are 13 and 15. I will steer both of them towards a BS. 
As far as “let”… I see both arguments. It is money I have saved for their tuition, so I should have some input. However, they need to have a high level of choice, as this is their future. My father pressured my brother into engineering, and he dropped out after a year since it wasn’t what he wanted to do.
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And your brother is the exact reason why parents should not pressure their kids.  If your kid wants a BA in CS or a BA in anything why shouldn't they get that.  I'd focus more on encouraging them to get a CS minor, or IT minor, or business/finance minor---So that they have something tangible to help them get a job with their BA.  But I'd never force my kids into something just cause the job prospects are "better".  If a kid is miserable in their major, they are not gonna get nearly as much out of college as someone who is highly invested in learning. [/quote]

The reason you should, if not pressure your kids, at least give them very strong encouragement to do something real, sensible, and practical, is that kids don't know anything about the working world. Their "advisors" in high school are low-quality ambitionless duds content to have a low-effort job teaching secondary school. These advisors have no clue what the real world is like, and that's why they say stupid things like "major in liberal arts, you'll do fine". If your kids want good advice, they sure aren't going to get it from a high school teacher.[/quote]

Never said not to prepare your kid for the real world.  I strongly encourage all college students to consider a minor in business/finance/marketing/CS/IT/etc if they are not majoring in STEM that lends itself to an easy employment path.  But I'm smart enough to realize that plenty of English/philosophy/art history/music/art majors do very well in life---it's all about finding your path.  Your path is just not as well defined with those majors over say Engineering/finance/accounting, so you need to work a bit harder to find your path---there are not a lot of jobs that say "English major required" on the job listing, but if you pair your critical thinking with some business skills/CS skills you can be very attractive hire for many companies and might even get some internship experience while in college.

But if you are an involved parent, your kids should be taking guidance from you well before HS and be on a path to explore what interests them along with something that makes them employable---My kids didn't get that from HS, they got it from us and our friends and general family discussions over the years that started well before HS.

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