Weighing younger students as they proceed through orientations and into their first classes is a choice: What will they major in?
In an ideal world, students would have plenty of time to figure out their major. They would try a bunch of courses, figure out what interests them, and just spend some time learning for the sake of learning. But we’ve never really lived up to that ideal, and the crises of the past decade and more—first the Great Recession, now the pandemic—have only intensified the pressure on college students to make the “right choice.”
My advice is this: it’s better to thrive in a degree you enjoy than to pursue a higher salary. You’ll be happier, but you’ll also make more money as a top graduate in any field than as a mediocre graduate in something you think might be more profitable. And best of all, the data backs up my advice.
I am the university advisor for history majors and minors at the University of Minnesota. Recruiting and supporting students who want to study history is literally my job, and the news these days is not good for humanists like me. According to a new survey by the Federal Reserve, nearly half of all arts and humanities majors are worried they made the wrong choice.
I worry about how this data will be used to accelerate a decades-long trend of defunding and abandoning the humanities, as politicians and university presidents — as well as students and parents — get the message wrong. The value of the humanities far exceeds the financial “return on investment” that is the latest trend in how to value a college education. But even if we focus on money, which makes sense given the costs involved, we need to be much clearer about how we’re counting those returns.
There is a hierarchy of degrees when it comes to estimating the potential lifetime earnings of the strongest students. Federal Reserve data is clear, for example, that engineers earn far more than the rest of us, although their survey also shows that a quarter of all engineers also regret their profession. (Perhaps it’s fair to assume that many 20-somethings have an understandably difficult time planning for the rest of their lives?)
But here’s the problem I see over and over again: Too many graduate students choose a major they think will lead to a good job instead of a job that actually piques their interest. As a result, they fight. They get worse grades. They are not happy. And if we dig into the Federal Reserve’s records, we can see that it’s a bad financial decision.
This is what I call the 75/25 problem. Let me explain myself.
It is much better, financially, to be in the 75th percentile of a “lowest expected income” degree than in the 25th percentile of a higher degree. For example, according to a Washington Post analysis of the Fed survey, which adjusted 2016 dollars to today’s inflation, the lifetime earnings of a major accounting average $3.98 million, with the top 25% expected to earn 4.9 million dollars and the end. Down 25% to $3.22 million. History, and this is typical of the humanities, averages lower at $3.37 million, but its top 25% is expected to earn $4.22 million. Sure, an elite accounting major does better than an elite history major, but an elite history major does better than the average accountant.
There are some people who can do their best work even on subjects and tasks they are not enthusiastic about. But that’s not typical, as I’ve found in my decades as an educator, and it definitely wasn’t true for me. I was an “A” student in History, mostly. (I’m still bitter about that one professor who gave me a B+ in European history; I showed him by becoming a historian of Europe.) I did well because I enjoyed it. I did the readings, worked hard on my assignments, and spent time away from class thinking about what we were learning.
My math grades were, shall we say, somewhat lower, not just because math was hard, but because I didn’t want to do it. I either skipped or rushed assignments, got bored in class and didn’t care. If I had tried to be an accountant, I would have been a lousy one, stuck in that bottom 25 percentile.
I have long argued that making college free, or at least much cheaper, is the fastest way to enable graduate students to feel confident studying what they want to study. Paying off debt is a good start, but it doesn’t help tomorrow’s students.
A less expensive education can allow us to focus on all the benefits beyond job training. At its best, higher education prepares young people to become global citizens and lifelong learners who are ready to adapt to the challenges of a complex future. And, especially in the face of the massive mental health challenges facing students today—like many of us, they’re not okay in the wake of recent years—prioritizing happiness can make for a better college experience.
But I’m also realistic. Even if college were cheaper, jobs would still matter. Wages would still matter. People go to college to get ahead. And while the data can be discouraging to people like me, because our enrollments and majors are falling, a large part of the reality is reassuring: Students who thrive in our programs are likely to do well professionally.
So if you chose a degree for the job you thought you’d get right out of college and you’re enjoying your STEM or business courses, that’s great. But if you’re struggling, especially if it’s a path you chose because your parents wanted you to be practical, maybe take a look around. Try to remember the last time you really enjoyed a class, where you read it because you wanted to, not because someone told you you had to. Follow your interests, hit that 75th percentile, and hopefully the rest will follow.
