# Useless Majors/Concentrations at University



## .95596 (Aug 24, 2012)

In my opinion useless majors in college are:

-Theatre

-Philosophy

-Dance

If one enjoys these then he or she should pursue them outside an academic setting and purely for the purpose of a hobby and not a major. They are a waste of money in my opinion.


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## little toaster (Jul 5, 2012)

I knew a philosophy major who went to medical school.


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## pati (Aug 15, 2012)

I have a BA in English. It's useless. Let me just say, if you go to school for four years, it better be because you want an education. If you want a job, go to trade school.


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## .95596 (Aug 24, 2012)

komorikun said:


> Why are those in particular a waste of time? The vast majority of majors don't lead to jobs. If anything, I'd say business is biggest waste of money, except for accounting.


I guess that it is just my own experience at my university and my personal observations in my region of the States. I don't mean to sound dogmatic but where I am it appears that business and science majors get the jobs according to data provided by the school, this is given that those students have research experience and have had internships.


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## .95596 (Aug 24, 2012)

anonymid said:


> Are you suggesting that colleges shouldn't have theater departments? Where do you think actors come from?
> 
> My mom and I attend plays at UConn every year; they put on good productions. I sure hope your wish never comes true. :blank


In what way did I state that I "wish there wouldn't be theatre departments at universities"? I was just stating how in my region those degrees don't amount to much. As for acting anyone can act and a person doesn't need to get a major in order to put on a play.

In response to another post,a philosophy major doesn't necessarily place one in medical school. From my understanding it is the courses one takes, such as: Organic Chemistry, Embryology, Physics, and other science-based per-requisite courses that place one in medical school. Although one may major in philosophy, he or she still needs to take the pre-reqs for med school to even start the process towards med-school.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Ok, I misread you; never mind then. For some reason I thought you were suggesting that those majors should be eliminated, and that by "waste of money" you were talking about from the university's perspective, in terms of funding. Don't know why I assumed that. My bad.

ETA: I should've added that, pragmatically, my point remains: if undergraduates weren't majoring in theater, it would be difficult to justify or sustain a theater department. At the very least, the quality of the department would greatly suffer.

Regardless: majoring in theater (or any of the performing arts) allows you to dedicate yourself to that craft in a way that you wouldn't be able to if it was merely something you were pursuing on the side. If your dream is to work in the theater, if that's you want to dedicate yourself to (while also getting the other benefits--academically, socially, and otherwise--of a college education), majoring in theater is the logical thing to do. And obviously you can also minor in something more practical to give yourself a fallback option.


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

little toaster said:


> I knew a philosophy major who went to medical school.


They would have had to have taken tons of science pre-reqs though, which would make the degree "useless" in a practical sense. Not saying that it was a bad way to go, in fact I'd argue that it's a brilliant way to go, because philosophy will enrich their life as a whole.

IRT to the thread

*WOMEN'S STUDIES*


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## Ricebunnyx3 (Sep 1, 2010)

What ones do you think are the best? I can't pick a major. I definitely don't want anything math related.


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## lonelyjew (Jan 20, 2010)

Ricebunnyx3 said:


> What ones do you think are the best? I can't pick a major. I definitely don't want anything math related.


That really depends on what you want to do, and whether you want to go to grad school. Most science degrees are more/less useless without grad school, and you don't even need a science degree to go into a science graduate field (though you do need to take a lot of the courses, and research helps). As far as bachelors degree opportunities go, here's a link that could be useful:

http://www.economicmodeling.com/2012/05/07/2012s-best-jobs-for-bachelor-degree-grads/


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Ricebunnyx3 said:


> What ones do you think are the best? I can't pick a major. I definitely don't want anything math related.


Accounting only requires simple arithmetic. It's pretty dry though.

They have some interesting stats here. PDF.

http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/Unemployment.Final.update1.pdf


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## Ricebunnyx3 (Sep 1, 2010)

komorikun said:


> Accounting only requires simple arithmetic. It's pretty dry though.
> 
> They have some interesting stats here. PDF.
> 
> http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/Unemployment.Final.update1.pdf


Yeah, I know accounting is good, but I don't really want to do anything math related although that's usually were all the high paying and abundance of jobs are.


