Why do most college students take the most useless majors?

Economics is a pretty useful major. You can. Get hired by a bank or a consulting company. There are many things you can do with that degree. Philosophy, on the other hand is good for graduate school

I think those are two of the MOST useful majors, in the long run. Philosophy teaches you to think clearly and carefully and how to build logical and persuasive arguments, useful in work and in life. Economics is a far better undergraduate choice than the always tedious and mind-numbing undergraduate business major (which shouldn't even exist, in my mind): it teaches students how to think about power, wealth, poverty, disparities, policies for change, and how to think of the welfare of individuals and groups of people. Other than the obviously professional majors (like PT, for example, or, I suppose, accountancy, if you want the most boring life possible), professional education is best done in graduate school, usually with a few years of real-world experience under your belt.

The point of going to college, by the way, is to become educated--in the broadest sense of the word--by being exposed to the range of human scholarly endeavors, by learning to live with people other than your family and besties, and by drawing connections between different ways of knowing the world. If it is merely to get a job, trad school or vocational school is a better and cheaper choice. And nothing wrong with them--the world needs mechanics, plumbers, secretaries, IT fixers, and so forth--I am grateful to those with the skills and knowledge to do these things and respect their industry and gifts. I don't think some exposure to the liberal arts would hurt them, but, given the costs of college, that seems to me something they should be able to decide.

All economic majors are dull and dim.

Philosophy is a great pre-law, pre-business, or pre-med major. Med schools are always looking for applicants with non-STEM major--but you still have to take the sci prereqs as an undergrad (a year or two of Bio and Chem, a year of physics, calculus). If you have a certain kind of philosophical mind (logic, especially symbolic), the math and physics are not that much of a stretch.

The ability to think and write logically and coherently, as well as make cogent arguments, are a highly sought skills.

I think you need to reconsider your notions of what is or is not useful.

I can and have taught first year associates (in management consulting firms) working on studies with me the necessary finance, accounting, spreadsheet, et. al skills. I cannot teach people (in the finite time of a 12-14 week study) how to "think" critically or how to structure logical inductive arguments to support a position or make a business case.

[quote]Why do most college students take the most useless majors?

Uh, some of those liberal arts majors make you smarter, that's why, bunky. Most kids don't think clearly enough about a 'career' when studying for a major. But if they study, it does make them better people, unlike you.

Well, this is a first. I actually agree with every post on this thread so far except the OP and r3.

And here I thought I was going to have to wade in and defend the liberal arts as a course of undergraduate study.

Go, DL!

Art history is another useless major.

I know a guy who took Philosophy. His father was in the clergy, I only learned that until much later. He was very, very intellectual. He ended up teaching a class for a year, he told me at the end of his semester his students applauded him. That must have been quite a feeling. I only saw that happen once, and it was with a teacher we all loved, who was tremendous both as a person and in his field (Linguistics). Anyway. After about a year or two of struggling, he ended up taking a corporate job in communications. He writes for large manufacturers, etc. Hates his job but there's not much else he could do. He doesn't need to pay for housing as he inherited some property from his father. He was the only guy I knew who was a property owner at 25.

R8 no it isn't. The liberal arts teach people how to analyze, how to recognize style and form. You don't think analysis of desperate factors is a useful skill? How would an art major or a sociology major or an English major aid say the CIA or the Pentagon in understanding the how and why of terrorism and/or an enemy? All liberal arts involve comprehending very abstract concepts, most without a solution ala the maths. People who can't think are unable to solve "fuzzy" problems, especially as they relate to behavior and intent.

The fact you even made that statement proves my point.

The analysis of disparate factors is a useful skill too, r10.

I have yet to have students applaud me. :(

Students applaud me when I curve grades and drop lowest test scores. Easy peasy!

Business majors are some of the dullest people I've ever met. Corporations hire them by the thousands and they are the worst leaders. R5 is correct. You can teach people the necessary business skills, but you can't teach someone how to think critically, structure logical arguments, and solve real problems.

Drones.

It's college, not trade school.

You want a useful degree go learn heating and air at DeVry.

Film studies and communications are two useless degrees

The favorite major of the C- student: psychology

You can get a degree in event planning now. Like you need to go to college to plan parties and galas and weddings. My next door neighbor is a high school dropout who's been doing it for years.

Paying to go to a very expensive cooking school is a waste of money. Go to the local CC and get an associate's degree. I have several chefs and restaurant owners in my family and they started as dishwashers and worked their way up. They never went to college.

I learned the most from system analysis and information modelling. You hear a lot of people talk about how everyone needs to learn how to code, but learning how to engineer/back-engineer a complex system is the real valuable skill.

Most majors are useless. Plus, at most schools, your major takes up less than half of your required credits, so you can easily fill your schedule with more practical classes.

OP, an undergraduate education is about learning to think at a higher level. A truly well educated individual will enjoy a lifetime of learning on his or her own. A person should not stop educating their self just because they are out of the academic environment. This is was learned folks do throughout their lives. It is not necessarily all about getting a job.

Generally speaking, graduate studies are more all about a professional degree or getting a job.

I have physician friends who majored as undergrads in English and Philosophy. The entered med school and are now successful doctors.

*what

I don't care what they take. Just so long as I don't have to hear them bitching about how they can't afford their own place because of their student loans. You say business and economics majors are boring. Just not the case. People who make money are always more fun to be around. How long can you stay friends with someone whose life is based on "I'd love to go but I just can't afford it." That's boring.

Lol @ Marie Antoinette over here at r24.

R24 is #UnwantedIvanka

I got an English undergrad degree and an MBA. I ended up writing. However, because of my MBA I am able to write about and analyze data much better than most of my peers who studied journalism or just languages. And, yes, business majors are usually pretty dumb people and horrid leaders. If I had been smart and not fallen in love in my early 20's, I would've listened to this crazy old queen I was hooking up with who was an anesthesiologist and told me to become a dermatologist and do plastic surgery. Don't ask me how, that man always managed to eat a hole through his surgical mask so my only interest in him was the mind-blowing blow jobs and the amazing conversation because he was super well-read.