Written by Holy Taco
College is a great place to learn and have fun. But let’s not kid ourselves, some degrees are as useless as the plot in a Michael Bay film. Here’s a list of 10 degrees that may be interesting, but do jack shit for you in the real world.
10. Art History
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: With an art history degree you could maybe curate an art gallery or work at a museum or….yeah, that’s it. That’s all you can do. And seeing as how every art gallery and museum I’ve ever been to has exactly one dude sitting quietly at a desk reading a New Yorker and eating a food that requires chopsticks, I’m going to go ahead and assume there’s not a lot of positions open in the field. That means you’re going to have to venture out into the corporate world. And let me inform you, when you’re interviewing with Bob from the HR team at Wal-Mart who’s wearing a tie that has the twin towers smoking with writing underneath that says “We Will Never Forget,” your art history degree says to him “I’m a commie a-hole who thinks I’m better than guys with 9/11 ties.”
What Job You’ll End Up With: After your parents boot your ass from your bedroom to make room for anything that’s not your bedroom, you’ll wander towards the nearest coffee shop and get a job there, which will allow you to meet artists who will thank you for allowing them to put fliers by the cash register that inform people of their upcoming show that touts “the combination of art and flute.”
9. Philosophy
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: This isn’t ancient Greece: No one is going to pay you money, or allow you to sodomize their attractive son, in exchange for your knowledge of existence. Never has there been an employer who’s said “Man, we’re having all kinds of problems, I wish we had someone on our team who could reference and draw conclusions from the story of Siddhartha that would pull up our fourth quarter numbers.” I took many philosophy classes and it involved reading and smoking a shit pile of weed. You don’t need to pay 20,000 dollars a year to do that. All you need is twenty dollars and a library card.
What Job You’ll End Up With: Thanks to your extensive knowledge of philosophy, you’re now self-aware enough to know that most jobs out there will make you totally miserable. So most likely you’ll wait tables part time and hope someone starts paying you for the bi-monthly entries on your blog.
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: If you’re not named Achmed or Bjork or G’Day Mate this isn’t a degree, it’s the last 18 years of your life. If you really want to study us you don’t need to go to some stupid class, you need only to sit back and watch a two-hour block of Must-See TV to understand The American. After doing my own research, it seems that this mysterious creature is a pot-bellied humanoid with a hot wife and bad credit who has a penchant for low-calorie beer, Chilis, Applebees, TGIFridays, Denny’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Dave and Busters, Steak and Shake, Chilis (again) and Red Lobster. Oh and he can totally demolish a White Castle Crave Case in, like, 20 seconds. OK, now give me my degree.
What Job You’ll End Up With: To take your American Studies degree one step further, you will be qualified to do 40-50 years of “graduate work” cleaning tables and taking orders at a Chilis, Applebees, TGIFridays or Red Lobster. Or possibly Denny’s.
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: I didn’t even know this was a major until I found it on the Appalachian State website. According to their actual explanation of this major: “Music therapy is the scientific application of the art of music within a therapeutic relationship to meet the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of individuals.” Which is a big, fancy way of saying “We’ll teach you how to make a mix tape.” I guess I, too, am a qualified music therapist because my “Summer Jams ’95” tape I made in the 10th grade totally rocked my house party. All my friends told me that kicking it off with Wreckz-N-Effects “Rump Shaker” followed by Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” totally met their physical, mental and spiritual needs to help them get wasted on my dad’s Schnapps and Drambuie.
What Job You’ll End Up With: After realizing that yoga studios and elderly homes don’t pay people just to come in and set mood music, you’re sadly going to end up putting your degree towards burning a fire to keep warm because you are homeless.
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: Go into a communications class on any given day and it’ll smell like dried semen and booze. Reason being, communications is the major for anyone who wants to graduate, but doesn’t want to stop getting totally wasted on weekdays. Here’s the bad news, if an employer is going to hire someone to help decipher how human beings communicate, he’s going to hire someone with the letters “Dr.” before their name, not the person who first checks to see if a class is offered online, then when they find out it’s not, let’s out a “gaaaaay bro.”
What Job You’ll End Up With: You’ll go to several job interviews that turn out to be pyramid schemes, even though at first you won’t realize this and come home and tell your parents, who you still live with, “They said I’ll probably be making six figures in less than a year just by selling these beer cozies.”
