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College Major and Career Prospects

GreenDeac

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Interesting collection of opinion articles on the NY Times today. One of them is written by a Wake economics professor.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/03/20/career-counselor-bill-gates-or-steve-jobs?ref=opinion

The debate really centers on what the purpose of education, especially higher education, actually is. Is the purpose of higher education to teach you how to think or is the purpose to teach you a set of skills that will enable you to be productive in a career? If its that latter, schools like Wake are in big trouble.

I am of the belief that there is a place for all types of majors to be productive members of society. I was a history major in college mostly because it was a subject that appealed to me and I did not have a clue what I wanted to do with my life. I ultimately decided I wanted to go into a different field than history, one that does not necessarily have its own discipline. I'm not sure if I would have figured out what I was passionate about had I not been exposed to the diverse nature of courses I was able to take. If I had gone to a school where you declare your major when you go in and mostly take classes in that discipline, I probably would have been a business major and I still wouldn't know what I was truly passionate about.

I do think it is important for schools with a liberal arts focus like Wake to continue to develop dynamic curriculum and programs for students that will prepare them to compete in a global society. I don't think there is currently a model out there for this, but education is likely to be vastly different toward the end of the next twenty years than it has been over the last fifty years.
 
Good post and I'll definitely take a look at the article. One thing I'll note is that I will be graduating with my major being Political Science and minors being Communication and Sociology. However, most recently I've been trying to get into consulting or market analyst positions. The biggest question always on their minds is why political science and not business?

I have a good answer prepared and all but I do believe that being able to major in poly sci and minors in two other disciplines makes me a more, well rounded candidate for most positions. However, I do wonder how many interviews I miss out on because I was a liberal arts student, and not business.
 
If I could do college over again, I would have majored in something that had more direction towards a specific career path. I didn't know what I want to do, and still don't... the main thing is that I could handle doing most anything if the job atmosphere is positive.

I feel kind of behind the 8 ball right now because my major is just too broad.
 
Good post and I'll definitely take a look at the article. One thing I'll note is that I will be graduating with my major being Political Science and minors being Communication and Sociology. However, most recently I've been trying to get into consulting or market analyst positions. The biggest question always on their minds is why political science and not business?

I have a good answer prepared and all but I do believe that being able to major in poly sci and minors in two other disciplines makes me a more, well rounded candidate for most positions. However, I do wonder how many interviews I miss out on because I was a liberal arts student, and not business.

Probably a substantial amount. Especially if you are going after consulting and market analyst positions.
 
If I could do college over again, I would have majored in something that had more direction towards a specific career path. I didn't know what I want to do, and still don't... the main thing is that I could handle doing most anything if the job atmosphere is positive.

I feel kind of behind the 8 ball right now because my major is just too broad.

I do agree that it does put you in a tough position, especially in this economy. I should have added that I am planning on going to grad school which will allow me to have a degree that is more focused on what I want to do.

One problem for schools like Wake is the majority of the majors offered don't neccesarily translate into a specific career paths. Calloway, Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics are all I can really come up with.
 
If I could do college over again, I would have majored in something that had more direction towards a specific career path. I didn't know what I want to do, and still don't... the main thing is that I could handle doing most anything if the job atmosphere is positive.

I feel kind of behind the 8 ball right now because my major is just too broad.

What was your major?
 
Good post and I'll definitely take a look at the article. One thing I'll note is that I will be graduating with my major being Political Science and minors being Communication and Sociology. However, most recently I've been trying to get into consulting or market analyst positions. The biggest question always on their minds is why political science and not business?

I have a good answer prepared and all but I do believe that being able to major in poly sci and minors in two other disciplines makes me a more, well rounded candidate for most positions. However, I do wonder how many interviews I miss out on because I was a liberal arts student, and not business.

More hoodratz in ploy sci?
 
Probably a substantial amount. Especially if you are going after consulting and market analyst positions.

Yeah. I know that once in the door I can compete with anyone else as I am very strong with case interviews, math/numbers, as well as having some consulting experience in the past.
 
Yeah. I know that once in the door I can compete with anyone else as I am very strong with case interviews, math/numbers, as well as having some consulting experience in the past.

Oh yeah, I fully understand that. You're a really smart dude. It's just a matter of getting in the door :(
 
TW, I need help (I posted it in the suggestions thread)

Nonny, you coming back to LA this summer?
 
TW, I need help (I posted it in the suggestions thread)

Nonny, you coming back to LA this summer?

Depends on what I'll be doing job/career related. I'm supposed to find out from this one company that I had 14 total interviews/discussions with sometime this week and they're in Charlotte.

Other possibilities are a couple firms or agencies out in LA as I'd have free rent because my parents just moved more towards the city for my brother's schooling. Not the time to sell the place so it's either going to be rented out or free rent for me.

I've also been looking into a couple possibilities that would take me to Atlanta or staying in Winston-Salem so nothing for sure yet.
 
Now that I'm doing a bit of traveling, I really wish I had taken a couple years off after high school and done this travel thing before going to college.

I fell into my major - philosophy - after not finding anything else and really hitting it off with a professor in an intro class. I liked philosophy fine, but now wish I had studied economics.

Much better than many of my friends who went to state schools and had to apply for their major during their initial application in high school.
 
Still plenty of good jobs out there for good corporate tax accountants.
 
