10 most Worthless degrees

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AccruedExpenditure

Diamond Member
May 12, 2001
6,960
7
81
Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Both my degrees are on there (English and Communications) and yet I work at a company everyone would recognize and make (low) six figures. Oh well.

Yet Rep 707. Lulz
 

Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,913
3
0
Kind of dumb.. all liberal arts degrees are just about equally worthless (except for Economics which is sometimes put in that category). I'm a Social Sciences major which is more worthless than all of those anyway so that list sucks.

..and I'm basically a Poli Sci major and don't like the "Science" label. When people ask me my major I say "Politics" because that is what I study. It isn't a science, it is an art--the art of bullshitting.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
19
81
Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
What a terrifically dumbass comparison.
Oh snap, someone in a low-paying major? :p


Yeah, fine, people can do stuff they like in college. But it still seems quite impractical to spend loads of money on college, and still come out with no significant or marketable job skills.




Originally posted by: Farang
Kind of dumb.. all liberal arts degrees are just about equally worthless (except for Economics which is sometimes put in that category). I'm a Social Sciences major which is more worthless than all of those anyway so that list sucks.

..and I'm basically a Poli Sci major and don't like the "Science" label. When people ask me my major I say "Politics" because that is what I study. It isn't a science, it is an art--the art of bullshitting.
I appreciate your candor. :D
If you do go into politics though, I'm sure we'll never hear that sort of thing from you, ever again.

 

ICRS

Banned
Apr 20, 2008
1,328
0
0
Originally posted by: Psynaut
Film isn't that bad. There are actually quite a few jobs for film students.

You are right, McDonalds, KFC, Tacobell, ..... Yep lots of "jobs" for them.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,407
39
91
Originally posted by: ICRS
Originally posted by: Psynaut
Film isn't that bad. There are actually quite a few jobs for film students.

You are right, McDonalds, KFC, Tacobell, ..... Yep lots of "jobs" for them.

advertising is pretty fun.
 

grrl

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2001
6,204
1
0
Originally posted by: Imp
I know someone who majored in philosophy... ended up doing social services work. He then moved on to work in IT and is raking it in ($80k-$90k).

It's not all worthless. A lot of people don't use what they majored in. I have a revered engineering degree, which hasn't gotten me anything. I wouldn't mind doing something else in fact.

Except maybe religion...

I had a housemate who majored in philosophy and then went on to graduate from Harvard Law. He did legal work for a short while, then started working as a display builder for Lego. He loved his job though.


As a freshman I had to take a communications course to fulfill a requirement. The professor was absolutely the worst lecturer I've ever had. :D
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: Imdmn04
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: JohnCU
Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: JohnCU
Originally posted by: Modular
Originally posted by: spidey07
Majors have nothing to do with what you do with your career, much like GPA.

This.

I'm not sure why there's such closed-mindedness on this forum when it comes to this topic...oh wait....must be all the engineering degrees clouding reality :)

I love it that I switched my major from engineering to Political Science (are you pissed it's a Science?) and English. I make more money that I ever would have as an engineer.

what...? i agree you can do whatever you want but to make a blanket statement that majors have nothing to do with what you do with your career is stupid. fuck, if that's the case, why didn't i just major in PRTM?

No, really...major has nothing to do with what you do with your career.

Why this is so hard for this forum to understand is really difficult. Look at the majors of executive officers of fortune 500 companies. I keep trying to help you guys but you won't listen.

depends on the career you want. some of us don't give a shit about being a CEO.

Spidey's point is that technically, any major can lead you to that position, if you want it. And he's right, it really doesn't matter. Because, in the end, undergrad degrees are equally worthless across the board in today's market.


If that is so, then why are there majors that makes a shit load more on average than other majors? A petro engineering degree will start you off at 70k on average, while a liberal arts degree will start you off at 35k.

I know English majors that started off at 80k. Of course there is no legit "Start off" pay. Whatever you've read is horseshit.

point is, undergrad is High School today. if you're smart, then you're smart. that's all that matters. Prove to the employer that you're not a drooling moron, and you'll get a good job.

But you'll get a better job with a professional degree, at "Start-off" prices.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: Farang
Kind of dumb.. all liberal arts degrees are just about equally worthless (except for Economics which is sometimes put in that category). I'm a Social Sciences major which is more worthless than all of those anyway so that list sucks.

..and I'm basically a Poli Sci major and don't like the "Science" label. When people ask me my major I say "Politics" because that is what I study. It isn't a science, it is an art--the art of bullshitting.

:thumbsup:

you are smarter than the rest of your class

and as one of my majors was English, and one of the professors in in my advanced...Grad-level course mentioned: "This major is the art of BS. Convince everyone that you know what you're talking about, and you will be successful."

He was correct ;)
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: astroidea
Originally posted by: ICRS
Originally posted by: Psynaut
Film isn't that bad. There are actually quite a few jobs for film students.

You are right, McDonalds, KFC, Tacobell, ..... Yep lots of "jobs" for them.

advertising is pretty fun.

It's best to leave ICRS alone.

He majored in FAP; and all he has to show for it is a bad rash.
rose.gif
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
19
81
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: Farang
Kind of dumb.. all liberal arts degrees are just about equally worthless (except for Economics which is sometimes put in that category). I'm a Social Sciences major which is more worthless than all of those anyway so that list sucks.

..and I'm basically a Poli Sci major and don't like the "Science" label. When people ask me my major I say "Politics" because that is what I study. It isn't a science, it is an art--the art of bullshitting.

