<p>My major for my undergrad was sociology. During my senior year I picked up Political Science as a double major because I realized that it alone was pretty useless.</p>
<p>BFA in Dance. School librarian for 9 years, now teach Kinder in low-income school. I'm very glad I was a dance major for 4 years and wouldn't have traded it for the world!</p>
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My major for my undergrad was sociology. During my senior year I picked up Political Science as a double major because I realized that it alone was pretty useless.
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<p>That's like saying you got tired of a crappy ford, so you picked up a dodge.</p>
<p>"And I hope you at least enjoyed learning the subject!"</p>
<p>Quite frankly, I loved it! My children's bedtime stories were from Ovid and Aristophenes!</p>
<p>At least with a sociology degree you can do research if you're in to that kind of thing.</p>
<p>my psych teacher was a sociocultural studies major.</p>
<p>If you're dumb enough to major in something like Celtic Languages and Literature, you deserve the homelessness you're going to get for the rest of your life - if you're smart enough to make something of your life with that major, you deserve to be recognized as a genius.</p>
<p>Has anyone else cared to explore the site that the article was posted on? </p>
<p>Here are their Goals:
"We think that fewer high school graduates should go to college. And for those that do perhaps they should wait a year or so before heading off for school. Then they should first select a major and finally a college. We think it is absolutely crazy to go deep into debt to go to college. To read more on this visit our Introduction, and Our Goals."</p>
<p>Probably started by some late 20's male wallowing in self-pity due to sucking at life.</p>
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<p>Dave,</p>
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Okay, Moms and Dads, has your about-to-be college freshman (freshperson?) made any rumblings about any of these majors? If so . . . hmmm.
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Before you start having the incoming college freshmen thinking too hard, consider that the History of Consciousness program at U.C., Santa Cruz is a Ph.D. level graduate program, with many of the students already possessing graduate degrees. Perhaps in a few years time, they can pick up on the thought.</p>
<p>If I had the time and money, this would be a program I would relish... and so it seems would many others as applicants number upwards of 150 each year, with offers of acceptance going out to only 10-12 students.</p>
<p>In an age where inter-disciplinary is the norm and spheres of modern thought are continually cross-pollinating, it's encouraging to know that needed intellectual discourse can find both refuge and value -- far from the purpose of your referenced website, whose goals appear to cast aspersions on intellectual discovery as a worthy pursuit.</p>
<p>Yes, proud to be a Banana Slug ~</p>
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<p>"Probably started by some late 20's male wallowing in self-pity due to sucking at life."</p>
<p>Yeah, agree 100%. Many of these articles/websites lambasting college in one way or another are put together by apparently very bitter people whose college experience did not live up to their astronomical expectations. Then "these people" extrapolate their experience and apply it to all colleges and all college students. (Thinking of this and "Disadvantages of an Elite Education" article.) Give me a break. The vast majority of people who go into these majors do it because they love their chosen subject and their life goal is not to amass extraordinary wealth and live in Beverly Hills or Malibu (CA). Those who do not love the subject and yet go into such majors are, honestly, very ignorant. It isn't a mystery on college campuses that Celtic studies won't make you a millionaire.
