<p>I am hugely fascinated by it.
But I wonder, would I have trouble getting jobs, or might have low salary.</p>
<p>I think it can be a good major if you combine it with a minor (or concentration) in a complementary field such as neuroscience, computer science, or education.</p>
<p>Here’s how the degree to job pipeline works, as far as I can tell right now.
Education major + decent performance in school → teacher
Nursing major → nurse (a surplus may be on the horizon, still not clear)
Accounting major → accountant
petroleum major → petroleum engineer (warning: this pipeline will be restricting very soon)
Comp sci major + either enough docility to work at a big corporation or enough pluck to be an entrepreneur → developer
Engineering major + above average talent + a network built in school → engineer
A few other degrees in sub-specialties too small to list → those jobs
Many other degrees in sub-specialties too small to list → the job doesn’t turn out to be available, go to Any Bachelor’s
*Pre-med degree + dedication (there are many wash-outs) → med school → MD
Pre-law degree → law school → modest shot at becoming an Esq, bigger chance of go to Any Bachelors
*Any academic degree (non-practical) + passion about the subject and desire to be an intellectual (or confusion that makes you think you want this) → Grad school → a tiny shot at tenure track, a large shot at adjunct faculty, a large chance of crap-out, go to Any Bachelor’s (except you have a PhD… oops)
*Any academic degree + some sort of pluck, tenacity, secret sauce etc that I am unable to identify because I don’t possess it → a job in government or industry related to what they studied
*Any Bachelor’s + family/friend network with deep roots in an industry → decent job in that industry
*Any Bachelor’s in something hard (this is the bucket CogSci would fall into in most cases) + average or better performance in school and an average or better network → a slightly wider selection of mostly bland, unrelated jobs in industry, depending on who’s hiring.
*Any Bachelor’s in something soft + average or better performance in school and an average or better network → a slightly narrower selection of mostly bland, unrelated jobs in industry, depending on who’s hiring.
*Any Bachelor’s with a poor network or mediocre school performance → a job that does not require a bachelor’s
*s designate lines that may be relevant to Cog Sci</p>
<p>So, to recap, nurses, accountants, and petro engrs (plus a few others too numerous and small to list but all in this vein, practical, a bit bland-looking to most people and quite challenging) get the job their training prepared them for in all cases. Teachers, software devs, doctors, engineers, all have a solid shot at the job their training prepared them for, but no slam dunk. Everyone else is in the same situation- a dream job is hard to come by, and any decent job may well be farther away than it appears. But for this largest group, the path is obvious- unless you have a burning desire for one of the well-defined pipeline careers, you might as well major in something you care about <em>that is likely to get the best performance in school out of you</em>, both grades-wise and networking-wise. The major listed on the degree ends up mattering very little, as employers will generally hire anyone that looks reasonably clever and easy to get along with for any job regardless of what they majored in, with some but not most jobs having a hard stop against soft subjects (humanities, arts). </p>