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: Despite what “Dancing with the Stars” and “High School Musical” may tell you, there aren’t a lot of dancing jobs out there-so you better be good because there aren’t any gigs for mediocre dancers. Outside of New York City or some crap in LA there is absolutely nothing you can do with a dance degree that doesn’t involve actually dancing for money. And since the Des Moines interpretive dance movement hasn’t really taken off yet, you have a better chance landing a job as an 8-Track repairman or a member of the Beatles.
What Job You’ll End Up With: After moving to New York and trying out for Hello Dolly! or Damn Yankees or any of the other seven Broadway plays that want dancers and not landing a single one because you got your dance degree from Ball State, you will find ample opportunity to show off your choreographic skills at one of the city’s many strip clubs. You’ll just need to change your name to Crystal or Bambi and you’ll be able finally live out your dream as a dancer. (Mom and Dad will be so proud!)
4. English Lit
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: If someone can spend a weekend with a box of Cliff’s Notes and have only a slightly less conversational knowledge of what you spent 4 years studying, you probably don’t have the most employer friendly degree. Having an English Lit degree is like being a member of the Kansas City Royals: No one cares and the best you can hope for is every once in a while someone buys you a beer because of it.
What Job You’ll End Up With: You can read and comprehend, so that gives you an advantage over 99.5% of the people that peruse Craig’s list job listings. Therefore, you’ll most likely end up landing an entry level position at a random small company, or showing up to your interview and being raped repeatedly by a group of masked men.
3. Latin
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: Not only does no one speak this language anymore, but we already have all the Latin that exists in the world. There’s no new Latin that’s hot off the presses that needs immediate translating. I’m no business major, but majoring in a language that doesn’t exist anymore doesn’t sound so good for job security. And I’m sorry to break the news to you, but the world doesn’t need someone to translate The Bible or the inscription on the side of a Post Office or El Loco Latino’s “Latin House Party.”
What Job You’ll End Up With: Since you majored in something that doesn’t exist, you’re going to have two jobs. Your first one will be as the annoying pretentious guy who gives everyone the Latin etymology of every big word he hears at every dinner party he attends. Your second, and most lucrative job, will be as a Subway Sandwich Artist.
2. Film
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: No one in hollywood gives a shit that you made a short film about an alcoholic albino that discovers the meaning of life through the help of a retarded child. Unless that retarded child was played by the son of Harvey Weinstein, your film or degree will be as pointless as the last three seasons of Lost
What Job You’ll End Up With: If you’re lucky, you’ll have an uncle who can get you a job as a production assistant on CSI Miami, where your time will be spent making coffee runs and finding whores that will let David Caruso pee on them.
1. Religion
Why It Won’t Help You Get a Job: Sorry God, but a major in Religion is about as worthless as St. Brice (The Patron Saint of Stomach Aches.) Even Duke University can’t put a solid sell on this degree: “A major in religion offers intellectual excitement and can be a pathway to a liberal education.” OK, you sold me. So now I get to shell out about a hundred thousand dollars so I can know what to wear to a Shinto ceremony and learn how many virgins Allah will give me if I blow myself up in an Israeli square? If it’s OK with you, I’ll keep my money and stick to my sinning-a-lot-now-and-repenting-on-my-deathbed plan.
What Job You’ll End Up With: This one is tricky. On one hand you’ll probably end up working behind the desk of a Christian Science Reading Room. But on the other, you may end up with everlasting peace and spiritual enlightenment. Let’s call it a draw.
I think that you gave a simplistic view of the Communications degree. Yeah, employers may automatically look at it as an easy major, but that just gives you the opportunity to stand out from what they expect of you and push yourself to prove that you are a capable person that they can benefit from by hiring.
Okay, I totally disagree on the film major and communication major.
I do have lots of friends who’s majored in Film, which also equips them with other media related skills that will help them get employed. I do agree this major has significantly less demand than other. Even though you might have to start up by running chores and cleaning out trash bin, a motivated individual would find a way or another to make his way to the top.
And Communication, companies are hiring PRs these days. I don’t see a reason, why a communication graduated would go jobless.
