"Useful" majors Forum

[342848386278]

Some majors, like the English one I'm currently pursuing, are useless outside of getting me into law school.

blatant anti-Starbucks trolling.

pfffhahaha +180.

[MC Southstar]

I agree with what other people said about computer science degrees being unnecessary to find a programming job. Nothing you are taught is necessarily something that you have to learn in school, but then again, you could say that about almost every major. It just so happens that there are enough mega-geeks and opportunistic math-whiz foreigners out there who learn programming on their own time that software development continues to be diluted with non-comp sci majors. Comp sci is also a relatively recent major, enough that many older people don't have a comp sci degree because it wasn't even available to them. Since comp sci was originally a branch of EE and involved math related skills, it is no surprise that these two majors are still closely related and have no problem finding programming jobs. In the old days, they hired physicists, philosophers, anyone with aspie-level intelligence to help engineer the beginnings of computer architecture and software design. However, a computer science degree guarantees that the graduate has learned a certain set of applicable skills, whereas hiring a random programmer off the street does not (he must prove his skills via demos and work experience). So while a comp sci degree is not necessary, it is far from meaningless like a humanities or social science bachelor's degree. It has a psychological appeal for many hirers, some of which demand it, and does not stand out to many others. It also signifies a certain level of mental aptitude on par with other engineering majors but most likely just below EE, math, and physics. The job market for programmers is also just so huge and many of the programming jobs are so menial that they could really hire anyone with a brain to do them.

Also, how can you assert that the "worth" of a degree is determined by the fact that someone else can get the same job? You could certainly argue that an EE degree is more "useful" degree since it lets you get EE and comp sci jobs and usually requires proficiency in programming. However, do you think math and philosophy majors can even get a job period without stretching their skills into someone else's territory? Do you really believe a typical math or philosophy major is more qualified for a programming job than a computer science major? Or even an EE major? Most of the EE majors I knew were pretty shitastic at programming. You can find me the EE majors who are better than comp sci majors are programming, but that doesn't mean that the EE degree alone denotes equivalent competence (agree that EECS or CSE/CS is superior). If you want to determine the "worth" of a degree by whether or not it can land you a job, you'll have to make a lot more cogent arguments to deny the fact that a computer science BS degree is among the best.

Taking anecdotal evidence like the distribution of degrees and/or hiring practices of one company and making generalized statements about the "worth" of a degree is TTT.

[puppleberry finn]

Dentistry is TCR

+1

[Vincent Vega]

ECONOMICS. Go to M.I.T. or the University of Chicago and study economics. It is a life changing major and it really enhances the way you see the world. Also, economics is intimately infused with the law. I'm utterly surprised it has taken so long for the Law and Economics area to blossom.

Knowing what I do now, if I was able to start UG all over again, I would have worked much harder on the ACT to be able to get into UChicago and major in Economics. I'm kind of a Friedman fanatic.

[gochrisgo]

_

[puppleberry finn]

Meaningless? I should probably thank you -- perspectives like this one are what allowed me to land a great job at a successful tech company. Amidst all of the valuable BAs in Math and CS at our startup, my meaningless English degree gave me the skills to write and edit all of our meaningless publications material.

my meaningless degree has gotten me plenty of jobs, but I don't think for a second that it wouldn't have been easier to find better paying jobs, or a more stable job market, with a degree in CS or EE.

[Renzo]

I agree with what other people said about computer science degrees being unnecessary to find a programming job. Nothing you are taught is necessarily something that you have to learn in school, but then again, you could say that about almost every major. It just so happens that there are enough mega-geeks and opportunistic math-whiz foreigners out there who learn programming on their own time that software development continues to be diluted with non-comp sci majors. Comp sci is also a relatively recent major, enough that many older people don't have a comp sci degree because it wasn't even available to them. Since comp sci was originally a branch of EE and involved math related skills, it is no surprise that these two majors are still closely related and have no problem finding programming jobs. In the old days, they hired physicists, philosophers, anyone with aspie-level intelligence to help engineer the beginnings of computer architecture and software design. However, a computer science degree guarantees that the graduate has learned a certain set of applicable skills, whereas hiring a random programmer off the street does not (he must prove his skills via demos and work experience). So while a comp sci degree is not necessary, it is far from meaningless like a humanities or social science bachelor's degree. It has a psychological appeal for many hirers, some of which demand it, and does not stand out to many others. It also signifies a certain level of mental aptitude on par with other engineering majors but most likely just below EE, math, and physics. The job market for programmers is also just so huge and many of the programming jobs are so menial that they could really hire anyone with a brain to do them.

Also, how can you assert that the "worth" of a degree is determined by the fact that someone else can get the same job? You could certainly argue that an EE degree is more "useful" degree since it lets you get EE and comp sci jobs and usually requires proficiency in programming. However, do you think math and philosophy majors can even get a job period without stretching their skills into someone else's territory? Do you really believe a typical math or philosophy major is more qualified for a programming job than a computer science major? Or even an EE major? Most of the EE majors I knew were pretty shitastic at programming. You can find me the EE majors who are better than comp sci majors are programming, but that doesn't mean that the EE degree alone denotes equivalent competence (agree that EECS or CSE/CS is superior). If you want to determine the "worth" of a degree by whether or not it can land you a job, you'll have to make a lot more cogent arguments to deny the fact that a computer science BS degree is among the best.

