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<p>“Investment” and “return” are not necessarily (only) monetary. Attending college requires investment in time, and can yield benefits other than monetary ones.</p>
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<p>Hmmm, you mean majors like game design?</p>
<p>Probably yes. I figure if my kid is dead set on pursuing a vocal performance or studio art degree, she’ll do it with or without my help and support. But it will be much tougher for her without my help.</p>
<p>“Investment” and “return” are not necessarily (only) monetary. Attending college requires investment in time, and can yield benefits other than monetary ones."</p>
<p>But that’s not the meaning used by those who would not pay for ANY major. There are often references on CC to the “investment” in the student’s education, from controlling the major, the school of choice, to specific GPA’s, even the classes taken. They want a “return” in the form of an employed graduate, preferably in a “good” (read: lucrative) profession.</p>
<p>I don’t think ANY education is wasted. Clearly there are careers held in such regard here that a student landing in one would be considered not “returning” his/her parents’ “investment” in them. If a student comes out of college with more than they brought in with them, they’ve gotten a “return”, even if they never work a day in the field they studied. College is so much more than grades and jobs.</p>
<p>For me, it’s the same as how I look at D’s dance classes. She loves to dance-has studied about 7 different types, if only for a single block of classes. She’s adding two more this summer. Yet she’ll never be a professional dancer. There’s a level to which she’s just not going to pass. Now, H and I could forbid her from “wasting” any more of our money because we’re not getting a good “return” on our “investment” in the dance classes. Ah, but we ARE. The joy she gets from dancing and the level that she’s reached-local lead and team captain, IS a return, even if she never makes the Big City Company. </p>
<p>If my kid wants to study philosophy because it will give her joy, than I will help her figure out a way to do so. That will lead her SOMEWHERE after college. I can’t fathom telling someone who is NOT ME, who they should be.</p>
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<p>There are wasteful uses of education, such as the common practice of retaking one’s AP credit “for an easy A” even when one knows the college course material well and could take a more advanced course or other course of interest instead. Or, more insidiously, the overpriced “education” offered by the bottom-feeding for-profit colleges to students who are seen as nothing more than ways to bring financial aid loan money in.</p>
<p>Student’s perspective: parents are supporting financially, but not funding, my degree in film with an additional major in Spanish. I admit I am somewhat prone to “magical thinking” but I’m also acutely aware of the need to be employable, so I’m adding on a certificate in teaching ESL this summer. I don’t want to be financially dependent on my parents, and that in itself is almost as strong a motivation as wanting to major in something that I love. </p>
<p>I’ve been asked the reverse question: isn’t it a waste to have majored in film and then decided not to look for a job in it? I’d like to think that I leave college with the skills to create my own films, and it doesn’t matter how I support that enterprise. Many will choose to do it by working - or trying to work - in the film industry. I happen to choose a different route.</p>
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<p>I applaud your strategy. The technology for making your own films and distributing them has become so cheap that you will have the chance to make your independent decisions rather than endlessly have to intern for free to get recognized. YouTube is an excellent place to gain exposure for giveaway documentary “shorts” to refine your methods while gaining an audience.</p>
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<p>That sounds nice but when we’re talking tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars I feel that one should be pragmatic about how that money is being spent.</p>
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<p>Yes, exactly. 