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## FerociousFleur (Oct 30, 2012)

Psychology. I've met so many people with a Bachelor's in Psychology (including myself) who are working completely unrelated low-paying jobs. It's one of the most popular of the useless degrees. 

I agree that trade schools are better if you want a straight-up job. Really wish I'd finished cosmetology school!!! I'd probably be in a decent job by now, instead of back in grad school spending even more money...


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## Cam1 (Dec 4, 2011)

FerociousFleur said:


> Psychology. I've met so many people with a Bachelor's in Psychology (including myself) who are working completely unrelated low-paying jobs. It's one of the most popular of the useless degrees.
> 
> I agree that trade schools are better if you want a straight-up job. Really wish I'd finished cosmetology school!!! I'd probably be in a decent job by now, instead of back in grad school spending even more money...


It's only useless if you don't go beyond your bachelors. In terms of grad school it's very useful.

Actually, a lot of degrees are pretty much useless unless you go beyond the 4 years :/ .... and I expect that will only increase.


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## Tangerine (Feb 16, 2010)

I don't think any degrees are without use. 


Sure, you may not make a lot, but that isn't everyone's goal. 

Some might not be effective in getting a job, but perhaps that was 4 years of your life you really cherished and loved. 

Who knows. 

I don't.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

Tangerine said:


> I don't think any degrees are without use.
> 
> Sure, you may not make a lot, but that isn't everyone's goal.
> 
> Some might not be effective in getting a job, but perhaps that was 4 years of your life you really cherished and loved.


+1


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## Zil (Feb 5, 2011)

All of the degree's are there for a reason. It depends on your goals. If you want to make big bucks and do concrete work then applied sciences, business and basic trade schools will get the job done. Now the question is, are you willing to pursue a career you may not like for a high-paying job?

I've always had in mind employment security and good salaries so I chose to go into computer science. Luckily for me I've enjoyed myself to some degree. I only miss the fact that everything is objective and mostly abstract, I wish I could be drawing art while talking to other artists sometimes, it works on a different part of your brain. In applied sciences everything resolves around problem solving and rational thinking, which can become tiresome.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

little toaster said:


> I knew a philosophy major who went to medical school.


Surprising. It would seem like an undergrad degree in areas like biology & chemistry would be far more useful for the later study of medicine where biology & chemistry is sort of what medicine is based upon.

Philosophy strikes me as useless unless you want to get a masters & then PhD and become a professor of philosophy.

Or philosophy can be used to get into law school where any degree will do. Though even when it comes to law, a good degree can still come in handy. A degree in accounting would seem perfect if you wish to be a tax attorney, or an engineering degree if you want to understand the defective designs that caused the injury you're suing about.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

komorikun said:


> Why are those in particular a waste of time? The vast majority of majors don't lead to jobs.
> 
> If anything, I'd say business is the biggest waste of money, except for accounting.
> 
> http://www.socialanxietysupport.com...major-skating-through-business-school-166088/


I took a look at your link. I got my business degree in 1995, so back 17 years ago before it became ever so easy according to that econ professor who's quoted.

Accounting is clearly the most difficult major within business. Accounting is just plain boring. Boring tends to make things even more difficult, since who wants to read & study what's a sleeping pill in text book form? While I was in business school the requirement for Intermediate Accounting (a class from hell) was eliminated from their finance program. I was quite happy with that. I don't deem a finance degree to be of any real value. It means I know how a financial calculator works (which isn't saying much) & I know what negative convexity & interest rate parity are. What are they: two things you'll do just fine in life never knowing.

All my vast experience in investing can be summed up as diversify as widely as possible and minimize expenses as much as possible. There are folks who've devoted their life to financial economics & won Nobel prizes and their investment advice would boil down to the same thing. Any minimally knowledgeable investor can readily buy mutual funds that meet the objective of max diversification & min cost. Yeah, it takes a degree to figure that out.:roll


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## coldmorning (Jul 4, 2007)

UltraShy said:


> Surprising. It would seem like an undergrad degree in areas like biology & chemistry would be far more useful for the later study of medicine where biology & chemistry is sort of what medicine is based upon.


