serious post for all college freshmen
by: MizzAnd really any student who chose their major based solely on "interest." One of the most significant issues today is the lack of job opportunities for university grads and the overwhelming amount of college debt. Unless you are the top 5% of your class, if you are in a soft skill major, you are WASTING your money! I know you tell yourself that your loans will be paid off when you have this great job in your field (that in reality there is zero demand for) and your debt won't be an issue but that's the problem - everyone tells themselves that and only the very rare student lands those kinds of jobs (and statistically speaking, that won't be you.) Please do yourselves a favour and at least take one STEM related course, even if you were not good at math/science in high school you'd be surprised with how easy it is to pick up in intro classes. Just ask yourself this question - did you pick a career THEN a major, or a major THEN a career. If your response was major first, you need to reevaluate. The business program is a great field for a mix of soft skills and not too tough hard skills and there's many office jobs in the field (such as HR, marketing, PR) that your "average" girl would love to work in. Seriously, take one stem class and see where it takes you! Today's grad statistics are very very scary!
#1 by: Hate to tell you
First of all, if you went to school here you would know that at least one STEM related course is required to graduate. Second, an undergraduate degree in biology or math is about as worthless as an undergraduate degree in English or history. Third, a college education, especially one that opens your mind to further learning, is NEVER a waste of time. And, finally, anyone who is getting a four-year college degree just to get a job does not understand the value of a four-year degree. Those people shouldn't be here in the first place. They clearly should be working toward an associate degree at a two-year tech college that has as its mission preparation and the teaching of specific skills for a job. Let's never forget that there is a difference between job prep and an education. We, here are getting an education and for those with an open mind it is just the first step to lifelong learning. Our generation will have multiple jobs, possibly in an array of careers before we retire. The foundation we receive here will make us open to new ideas, flexible about expectations and able to communicate and adapt at a higher level. And that's more important than memorizing specific code or formulas that, decades if not years from now, will be all-but irrelevant.
Commentby: Hate to tell youSep 15, 2016 4:30:24 PM
A recent Gallup poll (Feb. 2016) found that 39% of Americans consider the economy to be the most pressing issue. Within that category, unemployment/jobs, the federal budget and wages were listed as the top three economic concerns. Now, you might think that students and families being willing to take on debt so that their son or daughter can stay in school is a national problem, but it is more a matter of family priorities. And, of course, the suicide rate related to student debt pales in comparison with the high rate of suicide among the men and women who have served in the military defending our country. So, nice try. But if you think taking one stem class and choosing a different major is going to help people who willingly take on more debt than they can handle, you are mistaken. Changing majors isn't the answer. Changing priorities is.
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by: ^yup^Sep 15, 2016 4:32:16 PM
I agree with ^. No one is holding a gun to their head to attend this school or stay here. If you can't afford it, don't come here. There are lots of other, cheaper institutions if all you want is to get a job. And you don't have to go away to school. You can live at home.
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by: ^Sep 15, 2016 4:56:38 PM
You're entirely missing the point and that is very scary. For you to say that choosing a major resulting in a career is irrelevant blows my mind... It's not about being "too expensive," it's about the ROI produced by the investment you are making in your education. Universities and high school counsellors have managed to convince kids that spending 10s of thousands to sit in on lectures about something they're "interested in", is OK and to be encouraged, when in reality, that major investment will result in nothing more than unemployment and an inability to pay your bills. When you're 17 years old you don't know any better, but when you end up faced with reality, you will not be happy with your 16$ an hour job as an admin assistant (which you will hate) but so thankful you spent 20k on the "good experience" you had in your arts major. University is beyond valuable but you need to be wise in your choice of major. I'm disgusted that y'all are in denial to the extent that you think it's ok to spread this BS to freshman, you're a part of the problem. To say it's ok that people are committing suicide over this because more people commit suicide from serving overseas? If that is your justification YOU seriously need to reevaluate your priorities. Unbelievable!
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#2 by: What???
Is the OP saying STEM majors don't have debt? That's ludicrous, especially since anyone who majors in most of the science areas must get a master's and/or doctorate, which only means more debt. And there are more unemployed PhD's in Chemistry, biochem, physics etc. that you might think. If the goal is to get a job, go to a tech school or enter the trades.
#3 by: OMG
Did you really say that girls should stick to HR and PR because they aren't as difficult? REALLY? Never in a million years did I ever think I would read something like that on a college website, especially here where Greek women are held to such a high standard and have MUCH BETTER grades than the average frat boy. It's really time for the OP to stop spreading stereotypes and just STFU.
#4 by: Time to move on
Nothing here, folks. The OP is just our favorite blowhard alum who thinks she knows more than anyone else. In reality, she's quite ignorant. If she really thinks an education is exclusively about return on investment, she is sadly mistaken. And I, for one, resent her telling us that she knows better and that having an interest, dedication or devotion to a subject is irrelevant. Only in her world is it exclusively about the money. If we were all accounting majors, what a sad, sad world it would be.