:thumbsup:

you are smarter than the rest of your class

and as one of my majors was English, and one of the professors in in my advanced...Grad-level course mentioned: "This major is the art of BS. Convince everyone that you know what you're talking about, and you will be successful."

He was correct ;)
That's why it amuses me that we have had actors in political office. What is the job of an actor? To convince a group of people that he's something he's not.

 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
Originally posted by: miketheidiot
Originally posted by: spidey07
Majors have nothing to do with what you do with your career, much like GPA.

most doctors don't have medical degrees and most lawyers didn't go to law school, etc.


anything other stupid statement that you would like to get off your chest?

well he does have a point, talking about undergrad a large number os Docs dont major in Bio, and a large number of lawyers dont major in prelaw

my sister is a lawyer and she majored in chem and was on the "premed" course but decided whe didnt wanna be a Doc

my brother in law majored in GERMAN and Chem, he is a Doc
 

Spineshank

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2001
7,728
1
71
Originally posted by: Nitemare
I knew someone that got a degree in Art. She became a waitress til she married a doctor.

I know a bunch of people that either are in college for it or have gone to and no one has any job in that field. In fact most Art majors get pissed off if you tell them its a dead end and they should change their major asap.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,483
8,344
126
I think the biggest thing here is seperating out those who *KNOW* what they want to do vs. those that don't when they enter college.

If my goal is to be a nurse, an engineer, a pharmacist, a history teacher, ect, then my degree of choice is pretty important. If I want to be one of those, I'm not going to chose a film degree or a liberal arts degree.

If I'm just going to college to go to college and don't really want to know what I want to be when I grow up, then it's less of importance. You'll find something, it just likely won't be in what you studied.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,407
39
91
Originally posted by: Gnrslash4life
Originally posted by: Nitemare
I knew someone that got a degree in Art. She became a waitress til she married a doctor.

I know a bunch of people that either are in college for it or have gone to and no one has any job in that field. In fact most Art majors get pissed off if you tell them its a dead end and they should change their major asap.

I know a few people who majored in art that works in marketing.
I wouldn't recommend the major to someone that doesn't already have a talent for it, but the major does help you build a portfolio and gives you many connections to help you get one of the many many art jobs out there.
you don't need to be a picasso to make money from art. how do you think all the games and movies are made? there are tons of jobs out there for art majors.
 

tfinch2

Lifer
Feb 3, 2004
22,114
1
0
Are you going to side with statistics or chance when picking majors?

Statistics: Major X on average pays $XX,XXX

Chance: Fortune 500 CEO John Doe has a degree in underwater basketweaving and look how successful he is. If I major in that, I can be equally successful.
 

Saint Michael

Golden Member
Aug 4, 2007
1,877
1
0
Originally posted by: tfinch2
Are you going to side with statistics or chance when picking majors?

Statistics: Major X on average pays $XX,XXX

Chance: Fortune 500 CEO John Doe has a degree in underwater basketweaving and look how successful he is. If I major in that, I can be equally successful.

I'd probably look at the many people I know who are successful with non-engineering majors. You can be successful as an engineer, obviously. The catch is that you've gotta live your life as an engineer...
 

ConstipatedVigilante

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2006
7,670
1
0
Originally posted by: zeruty
I can't go to the page at work, but I whole-heartedly expect Liberal Arts to take top honors as worthless.

I didn't realize it was all one degree. That's a pretty big blanket statement, though. Studying foreign languages is hardly the same as "Music Therapy" (one of the "worthless degrees").
 

EGGO

Diamond Member
Jul 29, 2004
5,504
1
0
Originally posted by: astroidea
Originally posted by: ICRS
Originally posted by: Psynaut
Film isn't that bad. There are actually quite a few jobs for film students.

You are right, McDonalds, KFC, Tacobell, ..... Yep lots of "jobs" for them.

advertising is pretty fun.

Wait what? I'm a copwriter/art director for advertising. We don't use film students. There's degrees for advertising. When we need to do a commercial shoot, we call for studios. There's nobody in the agency with a film degree.
 

imported_Lothar

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2006
4,559
1
0
Originally posted by: tfinch2
Are you going to side with statistics or chance when picking majors?

Statistics: Major X on average pays $XX,XXX

Chance: Fortune 500 CEO John Doe has a degree in underwater basketweaving and look how successful he is. If I major in that, I can be equally successful.

Yeah.
Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, and he's a college dropout.

I hear these statements mostly from college dropouts.
 

clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,252
403
126
My friend has a degree in English and Urban Education and she teaches at a private university.
 

imported_Lothar

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2006
4,559
1
0
Originally posted by: astroidea
Originally posted by: Gnrslash4life
Originally posted by: Nitemare
I knew someone that got a degree in Art. She became a waitress til she married a doctor.

I know a bunch of people that either are in college for it or have gone to and no one has any job in that field. In fact most Art majors get pissed off if you tell them its a dead end and they should change their major asap.

I know a few people who majored in art that works in marketing.
I wouldn't recommend the major to someone that doesn't already have a talent for it, but the major does help you build a portfolio and gives you many connections to help you get one of the many many art jobs out there.
you don't need to be a picasso to make money from art. how do you think all the games and movies are made? there are tons of jobs out there for art majors.

So why didn't they just major in marketing and not art? :confused:

I agree.
Librarian of a local elementary/middle school, Starbucks, McDonalds, CVS, KFC, Target, and Walmart store/assistant managers.

You sound like you'd make a great guidance counselor and class advisor.
Recommend students to take $100,000 in student loans over 4 years at 6.8+% interest because there are "tons" of jobs to be had in getting a bachelors in liberal arts, social science, and film history.