<p>Useless major: business</p>
<p>(FYI, I’m a business major)</p>
<p>There are no useless majors.</p>
<p>A liberal arts education is not a vocational school. It does not train you for a particular job. Rather, it teaches you how to think – how to approach problems – and how to solve them. If the school has done its job, and you have done your part, the skills you develop will be adaptable and transferable to many jobs in the future. You can gain these skills with any major – therefore, no major is useless.</p>
<p>Now – here’s your first problem – how do you leverage the skills you’re obtaining to make you employable. I would think that first you have to decide what you want to do when you graduate, then use your liberal arts skills to develop a resume that will give you the best chance at getting hired. Research? Internships (even if unpaid)? Part-time Jobs? Entry-level positions?</p>
<p>“Actually, I took some classes from an artist who told me that she learned more from working on her own than at her art school”</p>
<p>I wont say that people like that dont exist - im sure they do - but they simply arent the rule. If you were to study the history of artists you would soon realize that art as a field of academic study is deeply rooted. Also, there is actually quite a bit of technical knowledge you need to be possess to be an artist. If you have the chance, go inside an art supply store and look at the number of tools and materials you need to know how to use. If an artist didnt study from a plethora of teachers then they had a sort of apprenticeship. There’s a lot of specialized knowledge that goes into animation for example, and I dont know too many people who would try to study that by themselves. The same even goes for studying the law actually. You didnt always have to go to law school, you could study under a single judge. Also, what school was it that she attended? </p>
<p>Also, im surprised that people have such a contemptuos view of journalism. While I agree that one should probably double major - or at least minor in another field - I dont understand why people dont see the virtues in journalism. I mean, their pretty much the only supply of information a free society has.</p>
<p>OP: Not only do I reject your premise that the usefulness of a major is a function of its capacity to translate into material gains for those who pursue it, but also I seriously doubt that anyone can, with any meaningful degree of certainty, determine that those material gains or losses were necessarily the result of choosing one major over another. For the sake of argument, I will accept your definition of useful - without knowing who you are, what your abilities are, and what career trajectory you’re on, how can you expect anyone here to tell you what majors are or are not useful to you? </p>
<p>(Also, I think it also really depends on what school you’re at. If you’re talking Ivy League, Stanford, Duke, UChicago - it’s a bit easier to go farther with say an art history degree than one from a state school.) </p>
<p>This thread devolved into what those of its kind always do: an inane pis*ing contest between the liberal arts and hard sciences/pre-professional majors that illuminates nothing and never ends. Long story short: there is no single path to a career with an “impressive salary” (which is itself a problematic term with no universally accepted definition). Don’t be fooled into thinking that there’s an easy choice here or that a change in major will translate into fast returns. </p>
<p>My .02: follow a major/course path that is intellectually fulfilling to you. People tend to do well in things they like to do, and a good GPA means better graduate school/employment prospects and thus more choices down the road. I’ll be honest - my ug music major (BA) is financially useless to me in and of itself, but I loved it and did very well, which made law school admissions a little less daunting. Moreover, music is a huge part of my life and my coursework allowed me to engage with it in new and interesting ways that give incredible meaning and richness to my life, even if I’m no financially better off for it. </p>
<p>Also, bxkxrxxx is sorely mistaken regarding math majors. Just talk to the quant jocks at Goldman, McKinsey, Citi, [insert prestigious investment bank/consulting firm here]. I’m fairly certain doing pretty well for themselves.</p>
<p>^^The reason is because sooooo many people see it as an easy major.
It can be in some places, but if you go to a good J-school then it’s hard.
And those people who think it’s easy are the ones who do not get jobs (or good ones) in the future. A real journalist sees their life as one big research paper, they know how to relate with others, they want (and love) finding new things. That is the mark of a good journalist. Not some stupid 19 year old who wanted an “easy” major. </p>
<p>As many people have said on here, a major is only worth as much as you try to make it. Work hard, get good internships, get connections, then it’s a good major.</p>
<p>and Yes, it’s good to double major, or even minor in something else (Computer science, poli-sci, law, education etc etc).</p>
<p>@WoodrowWilsonJr, so where do you get your news? hmm? Do you know that mnay journalists went to top notch grad schools (i.e. Harvard, Yale, Oxford etc). Are they stupid? I doubt it.