Roll up, Roll up ! Come defend your bad choice of majors.
What I can’t stand are the chaff who think the purpose of college is to get a better job. College is supposed to be about enriching and deepening one’s understanding of and interaction with the world. There’s a big movement to make all education — even college — some sort of job-training course; george w’s standardized tests and ‘no child left behind’ are the symptoms of this misuse of education.
They would propose that we we should be institutionalized as if we were automatons to be wound-up and set upon a course. I think Ben Franklin would think the modern perversion of education into a technical institute is a travesty. The ideal of education that men like Franklin and Emerson believed in has been eviscerated from education — except for these “worthless college majors.”
“Worthless” is a matter of perspective. I’ll call your pragmatic, career-driven degree worthless, simply because you lived through the “days of rife” with only a mind to make money.
And yeah, I got a Comp Sci BS along with my Philosophy BA.
Oh well deeply understanding person, you did a double post. Hours later even,… Wow.
“College is supposed to be about enriching and deepening one’s understanding of and interaction with the world.”
And who pays for that? Indentured slaves who have to toil away their lives to feed idle philosophers and Art history majors? Are all of these enriched folk of the professional left independently wealthy?
Nope! Put up taxes ie work harder slaves…
Nicely put
As for philosophy: you’re right that there are no actual jobs for philosophers other than professorship. However, philosophy majors usually don’t end up waiting tables. Most of them go to law school instead.
Yeah i can imagine that most of these majors are pretty useless, the only thing you can do with them is to turn around, go back to school,and teach them.
the two DUDES under art history…I’ve never laughed so hard at anything on the internet. HAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!
history may get you a teaching job…perpetuating the lies that fill our textbooks.
history may get you a teaching job…perpetuating the lies that fill our textbooks.
Actually, the music therapy i know is VEEERY different from that description. AND your highly un-knowing mockery is just stupid. the music therapy i know (and that pays for my private school education) is about giving skills, confidence, etc to the mentally retarded or physically handicapped. My mom’s been a music therapist nearly 30 years, and i’m willing to bet she couldn’t make a mix tape to save her life. you’re making a total fool of yourself by making fun of something you clearly know jack shit about. it’s nothing like the dj-esque ‘description’ of it you provide. dumbass
The dude nailed it. Nice job Nick C.
“how many virgins Allah will give me if I blow myself up in an Israeli square”…
awesome man!
very naice….. this should be made a must read…
Ehh. . .dance majors learn to be all cerebral and anatomical about dance. You learn how to be a good teacher. And. . .get lots of non-pay extra-curricular performance opportunities to supplement our foodservice/bank/dumpster-diving jobs? Oh, I’ve got nothin’.
That said. . .mean! We with useless majors are already insecure enough, and now you have to go and make us think about it and get us all defensive and irritated? Damn.
Seriously though, not all of these jobs are as useless as you think they are. They’re just incredibly specific. Not so much with the flexibility. Oh, well. I guess you’re just having fun.
Oh, yeah – and good point above with the philosophy + law comment! I also hear a lot about uber-successful businesspeople who’ve combined philosophy w/ marketing or economics or, obvs, business. Snap!
The point isn’t that people can actually make something of these majors. My friend right now in medical school is a film major so it’s not like you can’t do anything out of these worthless majors. But can you really tell me that the average person is going to be able to run with this major to make a life for himself? And Tres, I can understand you want to enrich yourself in college but you do need to learn a skill set to survive in the modern world too eh? Here’s a thought enrich your knowledge of the world by doing the things you love ALONG with the things that are practical maybe if you get lucky what you love can be practical hence philosophy/poly sci going to law school and so on…
oh yeah, I forgot to say I love the article funny shit=P
Lol does anyone with a philosophy + law double degree actually make practical use of philosophy in their future career? Sorry no, they practise law instead. Philosophy assists with the logical thinking involved in law, but taking one basic Philosophy paper would do (if you really want to). No need to go as far as an actual philosophy degree. Might as well take something more useful like a commerce + law or science + law where you can actually make use of the other complementary major to law.
