What would you tell your kid if they wanted to major in medieval history??

vernacular wrote:

MarcusM wrote:

This is nuts?

Nope. I'd enlist in the program too.

You'd go to school with your kid? That's a new level of helicopter parenting.

If you are just going to get a bachelor's degree, there is no advantage to STEM over any other major, unless it's biological or computer science. Nobody is looking to hire anyone with only a BS for a job in physics, math, or chemistry. With an engineering degree you might get a license after your 4-year internship, but only until 2020 when more coursework will be required. A STEM degree is only valuable as a first degree, by itself it's nothing.

It depends on the school. If it's a top 10 school then major in whatever you'd like, you won't have a problem finding a good job. If it's a state school then you had better major in something practical.

Bad Wigins wrote:

If you are just going to get a bachelor's degree, there is no advantage to STEM over any other major, unless it's biological or computer science. Nobody is looking to hire anyone with only a BS for a job in physics, math, or chemistry. .

Wall Street LOVES undergrad physics and math degrees.

pop_pop!_v2.1 wrote:

what school, what plan wrote:

I work for a top 20 MBA program and this is the truth. A liberal arts undergrad + an MBA = great for recruiting.

You work for an MBA program, promoting MBA programs as a good choice. They are not. The people who need an MBA need it for letters to justify their father gifting them an officer's position in the family business, or therabouts.

MBAs are dead ends unless your path is set. Period.

I thought it's weird the person who supposedly works for an MBA program said "GMATS," but anyway you're completely wrong about it being a dead end. I'm currently a student at a top MBA program and the doors it opens are ridiculous. Plus it's a great way to meet other young people who have been successful already in their careers, to learn about new industries, and develop skills to advance in your previous field or switch to a new one. If it was a "dead end" how come the average MBA grad (at top schools at least) comes out making 120-130k in base salary plus signing and performance bonuses? If that wasn't working out for companies they wouldn't be paying that much, and if it wasn't working out for students how come admissions is so competitive (and these are people already on a good career path, not rearranging the racks at Macy's)?

At least one person in America will know that every western invasion or occupation of The Middle-East has been a total disaster.

I'd tell him or her to double major. And the second major should involve numbers and/or science. Problem solved.

I'd ask them why they want to work at McDonalds the rest of their life.

Well, when you consider that the Middle East is being run by people with a Medieval mentality, I'd say understanding Medieval history is a top priority for guiding our foreign policy.

... and I'm not joking.

Option 2: Major in whatever you want, take Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, 2-3 CS classes, 2-3 stats classes and maybe something like intro to machine learning.

Major's are only like 8 or 9 classes. That leaves around 20 others to do what's practical.

Wish I had known this in college.

ScottEvil wrote:

Option 2: Major in whatever you want, take Calc I-III, Linear Algebra, 2-3 CS classes, 2-3 stats classes and maybe something like intro to machine learning.

Major's are only like 8 or 9 classes. That leaves around 20 others to do what's practical.

Wish I had known this in college.

I agree with your basic premise, but what school only requires 8-9 in-major classes? I'm pretty sure that the standard at my school is 90 credits of prescribed and elective coursework for the major, and 120 credits total. That would be more like 23-30 in-major courses and 30-40 total courses (depending on mix of 3 and 4 credit classes).

HRE wrote:

There are no useless majors. Educating yourself is never useless even if a major never leads to a cushy job. If you end up selling cars because your major didn't lead to a fantastic career you're still better off as an educated car salesman than you'd be as an uneducated one.

Not if that major required you to go into debt that will take years to payoff. Education does not end upon graduation. You can always educate yourself after school on subjects you are interested in.

mba student wrote:

pop_pop!_v2.1 wrote:

You work for an MBA program, promoting MBA programs as a good choice. They are not. The people who need an MBA need it for letters to justify their father gifting them an officer's position in the family business, or therabouts.

MBAs are dead ends unless your path is set. Period.

If it was a "dead end" how come the average MBA grad (at top schools at least) comes out making 120-130k in base salary plus signing and performance bonuses?

Ok, comprehension isn't your thing. If an MBA was such an magical thing, then I could get one while working at Arby's and go to a six-figure salary upon graduation. Somehow, that's not the case.

But, you go ahead and don't stop believin.

FYI: 120-130k isn't much where these jokers are being hired.

This isn't nuts. However, you should suggest double majoring.

Seems to have worked out ok for this classmate of mine -

http://history.tulane.edu/web/people.asp?id=FThomasLuongo.txt

.

I don't remember him doing any running in college, but he happened to get into it later in life and posted a 2:51:50 at the NYC marathon at age 42.

Truly a man for all seasons.

MarcusM wrote:

This is nuts?

Join the Marines and expect to be maimed or killed.

Tell him to let go by the things of yesterday, and take the modern world's more spacious way.

If you need to go into debt that will take years to pay off you'll need years to pay the debt off regardless of what you majored in. The obscene cost of college is a separate issue.

You'll counter that some majors lead to high paying jobs which will make the debt payment easier. As you've read on this thread, many people with liberal arts degrees manage to make good salaries and I know from experience that "practical" degrees can lead to big salaries but that's far from guaranteed. And if you spend your college years majoring in something that you don't like because it is more likely to get you a job after graduating it's also more likely to get you a job doing something you don't like while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of doing work in something you're interested in. Setting yourself up for a life of drudgery when you're 18 is a far worse fate than finding a way to deal with student loans.

Build me a trebuchet.