The 10 Most In-Demand College Majors & the advantages of a less popular major

College Search & Selection
1

<p>According to Netscapes' news-of-the-day, the 10 most in-demand majors are now:
Accounting
Electrical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Business administration/management
Economics/finance
Computer science
Computer engineering
Marketing/marketing management
Chemical engineering
Information sciences and systems
(Source: Job Outlook)
<a href="http://channels.netscape.com/careers/package.jsp?name=fte/surprisingcollegemajor/surprisingcollegemajor&floc=wn-%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://channels.netscape.com/careers/package.jsp?name=fte/surprisingcollegemajor/surprisingcollegemajor&floc=wn-&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The above list has me a little puzzled. Given that many undergrad schools don't offer engineering or business majors, how can these be the most popular majors? Is this based on percent pursuing these majors relative only to the availability of these majors (I hope I am making myself clear with this question).
Ironically, in a related article <a href="http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/package.jsp?name=fte/hatemath/hatemath&floc=wn-np%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/package.jsp?name=fte/hatemath/hatemath&floc=wn-np&lt;/a> they say that the most HATED subject (presumably in HS) is MATH. Seems odd that if math is so despised in HS, that accounting and engineering, both math-intensive majors, are suddenly so popular.
My younger s. has expressed a strong interest in Accounting, which now, by considering a popular major, appears to put him at a comparative disadvantage in the application process. Maybe if he considers majoring in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations or some such obtuse major, he'll have a better chance! Do students expressing an interest in less "popular" majors at any given school (where you do not apply to a specific division within the college/university but apply generally) truly have an advantage? I know some students apply to, say, the school of Engineering at Columbia to have a better chance of admission, and then switch to Arts and Sciences. If we don't consider these strategies, is there really a significant effect on admission chances by expressing a less popular major in the admissions process?</p>

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<p>I'm not sure that in-demand is the same thing as popular. Could in-demand mean those are the majors employers are seeking the most?</p>

3

<p>Good point, MomoFour.
I re-read the article, and it refers to the # of students selecting the major-- even going so far as to call accounting the new "sexy" major. Isn't that a contradiction in terms? :)</p>

4

<p>I really don't trust that list anyway, heck the source is Netscape and who knows how old those statistics are...I know many people who have either a BS in computer science or information science and can't find a job, or it takes months of search for a job offer. Many of these jobs are being outsourced and thus the job market is quite bleak. </p>

<p>I also agree that in-demand is much different than popular. For example, I am a graduate student in geology, which is a very un-popular major. However, a geologists are heavily in demand and I don't know anyone who hasn't been offered a job with their BS in geology (mostly because avg. age of a geologist is 55 and enrollment in geology programs are at an all-time low...). Furthermore, with a MS the options open up and employers compete for you. This is a prime example that in-demand doesn't mean popular.</p>

<p>Edit: I hadn't looked at the article before posting, sorry. But I still don't totally trust those sources...personal opinion that's all...</p>

5

<p>The list is of majors for which employers are looking, not popularity amongst undergrads (notice the source of the list is "Job OUTLOOK 2005 survey"). The article seems to confuse the two, a little, though. </p>

<p>Accounting concentrators/majors are in high demand due to the increased workload of public accounting firms resulting from Sarbanes-Oxley (a law passed in response to the Enron/Global Crossing/Worldcom fiascos). Not a lot of people go into accounting, and even fewer stick with it after three years, so there's a lot of demand to 1) hire enough people to handle the extra work 2) fill the spots of the people are leaving every year. </p>

<p>But I'm sure enrollment is up a bit, too--$50,000 starting salaries tend to do that.</p>

<p>And, while I guess this differs from school to school, it is definitely harder to get into the school of management or the college of engineering at my school than it is to get into the college of arts and sciences.</p>

6

<p>Exactly Ryanbis. In demand majors are usually those that are considered more "job oriented." </p>

<p>As for admission, I don't think that your intended major has much of an affect. What happens for "in damand" majors is that schools usually have an internal screening process that usually requires a higher GPA to get into the major. Towson University, where my son attends, doesn't allow anyone into the accounting program without an overall 2.75 GPA and the same GPA in the major. I think U of Maryland requires a 3.0 in the freshmen and sophomore years to be admitted to their business school.</p>

<p>Some programs in digital design, film and animation are screened majors too depending on the school. This leads to the point that all schools should be checked out to see what majors are "screened majors, " and what the requirements are for these screened majors.</p>

<p>Moreover, there are many "in demand" majors that aren't listed,which vary from school to school. For example, you need a 3.5 GPA in college to get into UPenn's School of Communication.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
Some programs in digital design, film and animation are screened majors too depending on the school. This leads to the point that all schools should be checked out to see what majors are "screened majors, " and what the requirements are for these screened majors.