GREAT ARTICLE. Loved it =D
Thank god you didn’t put Business haha
Tres is a motherfucking dipshit. If you really think that the fucking point of the asshole of institutions (college) is to “enrich and deepen one’s understanding” than you’re stupider than a sorry ass high school dropout. If I wanted a deeper understanding of the world, why the fuck would I shell out thousands of dollars for it? And who gives a motherfucking shit if I have a degree in it? If that was my goal, a degree would mean nothing. Whether or not I felt that my mind was “enlightened,” rather, would be my concern. So, all I’m saying is that you wasted your money going to college. Where I go, Bin Laden himself could sit down and listen to a lecture without anybdy asking if he was paying to be there.
Communications degrees, especially in 2009 is way different than it was years ago. They now incorporate computer graphics, web design and public relations. These positions are in high demand in that field!
if you are concerned with just the money making aspect of earning a degree you’re pretty far off base with philosophy. its rigorous and helps you think well. thats valued anywhere… and in every interview i have sat down for i get alot of respect for having that BA in phil next to my name.
question: is a graduate degree in business or law “useless”? if your answer is yes, ignore me. if not, look at these numbers:
http://www.libarts.wsu.edu/philo/overview/grad-admissions.asp
and i can say my personal experience jibes with these numbers.
i did well on the gmat the first time out with very minimal study.
however, i have to say… the picture of the guy smoking out of the n64 controller is pretty sweet.
I have two BAs, one in communications and another in sociology. And I have a minor in psychology, but I am just going to focus on my BA in comm.
I have to disagree that a communications degree is worthless. I went to a California State University and was required to take classes in mass media, PR, business communications, statistics, etc. Most of my classes were related to business, but from a sociological perspective that teaches students interpersonal communication skills. This is what MANY companies need for sales, marketing, public relations, customer service, etc.
That degree can help someone land a job in many different jobs, including business related fields. It helped me get into human resources so it wasn’t worthless for me!
I don’t have time to defend my Art History major/ Philosophy minor, I have a real job (and have for the 11 years since I graduated) and too much work to do.
umm… I majored in public relations (communications) and I can say that your opinion of the major is crap. Not only was this a “high demand” major at my college; they did not accept anyone with a GPA lower than a 4.0. It was hard as hell to get into the program, and even harder to stay.
I got a job immediately after college, and now make six figures.
1) BUSINESS
2) PSYCHOLOGY
These are the #1 and #2 most popular major’s in all public and private state University’s today. They are also nearly worthless.
Most business major’s cannot find jobs today. Those that can are lucky to make 30k per year. And in most cases the job has nothing to do with their degree.
Add 80k student loan debt and you will see college is a waste of time and money.
i think as long as your father is rich,there is no point in studying engineering,business,medicine courses unless you die for it..Because i can not imagine MOZART working for SUBWAY or PLATO in a kebab shop.
Therefore,although i read engineering at the university,my great enthusiasm about philosophy never died.But there is a small distinction.The real world never cares what you want to do,if you want money,study something that provides you money,if you want knowledge and have passion of studying,improving your abilities then you should(must) forget about money and do what you want.
so all the courses that have been done solely for money purposes will not serve you guys in the long term.By the way Philosophy is like an ability such as when you listen comedy you have ability to laugh,or you have got shopping ability(you can easily compare products and get your transaction done at ease),or you can love somebody,you can have a baby..,These things are not directly related to your job but there is something more beyond the money and job…?? UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD AND YOURSELF
Dude This is soooooo TRUE and the funniest shit ive read so far!!!
People become successful because they have the desire to be successful. No matter what you studied in college (or if you even went at all), you will be able to become successful if you market yourself and can work hard. The true deciders of success are hard work, determination and wisdom–and these things cannot be taught in the class room. A college degree should be there to supplement what you already have. That way, it simply means less competition for you no matter what. The sad thing is that–as someone has said already–people really see college as an extended job-training program and not as the enriching experience that it should be, which has led to colleges like Cal-State San Bernardino, which requires you to take idiotic courses like history of Alcohol, which have nothing to do with your course of study in order to get the degree. Not to mention the amount of professors who have no real-world experience yet teach these “required” courses in order for you to get a degree that supposedly signifies intelligence. It has also led to the proliferation of idiots coming into school and artificially inflating their GPA by taking the easiest courses with the “easy graders”–so called professors who give Bs to everyone no matter what. The administration tells me I have to take courses to satisfy my degree with professors I wouldn’t hire to clean my gutters–eliminating all challenge. It is this factor that–among other things– has led to the “dumbing down” of the education system, which means that a college degree has itself become as useless as your high school diploma. It is hard for everyone with a college degree to get a job nowadays. College life is no longer about becoming more aware or more intelligent, but more about making $5,000 more a year or getting a promotion. Sadder still, in order to get a quality education, you have to pay tiptop dollar to go to schools like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, which is simply out of most Americans’ reach.
