<p>The US has a large and diverse economy with pockets of strength and weaknesses. General unemployment is around 8%. Some states have 4% unemployment. some industries are very hot in all states. </p>
<p>My feeling is that an undergrad degrees in the social sciences from a tier 3 school is not as employable, as professional degrees such as engineering, nursing, pharmacy, accounting etc from third tier schools. Like I said previously, it depends on where you want to work. Some second and third tier schools have very marketable degrees. </p>
<p>To my son, my advice is to study what ever you want if you get into an ivy league type school -music, poetry, theatre, english writing, history, sociology, economics, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, they are all equally good. However, be selective about your major as you move down to tier 2 & 3 schools. For example, A&M, Texas Tech, Lousiana Tech and U of Oklamhoma are all great for petroleum engineering. Northeastern and BU are fine for general engineering. Georgia State is good for some types of accounting etc. So, if he does not get accepted to elite schools, he will probably attend one of these.</p>