Worthless Major v.s. STEM

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

After reading a lot of books and videos on YouTube I have began to realize a couple of things. One being that many liberal arts degrees do not result in real jobs. Given the high unemployment rate amongst college graduates and most of them being liberal arts or general business degrees is it wise for me to get a degree in what I’m interested in or go into STEM?

I am interested in International Law & Politics. But I have began to realize that law school is extremely crippling financially. The average in loans is 150,000. Its only worth going if you got into a top tier.

I absolutely no interest in STEM but should I pursue that instead? Given that there are plenty of jobs and high benefits.

2

If you pursue something that you don’t like, what makes you think you will succeed in that field?

STEM takes a certain kind of student, and not having the motivation to like what you’re doing will eventually impact your work.

No one wants to hire someone who isn’t excited about what they do.

3

How well do you think you’ll do in STEM classes if you have “absolutely no interest”?

For most people the answer is “not well at all.” Better to have a good GPA in something you like, having pursued internships and clubs and research and other opportunities, than to barely pass through a STEM degree and come out with nothing much to show for it.

4

I need a response ready to paste for versions of this question. That’s a sweeping criticism of humanities/liberal arts that isn’t deserved. Don’t major in psychology if you want a job with a bachelors. If you intend to get a PsyD or PhD, it’s a great field. Business majors are the highest paid as a class ten years from graduation. STEM majors have the highest pay right out of undergrad but don’t have as steep a curve later. Those who do often added an MBA or other advanced degree.

And, a history degree from Harvard is going to go further than one from a directional university.

On International Law and Politics, what do you want to do? Answer that and work backwards. Law will require law school. Policy work will require some other advanced degree. Intl Development is better with a skill: economics, agriculture, education, medical, engineering, etc.

5

Not all STEM majors result in jobs, either. And not all politics jobs require law school.

6

Future job prospects may not be as predictable as many think. Look up what Google’s Jonathan Rosenberg and Mark Cuban say about STEM majors. Those may be the first jobs replaced by Artificial Intelligence, while organizations will still need people with strong abstract and analytical cognition; qualities honed by some “useless majors” such as English, Sociology, Philosophy, and Foreign Language. Cuban famously proclaimed not too long ago “I personally think there’s going to be a greater demand in 10 years for liberal arts majors than programming majors and maybe even engineering.”

7

Apps don’t sell themselves. For every STEM job, there are a dozen other jobs in marketing, sales, creative, administration, etc that are vital to a business.

Given your interests in international law and politics, consider studying in areas that would allow you to take jobs with multinational firms or with smaller businesses that want to sell and market their products overseas.

8

I don’t believe Mark Cuban’s crystal ball is any more accurate than anyone else’s. Even assuming he’s right, I don’t agree English or foreign language majors develop abstract and analytical cognition.

9

Take a look at this: http://www.hamiltonproject.org/blog/where_will_your_degree_take_you_career_paths_after_college

10

Well, a lot of the STEM field (the S especially) require an advanced degree to do the big jobs. An undergrad degree in the Sciences really is not the path to prosperity a lot of people assume it is. The TEM are more lucrative.

11

So its not true that people with liberal arts majors graduate unemployed? I have been seeing articles saying that. If not, then why do some college students graduate without jobs?

12

@Formation

The liberal arts unemployment statistics do show higher rates of unemployment on average than STEM majors, but the the highest unemployment rates are typically around 12-15%, meaning at least 85% of those people are employed in some shape or form, even if it is minimum wage in an unrelated career to their major. Alot of backlash against liberal arts majors has to do more with debt than income. It’s best to avoid large amounts of debt if you’re income won’t let you pay it off at a reasonable rate. However, if you can graduate debt free and maintain a steady lifestyle then the world is your oyster.

STEM majors on average are more lucrative than liberal arts majors, but that doesn’t mean it is always the case, you will find exceptions. Usually these exceptions are people who love what they do and work tirelessly to achieve their goals. (look up “grown mindset” on google) It’s often these people who succeed and can surpass their STEM counterparts if they work hard and play their career moves right. So if you love a field of study and are confident in your abilities to not only learn, but to work hard with enthusiasm then I have no doubt that great opportunities will come your way.

And as cliche as it sounds, money isn’t everything. I think many people would take pay cuts to have a job that they truly enjoy with good coworkers, location, and value to society. This might be something you discover in depth more when you are looking for full time job opportunities after college.