My Poli SCi/History background has helped me I think. I got a job right out of Wake working in the investment industry in a sales role. I have since moved up to an analyst role and recently got accepted full time to a Top 20 MBA school which I will start full time in August.

If I had been a general business major I don't think I would have gotten as many looks. As a matter of fact, all of my bosses have told me that my liberal arts background made me more attractive. Maybe I am the exception not the rule, but someday I will recommend to my kids that they do something they enjoy where they can learn how to think.
 
My Poli SCi/History background has helped me I think. I got a job right out of Wake working in the investment industry in a sales role. I have since moved up to an analyst role and recently got accepted full time to a Top 20 MBA school which I will start full time in August.

If I had been a general business major I don't think I would have gotten as many looks. As a matter of fact, all of my bosses have told me that my liberal arts background made me more attractive. Maybe I am the exception not the rule, but someday I will recommend to my kids that they do something they enjoy where they can learn how to think.

Where are you going for your MBA? If you don't mind me asking of course..

I'm currently thinking about my options regarding an MBA. It's a few years out still, but I'm just curious.
 
Where are you going for your MBA? If you don't mind me asking of course..

I'm currently thinking about my options regarding an MBA. It's a few years out still, but I'm just curious.

Chapel Hill
 
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"You wasted $150000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library."

One of the truest lines in movie history. A liberal arts education is mostly reading and discussing ideas and concepts with others in a critical format. Especially in the modern age, you can do this outside of the halls of a university - and you can do it very well.

I was an engineering major, but I have spent a lot of time reading, writing and studying the "liberal arts". I can discuss the influences on Vrubel that led to his demon series of paintings, what exactly defines Southern Gothic literature, the political implications of the French Concession in Shanghai on the development of modern China and Socrates denial of the material world and belief in the existence of perfect justice. I didn't study a single one of those subjects while in university though.

To me, we don't focus on critical reading and writing skills at a young enough age. If you learn to read and write well in middle and high school, you can continue your education for the rest of your life. Message boards, internet forums, chat groups - etc ... the internet now gives us a huge platform to hone our skills and sharpen our thoughts and lead us on interesting paths of discovery at any time. This is now no longer limited to the classroom and the college library. I just downloaded a series of short stories by Dostoevsky from the Gutenberg Project for free, you don't even have to worry about the late fees at the library anymore.

On the flip side, we don't do nearly enough vocational education for post high-schoolers. People come into the "real" world grossly under-prepared for any form of work, especially skilled technical work. Even college education engineering students are hilariously unready for holding down a real job. Sure, they might know some of the theory - but they are horrific technicians for the most part, never having the hands on skills honed for them (especially as compared to their compatriots from outside the US). To me this is the biggest failing of the US educational system.
 
"You wasted $150000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library."

One of the truest lines in movie history. A liberal arts education is mostly reading and discussing ideas and concepts with others in a critical format. Especially in the modern age, you can do this outside of the halls of a university - and you can do it very well.

I was an engineering major, but I have spent a lot of time reading, writing and studying the "liberal arts". I can discuss the influences on Vrubel that led to his demon series of paintings, what exactly defines Southern Gothic literature, the political implications of the French Concession in Shanghai on the development of modern China and Socrates denial of the material world and belief in the existence of perfect justice. I didn't study a single one of those subjects while in university though.

To me, we don't focus on critical reading and writing skills at a young enough age. If you learn to read and write well in middle and high school, you can continue your education for the rest of your life. Message boards, internet forums, chat groups - etc ... the internet now gives us a huge platform to hone our skills and sharpen our thoughts and lead us on interesting paths of discovery at any time. This is now no longer limited to the classroom and the college library. I just downloaded a series of short stories by Dostoevsky from the Gutenberg Project for free, you don't even have to worry about the late fees at the library anymore.

On the flip side, we don't do nearly enough vocational education for post high-schoolers. People come into the "real" world grossly under-prepared for any form of work, especially skilled technical work. Even college education engineering students are hilariously unready for holding down a real job. Sure, they might know some of the theory - but they are horrific technicians for the most part, never having the hands on skills honed for them (especially as compared to their compatriots from outside the US). To me this is the biggest failing of the US educational system.

:geek:
 
"You wasted $150000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library."

One of the truest lines in movie history. A liberal arts education is mostly reading and discussing ideas and concepts with others in a critical format. Especially in the modern age, you can do this outside of the halls of a university - and you can do it very well.

Good post. I do agree to some extent that education is changing and people have more access to information and more connection to others than ever before. It also is possible to acquire a great deal of knowledge on your own simply through reading and conversing with others. I would pose this question to you: if it is possible to get a great liberal arts education on your own simply using resources and connections now available, isn't it also possible to get a technical (engineering, science, etc) education on your own by teaching yourself using these new connections?

An integral part of a higher education involves interacting with professors who are experts in the field and constantly introduce you to new ideas and challenge your way of thinking and your perceptions. In addition, you are likely surrounded by peers who challenge by the ideas presented by the professor and your own ideas. I'm not sure most people are able to do this at such a high level on their own.

Just using my own experience, I was a vastly different student and person leaving college and I'm not sure I would have been able to achieve that growth of breadth of knowledge on my own.
 
From a purely "knowledge" standpoint, sure you could learn just as much from books and the internet.

However, that is only one small aspect of attending college.
 
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