Worst College Majors for Your Career

Parent Cafe
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<p>What? First off, most philosophy programs are not religious based so I’m not sure how priests got involved. And authorized by the government: what? Second, it’s very difficult to become a professor and you can become a professor of anything so I’m not sure why you would associate English with being a professor.</p>

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<p>There’s currently no shortage of attorneys, but English is said to be one of the best majors for the field.</p>

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<p>English is one of the more popular pre-law majors, but is only 11th out of 29 with respect to LSAT scores, according to [LSAT</a> Scores of Economics Majors: The 2008-2009 Class Update by Michael Nieswiadomy :: SSRN](<a href=“http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1430654]LSAT”>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1430654) .</p>

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<p>^ Hmmm. If those choosing one of those majors with a higher LSAT scores instead chose English, would their scores be higher or lower? I.e., might the scores of “smarter” students be even higher if they chose English? Are the smarter students avoiding the major that would help them the most? I sure don’t know! It’s the old correlation vs. cause problem. :)</p>

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<p>Lists like these and the soul-sucking discussions they spark highlight how far we’ve drifted from the true definition of education. </p>

<p>Well I for one do not ever want to see college become an exercise in career training, where there has to be some kind of payback for the intellectual pursuit. I cringe when I hear people talking about higher education in terms of how it translates to the work place. Sure, my kid will have to earn his own living someday (he won’t be able to come back to live with us) and will have to live within the means of whatever pursuit he chooses (and his is toward the top of the list) even if that means living in a box under the freeway. He is very, very well aware of that fact but is determined to follow his passion regardless. This has no bearing on our gift of education to him. When all is said and done, we will probably end up paying close to $450,000 for his prep school and college education, but we have no intention of influencing his choice. We are not uber-wealthy, we live modestly, but we value education as the great equalizer and see it as the best thing we can give him next to our love. Never in a million years would we undermine that gift by discussing any expected return on the investment–the investment is in him and the life of his mind. To us, he is already a success. What he intends to study, what work he chooses, how his life is fueled by his passion, what he becomes is all up to him. We count it joy just to watch.</p>

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<p>Choatiemom, how beautiful. I just told them they had to get out in 4 years and I don’t care what their major was. Then when they were out, I told them they had to find a job and I didn’t care what it was. I also tell them they have to find their own place to live and I don’t care where it is. For some reason, I don’t come off so nurturing.</p>

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<p>LOL, @cpt. I suspect our results are the same.</p>

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<p>What about Political Science for a pre-law major???</p>

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<p>What about Political science??</p>

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<p>CLA knows. This stuff is fascinating:</p>

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<p>[Do</a> Majors Matter? | Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/06/16/connor_essay_on_why_majors_matter_in_how_much_college_students_learn]Do”>http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/06/16/connor_essay_on_why_majors_matter_in_how_much_college_students_learn)</p>

<p>Here is a better version of LSAT Scores of different majors:</p>

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<p>If we were to look at GRE scores instead, this is what we get:</p>

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<p>Good stuff.</p>

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<p>Any college yet offer a major in urban survival skills for the jobless and homeless?</p>

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<p>The only reason to go to law school these days is if you are masochistic and have a psychological need to lard yourself up with $200,000 in non-discharagable debt.</p>

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<p>I have to disagree with companies hiring you even if you don’t have the right major. I have been out in the job market recently, and if you don’t have a certain background, even in retail, stores will not hire applicants. Sometimes it does depend on your work history and not the personality you have.</p>

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<p>I’ve heard whistling-past-the-graveyard before. But never this loud.</p>

<p>Best advice, learn to live in the New Normal.</p>

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or a van down by the river.</p>

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<p>I guess the moral of the story is this: Students do not choose their majors as much as their majors choose them.</p>

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<p>These are all excellent majors. They supplement studies in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Economics/Business VERY WELL. </p>

<p>I would argue that the skills developed by these fields are sorely lacking in many industries.</p>

<p>Now if you make any of these your primary major for the sake of fulfillment, you might need to double minor in unemployment and pan handling to prepare for your future. </p>

<p>This goes out the window if you go to HYPS though, graduate from the top of your class and have substantial work/internship experience.</p>

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<p>Havent read all. My sister was a sociology major. Got an MBS years later. Now has 60B under management.</p>

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<p>I still have not gotten an answer… What about Political science???</p>

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<p>That’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one, right up there with jumbo shrimp and Microsoft Works. ;)</p>