<p>Engineers and accountants are more crowded around their higher median, whereas artists and actors have larger disparities of income. Anyway, I don’t think artists and writers and such care as much about money as engineers and accountants do. If you take an artist’s or a writer’s job away, he or she would still be working independently. I highly doubt the same can be said about engineers and accountants; they’re too dependent on “society” (as student01 likes to put it).</p>
<p>It’s all about risk. If you major in engineering or accounting there is a greater probability of getting a decent paying job out of undergrad. If you’re a liberal arts major it is tougher because of increased competition and lack of specialization. You’ll see situations where an English major is pulling in near 100k after undergrad while a 3.5 GPA engineering major is unemployed. However, on avereage engineers tend to have an easier time getting that first job and making a slightly better wage.</p>
<p>After that first job it starts becoming more about what you do on the job and less about what you majored in. Many people find that 5 years out of college what they are doing has nothing to do with their college major. At the same time, I’ve heard of engineers crediting their new non-engineering jobs to the fact that they have an engineering degree.</p>
<p>I really like this thread.</p>
<p>^ i don’t like it that much</p>
<p>student01 is acting like an elitist engineering major and he isn’t even in college yet. lol</p>
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<p>like archeology? become the next indiana jones!</p>
<p>Sorry, I haven’t read this whole thread, but I am a humanities/anthropology double major. I truly don’t care if it’s a waste because I’d rather make little money doing something I love than making tons of money doing something I hated. Could I major in something more “useful”? Absolutely, but I feel as though I am still learning very valuable skills for almost any career I’d want to go in to.</p>
<p>How can it be a waste if you enjoy studying it? If you oneday feel compelled to live in a log cabin for five years and write poetry then by all means do it (an extreme case of course). You could never ask a Harvard Literature professor this question because they would tell you that the answer does not lie with someone else. If you like it, do it! Enough said.</p>
<p>i am disappointed I didn’t find this thread earlier.
at the same time I’m not, as i know i would have been bashed for my poor language/writing/argumentative skills, even though some statements completely made me screech.</p>
<p>One of them I will address and in which i have no interest debating, which is on page 3. It was a comment made by plscatamacchi in regards to raising a family or having a family, wife/husband, and kids. Remember that there is no universal way to life, there might be a “biological way to life” but even then people, humans still have a choice in deciding what they do with their biology(like choosing not to reproduce). That ideal of raising a family etc(which seemed to be assumed as universal truth by plscatemacchi) is something that has been so socialized into American picturesque lifestyle since god knows when. its frankly delusional for people to even still chase that dream and I think more people are starting to realize that more than ever. One only has to look at the divorce statistics of this nation. Reason why I loved Revolutionary Road so much, and reason why they should have been nominated for an Oscar and taken it home over the film that did(and that’s a whole other argument, I wish to not get into). Revolutionary Road dealt with a reality most people ignore, thinking this ordered path, ie go to college, get a job, find a wife, have kids, get promoted etc is the only way to life. It’s not for everyone. It can be argued there is no self-less choice, choosing to have the works(family etc) is a selfish choice just as much as choosing to be alone or to think for oneself is selfish.</p>
<p>I can’t defend my argument with facts or statistics as some of you might want, but I will simply state that I remember when my grandparents generation(in a 3rd world country) would raise kids not to support them, but to support themselves. They’d shell out over 6 kids, because that translated to more than 12 additional little helping hands they didn’t have to pay for to help them get things done around the house or to put food on the table. Reason why I think even in some 3rd world countries today some economies depend on those little kids or women to be exploited just so that the some people can help oneself/themself before supporting their family, wife, kids etc. Its in a country like this where you forget it, because we’re so far removed from the generations that use to practice that abuse. Reason why fewer people have fewer kids today, and I can imagine that the richer you get or the more wealthier you are the less likely you are to shell out a zoo of kids in today’s times.</p>
<p>Lastly I will say that I agree the most with NearL. As a former pre-professional major at one of the best schools in the nation for that major, I learned that the reality of it all is extremely overrated. During my junior year I ended up interning at a major company in my field, and realized how much that life or career wasn’t caught out to be the way I imagined or how people idealize it. Sure you might be making 6 figures after 5-10 years, but at what cost? The cost of working overtime, constantly proving yourself, constantly competing, just for a paycheck that at the end you can only enjoy temporarily with materialistic things like a nice leather seat in your luxury vehicle when the things that might make you happier are a lot less simple like having the freedom to sleep in during the weekends. I am not saying that life can’t be enjoyed on a nice leather seat in a luxury vehicle, but it’s extremely limiting. I think at that point it becomes a situation of “now what?”
