<p>I’m pleased with the three majors (mathematics, economics and political science) that my son has. Originally he planned to double major in economics and political science, then realized he only needed a few extra math classes to declare that subject as a major. One needs a strong math background to do a PhD in economics, which is his goal. As for the political science, he just loves the subject.</p>
<p>I’m happy my kids are pursuing majors they enjoy and that are also good for future employment, DS accounting and DD Chem engineering, although I will admit to wishing they were interested in the health professions as these have been very good to me and DH. As long as they are happy, eventually self supporting and debt free it’s all good.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I once knew a very successful commodities trader at the Chicago Board of Trade who had majored in philosophy. Sometimes the major is incidental to the generalized learning that takes place.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it’s a lousy economy and will probably only get much worse in 5-10 years as we hit more and more natural resource limits. While nothing is guaranteed, I suspect that my son’s interests (math, physics and computer science) will give him somewhat of an edge in the marketplace when the time comes.</p>
<p>I have one kid majoring in English with two minors (creative writing and music) and one majoring in religion (“comparative” - but they don’t call it that as his school, it’s just “religion”.)</p>
<p>I love their choice of majors, and both are perfectly suited to them. I have no idea what they’ll do for jobs after college, and I don’t really care as long as they are enjoying their lives… if they’re not, it will be up to them to figure out what changes they want to make.</p>
<p>I never thought of college as a job training program, but of course people have very different expectations. Both their parents are happy humanities grads, so what else could we expect? ;)</p>
<p>our ds majored in compsci(AI) and minored in computer game design. He thouroughly enjoyed compsci, cogsci and computer game design and he knew that job prospects were there for him at graduation. A win-win for him. He is now on the west coast in a great job for a major player in game design(WC, GH etc) after a stint on the east coast(CoD, TS3, HM:tM). Maybe not a suit&tie career but something creative he loves.</p>
<p>One of my daughters wrote a paper about college becoming like a trade school for some, you couldn’t really explore and follow passions (although she was trying too) but you had to worry about employment in this economy and being marketable.
That said, I worried a little when my son majored in Psychology/Spanish/Econ (latter minors) but he was was so happy. It worked out fine, he is in grad school now for School Psychology, he read numerous times about it being a job that was in demand in the next 10 years, and so far past graduates are all working.
My daughters are undecided, one loves English/History and dropped accounting because she just coudln’t see herself doing something she didn’t like for many years even if she did well. She saw how unhappy her aunt was in a field that paid well, but she disliked everyday she spent in it. Hopefully there can be a balance…not always, but it is the best scenerio.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Two factors are likely reasons why students have to be more “careerist” in their studies:</p>
<p>A. Rising costs of attending university, and the resulting student loans.</p>
<p>B. The supply of non-specific bachelor’s degree graduates is much larger now than it was a few generations ago. A few generations ago, someone with a bachelor’s degree was unusual (in a good way) in that the degree indicated to employers a greater ability to learn more things and adapt to changing challenges, etc… Now, people with non-specific bachelor’s degrees are common in the job market. And grade inflation means that a 3.0 GPA means a lot less now than it used to.</p>
<p>I think jshain and I have the same D. My D is an accounting major and will be an audit intern with one of the Big 4 this summer (okay, not in CA - but still, the similarities are eerie.) She kind of “fell into” accounting and was surprised how much she liked it. She is very social and has great interpersonal skills that seem to have served her well, if her interview experience is any indication.</p>
<p>Her dad and I really like this major, even though we are both scientists and know nothing about accounting.</p>
<p>I’m pleased with both my Ds majors. One has earned a double BS in math & physics–she’s now in medical school; the other will graduate next year with a double BS in math & neuroscience–she will also likely apply to medical school, but is already being “courted” by a couple of graduate programs in her research area.</p>
<p>My son who is a freshman is majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Econ. This fits him and he is doing well so far. I think he will probably go on to graduate school. My youngest son who is still a sophomore in high school wants to major in screenwriting he’s a great writer but right now the focus is getting through high school! - He struggles with math and science</p>
<p>The honest truth? What I’m happiest about is not our daughter’s major per se, but the fact that she is following her passion: art. She’s chosen to major in graphic design and minor in advertising.</p>
<p>I honestly never even really asked her (or researched myself) what this type of major can yield in terms of $$…what we emphasized with our daughter was to find something you love and learn what the best way to make a living at it. We reminded her that she will be working for 40+ years, so doing what she loves will make all the difference.</p>
<p>We are very proud of the direction she has taken, and by following her passion she is truly engaged in ‘learning’ what needs to happen to be successful…hence the advertising minor. She felt that would give her another area of exploration for a job. It will require an extra quarter in the summer before her senior year to complete (15 credits over the graduation minimum) but she is determined to get it done and graduate on time.</p>
<p>scout59, I just PM’d you. I am on a hotel computer and it said that I wasn’t logged in so I’m not sure if you received my message or not.</p>
<p>We parents know a lot about the past but not much about the future, and there will be majors that don’t yet exist. Whatever the kid’s passion leads to is a better field to study in the long run IMHO.</p>
<p>S1 is natural in bio-related sciences. I tried to guide him towards business and accounting. He was accpted by U of Illinois Business program. However, he decides to follow his own passion and chooses UW Madison for this fall. For saving the cost of education, he gave up UC Dan Diego (great bio programs!). I don’t know, if he will change his mind or not. I hope him the best in the next 4 years. As for S2, he loves computer. For God sake, he tought himself on computer since he was 2! Now he is 11 year-old computer geek, playing programming and desk top publishing whenever he gets a chance. I am fairly sure he will make a living with that gig… :)</p>
<p>Latin and ancient Greek. Yes, I know. But how can you discourage someone from what they love? My D had always been a reader–actually, the family joke is that she gestated in the library while I was in grad school–and she took naturally to languages. In 6th grade, the Latin teacher from the high school came for a day to give a sample lesson, and I remember her coming home and telling me that she was going to take Latin when she got to high school. It grew from there. But she wound up being very well educated, with all the history, philosophy, art, and logic she studied in college. Happy ending, though. She went to grad school in a different area, and now works for a world-renowned arts institution. I think that they were blown away by the fact that she was a Classics major. It SOUNDS smart!</p>
<p>congrats poetgrl, on your daus accomplishments! What kind of work is she being offered?</p>
<p>Younger s changed his major from chemistry to Chemical Engineering because he (a) likes it and (b) feels it will be more marketable.</p>