Balancing strengths and interests with profitability when choosing a major

[NHdisneylover]

I think there is a balance---if you are not somewhat naturally inclined and skilled in an area, you are not likely to be really stand out good in the field, even with a degree, and that means you are not likely to get those good, high paying jobs, no matter how marketable the degree is supposed to be.

On the other hand, getting a degree in something you like with no thought about how to leverage that into a career with a living wage is simply not a luxury most people can realistically afford (and falling back on teaching if you do not have a passion for TEACHING, is so unfair to the students you will have--I hate, the, hate hearing people say that if they cannot get a job in their field they'll "just teach").

I do believe most people will be better off with a living wage in a field they mostly enjoy working in than with a high wage in a field they dislike.

So, with that in mind, we've encouraged our kids to look at what they really enjoy doing, what they are good at, how comfortable they are with less stable jobs, or moving, versus staying in one place with relatively stable careers, etc when planning what to study.

DD18 has volunteered the past four summers at a camp for girls with disabilities. She loves it and finds working with the kids energizing. She gets lots of praise from parents and fellow counselors (many of whom are special education teachers) and it seems to be something she not only enjoys but is good at. Teaching special ed will never make her rich, but it should provide a living wage in something she enjoys, and she can go on to get a maters and/or PhD in occupational therapy or physical therapy later on if she wants more and more lucrative options or just needs a break from the classroom. She has the grades and the test scores to do a more academically demanding degree, but would not like to take so many math classes and would simply not enjoy school or a career as much--plus she would likely have more competition for jobs and need to be more flexible about moving often, etc--which she has seen first hand growing up and does not want for herself as an adult.

 

[piglet too]

I'm not sure if you are bringing up the teaching thing, because of my post, but just in case. My son actually loves working with kids, has been a camp counselor for four years and is using teaching as a fall-back because he'd love to teach high school students in hopes that his excitement for the class rubs off on them. He has thought of this for a while, but working at a zoo is what he *really*'wants.

 

[Princess Mulan]

A lot of scholarly research and writing has been devoted to this topic, so it's difficult to craft a coherent answer in a short amount of space. But here goes:

First, the student and parents should ask themselves what is the purpose of a four-year degree. Is it job training or education?

If it is job training, will the job still exist in four years, 10 or 20? Thanks to computerization, the Internet and globalization, we are in a seismic shift in employment. Entire fields have disappeared, are dying or in rapid flux. Print journalism is a shell of its 1970s self. Many recent law-school grads are unable to find employment or are accepting lower beginning salaries. Computer programs are being developed that most likely will result in a reduction of doctors in some specialties. I could go on and on, but the reality is that there is no guarantee that a career will exist for a lifetime.

If the purpose of a four-year degree is education, the student should focus on learning to think analytically and critically, along with reading and writing. If a person can read, write and think, he/she has a fighting chance to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Of course, job training is the correct answer for some students and parents. Education is the correct answer for others. In a perfect world, the two overlap.

 

[disfanforlife]

My oldest daughter chose nursing as a major because she thought it would be a good career path. She struggled the first year with sciences and switched her sophomore year to HRTM ( hotel, restaurant, tourism, major). She has excelled in this major and even took a semester off from school to work in the DCP ( Disney college program). She will be starting her senior year in 2 weeks. My second daughter has changed her major 3 times and still struggles not only with what she enjoys in school but also what kind of career path she wants to follow. She started as a marketing major, switched to management, then French, now currently Music Major. She is thinking about adding the business major back in but really does not like the business classes. The only reason she wants to do that is to have a chance at a better job. She would still keep her music major and will have French as a minor too because she already has almost all of the classes done after next semester. She will be a junior in college this year.

 

[Minniesgal]

Every time my daughter suggested studying something not very practical I said ok but do some research and tell me what kind of job you will do with that. I didn't need to say anymore.

Luckily she decided on engineering.

 

[Geoff_M]

This talk by "Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe forever changed the way I view this topic. His advice is "Follow your passion!" is one of the worst pieces of advice you can give a young person today... I think he's right:

 

[kamik86]

I think it depends.