But seriously, I would love to know where you get your news. Please enlighten the rest of us.</p>
<p>I don’t think there are “useless majors” but I do think there is a hierarchy of majors.</p>
<p>^ Go on… rank majors according to their relative position in this hierarchy.</p>
<p>Seconded. I’m interested to see this heirarchy!</p>
<p>Well, I would say education major is at the very bottom. PreMed (the track; I know it’s not a major)/Engineering/Econ/Business/Math at the top. </p>
<p>That’s the vibe I’ve gotten from society. </p>
<p>And if anybody approaches me nasty, I’m coming for your neck. Just letting you know.</p>
<p>I’d put engineering below teaching, otherwise, interesting. What about hard/natural sciences? Do you consider them closer to engineering or math?</p>
<p>I would say math. Engineering is very applied whereas math can be very theoretical/conceptual similar to the hard and natural sciences. I know there’s theoretical engineering, but you can avoid taking theory courses. Can’t do that as a math major (at least not at my school as you need theoretical/conceptual math courses for your math major).</p>
<p>What about liberal arts majors (English, History, Communication, Philosophy, etc.)?</p>
<p>
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<p>They’re not stupid. They’re just doing a job in order to get paid or to win awards. I am familiar with journalism. I attend the Wharton School. My dad attended the Wharton School and my mom attended Princeton. Both went to Wall Street, and my dad actually owned a newspaper at one point in time.</p>
<p>The “news” is whatever helps sell the product, whether that product is a magazine/newspaper/tv show/etc. It tends to highlight rare/interesting events and is therefore not very representative of reality. I don’t find it to be very useful(except as entertainment) and neither do my parents.</p>
<p>I think that the hierarchy of majors has to have more assumptions before completing that answer. Is the hierarchy based on whether or not you can get a job after earning a Bachelor’s degree? Or is it defined based on not only getting a job, but also by salary? If so, engineering would be above teaching, unfortunately. Or is it defined by what doors it opens after earning a Bachelor’s degree (and how big that door is)? For example, anthropology as a Bachelor’s may not lead to a big salary or a specific job, but does lead the way to grad school and very interesting studies. The same applies for a psychology major. The original poster asked the question in 2009, so I wonder what that person decided and how they would answer the question now.</p>
<p>Two things: 1) A lousy GPA/low interest in an ‘in demand’ major such as business, engineering, etc. won’t get you very far. You may get hired, but how well do you think you’re going to perform afterword? Recruiters (even in finance fields) look for ability and potential. One way to demonstrate that is to pick a major you are interested in and excel at that; once you have demonstrated ability, your major becomes of secondary importance. (The investment banking recruitment model bears this out.)</p>
<p>2) Get a broad education. Yes, you can still do this even if studying a ‘vocational’ major (e.g. business, sciences). I’ve seen far too many finance/accounting majors (for example) that learn the ‘hard’ skills, but are dumber than **** otherwise. The hard skills will take you so far; if you can’t communicate effectively, write a concise report, or know nothing outside your field, you won’t advance very far beyond an entry-level position.
This is demonstrated statistically: voacational majors tend to earn a higher starting salary (on average); liberal arts majors earn a lower starting salary but tend to advance to management positions quicker. This is not by accident.</p>
<p>The same goes for liberal arts majors. You don’t have to major in business/accounting/etc if you choose not to, but at least attempt introductory statistics, economics, or finance (for example). You don’t necessarily need to hold a major in any of the above to be successful, but employers want to know that you at least have some quantitative ability. Don’t discount the importance of a broad skill set.</p>
<p>There are just so many factors at play other than the name of your major. If you’re at Princeton, you can major in almost anything(like Art, History, or Art History) and still have exit opportunities like a top10 law school or a prestigious NYC finance job. If you’re at a less prestigious college, you can double major in finance and accounting and still never touch the top business jobs. In fact, I feel that it is only at lesser colleges that not every major graduates with good opportunities. At these schools, students might feel like they must learn a skill like accounting or engineering or else they will have nowhere to go after graduation.</p>
<p>It’s impossible to look at majors in a vacuum without considering other(and more important) factors such as the overall caliber of the school and the student’s GPA.</p>
<p>@ post #3,</p>
<p>An Art History major snapped up Prince William. What have you achieved? :D</p>
<p>^^ Hahahahahahahaha NICE! 
:D</p>
<p>There is no useless major. It is what you make it to be.</p>
<p>^ i couldnt have said it better. Im currently studying a PPH which may not get me any where but who cares I LOVE it!. The prime minister and alot of the MPs in my Country did PPE or PPH but then again many PPE/PPH people also work in the local supermarket or have other lowly paid jobs. A degree is what YOU MAKE it, study what you like and see how far you get.</p>