As for business being a worthless major, think again. Business majors don’t just learn about how to read spreadsheets and powerpoints. A business major is about the science of decision making, information science and the history of business as a whole. I have a degree in Information Technology, but will be getting an MBA in Finance, (might double in IT) and will go to Law school on top of that. I will be successful not because of my paper collection (IE degrees), but because of my work ethic, my dirve and my desire.
@Jeremiah Walker:
Even a degree from Yale or Harvard isn’t a guarantee that you’ll find a good job… nor is it a guarantee that you’ll actually receive a quality education if you attend those schools. I was admitted to Yale, MIT, and Duke… I chose to attend Duke for the science program. I worked my ass off throughout high school to get into these schools, and then spent another 4 years working to maintain an “A-” average in college. Now, I’m three years post-graduation and I’m chronically unemployed. Almost no one seems to care about where I went to college; it’s rarely mentioned by interviewers, and if I mention my academic credentials, I usually get a smile and a nod – nothing more.
The fact is, most employers are concerned with real skills, which Ivy League (and Ivy League equivalent) schools do not provide. As frustrating as it is, I can understand why employers reject Ivy Leaguers on the grounds that they need full training from the ground up, and it’s simply not worth the employer’s time and money to do so.
If you want my advice, community college certificates/associates degrees in practical skills will give you the most bang for your buck. That’s what I’m about to start doing, so that I can offer some real-world skills, rather than being able to say “I got a 1570 on the SAT and got admitted to some Ivy League schools.”
In my opinion, college degrees generally aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on – and that includes degrees from places like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc.
You are a god.
I think many of these majors could indeed find a job – I think more so it depends on the type of person you are / how much interest and motivation you have. Especially things like Music Therapy – I have a friend who has a degree in this, and is starting a Music Therapy internship in Minnesota next Spring, working with many different types of people with disabilities or mental illnesses. There is also a place called Center for Discovery in New York (http://www.thecenterfordiscovery.org/), where they treat their Music Therapists like royalty, and they are a VERY strong asset to the institution.
So, more power to all of you with these majors, I have so much faith that you WILL find just the job you want/need!
Interesting how all the bloggers that agree with you all start with “Dude” and end with “You are a God!”
Sorry, but I would rather be unemployed than working with your followers. So if that requires I major in philosophy or dance, so be it.
Communications is the most important major you can take today.
Communications major can write anything in any field. Math is also an important major. Finance and Business is a waste of time. You can learn that easy. Communications (to be good at it )and or math takes years of skill to acquire. Take a night course in finance or business if you need it. If it’s in the book you know it. Anyone can learn it easy.
From a recruiters perspective, I wouldn’t agree that these degrees are useless. They are however more challenging to market.
Many employers require a 4 yr degree for nothing more than to know that one has made and fulfilled a commitment. The problem with these majors is that they imply a lack of a clear cut career objective on the part of the job seeker, as opposed to those that are clearly defined, like engineering. If you are faced with a ignorant HR person, and believe me, there are more of those than one can count, That ignorance leads to them not being able to appropriately identify the strenghts of these degrees and how they could be of value to the employer.
This can be proven simply by searching the advertised jobs in todays high unemployment, the ridiculously long time these positions remain unfilled versus the staggering unemplyment rates. Sadly, in most companies, HR screens the resumes, and with cutbacks in all departments including theirs, they’ve likened themselves as recruiting experts. But the numbers speak for themselves. Recruiting is a specialty and a job that requires 100% of the time to be commited to recruiting…. not dealing with Jane Doe’s employee relations issues, and then switching back to recruiting when the HR person has time. Your best bet is to network, and find out who the supervisors/managers are for the company and the department you’re wanting a job with. A simple call, asking who the Operations Manager is will usually get you a name. If not, try any industry affiliated membership associations, blogs, user groups, and get information there. Do not leave your job search to the HR person. It’ll often go no where, because they’re too busy, or they lack the knowledge of how your degree relates to the job opening. If you do get the attention of the hiring manager, by all means let them know if you initially tried the conventional route via HR, and whether or not you received any response from them. They can be the best resource in hiring, but can also be the biggest black hole.
