<p>I think usually people that take majors that are in the list is either they have “passion” or those majors are easy.</p>
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<p>Nope. The three P;s, ucb. I had time to even do a count from the program as I sat through the 3 hour commencement service, but really one could eye ball it. Those pages had as many students as were left. Now being a Big State U, the other “schools” such as Business, Education, Engineering and such were not at that graduation nor on the program as they had a whole other time or day with their own programs for thier commencement exercises. This was strictly the College of Arts and Sciences. The Performing and Visual arts majors were there too. This school made it easy as they listed and seated the kids by major and the majors were listed in alphabetical order in the program. Just went to my son’s LAC graduation-much smaller and shorter in time, but they listed the kids in alphabetical order with their majors indicated so I couldn’t easily see what the most popular majors were. I think Bio was up there. I know Political Science was prevalent, and history.</p>
<p>Anyone who starts college thinking a music major is easy will soon learn differently.</p>
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<p>AMEN to that (says the person with a degree in Music Ed). Music is one of the most difficult majors because of the time commitments from all the one credit classes.</p>
<p>More funding to the arts means more exposure to the arts means more support for the arts, which means more funding…</p>
<p>The most popular majors graduating with bachelor’s degrees at Berkeley in 2011 were:</p>
<p>526 molecular and cell biology
509 economics
427 political science
372 integrative biology
357 business administration
344 psychology
332 English
260 electrical engineering and computer science
259 political economy
246 sociology
230 media studies
224 history
198 public health
190 environmental economics and policy</p>
<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm</a></p>
<p>My Dr did her undergrad at Berkeley.
( her sister went to Pomona)</p>
<p>My extended family has an English major who was hired right out of undergrad as an editor for a Pharmaceutical company, set up by getting a great internship and is making a lot of money, especially for a 25 year old.</p>
<p>Anthropology major knew if she wanted to work in her field she needed more education. She got a secretarial job at an architectural firm while getting a Master’s in historical archaeology. She works now doing archaeological digs and research into where the Architects plan to build, making sure the site is not of historical significance. Makes decent money and is happy.</p>
<p>Sociology major niece got a Master’s in Social Work and loves being a Social Worker. Granted, not big bucks but she’s happy. </p>
<p>So it depends on what you’re looking for, how you prepare, and if money and creature comforts is what you crave.</p>
<p>There’s also plenty of liberal arts majors working at book stores, restaurants and answering phones in cubicles that aren’t happy. A liberal arts degree is great but then you need to form a plan based on that degree and what you love. Anthropology and Sociology BA degrees in and of themselves are a dime a dozen.</p>
<p>Id say worst major is one where you are doing it for the money.</p>
<p>We have several kids from our high school each year go into music majors, either performance or education. Our band directors are VERY good at counseling the kids about how difficult the job market is and discouraging kids that are borderline. The kids that are obvious choices, however, they give them a lot of opportunities to practice their skills be it directing one of the concert bands, performing solos, etc. One of DD’s friends is a natural at conducting and leading the band. He is planning on going into music education. He will do a fantastic job. Honestly, he is more of a natural then our band directors. There are a couple other kids that are considering music education that the band directors have talked to several times about finding something else. It helps that our directors have a LOT of connections nationally and if they recommend a kid for a program, the kid is getting in.</p>
<p>My niece who is a few months younger than my oldest probably earns the most out of my various nieces & nephews. Her degree is in classics, and she is a Kinect systems manager.
My oldest on the otherhand just finished grad school & is currently unemployed.( degrees in biology & teaching)</p>
<p>I think it always bears mentioning in this kind of discussion that salary is only one measure of “success” in a career. All those high school band directors are failures when compared to hedge fund managers–when you just look at the money.</p>
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<p>Huh. Well, one of my professors in college WAS the Poet Laureate of the United States after that. Of course, he is tremendously talented as a poet, teacher, scholar…you name it.</p>
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<p>Actually, when I was hiring, I mostly worked directly with recruiters who knew what I was looking for.</p>
<p>Hunt: “I think it always bears mentioning in this kind of discussion that salary is only one measure of “success” in a career. All those high school band directors are failures when compared to hedge fund managers–when you just look at the money.”</p>
<p>The study was which actually wind up working retail - in other words, did not use their degree. But I agree with you, money is usually what people look at.</p>
<p>I don’t think you and I would see it quite that way, huh? ;)</p>
<p>Proudpatriot: “AMEN to that (says the person with a degree in Music Ed). Music is one of the most difficult majors because of the time commitments from all the one credit classes.”</p>
<p>Right. Most majors are 120 hrs. Music majors get credit for a required 130 hours, which is actually about 172 hours MINIMUM, because they have classes that meet for 3 or 4 hours a week, yet only get 1 hour of credit for them. A lot of people don’t understand that.</p>
<p>I know a high school teacher who does not make much at a private high school, who loves, loves, loves his job. He feels like he is so lucky to be working there, getting pay and benefits for something he just loves doing. He has said he cannot come up with many other jobs he would rather have. The family lives modestly, but the kids get top of the line in terms of educational advantages and activities as well as free tuition at that high school. One is in grad school and will probably go into teaching like his dad. There is a lot to envy and emulate in such situations.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse: Good story. I come from a family of educators too. Loved it growing up - I did not follow in their footsteps (except for that one year of homeschooling, which I loved), but I hope I passed some of the SPIRIT along to my kids. I think I did - I cannot see D2 doing anything else. She was born for it.</p>
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<p>Worse is when you do something you really do not like that much only for the money, and then find out that the money is not there. Given how many people seem to lump all STEM majors together in terms of job prospects, there are probably plenty of disappointed biology and chemistry graduates out there. Non-elite-business-school business majors might also find letdowns.</p>
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<p>Living modestly may be one of those under-the-radar things that can make a significant improvement in the types of jobs and careers one can take. When one lives modestly, the minimum acceptable pay level for a longer term job becomes less, which opens up more job possibilities and reduces the pressure to take an otherwise less desirable job just because it pays more.</p>
<p>On the other hand, someone with uncontrolled spending habits who spends money faster than s/he gets it may be forced to choose a higher paying job that s/he likes less simply to cover his/her daily expenses.</p>
<p>Note that a common criticism of engineering careers is that while starting pay is relatively good, late career pay is not as high as for business executives and the like. However, sociologist Vance Packard and business professor Thomas Stanley have noted that engineers tend to be less spendy than most. Perhaps the nature of engineering (solving design problems under various constraints, including cost) means that many of those with the mindset to enjoy engineering do something similar in their personal lives (i.e. optimizing their spending habits to maximize enjoyment for as little money as possible). This could mean that, while (like everyone else) they value an income that allows living comfortably, they may not particularly care to strive as hard for the business executive’s income. (Of course, not all engineers are that way, but perhaps a greater percentage are than in the general population.)</p>
<p>ucbalumnus:</p>
<p>“Note that a common criticism of engineering careers is that while starting pay is relatively good, late career pay is not as high as for business executives and the like.”</p>
<p>Engineers don’t always stay “just engineers” - they become PROJECT engineers, project managers, department heads, consultants, etc., and their salaries become pretty dang fantastic.</p>