#5 by: OP
To answer the above 1) PR and HR were recommended because a lot of girls in arts feel like they are stronger in communication/writing/etc and these streams are a nice mix of hard and soft 2) never said STEM didn't have debt, all undergrad debt is equal and sometimes more in STEM majors however, they typically end up with higher earning jobs that pay off their debt. You all are living in a bubble, if undergrad is about being open minded you wouldn't be complaining that I'm suggested undergrads be open minded towards higher earning majors! So sad and so easy to see why this is such a major problem with people like you in the world.
by: Good companySep 16, 2016 8:32:49 AM
You know who else has one of those worthless English degrees? Mitt Romney, Conan O'Brien, Mario Cuomo, Clarence Thomas, Bart Giamatti, Michael Eisner, Bob Woodward and Barbara Walters. And the CEOs of Starbucks, YouTube and HBO are putting their degrees in the liberal arts to good use, too. In fact, last I checked, not one of those listed are broke. And here's a pithy little quote from the founder of the job site College Recruiter: "Many of the Fortune 100 and federal agency employers who advertise their jobs on College Recruiter have told us that they greatly value students and recent graduates with liberal arts degrees because those candidates tend to have good critical thinking skills," explained Steven Rothberg, president and founder of College Recruiter, a leading niche job board. "It is often easier for an employer to teach a hard skill like coding than a soft skill like critical thinking." But why am I wasting my time? I forgot, you are NEVER wrong.
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by: ^Sep 16, 2016 10:11:26 AM
And you think you're one of those outliers sweetie? Keep dreaming. Most of those people took worthless degrees because they knew their family connections would get them wherever they needed to go - you on the other hand, need a real degree. Do YOURSELF a favor and get your head out of the clouds, you're going to be BROKE and in the negative when you graduate. Not a CEO or a politician. Laughable how delusional and unrealistic some people are.
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#7 by: Face the facts
Salaries by major (10 year average)
Accounting 93,000
Aerospace Engineering 95,000
Architecture 108000
Biology 128,000
Business Admin 98,000
Finance 153,000
Arts $63,000
History $72,000
Journalism $73,000
Language - $50,000
Nursing - $69,000
Psychology - $75,000
Sociology -$60,000
And that's being kind because that's your 10 year, here's your starting average:
Arts - $47,000 (I make this as a student in accounting)
History - $43,000
Journalism - $51,000
Language - $47,000
Nursing - $55,000
Psychology - $50,000
Sociology - $46,00
And that's IF you manage to find a job in your field, with the lack of demand in all the above (except nursing) your future salary looks a lot more like this:
Administrative assistant - 29,000
Clerical worker - 27,000
The only one who is going to suffer when you graduate is YOU. Argue with me all you want but you should take these status seriously.
by: YupSep 16, 2016 11:08:40 AM
I'd rather bag groceries for minimum wage than be an accountant. Truly, I think I'd stick a knife in my heart before I would want to spend all day looking at little numbers. And I got a 35 on my math ACT!
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#8 by: Please
by: ^Sep 16, 2016 2:00:08 PM
by: ActuallySep 16, 2016 8:00:22 PM
ESTJ, for what it's worth. But I still would never want to be an accountant.
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by: OpSep 16, 2016 8:41:08 PM
Understandable, it's not for everyone. I don't want to be an accountant either, I want to work in financial risk management but that's definitely not a common choice either, especially if you hate math. There's so many awesome internships I've seen business friends get in media/pr related fields. Looks like fun, I think people would be surprised. That's also attainable with communications degree if anyone is super turned off by business lol
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by: YupSep 16, 2016 9:40:42 PM
Not surprised you can't pass the CPA exam. Oh well. You know what they call an accountant who can't: bookkeeper.
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by: ^Sep 16, 2016 9:48:55 PM
My plan is get my CPA and CFA, I'm top of my class, but thanks, wannabe. Risk management is in high demand in the big 4... Where I have an ongoing internship. Sweet to be concerned, too bad you couldn't cut it though.
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by: WowSep 16, 2016 10:50:56 PM
by: AwSep 17, 2016 2:32:46 PM
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by: ^Sep 15, 2016 3:59:02 PM
Maybe you should educate yourself on the #1 most major economic issue in America instead of spreading fairytales to freshmen on an anonymous forum. It's a HUGE issue, the % of new grads that committing suicide from debt related stress and lack of job opportunities is DISGUSTING. It's a SERIOUS issue, the worst in America, and that's a fact. The vast majority of my peers went to university because it's what they felt they were supposed to do and are going to leave here more lost than ever with a min of 20k in student loans.
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