I am so sick of hearing this.
One of the biggest arguments about why students can’t find jobs in their profession after they graduate is that they didn’t choose their major wisely. That we are stupid to believe that an Arts degree or a Women Studies degree could possibly get us a good job in the real world. We should go to school for a better major, like become a doctor, a teacher, or a lawyer. That is the only possible way to start our career and blah, blah, blah, blah.
I honestly don’t care for what those people have to say.
[Tweet theme=”basic-white”]If I choose to major in something I love, that is my prerogative.[/Tweet]
If it’s a major at a school, that means that someone thought that the knowledge it holds is needed at some point in their chosen career path. There are jobs that need this degree to be successful. Just because it isn’t a conventional degree that everyone knows for a fact will get you a job, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth anything. We have every right to ask where are the jobs. They are out there, just much harder to obtain than others.
Not everyone can be doctors, not everyone can be teachers, not everyone can be lawyers, not everyone can be engineers. There are some of us who are more on the creative side, and choose to be artists, musicians, film directors and actors. There are some of us that are interested in the way people act, communicating with others, and the struggles that each specific person may endure.
Instead of blaming the student for choosing that major, why aren’t we blaming all the people throughout your child’s life that told them they could do whatever they wanted to do in life and be okay.
Or how about embracing the fact that your child has chosen a different path for their life.
Or even better, applaud your child for continuing their education.
Not everyone even makes it to that point.
If everyone was going to do the same thing, why do we even have universities? Why do we expect that from people?
I would rather take my bullshit major, then live the rest of my life unhappy with what I was doing.
Life is too short to go to a job everyday you don’t like. Imagine how much better life is when you are doing something you love?
Everyone is different, and it’s time to stop asking why someone would major in something, and start asking how to create more jobs in that profession.
I would love to hear your thoughts below!
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We live in one of the best times in history. There are so many opportunities. A lot of artists are bypassing gatekeepers and make a living from creative endeavors. Full-time, without the need of a day job! It’s slow at first but so many artists are thriving!
Besides, a lot of people that have no passion for their careers end up burning out!
Anyway, that’s why I started an art mentorship with this successful artist, it’s through Patreon and I started it while still in college, so that way I have options once I graduate. I don’t want to figure out marketing and promotion after I graduate. I’m learning it while still in college.
I agree! Its a great time to venture and find something that fits your own needs.
I hope your business is treating you well and you continue to prosper for many years!
I will never not get mad at someone who says this to me. These people never tell me what else I could do in the field I like and just expect to suffer in business or engineering. I will never have a job I hate.
I’m glad! at least you know you will always be happy doing things that you love!
My undergrad degree is in Psychology, so I def. have heard how I should have chosen something better. While I genuinely have an interest Psychology, I don’t feel that straight out of undergrad I was educated enough to do anything with it. It simply wasn’t enough and grad school of some king was a requirement. I feel that’s the case with many of the more creativity oriented degrees you mentioned. In my opinion, no undergrad degree is really all that great b/c now everyone wants you to have a master’s level education.
Yeah I definitely agree.
Undergraduate degrees just aren’t enough for most career fields anymore.
I was going to school initially for Sports Management and even in that career field they said to be successful it would be best if I had a masters, plus an accompanying law degree if I wanted to truly be successful.
And the worst part is, it’s only going to get tougher!
Thank you for reading!
Wow, you’ve written what I think way better than I ever could. I majored in Political Science and I am constantly asked “What can you do with that?” I can do whatever the hell I want, thank you very much – I think people assume that your major defines what you do for the rest of your life but it doesn’t have to. I’d rather enjoy life than waste my time doing something I don’t care about.
Why thank you!
Yeah I am a firm believer that everyone deserves the chance to be happy.
You don’t need to sacrifice your happiness for a career.
Thank you for reading!
I almost feel like college should be later in life or modeled differently. It’s more about real world experience than classroom stuff!
Oh yeah!
And then once you get out all the jobs want 5+ years of experience you don’t have!
It’s a crazy system.
Thank you for reading!
I agree with you, to an extent. I’m all for people pursuing whichever major they want, but also think people need to be realistic about job prospects in that major. For example, if I’m super passionate about play the tuba and want to major in music, that’s totally my right. But if I don’t set myself up to find a job after I graduate (whether or not it’s related to my major), I think that’s where I’ve failed. I saw it happen to a lot of my friends from college.
Yeah I agree. No matter what you want to do you have to take the necessary steps to make sure you are successful when it comes to finding a job in that career field.
If you don’t and then you are not successful, that is entirely on the individual. But that could also happen in any career field.
I just don’t want people to not pursue what they want, just because someone is ragging on them for doing so.
Everyone deserves the chance to be happy doing what they love for the rest of their life, as long as they are working hard to do so!
Thank you for reading!
I totally agree! I did my undergrad in Theatre and now I’m doing my MFA in Creative Writing and I have no regrets whatsoever. I did the office job thing for a while in between and I’m so much happier now that I’ve left that behind!
Nellwyn | http://www.thecardinalpress.com
Great! I don’t even personally know you and I am proud!
You always have to be true to who you are and base your life and how you live it off of it.
You’re clearly a creative person by nature, whatever you do I’m sure you’re great at it.
Thank you for reading!
As someone with my B.A. in English with an emphasis in Literature, I feel this so much. The incredulous “What are you going to do with THAT?” gets old after about five minutes, and if I had a dollar for every time someone told me it’s my own fault I’m struggling because I “should’ve picked something more practical,” I wouldn’t be struggling so much.
But the kind of knowledge you gain from a degree in the arts is valuable–both in the work force and in life in general–and I won’t take crap from anyone who tells me otherwise.
You tell em! Don’t ever apologize for what you want to do with your life and which direction you decide to go. It’s never your fault our economy is crap. There are people struggling with a wide variety of majors. But I’m glad you stick up for yourself and don’t let other’s opinions get to you!
I definitely agree with this! I am an education major (so I will be a teacher) but people need to stop major shaming! A lot of people act like certain majors aren’t worthwhile or require less work, but college is a lot of work, no matter your major.
Exactly! Each person is different, and have different goals for what they want to do with their life.
it isnt up to us to decide if what they are doing is worth it.
I loved this! I get criticized all the time for choosing to major in Communications, but those people don’t understand why I’ve chosen it and that’s fine, because I do! Thank you for this!
– Jessica
Miss Moore Style
Any time! thanks for reading! by the way I took a communications class and i absolutely loved it! it was very interesting because it made perfect sense about what type of people there are in the world and how to communicate with them effectively!