The perfect representation of everything that is wrong with education today...

[triphicus]

http://www.holytaco.com/2008/06/03/the-10-most-worthless-college-majors/When did the noble goal of education, that is, of expanding and enriching one's mind through the study of great works of literature, science, and philosophy, become reduced

Comments

[manycolored]

The luxury of studying these things is not available to those of us who want to be reasonably sure of being able to earn a living. At least not until after we've started making enough to take classes while working, or retire.

It's kind of classist to tsk tsk at "America" for having food and a roof over its head as top priorities. Only the privileged can afford education for its own sake.

That said, I deplore how such weak reading, writing, speaking, information finding, general science, mathematical, and critical analysis skills as many of our students have, are considered adequate for graduation. But you don't need to major in English or Communications to learn to read, speak, and write well; nor do you need to major in Philosophy to hold your own in logic and critical thinking.

[triphicus]

But, honestly, how many employers even care about what someone majors in? I would think that most hiring committees would be far more impressed with someone who has a far-reaching knowledge level, and is equipped with the ability to read closely and write clearly, than they would someone with an extremely limited knowledge base, and without those other abilities.

[suitablyemoname]

I think you may be giving employers too much credit. When they're looking to fill an entry-level position, they don't run a battery of tests on each applicant, assessing broad knowledge, reading, writing, oral communication and taste in fine wine. They want someone whose resume and cover letter aren't illegible, irrelevant gibberish, and who had relevant experience--itself often more important than education.

[triphicus]

Well, it doesn't make it any less sad that the value of education has come to reflect this deficiency in society.

[nimisht]

What deficiency are you talking about? Employers hire what they 'need'. If they don't need a 'far reaching knowledge level' then they won't hire such people.

The link states accurately enough that Philosophy as a major is fairly useless because most employers have no need for the specific domain knowledge that the degree brings. Yes, it's likely you have good reading, logical and comprehension skills with that degree. However other majors can provide you the same skills as well and they come with different domain skills that employers may look for and actually need.

[triphicus]

Yes, which is why there are oh so many people in this country who know how to read carefully, think critically and for themselves, not to mention write elegantly and put forth an argument in a logically coherent way. Especially those undergrads. I mean the level of writing and argumentation you find in the average junior class is really brilliant, isn't it?

Er, maybe not. In fact, the only time I ever peer reviewed a well-written and argued paper, it was from either a Phil, Eng. or Theo. major (we didn't have Classics at my undergrad). That isn't to say that someone cannot naturally be good at it in a different major, but just that those sorts of majors require that the students hone those skills if they hope to do well.

[puf_almighty]

Well all these science jobs I apply for certainly want you to have a science background. I guess a paper-pushing type of job just basically wants you to be able to read, and any degree demonstrates that reasonably well.

[ravenword]

I'm a neuroscience PhD student, with undergraduate majors in biology and neuroscience, but I just wanted to mention that lots of professors at my grad school interviews commented positively on my classics minor. I had a letter of recommendation from a classics prof and she apparently said some very good things. Plus, more scientists than you might think have studied ancient poetry!

In summation, being well-rounded is good.

[splintercat]

IAWTC. Your interests should be the first consideration in choosing what to study. I really think that if you enjoy what you're doing, you'll do it well enough to make it practical and you'll get nice quality-of-life points that you wouldn't get if you were stuck in a job of soul-sucking boredom.

[sevenjades]

I absolutely agree with this. I followed my dream and what interested me, and then decided to take a "practical" way out when I felt the temptation. It was in something I enjoy as well, so I'm not bitter, but now I'm looking back wistfully and wondering, "What if?" Making plans to go back too. :)

[feministyogini]

sounds like great advice for undergrads

[sensaes]

Do they still write to you from prison? Some of mine do...