Those that do love the subjects, acquire the corresponding degrees, and are successful in doing so (make good connections/get good recs) most often (from my experience) go on to graduate school to spend the rest of the foreseeable future doing research and teaching.</p>
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<p>Go to that website, and click on "Alternatives To College". The first thing on the list is to "Join the military."</p>
<p>I might be politically biased, but I think there's something wrong with that. Well, maybe not wrong. But I just thought that was kind of funny that that's the first thing they mention in their article.</p>
<p>With some fields, you learn a way of thinking even if you don't apply the specifics of what you learned. I've never studied Classics or Celtic Literature, so I don't know if that is the case with those fields. You do find people who've become successful in life "despite" majoring in those fields. One of my college roommates majored in English and specialized in Irish poetry. He worked after college at a not terrific job, went to business school, and became the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. I doubt the experience of parsing Byron and John Millington Synge directly helped him, but he was/is a bright, effective guy. Another roommate also majored in English, I think, and runs a major non-profit. An engineer became a utility engineer. I'm sure that they both have higher incomes than the engineer and are definitely not homeless. So, who's to say that choosing an impractical degree will harm you economically.</p>
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<p>The original site owner's message is that students should be careful of falling into a financial aid trap:</p>
<p>"Some graduating high school seniors have a passion for a certain career path or an area of interest. But many are just not sure what they want to do. Our message is this: When in doubt, pursue a practical education or an alternative to college. If you are considering borrowing a bucket-full of money in order to attend college, be even more practical!"</p>
<p>"The availability of student loans, grants, and other financial aid has made college education possible for many more people than ever before. However, the availability of this money has created a large group of people who borrow carelessly with little or no planning, and without setting realistic goals or objectives. We believe that students, parents, guidance counselors everyone involved in career planning needs to conduct a thorough analysis of the costs and benefits of pursuing a specific college degree."</p>
<p>"Allow me to personalize the message here: I have a passion for drinking beer and watching professional football on television but I have yet to find a way to earn a living at it. When it came to college, however, I studied Mathematics, Computer Science, and Business hoping to be able to utilize my degree to launch me on a satisfying and profitable career in business , thus affording me the free time and resources to occasionally drink beer and watch sports on television."</p>
<p>"Yale doesn't have a major in agrarian studies... or anything remotely close to it.
That's 100% made up.</p>
<p>We do have Classical Civilization and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies... both of which are pretty good departments. Yale's classics department is more or less the best you're going to find in the country."</p>
<p>Um... Agrarian</a> Studies Front Door</p>
<p>Yale does so have an Agrarian Studies major. o_o</p>
<p>Finally, a list of useless majors that doesn't include Philosophy :)</p>
<p>This guy's point is definitely valid, and whether he's bitter or not is completely irrelevant to his message. One should think about going to college and do a cost-benefit analysis, rather than blindly assuming that it's the best path for them, or that they should do it for status. </p>
<p>For example, I made the decision to go to a school that would put me 30-40k in debt, but I know that the school is pretty average for the field I'm going into, and majors from that field start at 50-60k per year, which would allow me to pay off the debt in reasonable amount of time. </p>
<p>Also I know that my alternative career, which I would be able to enter into with only one year of community college, would only pay 30-40k a year, and would be much more vulnerable to outsourcing.</p>
<p>okay, yes I think that the list of majors is ridiculous. However, the main point of the site that has taken so much crap, I think, is a very valid one.
I think what you guys don't realize is that many of your sons and daughters (or yourselves) are going to some of the best colleges in the United States.
I am taking classes at a mid-sized state college (not even the flagship U), and there is an astounding number of students that are taking classes and wasting their parents and their own money because they didn't know what to do after high school, and college seemed like a way to put off making a decision.</p>
<p>The point of the website is a good one. If you don't have a real clear idea (or even at least a vague idea) of what you want to do while in college, take some time to consider it. Yes, it may be unfortunate, because this will be the time when you will get the best financial aid and othe scholarship offers, but if you end up paying 20K a year anyway for a degree that you chose because you were running out of time, will it really do you any good?</p>
<p>oops, cross posted with the one above.</p>
<p>Finally, a list of useless majors that includes Women's Studies :)</p>
<p>I'm sorry but for a lot of people, doing what's practical won't make them happy in the long run. Even if going into Computer Engineering is what will make me unbelievably wealthy, my heart isn't into it. You should do what you love and then mold a career into that, not just follow what you think is where the money's at. People who do that end up regretting what they've done with their lives.
And I think Agrarian Studies would be facinating!</p>
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<p>Corn guy probably chose that dissertation topic with an eye toward biofuels.</p>