Marketable College Majors 5-7 years down the road

[mominwestlake]

The current economic climate has caused many to rethink their career choice. It has also caused many in college to rethink their choice of major. If your child was heading to college this fall, what majors would you want them to look at? What college major/majors do you feel are most marketable and will be in 4-7 years?

I was also wondering how much input you provide your college-age child when they are choosing a major? How do they decide on a major? I know that many change majors at some point during college but how do you help your child decide what they are good at and then balance that with what is marketable?

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I have a DD 23 who graduated in 2008 and DS who is starting his senior year in college next week.

DH and I are both in health care and told them not to go into that until the reimbursement is figured out. (We both work too hard and long for too little money. A totally other subject.) That is about all the guidance we gave. We figured it was their life and they had to figure it out. We would answer qustions and make suggestions but it was ultimately their decisions.

DD started in Political Science and changed to Family Studies. She has a job teaching in a daycare right now and is looking to go back to school for a masters in social work.

DS started undecided but now has a double major in criminal justice and ecomonics, and is taking some accounting courses. We will see how marketable that is next year. Sounds like it should be though.

Good luck.

 

[monkey68]

I graduated in 2006, before this recession business was on anybody's mind. I was a biochemistry major, and everyone from my major has found something to do. Some are in medical school, one is working as a forensic scientist with the NYPD, some are getting PhD's. And teh PhD programs are free for the students, and they get a stipend each month as well. There are still others working in industry right now, food, drug, cosmetic, etc. Nobody has had a problem finding a position.

 

[Caradana]

When marketability is a priority (translation: when you haven't inherited money and when living comfortably is a priority), majors worth encouraging in no particular order: math. economics. computer science. any kind of engineering. physics. chemistry. statistics. finance. geoscience. maybe biology, ideally a quant biology or biophysics. If your kid has the heart of a teacher and a benevolent soul, nurse practitioning. If the kid is truly stronger at the verbal and qualitative, comparative literature (with fluency in at least one foreign language, ideally two) or East Asian or Near Eastern studies (learning Mandarin or a Middle Eastern language).

Majors I'd dissuade include those that aren't powerfully marketable without a graduate degree: psychology. English. sociology. anthropology. classics. architecture. history. art history. politics or political science. Romance and Slavic languages. nutrition. archaeology. urban studies.

Majors I'd dissuade because unless you're a superstar, you're almost always going to wind up underpaid and often bitter: art. music. journalism. communications. public relations. education. social work.

Majors I'm neutral on in terms of marketability: business. accounting. marketing. The reason I'm neutral: they're marketable, but as they have no real theoretical component, they don't encourage or teach abstract thinking. Because they're solely tactical, they're easier. When I hire I'd always prefer to see economics or math over business. This is the same reason I like to see biology over kinesiology, or a theoretical discipline over education. I'm looking for people who can reach into the abstract to cultivate new ideas.

Also, never, never, never major in pre-med or pre-law. These majors are viewed very poorly by elite medical schools and law schools, respectively.

 

[Angelhalo]

My parents had nothing to do with which major I chose. I actually find the whole idea of that to be very bizarre. Not saying its wrong or anything, just strange.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd is headed off in the fall. Right now she has International Business as her choice. It is dual degree with 2 majors.

Don't know if she will stay with it or what but she would like to work out of the country. She likes cultures, languages and found out through her job this summer she likes managing people.

Key component in the college is stressing internships right out of the gate. A foreign internship/summer work is the most sought after of course.

She does not have a scholarship right now so a paycheck on the end is something that is in the serious forefront with consideration to her major choice.

 

[mominwestlake]

My parents had nothing to do with which major I chose. I actually find the whole idea of that to be very bizarre. Not saying its wrong or anything, just strange.

This thought is interesting to me. Do most of you not help your college-age student choose a major? I feel like I have a say since I am footing some of the bill, know the real world,care about this person's well being, etc. But maybe I am way off base here. My nephew went to a very expensive school and majored in philosophy. He graduated with a ton in student loans and no job. His mom now says she wishes she had said something back then.

 

[Cindy B]

No education of any kind... don't let anyone tell you about how specialization such as reading specialist or special education will get you a job. Depending on area, many many new graduate teaching majors are having a very hard time finding jobs. I am a December 2008 teaching graduate and it is very difficult to find a position even with specialization certificates and a near perfect GPA.

My DH is an economics major and it seems to be a wide open field.

I would also go against the following majors: journalism, communications, radioi television and film, acting/theater, creative writing.

 

[Maddykins06]

At my university, PT and OT are huge right now. Biology is also big (always has been) & Pharmacy too.

 

[monkey68]

This thought is interesting to me. Do most of you not help your college-age student choose a major? I feel like I have a say since I am footing some of the bill, know the real world,care about this person's well being, etc. But maybe I am way off base here. My nephew went to a very expensive school and majored in philosophy. He graduated with a ton in student loans and no job. His mom now says she wishes she had said something back then.