Taking anecdotal evidence like the distribution of degrees and/or hiring practices of one company and making generalized statements about the "worth" of a degree is TTT.

This wall of text is proof that an English degree is not always useless.

[gochrisgo]

_

[MC Southstar]

Meaningless? I should probably thank you -- perspectives like this one are what allowed me to land a great job at a successful tech company. Amidst all of the valuable BAs in Math and CS at our startup, my meaningless English degree gave me the skills to write and edit all of our meaningless publications material.

my meaningless degree has gotten me plenty of jobs, but I don't think for a second that it wouldn't have been easier to find better paying jobs, or a more stable job market, with a degree in CS or EE.

So you're saying the tech market is stable? I might have to disagree...

Edit: For what it's worth, I'm not saying that CS or Math degrees aren't super valuable, I'm just disagreeing that any humanities degree is crap.

I don't think your degree is actually crap, but the question the OP posed seemed to be asking about jobs so I answered with respect to that. It's great that you found a job, but do you really think English majors have equal opportunity as a whole?

[englawyer]

i would hire a math major over a CS major any day for a programming job.

caveat: the math major clearly has shown an interest in the "real world" through either applied math or programming courses.

[gochrisgo]

_

[MC Southstar]

I don't think your degree is actually crap, but the question the OP posed seemed to be asking about jobs so I answered with respect to that. It's great that you found a job, but do you really think English majors have equal opportunity as a whole?

In the technology field? Heck no.
In other fields? Yes.

Well, at least in the States. I think it's fantastic that we can major in the things we love and that we don't have to worry about learning a "profession" in school. In Eastern Europe/Russia/Central Asia, I think the pattern of questioning is more like this:

Other people - "What's your profession?"
Me - "I studied English."
Other people - "No, no, what's your profession?"
Me - "Umm, I can do lots of stuff professionally."
Other people - "You only studied the language in which you communicate every single day?"
Me - "Umm..."
Other people - "So you're just a teacher, right?"
Me - "No, I can do other stuff."
Other people - "Like?"
Me - "Umm..."

Anyway, don't get me wrong, if I could take it all back I would've done your major over mine, no questions asked.

[kittenmittons]

aspie

That's all I saw

[chadwick218]

Engineering and Accounting

[scionb4]

Should've gone to vocation school and learned how to do a real job.

+1

I seriously wish that I had been encouraged to explore trade schools as opposed to being encouraged to get a liberal arts degree. Plumbing, welding, carpentry, electricity, whatever. Trade school teaches you how to do a job, which is hands down better than two years of repeating high school (gen. ed requirements are such bullshit) and then two years of learning the THEORY of a vocation of field (very few majors ACTUALLY TEACH YOU what it is like to WORK in those jobs). But, we live in a service based economy that looks down on lowly trade positions like plumbing. But, while I'll be paying back loans for the rest of my life with my Theatre and Communications degree from a liberal arts college and my future law school degree, that kid who did an apprenticeship in plumbing right after high school will be making upwards of 80+ thousand a year by the time I graduate law school, and he'll have no loans to pay back!!!! No joke, ladies and gentleman, that's how much skilled plumbers (noth the guys with their ass cracks popping out who only know how to fix a shit-clogged toilet, I'm talking about the experts in piping for large buildings and such) who reach management level positions make after 10 years on the job, and you can start training right whjen you graduate. Thanks mom and dad!!!!!

[James Bond]

Social Work is pretty useful.

Fail. My mom has a Masters and still only makes 40k

[Borhas]

my philosophy major has been the most useful to me, but I don't recommend anyone take a philosophy without a complementary technical major to go with it. If I could go back I would have done Philosophy and Physics or Chemistry.

[James Bond]

Well, at least in the States. I think it's fantastic that we can major in the things we love and that we don't have to worry about learning a "profession" in school. In Eastern Europe/Russia/Central Asia, I think the pattern of questioning is more like this:

Other people - "What's your profession?"
Me - "I studied English."
Other people - "No, no, what's your profession?"
Me - "Umm, I can do lots of stuff professionally."
Other people - "You only studied the language in which you communicate every single day?"
Me - "Umm..."
Other people - "So you're just a teacher, right?"
Me - "No, I can do other stuff."
Other people - "Like?"
Me - "Umm..."

Same with Sparta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IReMfvamQ28

[scionb4]

Well, at least in the States. I think it's fantastic that we can major in the things we love and that we don't have to worry about learning a "profession" in school. In Eastern Europe/Russia/Central Asia, I think the pattern of questioning is more like this:

Other people - "What's your profession?"
Me - "I studied English."
Other people - "No, no, what's your profession?"
Me - "Umm, I can do lots of stuff professionally."
Other people - "You only studied the language in which you communicate every single day?"
Me - "Umm..."
Other people - "So you're just a teacher, right?"
Me - "No, I can do other stuff."
Other people - "Like?"
Me - "Umm..."