Med schools will take any major but you still have to fulfill the course requirements like a year of bio, chem, physics, calc, etc.


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## Daylight (Jun 20, 2009)

I was majoring in Social Work, but I'm changing it to History.

I know what I want to do in life and that is to travel and do volunteer work in the process. Some of the things I want to do that would allow me to travel require just ANY kind of degree, whether it's Chemistry or Women's Studies. So for me personally having a degree is useful.


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## .95596 (Aug 24, 2012)

coldmorning said:


> Med schools will take any major but you still have to fulfill the course requirements like a year of bio, chem, physics, calc, etc.


Where I am going to school you are required to take courses and labs other than physics, bio I and II and all the chems for the pre-med track. We have to take embryology, histology, physiology I and II, and anatomy I and II plus other courses all with labs. Not to mention we have to do at least 2 years of research and shadow a doctor on top of a multitude of other things.

So at my university majoring in something not in the sciences when one is interested in the health field is like pouring down the drain and is a big waste of time really.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

UltraShy said:


> I took a look at your link. I got my business degree in 1995, so back 17 years ago before it became ever so easy according to that econ professor who's quoted.
> 
> Accounting is clearly the most difficult major within business. Accounting is just plain boring. Boring tends to make things even more difficult, since who wants to read & study what's a sleeping pill in text book form? While I was in business school the requirement for Intermediate Accounting (a class from hell) was eliminated from their finance program. I was quite happy with that. I don't deem a finance degree to be of any real value. It means I know how a financial calculator works (which isn't saying much) & I know what negative convexity & interest rate parity are. What are they: two things you'll do just fine in life never knowing.
> 
> All my vast experience in investing can be summed up as diversify as widely as possible and minimize expenses as much as possible. There are folks who've devoted their life to financial economics & won Nobel prizes and their investment advice would boil down to the same thing. Any minimally knowledgeable investor can readily buy mutual funds that meet the objective of max diversification & min cost. Yeah, it takes a degree to figure that out.:roll


Yeah, I agree accounting is boring but you are definitely learning a skill with it. I'm not so sure about marketing, management, and international business. They just sound like fluff to me and the thing is most business majors have little to no interest in their major. They just want to get a job and that's it. At least with other majors usually people enjoy the subject and find it fascinating in some way. And according to the NYTimes article business majors study very little compared to other majors.


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## coldmorning (Jul 4, 2007)

shyguy1990 said:


> Where I am going to school you are required to take courses and labs other than physics, bio I and II and all the chems for the pre-med track. We have to take embryology, histology, physiology I and II, and anatomy I and II plus other courses all with labs. Not to mention we have to do at least 2 years of research and shadow a doctor on top of a multitude of other things.
> 
> So at my university majoring in something not in the sciences when one is interested in the health field is like pouring down the drain and is a big waste of time really.


We're talking about admission to medical school. Does your university require embryology, histology, anatomy, and shadowing a doctor to apply for their med school? That's rather unusual.

Here's a quote from Harvard Medical schools admissions page:



> Students are urged to strive for a balanced and liberal education rather than specialized training. No preference is given to applicants who have majored in the sciences over those who have majored in the humanities.


http://hms.harvard.edu/content/requirements-admission


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## velocicaur (Aug 8, 2009)

Philosophy is actually quite an impressive major. Your reading ability, critical thinking, and logic will improve dramatically. 

Take a bio major and a philosophy major that completed all the premed requirements (which really aren't that bad) and apply to medical schools. I would bet that the medical schools select the philosophy major first for being different/diverse, but mainly for the improved thinking processes that come with philosophy.

Premed is just regurgitation of information. Sure, you have to study a bit, but it's the same kind of "thinking" that is required for high school. Philosophy kicks it up a notch.

IMO, of course. I'm a math/bio major but I have taken a couple philosophy classes. The reading skills necessary to process the information from the great minds of the past, the challenging of your beliefs/opening your mind to new ideas. It changes the way you think about the world.


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## Wurli (Sep 15, 2012)

In terms of finding a job when you graduate, I don't really think any bachelor's degree is going to get you very far. They're all "useless". You need to take your education further or settle for a pretty mediocre job that may or may not be related to what you studied.


