Remember that Business Admin leads to decent paying work. Literary Studies is a personal enrichment degree that leads to nothing.
Before the early 20th Century, a four-year college degree wasn’t meant to lead to a specific job but for personal enrichment, intended to turn you into a critical thinker for a career in public administration, the clergy or business where you would learn on the job.
Since the 1940’s perception of a higher education changed & college is now expected to lead to a career.
The following are considered “personal enrichment degrees”:
Anthropology
Archeology
Art
Art History
Creative Writing
Classics
English
Film
General Studies
History
Humanities
Interdisciplinary Studies
Journalism
Language & Culture
Liberal Arts
Literature
Political Science
A language
Media
Music History
Paleontology
Photography
Philosophy
Sociology
“Anything” Studies & basically anything you get a “bachelor’s of arts” in
There are far more grads than jobs in these. You can have a good life with one of these degrees but the job market does not value them highly:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/pf/1008/gallery.low_paying_college_degrees/index.html?iid=EL
This is not to say you will not get a job but odds are that your job will not be related to your degree & may not pay as well as some other majors.
I’m not saying we should all be engineers, economists or doctors. But society is voting that way with its money
With a degree in the above & a GPA over 3.0 you can:
1. Get into law school. However law schools today graduate far more lawyers than needed, thus depressing wages.
2. Pursue a master’s in a field with a defined career path, for example business administration, social work. Hopefully such a program will not require many prerequisites you do not have. A graduate degree is more valuable than a second bachelor’s degree.
3. Go to grad school in the same field & earn a PhD so you can become a college professor. However, there are far more PhD grads in some fields like Philosophy than there ever will be any kind of faculty positions
Or with a lower GPA
4. Take a K-12 teaching qualification, which is usually 2 more years, so you can teach your subject at a public school
5. Look for a job in fields where they want you to have a degree, any degree. Where they want the degree because they want people who have proven they can stick with something difficult. There are more jobs like this than you may think
6. If you join the military you are more likely to enter as an officer instead of enlisted personnel
What is an English major supposed to do after college?
http://www.publicradio.org/columns/prairiehome/posthost/2009/07/28/english_majors.php
This link considers certain degrees useless as the number of jobs that will be created in the field up to 2018 is less than the number of graduates in one year in that major
http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2843/1/
Here is a listing of the average starting & mid-career salaries for most 4 year majors. Note that these stats only apply to people who actually got a job in their field. Many graduates in the lower half of the list never get a job in their field & are not counted.
The higher they pay, the harder the major & generally the more math they require. Just be aware that high pay does not mean high demand.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/08/pf/college/best_paying_college_majors/index.htm?iid=MPM
The Highest Starting Salaries of 2011:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/pf/jobs/1010/gallery.best_jobs_highest_paid.moneymag/index.html?iid=EL
Most in demand degrees:
http://www.acinet.org/acinet/oview2.asp?next=oview2&Level=BAplus&optstatus=101000000&jobfam=&id=1&nodeid=4&soccode=&stfips=00&ShowAll=no
Hot Jobs 2011
http://career-advice.monster.ca/job-hunt-strategy/company-industry-research/great-careers-for-the-new-year/article.aspx?WT.mc_n=Ycanada_YToday
Salaries
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/10/pf/college_graduates_salaries/index.htm
Look here to find the job prospects for most all occupations in the USA.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2040964,00.html
But on the bright side, if you have a genuine interest in the field you are pursuing & are willing to throw yourself in it & do anything for it, you will fare better than someone doing something because they can’t think of anything better to do. Those with a real passion for something can move mountains to become successful, but if you don’t have that fire in you, you are at a disadvantage.