Same with Sparta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IReMfvamQ28

I hate that movie so much.

[James Bond]

Well, at least in the States. I think it's fantastic that we can major in the things we love and that we don't have to worry about learning a "profession" in school. In Eastern Europe/Russia/Central Asia, I think the pattern of questioning is more like this:

Other people - "What's your profession?"
Me - "I studied English."
Other people - "No, no, what's your profession?"
Me - "Umm, I can do lots of stuff professionally."
Other people - "You only studied the language in which you communicate every single day?"
Me - "Umm..."
Other people - "So you're just a teacher, right?"
Me - "No, I can do other stuff."
Other people - "Like?"
Me - "Umm..."

Same with Sparta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IReMfvamQ28

I hate that movie so much.

Seriously? I mean, it's not oscar worthy or thought provoking, but I love 300

[nyyankees]

my philosophy major has been the most useful to me, but I don't recommend anyone take a philosophy without a complementary technical major to go with it. If I could go back I would have done Philosophy and Physics or Chemistry.

+1. If I could do it all over again I would def be Philosophy and Applied Math. Abstract and grounded, its good shit

[RMstratosphere]

ECONOMICS. Go to M.I.T. or the University of Chicago and study economics. It is a life changing major and it really enhances the way you see the world. Also, economics is intimately infused with the law. I'm utterly surprised it has taken so long for the Law and Economics area to blossom.

Knowing what I do now, if I was able to start UG all over again, I would have worked much harder on the ACT to be able to get into UChicago and major in Economics. I'm kind of a Friedman fanatic.

This could be the beginning of a great friendship.

[RMstratosphere]

my philosophy major has been the most useful to me, but I don't recommend anyone take a philosophy without a complementary technical major to go with it. If I could go back I would have done Philosophy and Physics or Chemistry.

If I could do it all over again I too would do philosophy and physics.

[scionb4]

Well, at least in the States. I think it's fantastic that we can major in the things we love and that we don't have to worry about learning a "profession" in school. In Eastern Europe/Russia/Central Asia, I think the pattern of questioning is more like this:

Other people - "What's your profession?"
Me - "I studied English."
Other people - "No, no, what's your profession?"
Me - "Umm, I can do lots of stuff professionally."
Other people - "You only studied the language in which you communicate every single day?"
Me - "Umm..."
Other people - "So you're just a teacher, right?"
Me - "No, I can do other stuff."
Other people - "Like?"
Me - "Umm..."

Same with Sparta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IReMfvamQ28

I hate that movie so much.

Seriously? I mean, it's not oscar worthy or thought provoking, but I love 300

It's overdirected, over CGI'ed, terribly cast (a SCOTTISH Greek accent, for Christ's sake?), there is waaaaayyyyyy . . . . . tooooooooooooooo . . . . . . . . maaaaannnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . slooooooooowwwwwwwwweeeeeedddddd . . . . . . . . . . . . . dooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnn . . . . . . . . . . . . fight scenes (wasn't that annoying? Yeah, that's what I thought too after the 300th slow-motion fight scene), and it was historically absolute bullshit (I think the story of what actually happenned is compelling enough to just tell it like it was, the CGI bullshit was completely unnecessary, as was the homoerotic undertones (the Spartans had chest armour, for FUCK's sake, they didn't display their waxed chests in slowed down close-ups every 5 seconds). If you have ever been to Greece, like I have, you'd know that the actual country is far more interesting than the CGI-backdrop that Zach Snyder gave us. I have also been to Sparta as well, what a shithole (all of the other ancient Greek sites are beautifully kept, Sparta is like a Ghost Town, Ha! Ghost of Sparta! Now that was a videogame that did a fantasy version of Greece right!!!!! God of War, baby!)

[James Bond]

It's overdirected, over CGI'ed, terribly cast (a SCOTTISH Greek accent, for Christ's sake?), there is waaaaayyyyyy . . . . . tooooooooooooooo . . . . . . . . maaaaannnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . slooooooooowwwwwwwwweeeeeedddddd . . . . . . . . . . . . . dooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnn . . . . . . . . . . . . fight scenes (wasn't that annoying? Yeah, that's what I thought too after the 300th slow-motion fight scene), and it was historically absolute bullshit (I think the story of what actually happenned is compelling enough to just tell it like it was, the CGI bullshit was completely unnecessary, as was the homoerotic undertones (the Spartans had chest armour, for FUCK's sake, they didn't display their waxed chests in slowed down close-ups every 5 seconds). If you have ever been to Greece, like I have, you'd know that the actual country is far more interesting than the CGI-backdrop that Zach Snyder gave us. I have also been to Sparta as well, what a shithole (all of the other ancient Greek sites are beautifully kept, Sparta is like a Ghost Town, Ha! Ghost of Sparta! Now that was a videogame that did a fantasy version of Greece right!!!!! God of War, baby!)

While you redeem yourself with God of War love at the end, you do realize that Snyder was simply trying to recreate the graphic novel and not give a historically accurate portrayal of ancient Sparta? Also...isn't Kratos' chest bare and shaven?