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## gusstaf (Jan 1, 2012)

Hmm, interesting that dance is a useless major, seeing as several of my fellow dancers from high school majored in dance...and are now professional dancers. One girl I danced with at studio majored in dance and now is a member of LA Dance Project, Benjamin Millepied's company. For those of you who don't know who Benjamin Millepied is, he's an extremely influential dancer and choreographer...he choreographed the dance segments for the movie Black Swan and he's now married to Natalie Portman. Another friend from dance studio danced in the Broadway production of Hairspray. So is studying dance useless? Absolutely not. Unless you think the performing arts are useless in general, in which case you are a sad, sad person.



missamanda said:


> I have a BA in English. It's useless. Let me just say, if you go to school for four years, it better be because you want an education. If you want a job, go to trade school.


Really? That's my major and it has opened up many doors in my freelance writing career. My highest-paying gig contacted me because I had English listed as a major. I know other English students who have gone on to law school or landed jobs as technical writers. It's only as useless as you make it. Although I do agree that the primary objective of going to college should be getting an education.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

velocicaur said:


> Philosophy is actually quite an impressive major. Your reading ability, critical thinking, and logic will improve dramatically.
> 
> Take a bio major and a philosophy major that completed all the premed requirements (which really aren't that bad) and apply to medical schools. I would bet that the medical schools select the philosophy major first for being different/diverse, but mainly for the improved thinking processes that come with philosophy.
> 
> Premed is just regurgitation of information. Sure, you have to study a bit, but it's the same kind of "thinking" that is required for high school. Philosophy kicks it up a notch.


I agree with this. I went to medical school and pharmacy school and I found philosophy courses a lot more intellectually challenging and interesting than medical science courses and even many chemistry courses (e.g. organic chemistry). The medical courses involved mostly regurgitating a lot of information. Lots of volume but the concepts were very easy/not challenging. I regret I didn't take more philosophy courses. Next to physics/math, I found the philosophy courses the most thought-provoking/challenging.


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## seafolly (Jun 17, 2010)

Also agreeing with the comment above on a philosophy major. My boyfriend did his BA in philosophy which most people would crack jokes about. But then he pursued credentials in the finance world and to get a job after a certain level you do require a 4 year degree. Doesn't matter what it's in. But the philosophy really honed his logistical skills and critical thinking. Not a waste of money. Although degrees are hardly worth anything these days, you're still expected to have one after a certain level it seems to get jobs with decent salaries. Unless of course you've done some job specific diploma at college. But generally speaking I would have given up on my BSc long ago if I didn't believe it'd help me get a job. Doesn't matter that it's in biology, it's a degree and sure won't hurt.


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## Remnant of Dawn (Feb 22, 2012)

Most majors in the liberal are not of much use beyond the educational enrichment they provide, particularly ones like English, philosophy and women's studies. I'd say the most useful majors are anything in math/science/engineering and some business majors.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

The thing is not everyone likes or is good at math/science/engineering and business. And even if everyone majored in so called useful majors there would be no more jobs than there are now.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

komorikun said:


> The thing is not everyone likes or is good at math/science/engineering and business.


Yeah, this. If you don't have at least some interest or ability in what you're studying, you're not going to have the motivation to make something of it. In the big picture, I think it's always better to start out by following your interests (while also trying to discover new ones) and see where that takes you.

English, incidentally, is actually a pretty versatile degree. The writing, reading, and critical thinking skills developed in studying English are valued in a wide range of fields.


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## JenN2791 (Aug 21, 2011)

Majoring in art is useless and pointless. You could easily learn that sort of thing by yourself without going to school, just like I did with graphic design. Never understood why someone would major in painting or drawing.


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## Donnie in the Dark (Mar 15, 2011)

So basically...... useful is when you can become a good citizen and contribute to the economy, get in on the 9 to 5 and fit in?
And useless is when you study something that critically analyses the society that we live in..... which is the key to modern human life?

That might not be what people are saying on this thread, I might be projecting it because I hear plenty about how social subjects are pointless and how great business studies is.


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