Good Majors for Jobs

[MrMan]

What are some good majors to getting a decent job, either overseas or in your home country?

African American Studies? Women's Studies? Psychology, Communications?

Business? Chemistry? Physics? Mathematu

[xiongmao]

Depends more what University you go to than what you study.

Best programmer I have ever worked with had an English degree. From Oxford.

[Cornfed]

For this to be a useful topic you would have to be able to predict the future. If you can predict the future then don’t bother getting a degree. Just trade stock options and you will become a billionaire in no time.

[HouseMD]

For this to be a useful topic you would have to be able to predict the future. If you can predict the future then don’t bother getting a degree. Just trade stock options and you will become a billionaire in no time.

You heart it here first: sit on your ass and do nothing or you're a sucker. Win by being a useless sack of flesh that does nothing for himself or society.

[Cornfed]

For this to be a useful topic you would have to be able to predict the future. If you can predict the future then don’t bother getting a degree. Just trade stock options and you will become a billionaire in no time.

You heart it here first: sit on your ass and do nothing or you're a sucker. Win by being a useless sack of flesh that does nothing for himself or society.

Or role the dice and see what happens. Or better yet, depose the system that makes things this way.

[MrMan]

For this to be a useful topic you would have to be able to predict the future. If you can predict the future then don’t bother getting a degree. Just trade stock options and you will become a billionaire in no time.

Either predict the future, or learn a little bit about the jobs that are available right now. What is the demand in the market right now? What segments of the economy are predicted to grow?

We could research that or talk about individual fields we know about personally. This isnt' just rolling the dice. There are some fields that are more likely to hire than others.

[Cornfed]

For this to be a useful topic you would have to be able to predict the future. If you can predict the future then don’t bother getting a degree. Just trade stock options and you will become a billionaire in no time.

Either predict the future, or learn a little bit about the jobs that are available right now. What is the demand in the market right now? What segments of the economy are predicted to grow?

We could research that or talk about individual fields we know about personally. This isnt' just rolling the dice. There are some fields that are more likely to hire than others.

So it is a bit like speculating about who is going to with the next Super Bowl. OK.

[MrMan]

I talked to a teenager in Indonesia who wanted to go to the US and major in Communications.

What kind of job can you get with a degree in Communications? It sounds like one of those degrees that doesn't prepare you for any job in particular. It sounds more like something you study just to get one of those jobs that require any kind of college degree.

I haven't researched market information for all these majors, but I'd imagine that, for the most part, the following majors either prepare you for graduate school studies in that field or jobs that require a generic degree in anything:

Communications
Psychology
Sociology
History
English
Linguistics
Spanish (or whatever foreign language)
African American Studies
Women's Studies

There could be a few jobs out there for graduates in these majors. I am not sure about this. This is mroe of a guess on my part.

This is my own sense of things here, but I'd imagine the following majors would prepare you for specific jobs, or are just in demand:

Business (Management, Marketing, Finance, Accounting, etc.)
Engineering (any kind)
Chemistry
Statistics
Education (History, Math, any kind)

I would imagine these types of majors would prepare someone for an actual job. A graduate could apply for all the jobs that require a generic degree, but would have special skills for niche jobs as well. Education majors typically go into teaching jobs. In some areas, it can even be hard to get these. I hear it is extremely hard for a man to become a kindergarten teacher, maybe even elementary. There is discrimination against men for these roles. But I'd imagine the high school history teacher and basketball or volleyball coach type jobs would still be there, or better yet for landing a job, the math teacher job. People complain that teachers make little, but they sure make a lot better than a college grad who has to leave the cash register at Walmart to flip burgers at McDonald's.

I am not sure where to put Social Work majors. I am not sure of the demand. The pay is really low, but probably better than running around between part-time service jobs.

Business is a good degree for those who want skills that can be used in the wide variety of businesses throughout the economy. Management degrees prepare you to someday 'be the boss' in the office. Finance can pay well. So can accounting. If you continue on to get a PhD in Accounting, a few years ago, I heard there were five jobs for every new PhD, and I think the demand is still high. That's a huge commitment, and it sounds boring to most people.

