<p>The Daily Beast ran this article a day or two ago.</p>
<p>The</a> 13 Most Useless Majors, From Philosophy to Journalism - The Daily Beast</p>
<p>They have statistics showing the unemployment rate of recent and experienced graduates, as well as salary information/ </p>
<p>I just posted this for a little bit of perspective, not declaring this article is conclusive. </p>
<p>Something for parents to consider...</p>
<p>As a parent of an architecture student, I read this and other related articles… As a hyphenated American myself I can’t help but wonder why a good number of the professions / majors needed in this country are included in the list…</p>
<p>Without being too elitist about, say, international art, architecture, music, literature, and the like, is it any wonder that most people in this country live (or rather, exist) in places largely devoid of art, music, architecture, literature, etc? Or without access to objective, investigative news sources that are not corporate owned? We consider journalism to be a useless major and indeed, local papers are resorting to hiring overseas journalists whose job is to reprocess existing news and information into ‘news’ with no local presence? is it any surprise that serious investigative reporting died decades ago in favor of Drudge, Fox, CNN, and the like?</p>
<p>I don’t think the purpose of the article was to imply there simply isn’t a place for culture, arts, jounalism, etc in the world. It was from purely a statistical perspective to give an idea of what the job outlook is for grads pursuing the following majors. The prospects of students with the particular majors listed in the article must obviously be inferior to students with more “practical” majors such as engineering, computer science, pre-med, etc.</p>
<p>And yet those jobs are still needed. For example, archeologists are still needed because of the amount of construction going on around the country. If they find a burial site, one must be called in to deal with it. </p>
<p>Just because something is “practical” does not garentee a job.</p>
<p>And, of course, the only reason for going to college is to prepare yourself to become a cog in the great American economic rat race.</p>
<p>I think it is about perspective - If a journalism degree has about 10% unemployment rate, that means that 90% ARE employed. So, if you are good at what you do, you have a future. I think that is a good thing.</p>
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<p>Only IF the parents plan to choose the major for their college kids AND insist that it be something that will be a guaranteed money maker.</p>
<p>Sorry…but by the time the current prospective kids graduate, this list could change…and then change again.</p>
<p>The article is kind of stupid–for one thing, it seems to ignore that a lot of grads in those fields go to law school or grad school. And so what if they earn less money than investment bankers? They don’t want to be investment bankers.</p>
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How about a spelling or typing major ?? JK, I am the queen of typos myself!! :)</p>
<p>I suppose the idea of learning for learning’s sake is an artifact that only a useless architect could dig up.</p>
<p>I don’t like the title of this article. I think it is great that people think very hard about how much they should spend on an education if they plan on entering a profession that is lower paying. Minimize the loans. Go to state universities. However, the idea that everyone should study something that pays a ton of money is pretty scary. </p>
<p>We need all sorts of people in our country. Everyone cannot be wealthy. Not everyone WANTS to be wealthy. There are many people who are happy to pay their bills doing work they love, even if it is lower paying work. I simply cannot fathom a world without music, art or architecture. What a sad world it would be.</p>
<p>I too think the title is useless. These majors are not useless. They maybe less employable but not useless.</p>
<p>Yes, some majors do seem to be for interest and won’t likely result in a job. Maybe that’s why many kids are double majoring or doing extra minors? Their primary major hopefully will lead to employment, while the second major or extra minors expands their horizons.</p>
<p>I know that some think that there shouldn’t be any correlation between getting a college degree and potential employment, but unless you’re a trust-fund baby, most people do have to support themselves…and paying huge tuition payments (or worse loan payments) just to have a degree in an interest, doesn’t seem very practical.</p>
<p>Both of my kids’ majors are on this list…I have one in theater/music and one in architecture (though is now specializing in building science and sustainability within the field). </p>
<p>I never cared what my kids majored in. Going to college was not just about what job they would get upon graduating or how much money they might earn. They went to college to become educated and they specialized in their areas of passion.</p>
<p>That said, my theater/music kid has been out of college almost 3 years (and was just 20 years old when she graduated) and has supported herself in her field since graduation day. She may not make a ton of money but she is doing what she loves, achieving lots along the way, and supporting herself. She has a meeting tomorrow about yet another job on top of all her current ones that would pay her three times the salary she earns now (between all her jobs), and more than either her mom or dad makes. </p>
<p>My architecture /sustainability kid is still in graduate school, but has a very full resume in her field already and just landed a summer job of her dreams in her field for one of the leading international firms in her field, with a possibility of working for them also when she graduates a year from now (they discussed that, and actually created the position for her this summer, even though there was no job opening when she met with them). </p>
<p>I agree with someone else also that these majors are not useless and they are just looking at employment figures. As well, many people who obtain a college degree get jobs in something other than their major. And as someone else pointed out, this article doesn’t take into account that many graduates go on to graduate school. </p>
<p>I have no complaints with my kids in following their passions, even though their majors are on this list. It is working out great for both of them.</p>
<p>By the way, both my kids know we will not support them upon graduation day (or during summers while students) and both meet that expectation.</p>
<p>I read this article and think about my cousin the philosohpy major, he now drives an 18 wheeler. A necessary job in our world but hardly worth the 4 years of tuition paid out.</p>
<p>Articles like the one in the OP are stupid. If every college student got a degree in a STEM field would there be enough jobs for all of them? Imo, the unemployment and underemployment rate in those fields would be staggering.</p>
<p>Emily…true…but many students couldn’t complete a STEM major.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids, oh, I agree - which is another reason the article is dumb.</p>
<p>while the article may not be accurate, the point remains that non-wealthy kids should give some consideration to future employment. If sales is their calling, then maybe any major will work. </p>
<p>But, I foresee a glut of anthropology, sports mngt, biology, film study, int’l relations, and game design graduates parking themselves on their parents’ couches.</p>
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<p>And many students couldn’t complete a music, philosophy, fine arts, or English or [insert major here] major either. Or at least not at a level that makes it meaningful as a potential profession. </p>
<p>There are majors where you can grind through at some level using brute memorization. Original thought is not needed. And then there are majors where you need an innate gift. Music, art, etc.</p>
<p>There are majors where most people are capable of completing the required courses at a low level, but to EXCEL a gift is needed. In those majors, only those who genuinely EXCEL have a realistic chance of working in the field. Those majors are not EASY or USELESS. It appears to be beyond the ken of the average person and many parents on CC to grasp the difference.</p>
<p>BTW, the guy who majored in philosophy and now drives a truck? Don’t you think that his college experience enriches his life? Many, if not most, people don’t end up working in something that is an obvious straight line from their college major. So what?</p>