My parents didn't choose my major, but they did dissuade me from certain majors. Sure some people say college is a time to study what you love and find yourself, but in my family, college is also about getting an education that will prepare you for a career. So my parents definitely had some input, especially seeing as they were paying what my scholarship didn't. They didn't mind if I took classes for fun, I took some video editing classes and mass media courses and music classes just because I enjoyed them, but when it came down to a major, it had to be something that I could use one day if I hadn't gotten into medical school.

 

[DisneyBlonde]

I told DS that I wouldn't recommend computer programming, I saw too many jobs going overseas. I am currently unemployed (Masters in MIS) and am having a hard time finding a job.

Where I do see plenty of opportunity is in Health Care, and I've encouraged my DS to check out either Music Therapy (he's a musician), or Physical Therapy.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I can say that in MO, my brother who just finished his Master's in Chemistry, no real no job prospects here. The chemical corps. are gone.
He is currently working at a drug/chemical business and they may go under.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Do most of you not help your college-age student choose a major? I feel like I have a say since I am footing some of the bill, know the real world,care about this person's well being, etc. But maybe I am way off base here.

We completed footed the bill for both our kids' college education and we let them chose their majors. Maybe because we knew they would make a good choice for themselves.

 

[Caradana]

Personally, I wanted my mother's input. A surprising number of 18-year-olds do, if my roommates and friends in college were any indication.

 

[olena]

I can see international business flourishing and learning other languages goes with that. Chinese may be a good bet. There's always health care, since that can be outsourced. My best advice is to look into professions that can't be easily outsourced.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Sadly most kids I know in college or heading to college have stars in their eyes and heads in the clouds. Everyone seems to want to major in music, art or theater. Ugh.... can't talk them out of it. They seem to want to do what they were good at in high school. The recession is completely meaningless to them. One of these kids is my niece, and I am desperately trying to get her to not major in music. Not sure what else to suggest, though!

My coworker's daughter is majoring in art/theater at a very expensive liberal arts college in Vermont ($50,000 a year!!) and am afraid of how that will turn out. But who knows.

I agree with a previous poster on the computer programming degree. I had a computer science degree and got nowhere. I was competeing with the entire continent of Asia for every job, it seemed. I eventually got a master's in something laughable-sounding (Library Science) and actually found myself 100% more employable than with the computer degree. Weird how things work sometimes.

Though sadly I joke to the younger kids I babysit - a surefire job of the future? Bariatic Surgeon.

 

[Caradana]

Though sadly I joke to the younger kids I babysit - a surefire job of the future? Bariatic Surgeon.

SO interesting that you mention this! I was at a wedding last night where we were seated next to a couple, both bariatric surgeons, and they were FASCINATING. We had a very deep conversation about eating in America, the psychology of it, the rate of increase in their business, and the fact that every single person who visits them for a consult starts to cry in their office. They cry out of fear, and hope, and hopelessness, and gratitude, and regret, and relief that change might be in sight. There's a ten-week wait to get an initial consult at this practice. I was really quite captivated by them. It made me think that had I rewound my life ten years, I might've gone a totally different route post-college and into medical bariatrics (surgery isn't the only path in that field, there's also nursing specialized for it, dietetics, PT, and more all devoted to an obese audience).

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Interesting.

My dd has said for certain she does not want to do teaching or anything medical so at least that is off the list.

She loves history and we did discourage her, well, we told her what she would make and teaching is a "calling". Plus, you have to know right away pretty much as it is 5yr degree.

Realistically we said, if you really want to teach you can go back in 10yrs after you make enough money to live, pay off debts and buy a house. She will have loans. Not to mention the hiring freezes and closing of schools here.

 

[powellrj]

My DS wanted to go to SCAD or Cal Arts and major in animation. We did discourage that because we knew we couldn't afford them and I was afraid that after one year he would decide he wasn't happy and would want to come home.

We encouraged him to find an animation school closer to home which he did. We went to visit the school and he decided he really didn't want to major in animation after all. Whew....glad he decided before we paid major bucks. He loved the political science department and the telecommunications departments and is doing a double major with a goal of law school. It seems most of his friends are planning on law school these days. Not sure if this is good or bad.

I have no idea what a good major is for him, but I do know what his strength and weaknesses are and unfortunately math and science top the list.

 

[christineann]

I would encourage a high school student (and a college student if he/she hadn't done it yet) to volunteer or get a summer job in a field that interests him or her. I know too many kids who majored in what they thought they wanted (or that their parents wanted) without doing so and are very unhappy. A little bit of research can save a lot of heartache and frustration.
Both of my kids did so, chose their college majors accordingly and are doing well. As a divorced mom with no financial help from the dark side, I am proud of them for taking the responsibility and making the most of their education.