I'm not sure where what to do with Math majors. I'd imagine they could get some kind of decent job. They could probably get financial support for advance degrees and go into acaemia rather easily. Math education majors would have teaching jobs waiting for them. I am not sure about Biology, Micro-Biology and the various pre-med majors, if they prep individuals for jobs in industry or are just good pre-med majors. I am also inclined to think an Economics major would be okay.

I am not sure about Poli-Sci. If combined with a Statistics minor or a double major with Statistics, I would imagine that would be a good major.

It does matther what school you go to. If you go to a very exclusive school, you might be able to land a good job with an English or Communications degree.

[MrMan]

For this to be a useful topic you would have to be able to predict the future. If you can predict the future then don’t bother getting a degree. Just trade stock options and you will become a billionaire in no time.

Either predict the future, or learn a little bit about the jobs that are available right now. What is the demand in the market right now? What segments of the economy are predicted to grow?

We could research that or talk about individual fields we know about personally. This isnt' just rolling the dice. There are some fields that are more likely to hire than others.

So it is a bit like speculating about who is going to with the next Super Bowl. OK.

Only one team wins the Superbowl out of all the NFL teams, and when it gets down to the last game, it's winner take all. One wins and one loses. But there is more than one job in the economy, and the economy is a lot bigger than the NFL. It's more like predicting whether a runner in a marathon will be among the first 50% or 80% of runners to cross the finish line.

I got a degree in the humanities and social sciences area as an undergrad. I just wanted a degree and I wanted to study something I found interesting. It worked out okay for teaching English overseas. When I got advanced degrees, I got degrees that were in demand.

With my own children, I plan on encouraging them to study for degrees that not only coincide with their interests and talents, but that actually prepare them to earn a living.

[MrMan]

Here is an article that lists payscale.com's highest paying majors. Engineering is a common theme. Actuarial sciences makes it there.

http://www.payscale.com/college-salary- ... /bachelors

Here is a tool to look at their list of worst paying majors. Education shows up in this list.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/2 ... ry/37557/0

[Kradmelder]

Here is an article that lists payscale.com's highest paying majors. Engineering is a common theme. Actuarial sciences makes it there.

http://www.payscale.com/college-salary- ... /bachelors

Here is a tool to look at their list of worst paying majors. Education shows up in this list.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/2 ... ry/37557/0

I notice in the first link almost all the degrees are engineering. Surely other fields exist. The ranking will vary by country and main industries though, as well as by supply and demand. For example the number 1 petroleum, no demand here and not offered at University. I have involved on the sidelines with fracking but on the impact and supply side not gas development side.

[Cornfed]

I’m old enough to remember how this goes. Some time ago they were saying that you needed to get technical degrees not those airy fairy arts degrees. Then they were saying, well who knows with those tech degrees - they only qualify you for one thing. And anyway, we don’t need more of those - we need more tradesmen. See, that is why you are unemployed - you were too stuck up and didn’t want to get your hands dirty. Now it seems to be going back the other way lol.

For Christ’s sake can’t we just admit this: White men have been screwed for years and we need to fight back. And if we are among those who haven’t been screwed quite as much, that is just bestowing more duty on us to fight back for our people.

[MrMan]

Cornfed,

When did they say, "Oops, you should have gotten that tech degree. You should have gotten an arts degree. We don't have enough fine arts majors." I don't remember the news people or the government ever saying that. They may make a mistake on which tech degree to promote or over promote a field and then there could be a lack of jobs.

After the tech bubble burst, there were a lot of IT people. There were a bunch of them I met who were taking a real estate appraisal course. I wonder how many of them stuck around until the real estate bubble burst.

I'd imagine payscale.com gets a lot of US traffic. The site I linked to was about top paying jobs, not necessarily the jobs that have large numbers of employment opportunities. There should be some correlation, but maybe not 100%.