13

You can’t generalize. If you can code or worked for IT on campus, you can major in whatever you want and find a job. If you’re good at what you study (= developed abstract and applied skills, show creativity and initiative, etc) and have internship experience, you’ll find a job. If you sit on your hands, have zero leadership skills nor any professional experience, then you will have more trouble with that first job regardless of major. If you’re able and willing to relocate (IE., have little debt - the absolute max should be the federal loans) then things get a bit easier.
Compare a chemistry major’s job prospects with a poli sci major’s and you will not find huge differences in employment rates.
An alternative is to combine two subjects - several top liberal arts colleges offer the Harvard business certificate for instance, which allows students to study whatever they like yet reassure themselves and their parents as to job prospects.
Generally speaking, graduating from a prestigious college or a school with a proven career center will matter more to humanities/social science majors. For Engineering, ABET accreditation matters more.
For that reason, you need to look at what’s on offer for what cost - value.
Finally, 2/3 STEM majors give up. If you’re not interested, why do you think you’ll make it?
Contrary to what many high school students think, it’s not just a matter of working hard - working hard is a given. Failing at STEM and killing your GPA is not a good move if you’re not interested as it may result in the opposite of what you wish.

14

Look at total factors other than major. The top students in all majors will likely receive good job offers. I expect graduating in the top 25% of one’s class is a much higher predictor of employment than STEM vs liberal arts.

You mention “general business degree.” Sometimes that is a choice becuase someone doesn’t really have a passion for anything. That could be a bigger issue than major. A college degree in and of itself will not lead to a job. There should be a purpose. That could be becoming an engineer but it could also be developing critical thinking and writing skills as a liberal arts major. The key is purpose and passion.

Networking matters. Internships matter. Being active in professional organizations in college matter.

15

The “average in loans” isn’t $150K. No one will loan you that much money.

My kid with a political science/public policy got an excellent job right after graduating. Kid with STEM degree is headed for grad school and several years of very low income while she completes it.

Some STEM majors have limited employment options with only an undergrad degree – biology & chem for example. But there is no doubt that CS and engineering have strong employment possibilities if you can get thru with a decent GPA.

16

I agree with the comments that you have to like what you are doing. If you really like math or computer science then you can do very well in these fields. If you don’t like either, then majoring in them will not result in a job, it will just result in a lot of frustration and bad grades and a change to a different major.

A lot (not all) of science and liberal arts careers require at least a master’s degree to find a job. That is not the same as “unemployed after getting a bachelor’s”, it just means that a bachelor’s degree is not the end of the line. In choosing a university for undergrad, it is best to keep in mind that you might not want to run out of money after four years. For most of us there are very good choices that are less expensive (and therefore compatible with a “six year plan”) if you look for them.

You say that you have “absolutely no interest in STEM”. Most degrees in STEM are very difficult unless you both are very good at the field and LOVE it. If you have no interest, then don’t do it.

17

Who are you hearing this from, and what evidence are they giving for their claims?

What high unemployment rate? The unemployment rate for college graduates 25 years of age and older is about 2.5%. For young college graduates (21 to 25), the rate is 5.6%, which is about the same as the general population’s rate. By comparison, the unemployment rate for young high school graduates is 17.9%.

And lest you be afraid of tales of working as a barista or flipping burgers, less than 13% of young college graduates 21 to 25 were underemployed in 2015. That number goes down significantly after age 25 as well. There’s always some instability in younger college grads because of internships, lack of experience, and finding themselves.

The vast, vast majority of college graduates - including graduates who majored in art history, philosophy, psychology etc. - are gainfully employed in a full-time job that requires a bachelor’s degree. (And these are numbers for people WITHOUT graduate degrees, as it is very possible to get a job with a social science or humanities major without a graduate degree.)

I’m pretty sure that OP was talking about law school, and she’s right - most top-tier law schools cost that much or more. And they will absolutely loan you that much.

There are lots of different ways to work in international law and/or politics aside from going to law school. Lots and lots.

Well, that’s not true either. You can get a job with a bachelor’s in psychology, and actually most people with BAs in psychology are gainfully employed full-time.

Actually, they aren’t. Engineering degrees are the highest paid, as a class, 10 years from graduation. Physics, computer science, and math are also up there, as is economics. Actually, at mid-career, philosophy, international relations, and chemistry majors make slightly more than marketing majors, and geology and political science majors make slightly more than accounting majors. [url=http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html]Here[/url].

Also [url=https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/HardTimes2015-Report.pdf]here[/url], which is a better source of data - check out page 28. As a group, engineering majors make the most at mid-career, followed by computer, statistics, and mathematics majors and physical science majors. Business is fourth. And they make not terribly much more than communication and journalism, biology and life science, and social science majors.

18

@juliet

Here is the guy I was watching:

https://youtu.be/BaC2vvW1Yao

19

Here are some more of his videos:
https://youtu.be/CH2ZqR02gfk

https://youtu.be/bDztRUnbTuc

20

Hey there - I sent you a PM, but my advice is essentially to ignore that guy. He’s sharing his own personal opinion, but he has neither the expertise nor the evidence to actually support his claims.