Analysis Of Stop Asking Me My Major By Scott Keyes

Being in college has taught me that what you majored in does not matter when it comes to finding a career, as long as you have the experience you will be fine. I tend to question myself all the time as to “Why am I attending college when most employers probably would not care about my Bachelors or Associates Degree.” My doubtfulness of college brought me to come across the article “No, It Doesn't Matter What You Majored In”, by Carlo Rotella. Carlo Rotella is a director of the Americans Studies Program and the author of several books. The author believes that “Prospective employers frequently don’t really care what you majored in” Page 468.

If so, how are students suppose to figure out what the “right major or school” is. Throughout the essay she mentions many quotes and information from a variety of people. A big point she makes is that college or furthering your education after high school concept has completely changed over the years and continues to. Nowadays there are options to attend college, vocational schools, internship programs, and professional training. The bottom line of her argument is how are students and parents suppose to make a crucial decision for their future when our world keeps changing its needs and educational values?

Student need to do what they love. Find something that they will want to study or risk never being successful because they’ll be bored with their job. College has a huge variety of programs that can be studied so chances are there is one out there for everyone. If students find something they love to do then college really won’t be too difficult and they will like their job afterwards. “Education is about finding out what form of work for you is closest to being play” (Edmundson), jobs should be something enjoyable, almost like having fun doing a hobby. People need to do what they love so they won’t be bored or held back by their lack of enthusiasm and excel to and move up in the workplace being more and more successful.

The students are the direct recipients of this study that they should know their interest. Through this study, the students’ choosing a major is a choice that should be intentional and based on knowledge of one’s self. As a result of this study the number of students who shift a major must be reduce and lessen.

When you focus on a career major, you have to have a reasonable picture of what you are getting into. You have to get correct data and assess it. Numerous components go into picking a school or college major including parental or peer influence,

Deresiewicz points out that a statement most people feel compelled to ask students regarding their major is “What are you going to do with that?” (28) There is a strong pressure to get through college with excellent grades and to start at a high paying job right after graduation. Deresiewicz argues that “few of them approach their studies with a sense of intellectual mission” because they are focusing on volunteering and internships (30). The author is putting down students for being anxious about what society has already planned for them. How can someone not worry about a job if that is all that is talked about with them? From personal experience, most adults will start a conversation by asking where I want to go to college and what I want

Everyone who decides to enroll in college must, at some point, think about what area they want to major in. There are many things that students consider when choosing a major. Some make their decision based on what they think can make them the most money once they begin their lives in the work force. However, many students believe that if you choose a major that interests you and challenges you then you can use those skills that can help you in any career. (R. Landrum & S. Davis, 2014) Let’s face it. Employers know that when they hire someone straight out of college they are not immediately going to know

Bok states, “According to one survey, 60 percent of Arts and Sciences professors do not even think that preparing for a job is a particularly important goal for undergraduates” (Derek Bok, 36). Bok is quite puzzled since about three-fourths of new college students presume preparing for a job is the key component of attending college. According to Bok, Liberal arts professors believe that once they integrate some aspect of a vocational program students will become more concentrated on learning the competent skills necessitated by the jobs. Bok also provides background information on vocational program in which he states that, “Since the average length of time people stay in their first job has shrunk dramatically, more and more employers want their employees to “hit the ground running” without having to receive costly training before the company” (Derek Bok, 39). Students are already being pressured by employers to have these skills needed for the job perfected by the time they graduate so the companies won’t spend resources on training. With the pressures employers place on the arriving college students they feel as if they have to choose a career and prepare for it as

For example, the student needs to “ensure their career choice uses their talents and passions, and they should also work towards a career that they are passionate about” (KCSE). Also, if a student wants to be a neurosurgeon for example, they “need to consider the job demand now and for the future.”(KCSE) They also need to “research the career for the starting salary, and see how many graduates got employed into that field after graduating”

To begin with, discovering what types of employment maximize my personality let me know whether or not I am pursuing the right major. For instance, computer science and engineering were listed as two possible candidates. Although I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics, all of these occupations are similar. Each of these professions requires diligence, accuracy, and analytic ability, which fully utilizes an

However, some, such as Gerald Graff, argue that colleges and schools are missing opportunities when nonacademic interests of the students are not taken into the classroom. For example, he claims that his schooling was unable to foster his interest in sports or other “nonacademic” interests. However, I would claim that this is false considering there are majors that can foster one’s interest in sports such as sports journalism, sports broadcasting, and exercise science. In fact, I would argue that college allows one to follow their dreams. For example, I met a counselor who was originally was a plumber for thirty years of his life. When I asked why he changed careers he responded with, “I had full support from my family to go back to school, and ultimately I wanted to do something more fulfilling with my life. And now I am doing what I have always liked to do that is talking to people” To make this change he had to first earn his bachelor’s degree and then his masters thus accumulating debt. In addition, he had to take wage cut of 50,000 dollars a year. Despite this he had absolutely no regrets with the decision he made.

In fact, just the other day while taking the online survey to help me select my major, I saw myself paying attention to the salaries each occupation tends to make instead of focusing on occupations I can turn into my career and end up enjoying. It seems like now a days more individuals are deciding to go to college just because society has tied this whole notion of “if you go to college then you’ll earn more.” My problem isn’t the fact that individuals are simply going to college in order to earn a higher wage, but the fact that the earning of some occupations may discourage an individual from doing what he or she desires to do with their life. That individual may be forced to select a career that has higher earnings opposed to selecting an occupation they enjoy doing. As a result of this, in the future this individual will be stuck doing something they particularly don’t enjoy doing as their every day

College is a stepping stone into the real world. Many students would agree they pursue a college degree to obtain more money in their career. However, this pursuit isn’t only because of money, but also led by the heart-felt desires of the students. Conversely, Harvey Bump comments “Only those who are independently wealthy can afford the luxury of developing their souls while in college. College education in 2015 must be job training”. There is no exclusiveness to students who want to follow what majors they’re interested in. Lynn O’Shaughnessy clarifies in her article, “8 Reasons Not to Get a Business Degree”, that parents pressure their children into selecting “practical majors” based on their perception of what the job market needs. Many

Parents push their children to have more academic jobs and majors to improve their child's “status.” But when a student with high academic achievement chooses to have a vocational style job it is seen as unfortunate or even a waste of genius and intellect. Students should have the opportunity to be trained in whatever careers they want, even if it is a more vocational job like a trade instead of an academic job. If these students find these vocational jobs more meaningful than any academic job they should have the right to choose them because of their pursuit of happiness.

“Too many students aren’t sure what job they could get after four, five, or even six years of studying a certain major and racking up education loans”(255). Singletary is given the fact that numerous students are confused on their own majors even though they have studied for years. And parts of the students even start realizing their majors might be in a hopeless employment situation after they graduate from that particular field. Therefore, before choosing a field of study, it is necessarily worthwhile for students and parents to check out the majors whether in the highest or the lowest unemployment. According to new statistics on unemployment for recent college graduates by The Huffington Post this June, majoring in social science and creative fields, such as anthropology, film, fine art, etc. have earned the top three of the unemployment rate. In contrast, engineering technologies, math, and computer science remain at the top of the employment chart. Alex Tabarrok mentions the harsh unemployment rate in his article, “…More than half of all humanities graduates end up in jobs that don’t require college degrees…”(250). The society has never shown mercy to students who are unlikely to be employed with the majors they have. Graduating without employment must be one of the biggest nightmares for most students; however, selecting an in demand major can surely decrease the chances of being