It is a well-known fact that college is expensive, oftentimes unreasonably so. Because of this, most students feel a high demand to graduate with a major that will lead to a profitable career, because they want to make the expense of their education worthwhile. Some of these “profitable” majors include business, engineering and medicine, because they have a high likelihood of leading to careers right after graduation. However, these seemingly direct paths don’t happen as often as most people think. Far more graduates end up doing something entirely different than what their major would suggest.
Although there has been evidence that a student’s major could have no correlation to his or her career, there are majors that also happen to be more profitable. According to Time, engineering and computer sciences are the most profitable majors while the lowest are studio arts, counseling and psychology. These statistics are far from surprising, but keep in mind these numbers are only indicative of people who continue in their field after college. There are still plenty of psychology majors who go on to have profitable careers in an entirely different subject. What is forgotten in this list is how a major can also allow students to be more versatile. Valerie Strauss of The Washington Post found that students in fine arts are learning important skills applicable to any career, such as creativity, problem-solving and being able to receive constructive feedback.
Even though financial security is important, overall happiness should be the priority. According to Business Insider, the most satisfying majors are kinesiology, molecular biology and elementary education. Kinesiology statistics showed 71 percent of graduates found their job meaningful. Within these jobs it also showed that everyone’s financial needs were met, maybe not in excess, but basic needs were satisfied. It is important to look forward to the future while in college but approach it with an open mind. There are plenty of art majors who go on to be artists, but there are also art majors who use their skills to become business owners. It is clear that the most important thing to do in college is to find what you love, learn as much as possible and then take that with you into the workforce and forge your own path.
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