Are there useless majors?

<p>I'm currently a liberal arts student, which is a degree that most people consider to be BS in the first place and I do not know what major I should transfer into.
Can somebody list all the majors that are lucrative? This is especially important as I'm living in Long Island which is ridiculously expensive these days and have never lived anywhere else, so I can't just move to a totally alien place.
I am not good at math or science so being a doctor is not a possibility. I don't have the social skills to become a lawyer and I'm not responsible or innovative enough with money and business to get an MBA.</p>

<p>I like the social sciences, especially anthropology and psychology, but those are not lucrative degrees with a high demand on the job market. I would not want to become a psychologist anyway because I doubt I could handle dysfunctional people. </p>

<p>Can someone tell me which majors are useless and why? Especially when it comes to getting a career and making an impressive salary? Thanks.</p>

<p>as an anthropology major, i'm a little offended that you think my major is useless! I really like it, and I'm planning on getting a graduate degree in it (okay, so maybe the undergrad degree is kind of useless BY ITSELF).
Most people would probably say any humanities/social sciences are useless in terms of making money, but if you are determined not to do anything science/math related, good luck finding anything else.</p>

<p>Hey! I plan on being a psychology major and psychology/psychiatry is in high demand in this day in age. Don't knock it because psychiatrists often have salaries of 150K or even more, if monetary compensation is all that you are looking for.</p>

<p>Useless Major would be Art History IMHO.</p>

<p>It's not always the major, but what you choose to do with it. Don't confuse the degree with the motivation of the student.</p>

<p>I second what njcentconf said, and in regards to getting a degree in a lucrative field, such degrees are useless if you are just another average degree holder. The people with lucrative salaries are usually the ones who got their degrees in a given subject not because the degrees were lucrative but because they like the subject and are naturally good at it.</p>

<p>The last two posts hit it right on the nose. What you make of your education is up to you. If you get decent grades, do an internship or two, develop yourself as a well-rounded student, and can market yourself to prospective employers, you'll be fine. If a major is useless it wouldn't be offered. If you are learning, you are making use of your education. If you simply want a degree to make yourself money, go learn a trade such as plumbing. </p>

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<p>The collections manager at the museum I'm currently interning at has a bachelor's in art history. No master's or other training. Just saying.</p>

<p>finance, business, etc. especially with the state of the financial market.</p>

<p>It does not matter what you major in. Just major in something you enjoy studying, unless you want to do engineering or pre-med or something in that vein where there may be some prerequisities. Generally though, there are not.</p>

<p>Useless? That depends on what your goals are going into it. Trying to get a high paying job? Yeah, theres lots of useless degrees. Trying to do something interesting to you, damn the future? Well, theres a whole new set of useful/useless degrees.</p>

<p>How on earth is a Liberal Arts degree useless? You realize "Liberal Arts" includes all the Humanities, Classics, Social Sciences? Or at least that's how it is in my college. Seriously, study what YOU want. If you want a couple majors you should avoid, I'd say Criminology, Latin, Hellenistic Studies...but even those are fine if you know what direction you're going in. I know in college, it seems like your major will define who you are for eternity, but it doesn't. Please pick something you actually enjoy. Someone posted a statistic on CC once (from an article) that most people end up in a field unrelated to their UnderGrad major. Seriously, if Undergrad major defined your life, then no one would major in Humanities, Classics, or ____Studies. Sure, if you want to be a Nurse, Engineer, etc, than you need a specific Undergrad degree, but for most professions you don't. </p>

<p>i'm majoring in Liberal Arts as well (Economics major with minor in International Relations and maybe Neuroscience). I'm planning on Law school after I graduate.</p>

<p>Journalism</p>

<p>pfft... freshmen..</p>

<p>Social Sciences - Nothing learned except that people are different and you have to live with it. Far too subjective and what is taught as "common" doesn't necessarily happen in the real world. Slacker major. Nobody wants to hire a slacker.</p>

<p>Mathematics - Absolute and utter waste of a major. The only math you'll ever need in top careers is already being taught to Scientific majors. Employers frown upon the fact that Math majors have been doing nothing but solving math problems on paper for 4 years. However, it would go hand in hand with an Education major -- which is also useless by itself. Have fun teaching Algebra to snotheads for the rest of your life.</p>

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Mathematics - Absolute and utter waste of a major. The only math you'll ever need in top careers is already being taught to Scientific majors. Employers frown upon the fact that Math majors have been doing nothing but solving math problems on paper for 4 years. However, it would go hand in hand with an Education major -- which is also useless by itself. Have fun teaching Algebra to snotheads for the rest of your life.

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<p>You couldn't be more wrong if you tried.</p>

<p>The</a> Best and Worst Jobs in the U.S. - WSJ.com</p>

<p>According to that study (which is obviously not the first nor the last study on the subject), the top three careers basically require a strong mathematics background if not a mathematics major proper. Probability is a senior-level course, the application of which finds quite a bit of work in insurance and the public sector. Mathematicians are also heavily involved in the sciences. My calculus professor modeled bacterial movement largely because biologists did not have the mathematics nor the technical expertise to do so themselves. Further, mathematics is widely perceived as a difficult major and shows employers that you have the motivation to get through (what is perceived as) a challenging curriculum.</p>

<p>just a bio degree in itself is practically useless...</p>

<p>Maybe gender studies is another useless one?</p>

<p>English.</p>

<p>If you go to a LAC, don't worry about your major. Most LACs have such a broad curriculum that it doesn't really matter what you major in. I know of one alum from my LAC who majored in Art History and ended up working on Wallstreet.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/77635-useless-majors.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/77635-useless-majors.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>somewhat related:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/566298-easiest-major-your-eyes.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/566298-easiest-major-your-eyes.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
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pfft... freshmen..

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<p>I second this sentiment.</p>

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Social Sciences - Nothing learned except that people are different and you have to live with it. Far too subjective and what is taught as "common" doesn't necessarily happen in the real world. Slacker major. Nobody wants to hire a slacker.</p>

<p>Mathematics - Absolute and utter waste of a major. The only math you'll ever need in top careers is already being taught to Scientific majors. Employers frown upon the fact that Math majors have been doing nothing but solving math problems on paper for 4 years. However, it would go hand in hand with an Education major -- which is also useless by itself. Have fun teaching Algebra to snotheads for the rest of your life.

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Based on this quote, I would guess that not only have you never been to college, but you haven't been to high school as well. I guess you've never taken a social science class before - you learn that people are different? Haha yeah right buddy - or do you not know what the social sciences are? Political Science, Economics, Anthropology, Geography, Psychology, Communications, History, Sociology. No one wants to hire any of those majors? Not sure where you're getting your info from, but you're completely off here. </p>

<p>Math majors do nothing but solve math problems for 4 years? Ok, and English majors read books for 4 years, Psych majors study human behavior for 4 years, Bio majors study living things for 4 years, History majors study the past for 4 years - what's your point? Everyone studies something specific for 4 years, then we go into the real world and get a job. You've got to be kidding if you don't think Math majors are in demand - my dad works in finance and hires Math majors all the time because he says he prefers them to Business majors, since the Math majors are generally smarter. Employers want intelligent, hardworking people. Your major doesn't place you into a box and define the rest of your life.</p>

<p>one of my friends is doing art history with an emphasis on scottish furniture between 1640 and 1800. yeah...</p>

<p>Every major is useless if you don't put it to use. Just the fact that you've managed to earn a degree from a reputable school in anything already puts you far above the majority of people out there who chose not to, or couldn't, handle a college program. </p>

<p><em>Facepalm</em></p>