I want to say that the experience of interning and realizing the disappointment in my former major wasn’t a me problem, but it was. I frankly was born into the generation that tells its kids to go to college so that they can get a good job, not to go to college to become educated. I didn’t realize that. I’m not saying that a pre professional major is less educated than a humanities major, but there is a difference. Especially when the immediate goal of someone is to learn to get a job vs to learn to become educated. its like high school all over again, or possibly like being a premed major, where one is more concerned with inflating one’s gpa or stats just so that one can have the best shot at getting into the best school, but in this case the best paying job.
A year and a half later, I couldn’t be happier as an entering humanities major. might take me longer to finally get a piece of paper that says I completed a course of study, or to even get a job upon graduation, but i don’t value that. There is something to the value of a humanity major that I think most who major in the humanities understand.</p>
<p>Very well thought out post.</p>
<p>Let me debate right back with ya.</p>
<p>First off, I never said that I assumed everyone was going the family route. However, it is indeed the traditional way. While the divorce rates are skyrocketing you must realize that this is also do to a rising number of minorities who have a MUCH higher divorce rate than the majority. Of course the majorities divorce rates are climbing, but minorities are climbing at a much higher rate. </p>
<p>I think your point about your grandparents in a 3rd world country is completly irrelevant. I believe NearL talked about how college “used to be”, that you would get a degree to show you were well rounded. Like your argument, this is the past and has no relevancy in the argument. I honestly don’t even understand what point you were trying to make? The amount of kids has NOTHING to do with what I, nor what anyone else was saying.</p>
<p>Lastly I think your paragraph about your internship shows more about yourself than it does about the “corporate lifestyle”. You seemed not to be cut out for the long hours and competitiveness that is required to be successful. That’s fine, many people aren’t, but your experience is just one of many that “weeded out” the students who were cut out for the life. I’ve seen this happen to many people.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear your happy as a humanities major, but your argument, like so many other of the humanities majors, is based on the idea that it is a fact that you are less educated and that your life is going to be boring. You say that is not what you mean, but the following sentence you pretty much say it.</p>
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<p>This isn’t very fair. You’re implicitly assuming that this sort of job and career is universally desirable and the only reason why everyone doesn’t do it is because they don’t have the skills. Your analysis says more about you than it does about liek0806.</p>
<p>^^I’m assuming? Please, tell me where I mentioned anything about skills? He did not say he thought it was boring. He specifically used examples of not being able to handle the things that seperate the people who get internships from the people who make a succesfull career out of it. </p>
<p>If he were to have said “It really didn’t stimulate me” than perhaps your viewpoint would be valid, but his points showed he didn’t have the drive. I’m sorry but it is laziness that got to him (from the example he provided), not a lack of interest. He says you can be making good money “but at what cost”? Uh, I guess the cost is hard work? Which he seemed to not want to do…</p>
<p>Where did I say it was universally desirable? I specifically stated that this lifestyle wasn’t for everyone, but you say that I implied it was universally desirable? Uh…what?</p>
<p>I apologize for misunderstanding you–I thought the tone of the post was</p>
<p>“sorry, you couldn’t cut it. you know, it isn’t something anyone can do, heh”</p>
<p>I’m intoxicated right now, and it’s not an excuse for what i’m about to say, but honestly plscatamacchia re read what you posted on the 3rd page, because its very indicative of your ignorance. you’re already assuming so much more about my post then i could ever assume about yours. i will say its not that i couldn’t handle the work load, because i can. Throw a 1 unit class at me with 12 plus hours of homework were the average grade was a C+ and top it off with about 17 more units of class work that I had to do for that pre professional major, and I could do it, and did it for about 2.5 years of my life. I can handle not sleeping 72 hours straight every single week(not just finals)to finish whatever I needed to do or to do a job, but at the end who are you being valued or rated by? No one but the grader or the person who pays you. The person at the top WHO IS PAYING YOU and who doesn’t have to Lift a finger compared to what you have to just for a paycheck, is so much more better off then you or anyone with superior education will ever be. It takes entrepreneurial skills to have slaves work for you and to be delusional enough to want to stay there, just like most skilled employees will be. My situation was more like I realized how pathetic it was to chase after that dream or dream position to be an employee and get paid a good/decent salary for pointless necessities. You end up compromising so much of who you are, just so you have a name on a resume or money in your pockets. You can drive a Nissan Murano over a Porshe Cayenne. You don’t need a Porshe. A nissan murano will get you from point a to point b just like a porachee cayenne will. There’s a utility to things that you seem to not understand. I could have gone that route, but chose not to after seeing what it was like at one of the TOP COMPANIES IN MY FIELD. not a small business, but one of the TOP COMPANIES IN MY FIELD, and if you need a reminder, most top companies first started off as small, and generally speaking rely less on individual employees because of the corporate bs. small companies rely more on employees than top companies do. your insecurities of your pre professional major definitely shine through. its so pathetic how you try to argue your point of view. its like a christian trying to convince an atheist or agnostic(who tends to be more rational and more “in tune” with reality) of the existance of god. you don’t need to convince anyone or recruit people if beliefs, things, etc are good in of themselves. In the end debating is pointless because you’ll defend that jesus juice till the death, not REALIZING things about your position.</p>