If someone is so interested in one thing that it really is there passion, it is something they would want to do even if they had all the money in the world type thing then yes they should pursue it even if its a really hard to make it in field.

However if like me they had several interests none of which are really so permanent and so into that they literally want to do them whenever they can (I don't even have hobbies like this I go back and forth on things. Like 3-4 hobbies that I rotate through...)Then you pick the one that would make the most money and go from there.

What that got me to is a job that I don't hate... but yes many mornings like this one would MUCH rather sleep in then go to. Jobs that I do sometimes count the hours until it ends or the days until my next vacation from the job... but that I don't really dread going to, more like I would just rather do whatever I felt like that day. However my job pays really well and allows me to have those things I rather doon my time off. If I won the lottery no I wouldn't keep working just like I do now, but I would want to work like half time around the traveling and other things... because I do like my job... Just not 40+ hours a week worth.

As for majors. I don't have kids but the advice I would give to a student is not to choose a major... Choose the JOB you want to see yourself doing one day. Now research and figure out what major will best get you there. Which would stop someone from choosing a major that they are interested in but doesn't lead to any job they actually want to do.

 

[Bec3b1g]

This talk by "Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe forever changed the way I view this topic. His advice is "Follow your passion!" is one of the worst pieces of advice you can give a young person today... I think he's right:

Love Mike Rowe and really enjoyed that segment. He is such an awesome public speaker. We have waged a war on working in this country. Couldn't agree more with what he says.

Thanks for posting the clip, Geoff!

 

[pryncess527]

Would you let your student pursue something on the "worst" list?

If they are passionate about it, yes. I hate those "worst" major lists. They are almost always so flawed in a fundamental way, often overlooking the flexibilty some of those "worst" degrees offer.

IME, a student who excels in philosophy will have just as wonderful, if not better, a career than the kid who struggles but manages to graduate in engineering. I want my child to study something they love, even if they aren't sure what doors it may open. That path worked for me beautifully, I got a degree I loved by studying something I was passionate about, and then found a career that gives me daily fulfillment even though it is not directly tied to that BA degree.

 

[Arielle22]

My DDs are now junior and senior in college. Younger DD had a best friend (since kindergarten) decide to major in acting in NYC. She is having a blast (judging by her Facebook entries). She was always good in plays and I could see her on Broadway. However knowing how many actors are trying to make it, I worry she will have a big letdown after college.

My older DD is majoring in business and marketing. She wants to work for Disney. I figure with her degree, she will be able to find a position to pay her bills. Younger DD has always loved children. She is majoring in special education. Again, I think she will be able to find a position.

When they were deciding on what college program to apply to, we discussed the "follow your passion" idea. I told them my best advice was to find a field you could work in and that pays the bills. Use that money to do your passion on weekends.

 

[Colleen27]

On the other hand, getting a degree in something you like with no thought about how to leverage that into a career with a living wage is simply not a luxury most people can realistically afford (and falling back on teaching if you do not have a passion for TEACHING, is so unfair to the students you will have--I hate, the, hate hearing people say that if they cannot get a job in their field they'll "just teach").

I think that depends very much on the person, and on what they mean when they say they'll fall back on teaching. Teaching young students really demands a passion for working with kids, but at the secondary and post-secondary level some of the best teachers I had were those who had a passion for their subject matter rather than for teaching as a calling and who were in a "fall back on teaching" point in their careers - teaching part-time for extra income, or after retirement, or during a stage of life where the demands of a career passion took a back seat to other concerns.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

It got me to thinking, how do you help your high school/ college student balance what they are interested in and what will be profitable?

Well, if my son decides he really wants to teach bats karate (like he did when he was 5), I'll give you an answer then. Basically, I find passion more important than profit. Doing something you dislike because it pays the bills sucks.

 

[kamik86]

I think that depends very much on the person, and on what they mean when they say they'll fall back on teaching. Teaching young students really demands a passion for working with kids, but at the secondary and post-secondary level some of the best teachers I had were those who had a passion for their subject matter rather than for teaching as a calling and who were in a "fall back on teaching" point in their careers - teaching part-time for extra income, or after retirement, or during a stage of life where the demands of a career passion took a back seat to other concerns.

