Most regretted and least regretted college majors
-
We're becoming four-year tech schools. Unfortunately, too many of them do not provide as well rounded an education as colleges formerly did. The writing and art skills I developed as a young man served me very well in every endeavor.
I always resented the fact that tech-oriented jobs wanted you to have very specific skills, when you can pretty quickly teach most anything technical. What you cannot teach is an open mind, good judgement, ethics, interpersonal skills, etc.
@Mik said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
We're becoming four-year tech schools. Unfortunately, too many of them do not provide as well rounded an education as colleges formerly did. The writing and art skills I developed as a young man served me very well in every endeavor.
I always resented the fact that tech-oriented jobs wanted you to have very specific skills, when you can pretty quickly teach most anything technical. What you cannot teach is an open mind, good judgement, ethics, interpersonal skills, etc.
It's bad for society to give up emphasizing and teaching those skills, but good for me personally. I've stayed employed for years by capitalizing on others' communication failures. Our nation's doubling down on STEM has only helped with that.
Another thing I've learned throughout all the weird shit I've done for a living is that in terms of skill-building, nothing about our society prepares us to be autodidacts or multipotentialites. But our economy would be far better off if it did.
-
@Mik said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
We're becoming four-year tech schools. Unfortunately, too many of them do not provide as well rounded an education as colleges formerly did. The writing and art skills I developed as a young man served me very well in every endeavor.
I always resented the fact that tech-oriented jobs wanted you to have very specific skills, when you can pretty quickly teach most anything technical. What you cannot teach is an open mind, good judgement, ethics, interpersonal skills, etc.
It's bad for society to give up emphasizing and teaching those skills, but good for me personally. I've stayed employed for years by capitalizing on others' communication failures. Our nation's doubling down on STEM has only helped with that.
Another thing I've learned throughout all the weird shit I've done for a living is that in terms of skill-building, nothing about our society prepares us to be autodidacts or multipotentialites. But our economy would be far better off if it did.
@Aqua-Letifer what’s funny is that my degree was almost completely focused on technical issues and had absolutely no component covering the arts, and yet in my current job my written language skills are definitely quite a bit above the average in the office. It’s almost certainly because I was such a voracious reader when young. I don’t think any of the engineers in my team have read a book in years. Maybe forcing math students to attend English literature classes could actually be counterproductive….
-
@Aqua-Letifer what’s funny is that my degree was almost completely focused on technical issues and had absolutely no component covering the arts, and yet in my current job my written language skills are definitely quite a bit above the average in the office. It’s almost certainly because I was such a voracious reader when young. I don’t think any of the engineers in my team have read a book in years. Maybe forcing math students to attend English literature classes could actually be counterproductive….
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Maybe forcing math students to attend English literature classes could actually be counterproductive….
Won't get an argument out of me! The less they read, the more I'll be hired.
-
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Maybe forcing math students to attend English literature classes could actually be counterproductive….
Won't get an argument out of me! The less they read, the more I'll be hired.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Maybe forcing math students to attend English literature classes could actually be counterproductive….
Won't get an argument out of me! The less they read, the more I'll be hired.
In engineering it can often be communication skills that get you promoted rather than the techie stuff, something the very ‘engineering minded’ folks often seem to fail to understand
-
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Maybe forcing math students to attend English literature classes could actually be counterproductive….
Won't get an argument out of me! The less they read, the more I'll be hired.
In engineering it can often be communication skills that get you promoted rather than the techie stuff, something the very ‘engineering minded’ folks often seem to fail to understand
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Maybe forcing math students to attend English literature classes could actually be counterproductive….
Won't get an argument out of me! The less they read, the more I'll be hired.
In engineering it can often be communication skills that get you promoted rather than the techie stuff, something the very ‘engineering minded’ folks often seem to fail to understand
I've had to be careful with that. I've dabbled with management in the past but it's just not for me. I hate intraoffice politics and I don't want to be the personal representative of anyone or anything.
I have to make sure to be myself every once in awhile at work to reduce the chances of promotion.
-
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
Education is extremely important.
-
Classic liberal arts education here.
Over 80 hours science courses, 16 hours math & physics, but ...Fortunate enough to have 12 hours English & Literature, 12 hours theology and basic philosophy, along with a smattering of other odds and ends.
A good bit of those non-STEM courses are what makes adaptable adults. And many of them were core curriculum classes. I think core curriculum classes should be mandatory at any university.
“Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”
Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton
-
We're becoming four-year tech schools. Unfortunately, too many of them do not provide as well rounded an education as colleges formerly did. The writing and art skills I developed as a young man served me very well in every endeavor.
I always resented the fact that tech-oriented jobs wanted you to have very specific skills, when you can pretty quickly teach most anything technical. What you cannot teach is an open mind, good judgement, ethics, interpersonal skills, etc.
@Mik said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
What you cannot teach is an open mind, good judgement, ethics, interpersonal skills, etc.
If these cannot be taught, are they then relevant to what colleges teach or not teach those who major in any particular field of study?
-
Classic liberal arts education here.
Over 80 hours science courses, 16 hours math & physics, but ...Fortunate enough to have 12 hours English & Literature, 12 hours theology and basic philosophy, along with a smattering of other odds and ends.
A good bit of those non-STEM courses are what makes adaptable adults. And many of them were core curriculum classes. I think core curriculum classes should be mandatory at any university.
@Jolly said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Classic liberal arts education here.
Over 80 hours science courses, 16 hours math & physics, but ...Fortunate enough to have 12 hours English & Literature, 12 hours theology and basic philosophy, along with a smattering of other odds and ends.
A good bit of those non-STEM courses are what makes adaptable adults. And many of them were core curriculum classes. I think core curriculum classes should be mandatory at any university.
I assume all universities have breadth requirements. One does not get an engineering degree by taking all engineering courses.
-
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
Individual programs, professors or students run the gamut between silly and rigorous. And there are plenty silly ones—more so in the arts and humanities, because it's easier to get away with. But any belief that a discipline itself is lesser or greater than is proof of a shallow education.
-
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
Individual programs, professors or students run the gamut between silly and rigorous. And there are plenty silly ones—more so in the arts and humanities, because it's easier to get away with. But any belief that a discipline itself is lesser or greater than is proof of a shallow education.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
Individual programs, professors or students run the gamut between silly and rigorous. And there are plenty silly ones—more so in the arts and humanities, because it's easier to get away with. But any belief that a discipline itself is lesser or greater than is proof of a shallow education.
I have no doubt that brilliant people might plow through any given major, if that's their choice. If I don't think formal education is particularly important, then that is a corollary. One can be skilled or unskilled in any given discipline, or productive or not, or well educated or not, regardless of the formal education you have.
-
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
Individual programs, professors or students run the gamut between silly and rigorous. And there are plenty silly ones—more so in the arts and humanities, because it's easier to get away with. But any belief that a discipline itself is lesser or greater than is proof of a shallow education.
I have no doubt that brilliant people might plow through any given major, if that's their choice. If I don't think formal education is particularly important, then that is a corollary. One can be skilled or unskilled in any given discipline, or productive or not, or well educated or not, regardless of the formal education you have.
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
Individual programs, professors or students run the gamut between silly and rigorous. And there are plenty silly ones—more so in the arts and humanities, because it's easier to get away with. But any belief that a discipline itself is lesser or greater than is proof of a shallow education.
I have no doubt that brilliant people might plow through any given major, if that's their choice. If I don't think formal education is particularly important, then that is a corollary. One can be skilled or unskilled in any given discipline, or productive or not, or well educated or not, regardless of the formal education you have.
Definitely so. I'm really just speaking to the IT professionals, engineers, accountants and lawyers who look down on arts and humanities disciplines or those in creative fields as lesser than while at the same time couldn't make a successful movie, poster, album cover, poem or photograph if their life depended on it.
Don't get me wrong, I couldn't fix my house's plumbing if my life depended on it, but I'm also not going around thinking master plumbers are dummies because they don't do what I do. That would be ridiculous.
-
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Horace said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
The next three are cases of the easiest majors at the school, taken by the least intellectually able, not panning out financially.
Arts and humanities programs have indeed gone down the tubes in the past few decades. And indeed, they are now repositories for some of the worst students. But it's untrue to say they're the easiest majors categorically.
Maybe in the sense that categories don't apply. But if there is a categorical answer to which majors are easiest, those would be the categorical answer, at least before the -studies majors came along. Those were the majors one would see during player intros in Saturday afternoon college football games, back when I was a kid. I think there is a certain categorical reason for that. Those were the majors where ungifted students could get by without attending class or doing much in the way of studying. Also it's probably important to distinguish between undergrad and grad degrees here. I assume the original article is talking about undergrad degrees.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's incredibly common for those in STEM fields to get all hand-wavey about the lower value or easier nature of the arts and humanities to hide their inadequacy. Discrediting something you suck at is a coping mechanism we learn to practice as young children. Sometimes we never grow out of it.