<p>lastly to address the whole family bs that I pointed out. one of the major turn offs of my internship was seeing the most successful people in the company or field not having families. yes i use to be as stupid as some(i imagine like you will be) to chase something they’ve been spoon fed just because of tradition or because given time and place. but regardless of it all, i don’t want that. And I realized that after THINKING FOR MYSELF, because of the influence my humanity classes have had to compare and contrast the NATURE of HUMANITY, regardless of today or yesterday. what value is there in having money in your pockets when you can’t even attend your child’s first recital or be there when there’s a sports tournament at 4pm etc. sure those little things might not matter, but i tend to think they do considering the whole entire family bs argument you throw at regarding support etc. Money isn’t everything. But I guess if it is, go ahead and enjoy it, surely you’ll entertain yourself with as many ejaculations you can pay for by the escort/prostitute/gigolo you can afford, but just remember they’re just like YOU. They’re in it for the paycheck.</p>
<p>“this is the past and has no relevancy in the argument. I honestly don’t even understand what point you were trying to make? The amount of kids has NOTHING to do with what I, nor what anyone else was saying.”</p>
<p>you must be extremely ignorant to believe this, if you were american say about 100 to 200 years ago, and not born into the right family you would have been working your little 5 year old hands off until you earned enough cents to contribute to your household which might have consisted of over 15+ family members. To ignore history, and how you’ve ended up to the place where you are now is completely ungrateful. I didn’t address the “how it use to be” argument NearL stated, which was an argument I completely agreed with, because once again, my initial post was a matter of family etc. if you couldn’t connect the dots, I’m sorry for you.
Be sure to research those statistics about the divorce minorities, because I think within the last 2 years, from hearing it on the news, it was less likely for poor people(who tend to be the minorities) to divorce or leave their partner, or to cheat on them, because each of them depend on each others financial support. They don’t have the freedom to jeopardize that. And lastly remember i think the statistics today is close to 50 percent of the american population. if you want to break it down to race etc, remember that we’re ALL imigrants, regardless if you came from europe. IT DOESN’T MATTER! The minute you’re born in America, you’re an AMERICAN, and just like the people at the top who might not be minorities(relative to race, etc) they depend on the immigrants or children of immigrants to do the jobs that THEY WOULDN"T DO!</p>
<p>First off, I like how you had to go to calling me ignorant to make your point. However, after reading your post, I realize why you couldn’t hack it in anything but humanities, you are just an idiot. </p>
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<p>I’m sorry you are too stupid to be able to grasp the material when it is given to you. If you were smart enough to do so you wouldn’t have to be studying this much.</p>
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<p>You say the top people don’t have to lift a finger and then you say they don’t have time for a family? I guess that humanities major isn’t giving you too much.</p>
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<p>So everyone who starts off in business is delusional? Keep making assumptions after you slammed me for making them, idiot.</p>
<p>That is just another tired argument made by people like yourself who had to much anxiety and not enough brains to succeed in business. </p>
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<p>Nope, you just couldn’t hack it in a corporate environment. Go to starbucks and ***** about the “machine” there.</p>
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<p>You tell me how pathetic my argument is and yet you assume that everyone who goes into business is compromising who they are? You are on a roll. Some (more like most) people are smarter than you and go in and come out the same person because they had the skills all along to succeed. </p>
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<p>You’re an idiot. Nobody is trying to convince anyone of anything, we are debating. </p>
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<p>Ok, once again, what does this have to do with the current state of how humanities are viewed? It doesn’t you’re just rambling.</p>
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<p>Congrats on telling me I should research statistics and then not providing any yourself.</p>
<p>However, I know for a fact that African-American Divorce rates are often twice as high as whites/hispanics. They are indeed a minority. You can research this, since I doubt you have anything to do.</p>
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<p>What the **** are you talking about? What does this have to do with anything? We aren’t having a debate on immigration.</p>
<p>liek, you are pathetically stupid. That was the most ignorant, pointless argument anyone has made in this debate. It’s almost as pathetic as getting drunk on a monday and then going and posting in a message board.</p>
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<p>Where?</p>
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<p>What company? Don’t worry, we won’t run to them and say “liek on the CC forum is bad-mouthing you!”</p>
<p>Can’t we all just get along? I’m a history major and a major humanities nerd, but I respect the right of people who study business/science/whatever else to do what they want to. Do I necessarily think you should do something that you don’t like just because you think it’ll make money? No, but at the same time, if you do love studying those things, why not?</p>
<p>Seriously, this debate has become ridiculously hackneyed…</p>
<p>I don’t know who is on what side. </p>
<p>Pls you are being kinda mean. =(</p>
<p>One of my plans is a humanities/science double major. So there.</p>
<p>I think that both are equal in worth. Math/Science = Humanities. A debate is dumb because we’re not going to change any opinions.</p>