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When I came to college, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my future. So, being young and naïve I decided to major in English. My thought process: an English degree can get me into any grad program and basically get me any job I would ever want.
Turns out, I made a big (HUGE) mistake.
According to recent stats by some important people at the Wall Street Journal, a major in liberal arts is…well, worthless.
OK, maybe not worthless, but definitely not nearly as valuable as majoring something a little more 21st century. Just check out these stats for first year earnings in various fields:
Accounting: $46,000
Consulting: $47,000
Aerospace: $54,000
Engineering: $49,000
Retail: $34,000
Education: $30,000
Journalism: $23,000
Depressing, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be.
• If you are still in your first years of school, you still have the chance to re-think your major based on the current employment trends.
• If you are on your way out of school, having a Psych or Soc major doesn’t eliminate your chances of getting a job in consulting or even finance. And, if all else fails, there is always grad school.
• Not all people need high paying jobs to be happy in life. Perhaps the gratification of teaching children is worth more than the $20,000 pay increase you would have as an investment banker. And if not, you can always find a better job later.
I am not a math person – so I would never be very appealing to a finance/aerospace company anyway – but I still wish I could have known this before I locked myself into a life of little money and lots of work.
2 Comments
Grad school is decidedly NOT for people who have nothing better to do. It is for people deeply committed to their topic of choice who want nothing more than toiling every day for the rest of their lives over the material. Major in something you love to do, not something that will get you a job. That’s what internships and summer jobs are for.
And do you seriously think i-bankers make $20,000 more than teachers? Many come out of college to a contract over six figures. This article kind of blows, sorry.
I have to agree with Anna, this article blows because we all do not go to college thinking of how much money waits for us on the other side. What if someone who despises chemistry but decides to be a chem major just because of the money they make? He or she probably regrets being caught up in a field and a job that is not what they desire and look back thinking of what other choices the could have made.
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