are there jobs in this major? thx
Possibly the most useless major in existence
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? or 20?
What do you see yourself doing?
Is it something where gender studies will give you the tools you need?
There are no bad majors, and there are jobs in every major. The questions are: what are your interests? What kinds of careers are you interested in? And are you willing to build skills and experiences on your own?
I have friends who majored in women’s/gender studies and other “studies” (black studies, American studies, etc.) who have gotten jobs post-graduation. Most jobs don’t really ask for a specific major; they want someone with a bachelor’s degree who can think critically, communicate well, and maybe has some other special skills or interesting experience. For example, a women’s studies major who knows some basic statistics and research skills may work as a research associate for a nonprofit that aids women, or maybe works for city government on a research project on domestic violence. A women’s studies major who minor in CS (or takes a few classes) and does summer internships building applications may get a job as a programmer in a technology firm trying to increase the reach of their programs. A women’s studies major who is an excellent writer and writes stories for the school newspaper may get a job writing copy for any number of organizations (and I’ve seen lots of writing positions when I was looking, including at large technology firms for different things).
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Anyone who says it’s anything more than useless is lying to you.
On a side note - i’m 100% okay with what people choose, but gender studies is the exception… Such a B.S/ worthless degree
No shade intended in this statement, but by your past threads, @zane2453, it appears that you are a high school junior. You haven’t navigated the job market yet. How would you know? DO you have some other firsthand experience with making this decision?
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A good major? No, it is not. Could someone get a job with it? Possibly, maybe even probably.
Under no circumstances would I accept ANY debt at all to acquire it. None whatsoever. Also, I’d bet that a high GPA is absolutely essential to success. Anything less than a 3.5 would scare me badly.
Because while a job offer might happen immediately on graduation, I’d plan on it taking 9-12 months to land a job that isn’t already open to you. It might not take that long, but planning for it takes some if the stress out.
Juillet has useful advice about how this major could be combined with other skills in stats or writing. Some gender studies majors with interests in policy and advocacy eventually go on and get a Masters in Public Policy. You would want to take courses in econ and stats to prepare for that.
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Good is a subjective value, so someone can say it’s not good by personal perception. I accept that as an opinion. I think it is good. Gender studies is an interdisciplinary field that is intended to understand how gender functions in everyday human life - how it shapes our perceptions, our treatment, our history, our media (literature, movies, music), our social interactions and behaviors, our thoughts. It’s an intensely important field of study, and understanding the function and influence of gender in a bunch of different areas of inquiry is important for determining our future and closing the gender gap in science and technology, in wages, in caregiving, in media and political representation, etc.
Besides that, the sole purpose of going to college isn’t to get a job. Another purpose is to be able to function as a citizen in a democratic society. (Although you can certainly get gainful employment with a gender/women’s/sexuality studies major).
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It’s true that plenty of people find employment in a field totally unrelated to their major. That said, gender studies has the particular problem that potential employers will see it, and many may roll their eyes and assume that u will be a shrill complaining pain-in-the-butt.
Or merely never had the birds-and-the-bees talk. 
Gender studies is different than sexuality, and explores more than biological sex differences. Not sure I’d want to work for an employer who didn’t understand that, although I do speak from the luxury of an employed position.
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I think the polarizing nature of the very name is likely to cause anxiety. Minor in it, double major, whatever, but I’d expect the same subtle resistance with this major as I would with a degree in 2nd Amendment studies. The luxury of picking a company based on it’s politics is easier to enjoy while employed.
It isn’t the company you have to worry about; it’s all the people who screen resumes.
A lot of people perceive it negatively, so it might be more strategic to major in something like English while taking a bunch of gender studies classes (which are often cross-listed anyway).
I respectfully disagree with the statement "There are no bad majors, and there are jobs in every major. "
Unless dishing out fries at McD’s counts as a job. No, I don’t think it is a good major. Not matter how you consider the term to be used. And I’d count myself a feminist. it is a lousy major! Contemplate your navel in your spare time and find a reasonable major.
But there are jobs in every major…that’s an actual fact. There are definitely jobs in gender studies other than working in fast food or retail - both directly related jobs in gender studies and in peripherally or unrelated jobs in other fields that you can get with a BA in gender studies.
I’m not saying that no BA holders every work at McDonald’s or Starbucks, but it’s actually a lot fewer than most people think. The majority of BA holders are employed, and most are employed in positions that require a BA. And that includes all the art majors and the philosophy majors and the French majors and the psychology majors too.
Now, whether or not it’s a good major is a subjective judgement. It would depend on what you mean by “good.” If someone wanted to make a lot of money and have an easy time finding a direct link between their major and a career, then I’d say no, it’s not a good choice. But for someone who is actually interested in studying gender in all its facets, and is willing to build skills and experiences that appeal to employers through electives, part-time jobs, and internships…then it can be a good major.
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