Anonymous wrote:Things that have an immediate practical use.
All business degrees
Economics
Speech language and hearing science
Kinesiology
Landscape architecture
Foreign languages
Education

I would add Physician Assistant to this list. The demand remains high and the salary is excellent. Most PAs have a master's degree but it is an excellent academic investment. My cousin is a PA/Surgery and makes a mint not only in his present job but picking up additional work when he has the time.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-health-schools/physician-assistant-rankings

Wrong attitude. Not everyone is going to be famous (make a name for himself). Most people are average and will spend their careers as worker bees. Plenty of people in my company have science / engineering degrees from no-name universities, and they have perfectly satisfying, well-paying jobs even though they never rose into top management.

I disagree. You don't need to be famous, but a lot of "worker bee" jobs are not high paying nor are they particularly intellectually satisfying or secure. Also getting a degree from a no-name university doesn't necessarily say much about how smart or talented they are, but often it has to do more with what opportunities were available to them at the time they were applying to college. When I was in a top graduate program in the sciences, there were plenty of people who got their degrees at various state schools for financial reasons who did very well. A lot of people who go into CS or engineering who are not really that good at what they do are the ones who freak out about their jobs getting outsourced.

My relative graduated in 2013 with a double major in a liberal arts field and Chinese from a well-known university with a great reputation. He spent a total of 18 months in China so he's quite fluent in Mandarin. He has been looking for a job in the government or in consulting, the fields he was told would be "very easy" to get a job in as a Chinese speaker - and he's only been able to get short-term work as an interpreter or a substitute teacher (think day jobs). He's very intelligent, presentable, well-spoken, can hold a conversation with anyone - so, no obvious social problems that might turn off an employer. Being able to speak Chinese really well hasn't been, in an of itself, an entree to a career so far. I'd recommend pairing the language major with another set of skills in order to make yourself more marketable.

Even majors that are seemingly marketable sometimes have lean periods--especially in this economy. I have several engineer friends who had to hunt for nearly a year to get a job who graduated between 2008-2013 to get work related to their major. One guy I know worked at Mathnasium for a year to pay the bills while sending out applications. All of them eventually landed on their feet, but sometimes it just took being in the right place at the right time.

Anonymous wrote:My parents really encouraged me to major in science. I tried. I'm just really, really average in science. No way was I ever going to make a name for myself doing something I was so mediocre at. I'm glad I didn't listen.

Wrong attitude. Not everyone is going to be famous (make a name for himself). Most people are average and will spend their careers as worker bees. Plenty of people in my company have science / engineering degrees from no-name universities, and they have perfectly satisfying, well-paying jobs even though they never rose into top management.

Computer science.

Things that have an immediate practical use.
All business degrees
Economics
Speech language and hearing science
Kinesiology
Landscape architecture
Foreign languages
Education

Anonymous wrote:I think the market is shifting to accepting experienced people without degrees vs people who took worthless ones and no experience. The worthless degrees show a lack of judgement skills and reckless spending.

the labor market is one of the most in-efficient markets (only next to the dating market) - it is not rational at all.

Ask all the computer scientists and engineers at HP that are shitting it over job-cuts recently announced by whitman.

If you go on any message board/forum filled with electrical engineers, you will worries and fears of job loss, being undercut by foreign workers, etc.

I think a student can definitely increase his or her chance of getting on good career tracks depending on their major or school, but there are always those that do things 'right' but when the music stops, there are no more chairs for them.

i think even reasonable students who major in stuff like english do see people holding jobs in publishing and journalism - now the chances of breaking in are slim, but people do - i'm sure the people that break in are thrilled by their choice of major. so it is a percentage issue and every person has their own risk appetite.