That just makes sense to me.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who wants her life’s work to be raising a family while not being employed. I think it would be folly to spend $200,000 for her to go to a private LAC where she would major in Mesopotamian Architecture.</p>
<p>We would be blessing her future so much more to buy her a house and pay for her to get a two year radiology assistant degree. (This is that path that she wants to go.)</p>
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<p>Funny you should ask! Our son will be a junior in engineering this fall but he is very seriously discerning a call to the priesthood.</p>
<p>Do priests need engineering degrees? I don’t know. But this one is going to have one. :)</p>
<p>And then we will pay for a second bachelor’s degree in philosophy, which is step one of the seminary program. Of course we will not expect him to pay us back for the engineering degree. Not all seminarians continue on to ordination. What a lovely thing to have to “fall back on”.</p>
<p>Now, if he came to us mid-engineering degree and said that he wanted to change his major to Mesopotamian Architecture, we’d have to sit down together and delve more deeply into what that would mean for his future. Would we continue to pay for his studies? It depends on so many factors that I honestly don’t know.</p>
<p>I’ve seen what happens to people who pick worthless majors. I work in the deli as a part time summer job. One of my co workers has a degree majoring in French and mini ring in Spanish. That’s her real job.</p>
<p>Folks…you’ve heard this from me before. DD got an undergrad degree in engineering (and biology). She decided that engineering is NOT what she wants to do for her career…and isn’t looking for engineering jobs at all.</p>
<p>Her sibling, in the meantime, majored in music. He isn’t making big bucks but is working to support himself in his field and doing other jobs to pay all of his bills.</p>
<p>So…just beware…just because you pay for a certain major, doesn’t guarantee your kid will ever work IN that (lucrative) major.</p>
<p>And FYI, we paid for our kids to go to undergrad school for four years. Their majors were THEIR choice.</p>
<p>Thumper, sometimes they can’t get a job in the field if their degrees are useless and they are stuck with a job that is both low paying and crappy.</p>
<p>I want the major to fit the student, and if it does, there’s no major I wouldn’t (help) pay for as ALL majors have some sort of jobs attached to them. The jobs may be few and very competitive, but if it fits the student 110%, they have a shot at it - they’d likely have no shot without their degree. They’ll also have a degree to be able to check that box with whatever job they end up applying for if they didn’t make the competitive cut. A job they enjoy in a field they like is worth a shot. One only lives once.</p>
<p>There are some schools I won’t (help) pay for… (but not many).</p>
<p>Those who understand what it takes to be a music or theater major know that they are some of the hardest working, most disciplined people you will find. Many of them also present themselves very well and have a level of maturity that will put some of the hallowed STEM majors to shame. As a headhunter in the legal field, some of the most successful candidates with whom I have worked were theater and music majors. Some of the most challenging candidates with whom I have worked are engineering and science majors.</p>
<p>Everyone works hard. A competitive field also means that many cant get jobs there, and they end up working in places such as a grocery store deli like my friend does.</p>
<p>Muay…my point is…paying for a “certain major” doesn’t mean the kiddo will ever seek employment in that major.</p>
<p>My engineering major daughter COULD get a job in that field. She has no interest in working in engineering in any capacity now. OTOH, the music major is actually USING his degree.</p>
<p>There are plenty of people who would gladly pay for an engineering degree, but not a music degree in my family sample of ONE, the less lucrative major student is working in his field, while the other isnt.</p>
<p>Maybe I should have encouraged my daughter to be a music major! And FYI…I agree with Cartera.</p>
<p>I think that the solution to that is to double major. One major should be practical that they could fall back on when they would inevitably not find a job in their preferred field of study. It solves both problems at once and its better than serving French fries.</p>
<p>I’m not paying for my daughter to “explore her bliss” as one poster put it. I’m paying for her to receive a liberal arts education. This will be the launching pad for her to do anything she chooses, whether that is going to grad school (likely, in her case), working at an entry level job for a while, or going into business with someone. She’ll likely change her mind and her career many times, as most of us do, and have hard and easy times.</p>
<p>I really hate the mentality that treats college as trade school. If you’re so concerned that your child won’t be employable, then your concern is with your child, not the type of education he or she receives.</p>
<p>Massmom, I don’t think that you are thinking rationally. Some arts majors will leave you about as employable as a high school graduate.</p>
<p>If you want to be an arts major, IMO, you need to double major or go to graduate school, preferably all the way to the PhD level.</p>
<p>myaythaiguy18, a double major for a music major at my D’s school would not be doable. In fact, they don’t recommend that music majors take a minor. Their schedule and number of hours is gruelling.</p>
<p>She spent 20 hrs./wk in class last semester, but only got credit for 17 (The nature of a music major). She practiced alone about 14 hrs./wk. She had opera practice in a group for hours on end every evening (sometimes until 1:00 am) for the last part of the semester. She spent about 16 hours a week minimum studying.</p>
<p>Crom, it sounds like it is possible IMO. I am double majoring in math and economics. I spend 40 hrs per week studying.</p>
<p>I will admit that it seems like music is the hardest arts major by far (if you’re not counting math as an art).</p>
<p>Massmomm, sorry, but your daughter will not be able to do “anything” with a LA degree. For instance, my company only hires Business and Engineering majors.</p>
<p>Not to speak ill of Liberal Arts Majors, I think that’s fine. I also think that treating college as a trade school is just fine.</p>
<p>I have all the confidence in the world in my kids. I am also realistic about the current job market and the current economy. It’s easy to say they can go into business with someone. Many small business are not successful, and many take years to BECOME successful. Our family doesn’t necessarily have the financial luxury that some do. There are no assurances anywhere, but it’s nice to have a marketable trade. You can still have a wonderful, mind expanding, diverse college experience while focusing on a trade.</p>