I agree with college. I had some great adjunct professors. Ones that had careers in teh field and just did part time teaching.

I also had some pretty horrible ones though.


However in younger students where the subject isn't something so concrete I think its more important to actually want to teach. The worst teacher I ever had was a high school teacher who would tell you exactly why he started teacher and nope it had nothing to do with wanting to teach.

 

[powellrj]

My DD was an athletic trainer major last year and decided that she wanted to change her major, but has no idea what she wants to major in. She keeps asking her dad and I what we think, but we are the worst people to ask because we both started in careers we loved 30 years ago only to see them became jobs we hate and are waiting to retire from. I have already retired and DH is just counting down the days.

I have no advice for her and wish I could give her good advice. Her oldest brother will finish college in the next year or so and has a job already lined up, middle brother graduated 2 years ago and is making pizzas, so I have no idea what to say to her.

 

[dinolounger]

There is no guarantee anywhere, I know very successful art majors and I know engineering majors who aren't.

Exactly. The people I know who have become most successful from a career perspective are almost always in roles far removed from what they majored in. What they really learned in college was how to be pragmatic and adaptable and didn't focus all their energies on one particular vocational track.

 

[Wishing on a star]

When my husband was in college, he actually had a professor tell the class "If I were you all, I would get the hell out of this field... no money in it.'
Funny!

No, we are not well off.
My husband has done pretty well, though.
And, currently, yes, he is impatiently counting down the last of his time until retirement.
He probably will not continue to work in any similar position.

 

[Adipoo]

My daughter chose a narrow field in her major. She's not going to get rich, but she has a job she loves. That makes me happy.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

My parents started having this conversation with me at a young age (elementary school). They encouraged me to study whatever I wanted, however, they pointed out that some jobs/majors are not profitable. They then backed this up by saying that once I exited undergrad, should I need it, I would have 6 months free room and board. After that they'd start charging me rent, at exponentially increasing rates. The point was clear: You will be an adult, you may choose to do with your life what you want, however, we will not financially support you forever. Choose wisely.

 

[NobleAlyssum]

A very wise professor once said to me that the only people he knew that had trouble finding work in their degree field were the type of people who did not want to work.

I have a liberal arts degree (Humanities major) and out of all of my peers, I am making the most money with the most benefits and I am a "fresh" graduate (though in a year or two, my peers who are getting their PhDs will hopefully be out in their real careers and making more money ).

Any degree can be profitable, but obtaining the degree is only a fraction of the battle. From my experience, it's the networking that is 75% of the fight. In today's cutthroat economy, it helps A LOT if you have a contact on the inside of the business you're applying to. If no one cares about you personally, it's hard for them to pick you out of the other 40 applicants for the job. What helps is taking the time to volunteer or get an internship and put in a good name for yourself so you can build a reputation.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Over the years I've taken care of a lot of patients who are toward the end of their lives. They enjoy reminiscing and I enjoy listening. I noticed a trend, that there were a few people, mostly men, who absolutely loved their jobs, some saying they could barely believe they were fortunate enough to go to a job everyday that they loved so much; that they would've paid to do it, etc. These were often firemen, policemen and those in similar jobs, such as forest ranger, some military, like pilots, and the like. So I shared that with my own kids while they were growing up.

We also talked a lot about the realities of balancing what you want in life, with paying for those things. And a ton about student loan debt. No question DH and I feel a certain way about it all. We've been in the work force a long time and we can look back and say we've enjoyed our jobs for the most part, and have been fortunate that we have the types of skills that are in demand (even when they weren't "cool") so that we've always been able to do the types of things we want to do, and pay the bills, even if we've lived fairly frugally and made some sacrifices in order to stay on the safe side. So I think our kids have taken lessons in all those things. Both are choosing paths that should put them around the same category they grew up in. I wouldn't nix anything persay, but it would've been something we would've talked about all these years anyway if one or both had their heart set on a degree in basketweaving.