A Liberal Arts Major is Totally a Good Idea

Please note the not so subtle sarcasm in the title. But perhaps I’m starting things off on the wrong foot, so let’s try beginning again.

Choosing one’s college major can be one of the single most important things you do in college, or one of the most inconsequential things you do, depending on who you ask. By now, as a college student, you’ve probably heard both sides: “You have to choose your major by the first year, else you won’t be able to get all your course work in in four years, and with this economy who can afford to pay for more than that?” and “Oh don’t worry about it, I changed my major like five times, it’s not a big deal.” Which one you end up believing probably depends on which group you fall into. If you, like me as a freshman, have no idea what you want to do with your life, then you probably agree with the ‘majors are no big deal’ camp.
Unfortunately, I eventually came to realize that yes, college majors are a big deal, and though it’s too late for me, hopefully I can impart my expert knowledge to you before you make any mistakes.

While I agree it’s completely unrealistic to expect one to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives at the age of 18, by the time you’re a sophomore or junior you will have to make that decision. Forced into this predicament many young college students start scrambling around, taking as many classes as possible to try to find a subject they like, to try and find their ‘passion.’ (Or in my case, taking as many classes as possible until you find one you’re not failing). Eventually they’ll decide on a major that looks interesting to them and submit the required forms, of course with the guarantee from professors that there are plenty of opportunities in their field. The most important thing isn’t just finding a job, it’s finding a job you love, right?

Wrong. Unfortunately the realities of the American university system don’t really allow for this. As tempting as it is to major in English because you love writing, an English major isn’t the best decision. You’ve probably heard your peers joking about becoming starving authors, or jobless artists; heck, if you’re set on one of these majors you’ve probably made the joke yourself. But here’s a thought; if you’re going to become a starving author even with your college degree, why not skip the degree (and the loans that come with it) and get straight to the starving part?

See, as much as college is depicted as the natural course to take for high school graduates, college costs money. It’s expensive. And when you really realize how much money your fancy college degree is going to cost you, you begin to realize that college is nothing more than an investment. You input say $100,000 (if you’re lucky) and in 4 years you receive a piece of paper; not knowledge, nor a decent education necessarily. All you’re guaranteed is a piece of paper, and the hopes that with your piece of paper you’ll be able to start a career that will allow you to make up for the cost of college, and the added opportunity cost of the last four years of your life.

Let’s take a look at some statistics. For the 2011-2012 academic years, the total costs for an in-state private school averaged to around $38,589. That’s almost $40,000 per year, going to an in-state school. After four years you’re looking at a total cost of $160,000. Woe to those who decide they want to get away from home and go out of state. And for the past decade college prices have only been rising. It may end up costing you even more by the time four years are up.

Now let’s look at how much money you’ll be making with your fancy college degree, how much profit your investment will yield. Towards the high end, college graduates with Chemical Engineering degrees make around $67,500 coming out of college, and Computer Science majors can make around $60,000. Towards the lower end, Liberal Arts majors make around $35,000, and Elementary Education around $31,400 (teachers are horribly underpaid; expect a blog on this in the future). If you’re still unconvinced, you may want to check out salary.com’s list of 8 College Degrees with the Worst Return on Investment.  The #1 spot goes to Communications.

Here is a sample budget to give you a better idea of your future living situations, and how much money you can end up paying for loans over the years.    -----    Coming Soon!

By now those of you who haven’t closed the tab already are probably wondering if everyone is supposed to just go get a STEM major. The world needs communicators and writers and artists too, right? What about following your passions?

Well turns out ‘following your passions’ may not be all it’s puffed up to be, but that’s a topic for another entry. The point I’m trying to make is that college costs money, and if your college degree doesn’t allow you to make enough money to actually pay for the degree you spent money on, you may want to rethink whether or not you absolutely need that degree. If you really want to learn about Medieval Studies the internet is completely free. And if your dream is to be a writer, just start writing. Chances are if you’d choose an English major you’re a better than average writer already.

Disillusioned College Grad