Much of the problem of "regret" comes not from the nature of the program but what's left out of the instruction. It's obvious what software engineering prepares you for. Studying creative writing also has several direct applications in professional environments, but many programs just don't teach them. If they did, there'd be far less regret, and students would be far more successful.
It's obvious what engineering prepares you for, yes. A lifetime of engineering work. If they find it grueling and difficult in school, good luck with the rest of their life. I suspect that's another reason why there's a flow from STEM disciplines towards the artistic disciplines as students approach graduation. In STEM, the school work is a window into the rest of one's life. And it's not exactly worthy of most romantic notions of following one's passion, especially after the calculus wall is hit. A creative arts degree is more fuzzy, and I guess it allows one to maintain the perception of options. Maybe its main draw is to remove unequivocal 'work' from the list of options. Anybody who gets a STEM degree is willingly signing up for a lifetime of work. The intellectual equivalent of manual labor.
Individual programs, professors or students run the gamut between silly and rigorous. And there are plenty silly ones—more so in the arts and humanities, because it's easier to get away with. But any belief that a discipline itself is lesser or greater than is proof of a shallow education.
I have no doubt that brilliant people might plow through any given major, if that's their choice. If I don't think formal education is particularly important, then that is a corollary. One can be skilled or unskilled in any given discipline, or productive or not, or well educated or not, regardless of the formal education you have.
Definitely so. I'm really just speaking to the IT professionals, engineers, accountants and lawyers who look down on arts and humanities disciplines or those in creative fields as lesser than while at the same time couldn't make a successful movie, poster, album cover, poem or photograph if their life depended on it.
Don't get me wrong, I couldn't fix my house's plumbing if my life depended on it, but I'm also not going around thinking master plumbers are dummies because they don't do what I do. That would be ridiculous.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
I'm really just speaking to the IT professionals, engineers, accountants and lawyers who look down on arts and humanities disciplines
They are only looking down because they are sitting on their wallets.
They don't mean to be condescending or anything.
-
I’m a little surprised by the Medical/Clinical Technician. Those are mostly decent paying jobs, no?
-
I’m also a little surprised by how many are happy with their Computer & Information Sciences degrees. My understanding of the field is that many of the skills do not require a 4 year degree and by the time you graduate the skills you learned are 6 months away from being obsolete…
The Brad
-
I am absolutely NOT surprised that Human Resource Services are happy with their fields of study… Unfortunately.
Same with psychology…
The Brad
-
I’m also a little surprised by how many are happy with their Computer & Information Sciences degrees. My understanding of the field is that many of the skills do not require a 4 year degree and by the time you graduate the skills you learned are 6 months away from being obsolete…
@LuFins-Dad said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
I’m also a little surprised by how many are happy with their Computer & Information Sciences degrees. My understanding of the field is that many of the skills do not require a 4 year degree and by the time you graduate the skills you learned are 6 months away from being obsolete…
Where I work, the knowledge of the code base and the problem domain, which one learns on the job, quickly makes established employees more valuable than new employees. The established ones can be paid to learn new technologies if need be. Funny thing is, most of the training is in procedural stuff like six sigma or scrum or agile, rather than technologies.
-
I am absolutely NOT surprised that Human Resource Services are happy with their fields of study… Unfortunately.
Same with psychology…
@LuFins-Dad I haven’t used calculus in anger since I graduated. Or Bernoulli’s equation. Or any of it.
We use ohm’s law quite a bit.
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with PhD’s that they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to the area I work in.
-
@LuFins-Dad I haven’t used calculus in anger since I graduated. Or Bernoulli’s equation. Or any of it.
We use ohm’s law quite a bit.
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with PhD’s that they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to the area I work in.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with PhD’s that they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to the area I work in.
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with MBAs that my ideas are theirs precisely because they don't know what they're doing when it comes to the area I work in.
-
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with PhD’s that they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to the area I work in.
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with MBAs that my ideas are theirs precisely because they don't know what they're doing when it comes to the area I work in.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors:
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with PhD’s that they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to the area I work in.
Probably the biggest challenge in my job is persuading customers with MBAs that my ideas are theirs precisely because they don't know what they're doing when it comes to the area I work in.
I refuse to speak to people with MBA’s. I’m happy to be condescending to people with doctorates but I draw the line at MBA’s