I want you to post the 10 most worthy college majors 🙂
Liberal arts is for people who can’t handle Engineering, Natural Sciences, Business, etc.
If you want to learn Liberal Art topics, just go buy a book and read it.
Personally, virtually any undergraduate degree is worthless. Sure, you may be lucky enough to land an entry-level position in a business/firm/bank with a degree in banking, business, accounting, marketing, finance etc.; BUT you will still need to “work your way up.” Perhaps even a mid-level position if you are REALLY good. Or get a degree in nursing and become a nurse. However, a master’s degree is usually what is needed in 2010 to be competitive. Furthermore, I have found that most students who pursue you 10 “most worthless” college majors intend on teaching, and the master’s and doctoral degrees are in their sights from the beginning. My advice, if you want to make lots of money and find a job after earning your bachelor’s, stay away from the above “worthless majors,” and get a job in business, banking, marketing, public relations, accounting, computers, nursing. However, if none of those fields interest you, I am sure that becoming rich is not your priority. And also take note that there are thousands of people in the “in demand” fields who are out of work. The field of education, however, never dries up.
Lol, i have to give it to you that what you wrote was really funny; but, I’m tired of hearing the same shit over and over about what people think is worth studying and not worth, which ends up usually being based on what they think will guarantee them lots of money.
No matter how many times someone tells me that studying to become a doctor or a dentist, thus aspiring towards those “practical” jobs, will make one have lots of money, I always want to just sigh and laugh; because, what does that have to do with the individual who may not even be remotely interested in such a career- no matter how much that kind of job promises the bucks. I would never be caught dead in jobs related to medicine, or lets also add here- law, computer science and anything strictly having to do with mathematics. Call me ignorant; call me insufficient for the “real” world. Maybe I will starve, or live under a bridge, but I cannot, I repeat, cannot make myself “enjoy” or even like being in said fields that I just mentioned.
Yes, I agree you need a reality check if you think those majors will bring you success as fast as maybe some other more obvious career oriented majors (success meaning the money); but that just means that those who are in the humanity majors need to do extra work to be noticed; and, they will probably have to work in numerous positions before they can find the job they love, and that gives them a good payday.
All in all, in my experience, many people hate their jobs, which must say something about the fact that they have not seriously thought through about what kind of jobs actually fit their way of thinking and their personality. This may sound like BS, but that might be the reason why we come across people that don’t look like they know what they heck they are doing in their chosen careers- it’s because they thought they belong in the field that is just suffering from their involvement lol.
“virtually any undergraduate degree is worthless”
Wrong. Google ‘engineering’. Maybe you have never heard of it before. Particularly, chemical engineering pays quite well for entry-level. I mean that, of course, it requires actually doing something in college.
The article is entertaining, good for consumption, not too much substance though.
Not every education is the means for a “good job”, some people learn to broaden their worldview, and think (the brain is a muscle.)
Philosophy= friend of knowledge
I am not saying these majors are great if you want to ride the lazy river of main stream culture, but worthless? Come on….
I think Child Development Techology AAS degrees should be on your list. Only a BS in Child Develoment from a good university has any real value. The AAS degrees from community colleges are pretty much worthless. Sometimes women who go in with a GED and a 6th grade reading and writing level will progress to writing at an 7th grade level, but that’s about all the learning they will accomplish. Child Development Technology AAS degrees are pretty worthless. You’ll get a job in a daycare, but daycare’s usually only require a high school diploma.
I really hope no one took any of this seriously, because it could really piss you off if you do. There is not much you can do with any degree except thumb-tack it to your wall and think on all the hangovers you had during college. What you do with the knowledge that you get from studying whatever you did, is what gets you into a job, and if you can't figure that out as a business major your just as messed over as the guy who got a bachelors in religion and is now an existentialist who doesn't subscribe to anything – e.g. you will need to learn how to say “Do you want fries with that?” very well.
