Anonymous wrote:How many adults do you know who got a good job right out of college, without a grad degree? I know almost none. The people I know without grad degrees started in really low-level jobs where any major would have been fine.
My niece's first job out of undergrad (Econ/Math major) gave her a $75k base with a $20k bonus. She graduated from a university with a 35% acceptance rate (60% if you ED) - her school is routinely insulted here, but she had a great collegiate experience and now, five years out of undergrad, is making around $200 inc bonus. There is no way she would have landed her first job without that major and the experience she had by the time she graduated college.
OP, do not take that to mean everyone had to major in Econ (sometimes it feels like everyone is) - my advice on that front is to have them major in what they are genuinely interested in. Seriously. It is not worth trying to guess about what jobs will be 'hot' 5 years from now, because AI is going to reshape industries even more than it already has. And, no, that doesn't mean kids need to become plumbers and electricians (unless they want to). It means that a smart and motivated Philosophy major should not being choosing CompSci or Econ or whatever instead of what they feel passionate about.