Considering what you like and what you are good at should be part of choosing a major. Someone with low math aptitude shouldn't try to be a mathematician. But, unless you are rich and don't really need to work, being able to earn a living should factor into it.

Jobs that prepare people for a specific field, like engineering, can also fulfill the generic requirements to get any job. Management and other business-related degrees are good solid majors, IMO. Businesses hire a lot of the grads. Why does a business wanted to hire someone with a psychology or sociology degree, at the undergrad level? They could put them in HR, but wouldn't it make more sense to hire someone with a degree more closely related to HR? They may go for psych majors if the economy is booming and new employees are hard to come by. During an economic downturn, why wouldn't they hire the HRM majors or experienced HR professionals who got laid off?

Majoring in some niche but needed thing that most other people don't want to study also makes sense.

[MrMan]

Here is an article that lists payscale.com's highest paying majors. Engineering is a common theme. Actuarial sciences makes it there.

http://www.payscale.com/college-salary- ... /bachelors

Here is a tool to look at their list of worst paying majors. Education shows up in this list.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/2 ... ry/37557/0

I notice in the first link almost all the degrees are engineering. Surely other fields exist. The ranking will vary by country and main industries though, as well as by supply and demand. For example the number 1 petroleum, no demand here and not offered at University. I have involved on the sidelines with fracking but on the impact and supply side not gas development side.

I believe these websites are based in the US. This isn't a list of the industries that need the most skilled employees. It's a list of high salaries. I don't think most universities offer petrochemical engineering. Most of the jobs are probably in certain regions in the US. But those who work in the field earn good salaries.

[Kradmelder]

Cornfed,

When did they say, "Oops, you should have gotten that tech degree. You should have gotten an arts degree. We don't have enough fine arts majors." I don't remember the news people or the government ever saying that. They may make a mistake on which tech degree to promote or over promote a field and then there could be a lack of jobs.

After the tech bubble burst, there were a lot of IT people. There were a bunch of them I met who were taking a real estate appraisal course. I wonder how many of them stuck around until the real estate bubble burst.

I'd imagine payscale.com gets a lot of US traffic. The site I linked to was about top paying jobs, not necessarily the jobs that have large numbers of employment opportunities. There should be some correlation, but maybe not 100%.

Considering what you like and what you are good at should be part of choosing a major. Someone with low math aptitude shouldn't try to be a mathematician. But, unless you are rich and don't really need to work, being able to earn a living should factor into it.

Jobs that prepare people for a specific field, like engineering, can also fulfill the generic requirements to get any job. Management and other business-related degrees are good solid majors, IMO. Businesses hire a lot of the grads. Why does a business wanted to hire someone with a psychology or sociology degree, at the undergrad level? They could put them in HR, but wouldn't it make more sense to hire someone with a degree more closely related to HR? They may go for psych majors if the economy is booming and new employees are hard to come by. During an economic downturn, why wouldn't they hire the HRM majors or experienced HR professionals who got laid off?

Majoring in some niche but needed thing that most other people don't want to study also makes sense.

Also need to look ahead. In the corporate world engineers get pushed into management. I was headed that way as manager of a unit. I saw the writing on the wall for a white male in management. Every darkie wants to be a manager because they can't do. And I don't want to manage useless AA darkies that don't perform so i end up doing their work and taking responsibility. I also had a barrage of racism charges for sorting out non performing darkies. I was constantly in meetings for racism allegations and selection committees to put black bums in seats rather than fill posts with qualified people (who tend to be white). Corporate was also dead end as only blacks would be promoted. So it made much more sense to get out and go on your own consulting and stay technical. The salary looks lower but it is not as there is much more tax flexibility so the take home is the same. And you can work your own hours on jobs you want. Technical is good because darkies don't have math and conceptual innovation aptitude, any more than a white man can do nigger dance. And by actually doing the work, AA is not a threat as no darkie wants to work nor can they. They prefer to wear a suit and be 'managers' of things they can't do. That is why a darkie sitting under a tree is called the branch manager