My DH was going to major in political science and then maybe go to law school, but his Dad sort of urged him to major in something that would get a job…So he majored in Accounting and got his CPA and works in audit/finance. Your son loves Dogs? he can always volunteer at a shelter or do rescues or fostering. if he does Auditing he can always try to do it in an industry he is interested in…my DH did auditing in apparel, Music industry and Telecom industry.
Has he done any internships to see if he likes the job?
Since law school does not require any specific major or course work, isn’t the law school option still open to him, if his GPA and LSAT score are good enough to get into one ranked high enough for graduates to have a good chance at getting law jobs?
Thanks for all your input, DS just wants to get thru it and have an “employable” degree even if he never goes into accounting per se. Yes, I agree it is a bit masochistic. @ucbalumnus I know that Acctg is a business discipline, but the coursework is more like math word problems,so I was just posing the argument that our kids feel the need to choose career-centric majors rather than say World history because they won’t risk learning for the sake of learning.
As far as his exploring other careers, he definitely has, although I will say this, the majority of the internships and jobs for grads posted in his school’s career center require a Business, CS or “related” major. Anyone trying to apply without meeting that criteria gets an auto bounce that says, “you are not eligible to apply.” Sad, sad, sad. I don’t recruit with such narrow criteria, it’s really short-sighted recruiting.
@rubberfall I’m not too worried about post-grad options, he would make his way regardless of what he majors in,it’s DS that doesn’t see it that way. By contrast, my DD goes to a LAC and when you factor in tuition, air travel and winter gear, the yearly cost is brutal yet, after figuring out nursing was not her bag, she switched majors and loves school. Of course, she attends a small, Catholic LAC where self-exploration is the norm not a three-headed anamoly. Her dorm mate is an Art major, gasp!
" DS just wants to get thru it and have an “employable” degree " - Dangerous, may lead to very unsatisfied life. As I said , I have been there and I actually enjoyed it at college, I was fine academically, it was not hard for me. The job was NOT for me though and after 11 years trying it was still NOT fine. My opinion is still the same - get out as soon as possible, not reason to torture yourself. On the other note "if he never goes into accounting per se. " - in couple of years or so after graduation, his accounting degree will be practically erased, he will become un-employable in this field anyway.
Again, it is his choice, but you asked for our input, and her is mine based on my personal experience.
@ucbalumnus - The dearth of humanities majors and the proliferation of STEM and pre-professional programs are not unique to publics, and these phenomena appear to be very much the norm at elite privates and at the ivies – even the ones that are known for their strong humanities programs. Perhaps this is less the norm at LACs, but it certainly what we’re finding when we have visited schools.
@SalveMater - your son is lucky that you are supportive of his exploring his passions; hopefully he will eventually figure out the value in doing just that, and, with your continued support and encouragement, eventually pursue things that really interest him.
The recession and student debt are big factors. Also college used to be for the upper echelon economically and culture was sort of important for that group.
Some of us have been on this forum a good long while and still write, many times a week, that you can major in something you love as an undergrad, that undergrad is not vocational, that there are jobs out there for bachelor’s regardless of major, even that overplanning can be an obstacle to opportunity.
But as time goes on I am starting to feel dated. College SHOULD be a time to explore and grow and take classes you are interested in, but these days everyone talks about a “return on investment.” Probably rightfully so, but it is sad…
One other factor, I believe, is the lack of a canon. Diversity concerns have resulted in the abolishing of the old white male Eurocentric canon so when studying some humanities these days, it can be hard to grasp what it really means to be “educated.”
Unfortunately, fewer and fewer students want core curricula, and fewer still want a core that reflects the works of old, dead, white men (notwithstanding the fact that some of those old, dead, white men thought, wrote, painted, and composed some of the finest works known to personkind).
The value of education being measured by its return on investment is sad, and college has rapidly evolved (or should I say devolved?) into vocational training for many. Given the cost of higher education these days it’s not surprising. Sad, but not surprising.
I feel like the lone voice in the wilderness supporting education in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts; it’s nice to know that there are a few other voices out there too.
my brother was in a similar situation… he said that once he figured out what an electrical engineer did and that it wasn’t particularly interesting to him, he was in his junior year. By then like your S he felt stuck. So he finished his degree, worked for a year or two and then went on for his MBA. But the big difference was that he enjoyed college life overall.
Does your S dislike college life in general or is his unhappiness 100% tied to his major?
I hate to say it, but if he is interested in pursing a career in accounting and getting a CPA, that requires 150 credits. For many students that translates into doing an extra one year MS in Accounting program. Not sure he’d want to do that. He could still get a job in private/non-profit but if he stays in the field it is good to have a CPA.
It may not be too late to switch into a different business discipline he may like more and graduate on time (maybe marketing, business communications, management). They may not be as good for jobs, but may be a better fit. He probably has taken the business core curriculum and it may take an extra semester or two to get a liberal arts degree and meet all of the core requirements and requirements for the major.
I dislike the idea of a “core curriculum” because it limits the classes that can be taken to meet requirements. I went to a flagship with a wide diversity of possible courses for breadth requirements- I hate to think standard European centered were needed instead of Asian or other cultures’ offerings. Eons before my time colleges required Latin and Greek, now those (and their cultures) have been replaced. Asian Lit instead of the “Classics”, bravo! I also feel STEM people are required to learn a lot more humanities/social sciences than those in those areas. Too many people take minimal math and science in HS and college and don’t learn as much about the world as those who do both.
I think most universities that have a core curriculum have a wide variety of course that meet the requirement. My daughter has to take 2 sciences, a math, 2 or 3 humanities/arts, but there are dozens of courses to choose from. Her Arts and Sciences department does require a year of foreign language, but if you had two years in high school that’s enough. Yes, you can take Asian history or art or language or travel there in the summer and all will meet the core requirements.
My daughter’s biggest complaint is the math, and I have to agree. There is one course that she can take, for credit (lots of remedial math) to meet the requirement. Small complaint, small problem.
I disagree. Your son has a good head on his shoulders. He only has 1 year left. Let him finish with his current course of study. Sometimes the best things in life are those that you have to work hard at. Step back and let him spread his wings. Don’t clip them.
Update: son is now a senior with one semester left! He pushed through cost accounting and federal taxation and the rest and came out in the end with a fairly good gpa, ADHD notwithstanding
This year he won the CAL CPA scholly and a job as an accounting manager for a baseball organization! He had dozens of job opportunities to choose from and was highly sought after at career fairs. For him, it was worth the struggle and he’s glad he stuck it out. In his acceptance speech, he said that his ultimate goal is to own his own CPA firm. Wow, you’ve come a long way baby.
p.s. he will study abroad after this summer, in Asia,now that he has his accounting degree and feels his prospects look good, he feels he can finally relax and follow his ultimate passion, study Mandarin in China. Go figure…
Good to hear. Rather than following one’s passion in college, it make more sense to pursue a remunerative degree, and then follow one’s passion as a hobby.
