Best college major for getting a job?

<p>In my ideal future, I'd like to attend med school and be a doctor, but let's be real: the majority of people who enter college wanting to be a doctor either drop the pre-med track because of its difficulty or fail to get into med school period. Assuming I don't get into med school, which major is the best for getting a job? I'm thinking some kind of science or engineering major would be the best, but I know some unemployed/working lower-end jobs people with those kind of degrees.</p>

<p>Here is a reality: Your major does not determine whether you are employable. You will find people from all majors graduating college without jobs, and you will also find people from all majors graduating college with powerful positions. That is the nature of our economy; the strongest, most driven, most connected people will get good jobs, and the weakest, least driven, least connected will struggle.</p>

<p>If you play your cards right, you will be able to find a good job with any major; I work mostly with people who studied quantitative disciplines in college (different types of engineering, math, chemistry, physics, finance, accounting) as well as a few, like I did, studied qualitative disciplines (polisci, communications, philosophy, sociology).</p>

<p>With all that said, quantitative jobs are in greater demand at the moment. Companies need people who understand systems and logistics and who can perform strong analyses of sometimes amorphous data sets. As of right now (and much can change in 4-6 years), degrees that will really help find jobs straight out of college are math, engineering (mechanical, civil, petroleum and natural gas, chemical, etc), physics, statistics, finance and the like. Of course, if you don’t do well, it doesn’t matter your major… you won’t find a job easily; that’s why it is advisable to choose a major based on interest, not job prospects. You will probably perform better in school and get a better job as a result.</p>

<p>ok, thanks for the insight, it was very helpful!</p>

<p>I completely agree with chrisw. I majored in Medieval and Renaissance studies and I was employed (in an unrelated field) before I even graduated - many of my friends, who graduated with various majors, had to search longer to find jobs.<br>
I think college can be very painful if you don’t study something you’re interested in - study something you enjoy, do well, and the rest will follow. If you study something you hate, just because you hope it’ll be good for your future, you’ll probably end up pretty miserable.</p>