I'm sorry but that's ridiculous. One can deepen their understanding of the world without paying a lot of cash, in fact, college is probably the worst places to “deepen an understanding of the world” the best place to do that is the real world, which college isn't. The purpose of a formal education is to acquire skills and connections that one couldn't easily acquire by getting out into the real world. These majors are worthless because college is an inappropriate place for them to be taught. I'd say Ben Franklin would be most saddened by the close mindedness in today's society that makes people believe a college education is the only appropriate way to learn anything.
I'm an English Lit major with a double minor in Philosophy and Religion, and I also study Latin.
Translation: Apparently, I'm screwed.
Holy Taco, funny name considering your last piece about religion. You certainly have a neat sense of humor. Sticking in your “sinning a lot now plan and repenting in your deathbed,” may work provided God would accept the – I was only a human excuse ( plus I was made that way ) , what ever the case keep your sense of humour till then.
You're stupid. Excuse me while I go do what I love
Not if you've actually gone beyond high school-level history classes. College-level history is all about analysis and context. In other words, you don't perpetuate the lies… you debunk them.
Why is everything on this site totally against the humanities? Should we all be illiterate physicists who never question culture or ethics? That sounds like a big step forward into a great society…
Business Majors which include Management Information Sciences (MIS), Accounting, Operations Management, Finance, etc. all leave college making pretty decent money for just starting out. Plus MIS majors and Accounting majors have some of the best percentages for job placement. Any business major is probably one of the most versatile degrees because you can usually do something else with it.
Great article! I love it!
human resources might be the most inefficient and unintelligent group of individuals in any organization. sorry, but that's the sad truth.
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Great. But you forgot Women’s Studies, and Native Studies, African-American Studies, and Queer Studies. All worthless leftist agit-prop, only useful for a career in ‘human rights’.
How well the student does is extremely important. Those who think that a 55% in a low-value degree is worth the time and money are delusional, but there are lots of students like that. On the other hand, a 98% in even Womens’ Studies (as worthless a degree as can be imagined) may well attract a recruiter’s eye. A degree in fine arts or graphic arts is worthless unless one is very talented, in which case lucrative jobs are available in Marketing. And, yes, museums and private art galleries do employ fine arts graduates; yes, being Director of the Metropolitan Museum is a good job; and yes, there are very few such positions.
A cousin of mine has done well in Marketing, starting with a solid
BA(Hons) in History.
Philosophy may be the least employable. One very bright philosophy major I knew intended to take over his father’s farm (and did so). He knew about the care and feeding of livestock but thought he needed something to keep his wits from unravelling.
So a student should do the best possible, no matter what they are taking. Hell, even an engineering degree, with a bare pass, isn’t worth more than a degree in Womens’ Studies.
This is so lame. I got a Psychology degree back in the day. This field of study allowed me to drink massive amounts of booze yet still graduate with a good gpa. My degree has been invaluable in my subsequent years in the construction and mining industries. D’oh!
Actually a philosophy degree from an acceptable university is often well-thought-of, and with good reason. Most people, even educated ones, can’t reason their way out of a cliché. Philosophy graduates think in a fascinating and very useful way. They are articulate, can present a good argument and more importantly can spot the fallacies in a poor argument.
OK, so the two I have known best, my ex-girlfriend who had her own company running workshops to teach school children to think (good job, interesting, rewarding, lucrative and respectable but a little close to philosophy itself to count) and my brother, an officer in the Parachute Regiment before leaving to join the police (no special thinking required for either) are not very good examples. However it was certainly one of the most respected degrees when I was studying, and having dated an argumentative philosopher I can think in a more structured way.
As any philosopher will tell you mentioning ancient Greece and paid thinkers is a fallacy akin to the straw man. It is simply nothing to do with why studying philosophy is worthwhile, a faked suggestion set up to fail.
Oh, and if you count Classics for Latin (considering British degrees don’t include minor subjects that would seem reasonable) then half the subjects you mentioned were offered at my university.
If you have University of Cambridge on your CV (resume) then the subject and indeed passing grade quite often becomes academic. Moreover since neither is mentioned on the degree certificate they become a matter only of honesty and pride.