I think the market is shifting to accepting experienced people without degrees vs people who took worthless ones and no experience. The worthless degrees show a lack of judgement skills and reckless spending.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Computer science
Nursing
Chinese
Arabic

My relative graduated in 2013 with a double major in a liberal arts field and Chinese from a well-known university with a great reputation. He spent a total of 18 months in China so he's quite fluent in Mandarin. He has been looking for a job in the government or in consulting, the fields he was told would be "very easy" to get a job in as a Chinese speaker - and he's only been able to get short-term work as an interpreter or a substitute teacher (think day jobs). He's very intelligent, presentable, well-spoken, can hold a conversation with anyone - so, no obvious social problems that might turn off an employer. Being able to speak Chinese really well hasn't been, in an of itself, an entree to a career so far. I'd recommend pairing the language major with another set of skills in order to make yourself more marketable.

hang in there. i know a cia political analyst on the china account who had very poor mandarin skills (almost non existent) - i never could understand that. A lot of it comes down to luck and timing which people never want to acknowledge in recruiting.

Has he looked at finance firms that cater towards east-asian investing? There are a few hedge fund postings i came across a year ago that asked for mandarin fluency.

Anonymous wrote:My advice for college, and grad school, is to load up on quantitative course work in whatever your area of interest. Even if you are a sociology major, you are going to have an easier time landing a job if you couple that with a concentration in statistics or dabble in computer programming or database applications related to your field. The 'soft' classes may be what inspires her, but the technical skills are what will ultimatley makes her employable.

OP here -- that makes a lot of sense. And the suggestion for analytics (from a PP) -- I don't really know what that is, but it sounds like something employers (or grad school admissions officers) would like.

Great suggestions all around.

My advice for college, and grad school, is to load up on quantitative course work in whatever your area of interest. Even if you are a sociology major, you are going to have an easier time landing a job if you couple that with a concentration in statistics or dabble in computer programming or database applications related to your field. The 'soft' classes may be what inspires her, but the technical skills are what will ultimatley makes her employable.

Speech Language Pathologists make good money. Gotta be a good student though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Computer science
Nursing
Chinese
Arabic

My relative graduated in 2013 with a double major in a liberal arts field and Chinese from a well-known university with a great reputation. He spent a total of 18 months in China so he's quite fluent in Mandarin. He has been looking for a job in the government or in consulting, the fields he was told would be "very easy" to get a job in as a Chinese speaker - and he's only been able to get short-term work as an interpreter or a substitute teacher (think day jobs). He's very intelligent, presentable, well-spoken, can hold a conversation with anyone - so, no obvious social problems that might turn off an employer. Being able to speak Chinese really well hasn't been, in an of itself, an entree to a career so far. I'd recommend pairing the language major with another set of skills in order to make yourself more marketable.

Chinese (more specifically, Mandarin) is one of the most spoken languages in the world, but the vast majority of those speakers live in particular areas in China. Not even everyone in China speaks Mandarin. Being fluent in Mandarin opens doors with people who speak Mandarin, but it does not open doors all over the world, since most of those speakers live in China. I wouldn't recommend that my child major in only Chinese, maybe it would make a good minor combined with another language and say, business.

Anonymous wrote:Even for students in college now, we just have no idea what their career paths will look like. I think it's fair to say that most of them will not only change jobs, but change careers, a few times.

Count me among those who think it's important to learn how to learn and how to communicate effectively, and to apply oneself strenuously to something difficult. In college, it's best to do that with something you enjoy. Then, moving on, you have the analytic skills and the discipline to work in a variety of areas.

I had a totally useless major, but it taught me invaluable reading/writing/analytical skills. I'm a lawyer.

+1 to this

My parents really encouraged me to major in science. I tried. I'm just really, really average in science. No way was I ever going to make a name for myself doing something I was so mediocre at. I'm glad I didn't listen.

What are your kid's skills, what are your kid's interests, where does he/she want out of life?

In the next 20+ yrs we will need a lot more health care workers and admins. Accountants and auditors also in high demand given SoX requirements. High tech is probably another big economy driver. I'm thinking ungrad in liberal arts alone is not good enough to get a job easily; you'd have to get an advanced degree.