[/quote]

taxguy-
Was the double entendre on "screened" majors for film and animation programs intended?</p>

8

<p>Point of clarification, for what it's worth. The article does claim with respect to accounting - '"It's now the most in-demand major on college campuses, according to both AccountingWeb.com and the Job Outlook 2005 survey, conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers." So, my read on thier statement (followed by.."Why is it so popular?) is that Accounting is indeed the major on campus that is popular, not just the career after college. I'm still having a tough time believing that. Any other thoughts???</p>

9

<p>any idea if creative writing is in-demand? HAH... I highly doubt it.
Is it even a popular major?</p>

<p>Anyways...back to the article. It looks like those majors are in-demand by students, not employers. It would be silly to major in something based on its popularity with employers, but I guess that is part of the majors' appeal. As far as the math thing... I think that in their younger years, students have it drilled into their heads that math is BAD. I personally hated it with a passion until high school, and now I am slowly starting to enjoy more and more. Most students need to stop having such a biased towards math to be able to appreciate it.</p>

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<p>I thought biology is a pretty big major nowadays as well.</p>

11

<p>JVM626,It wasn't meant as a double entendre until I reread the post. Oh well.</p>

12

<p>"It would be silly to major in something based on its popularity with employers..."</p>

<p>And why is it silly to consider your actual job prospects when choosing your major?</p>

<p>As for why accounting is becoming a popular major, consider a few things:
-The numbers provided only mention that enrollment in these programs have increased...they don't take into account the overall increased college enrollment over the past few years
-For undergrads, you cannot go into public accounting without an accounting degree anymore
-For grads, many people choose to get a Masters in Accounting to help satisfy the 150-credit hour requirement to sit for the CPA exam</p>

<p>Lots of people have been going into public accounting; however, they were doing it with different degrees. Now, all of those people are changing their majors (from, say, Econ and Finance) to accounting.</p>

<p>As for the numbers issue: public accounting (which is where most accounting major go after they graduate) isn't as numbers centered as you think. Interpersonal/speaking abilities is the number one job qualification.</p>

<p>And to put your minds at rest: <a href="http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=&prid=202%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=&prid=202&lt;/a> is the source of the Job Outlook survey, which is based on EMPLOYERS hiring intentions, not major popularity. The article is confusing the two, though more people are majoring in accounting.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
I know many people who have either a BS in computer science or information science and can't find a job, or it takes months of search for a job offer. Many of these jobs are being outsourced and thus the job market is quite bleak.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yeah, but believe me, in terms of job prospects, CS or IS is still a LOT better than a lot of other degrees you could get. I'll put it to you this way. If you think the CS guys are having it rough, how do you think the Art History guys are doing? </p>

<p>Don't get me wrong. It is certainly true that CS/IS is not as lucrative of a degree than it was 5 years ago. But hey, according to the numbers, it is still a highly marketable bachelor's degree relative to all the other bachelor's degree you could get. Take a gander at the average starting salaries of CS/IS guys vs. those students majoring in, say, the humanities. </p>

<p>
[quote]
According to Netscapes' news-of-the-day, the 10 most in-demand majors are now:
Accounting
Electrical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Business administration/management
Economics/finance
Computer science
Computer engineering
Marketing/marketing management
Chemical engineering
Information sciences and systems

[/quote]
</p>

<p>These majors seem to be the ones that employers want, not necessariliy the ones that students actually major in. Consider this quote:</p>

<p>"In the US, more students are getting degrees in “parks and recreation” than in electrical engineering"</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/press/company/2003/c03033.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ti.com/corp/docs/press/company/2003/c03033.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>And of course I think we can all agree that the number of students majoring in English, Psychology, Political Science, History, Sociology, and other sort of traditional 'liberal arts' majors vastly vastly drarfs the number of students majoring in something like chemical engineering. </p>

<p>Take Berkeley as an example. Berkeley is widely recognized as an elite chemical engineering school. Yet Berkeley grants almost twice as many bachelor's degrees in "American Studies" as it does in chemical engineering.</p>

<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/CarDest/2003Majors.stm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://career.berkeley.edu/CarDest/2003Majors.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>