I would suggest that in very many cases, where a student reads a degree is more important than what degree is read. This is especially true in the vast number of jobs where the achievement of a degree is considered beneficial but the subject matter not important, as in almost every job I have ever held; in the single exception, where my hard-science degree subject was relevant, half my team did not hold degrees at all.
It’s not that it’s worthless, but they are pretty good if you are looking for better employment after your basic “main” degree. If you ever do arts, you’d know that talent don’t come naturally. You may be already smart and know the little fine things that some people just miss out on and they really REALLY want to know what they have missed. It’s no good if you know just how to compose a music without knowing what it makes various audience feel. If you don’t have that skill to, then you will need those degrees as well. They should not be your main meal but probably side dishes that compliment.
It’s not that it’s worthless, but they are pretty good if you are looking for better employment after your basic “main” degree. If you ever do arts, you’d know that talent don’t come naturally. You may be already smart and know the little fine things that some people just miss out on and they really REALLY want to know what they have missed. It’s no good if you know just how to compose a music without knowing what it makes various audience feel. If you don’t have that skill to, then you will need those degrees as well. They should not be your main meal but probably side dishes that can compliment and bring up the quality.
Yeah, that Martin Luther King, Jr. and his religion major. Totally worthless.
A degree in religion is an easy way to join the military as an officer….so yeah its not such a bad idea.
Why do you have a picture of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) from Harry Potter as a picture for Latin? Thats stupid because he has nothing to do with that major. Also I find it offenseive that you have a picture of The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints missionaries under Religion. You don’t have to go major in religion to go on a mission. Pick your pictures more carefully and this whole post is a joke.
You forgot sociology and psychology without further education.. Basically the best word of advice is this: If you settled on a major because you couldn’t do anything else (or it’s the only thing you could pass) , don’t expect to make shit when you get out. You’ll be competing with the other millions of unmotivated morons for scant jobs.
Most people who graduate from Art School with qualifications in Fine Art and Graphic art are very talented. The problem is that most “creative types” are not especially driven or business minded and that is a big factor in deciding who makes it and who doesn’t. A mediocre artist with a lot of drive will be many times more successful than a brilliant artist with little ambition. It’s always been this way and ever shall be until there is better support for graduating artists or at least a better program of business studies for art students.
Great article! It is not easy to find the best education for you. I was in deep trouble until my friend recommended me one of the best sites, where you can browse thousands of the colleges and universities.This is the only one site that offers this absolutely for free. Here is a link www . EducationFindr . Com
I knew better than to click the link for this “blog”; when I was searching for articles on Google.com, I was looking for something with substance. I knew better before I clicked, and I did still clicked.
Its rare for someone like me to comment, to think that something is either talented or lacks enough talent required for their own job for me to stop in my tracks to leave a response. It really only happens on those rare occasions when someone has gone above and beyond.
So why am I commenting? How did I know, even before I clicked? The title, this “article” lacks basic journalistic form from the start-The writer-who can only be called a “blogger” at least from this sample, aspires to that realm of authorship, of great journalism, and the worst offense,giving “collegiate major” advice Without having an even basic understanding (clearly shown by title)of ENGLISH! The sentence would not be”the 10 most worthless”-suggestions would be, to use a possesive maybe “My top 1o of worthless”or whatever, but you cannot in “proper” english sound educated (thus talking about education)while trying to take a word that means no value and add a quantifier to it means that no value has even less, language isn’t algebra.-
And that was just the title, I’ll save you from the rest. I really hope that the original writer of this blog does not get hurt, but it is very important that people take responsibility for what they send out, societally,socially,ethically, and intellectually.
You realize this article was meant to entertain and not educate, yes? Anyone that believes the author was offering up actual advice is probably too stupid to get into an institute of higher learning anyways, so no harm done!
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Hi, yeah. I actually majored in dance, and I know have an amazing job getting paid $3,000 a week. AND several of my friends who I graduated with are making about the same or more! Well, anyway, just thought I would let you know that dance is a great major and that Broadway isn’t the only option. There are touring shows, dinner theatre, amusemnt parks, etc. And they all give excellent money. Thank you. 🙂
Why is Tom Felton listed under “Latin”
… I don’t understand, he’s British.