<p>I admit I am happy that S chose a practical field to major in. But my primary wish is for him to be happy and be able to support himself.</p>
<p>It’s too early to say, but I could easily see my older D wanting to major in education. She already performs this role in an informal way in several of her interests, it seems a natural fit for her. So I would support that too.</p>
<p>And I have seen many cases of people ending up doing something totally different from what they majored in.</p>
<p>you know what’s really funny. jobs like teaching, social work, and other needless crap like that pays pittance compared to what professional athletes make. and guess what… MOST OF THEM DON’T GO TO COLLEGE! and you know what, for those who did go to college, i highly doubt they were bio-med engineering majors :). but that’s our society; and here we are commenting on a thread where various educational disciplines are being deemed undesirable or stupid because they don’t lead to a high paying salary. and here i thought personal fulfillment was worth something.</p>
<p>better start investing in your kids’ sports camps.</p>
<p>What’s really sad is that teachers, one of the most IMPORTANT jobs in the world, is so poorly valued. An excellent teacher is priceless to society and should be respected and paid more than most, not less.</p>
<p>Love your post, Garland! 
</p>
<p>Also love what amtc wrote about teachers! :)</p>
<p>Glad my parents didn’t think twice about paying big bucks for worst paying fields! I’m glad I got to go to grad school at Harvard for a degree in Education. And when I got out in 1981, I was a teacher and earned $11,000. Education is a low paying field but it was my interest area from when I was very young. I’m delighted that my kids have pursued their areas of passion. Yes, worth every penny.</p>
<p>What you major in in college really doesn’t matter much these days because you can’t do a whole heck of a lot with a BA anyway. You pretty much have to go on to some kind of grad school, etc. I say major in something that makes you happy - if you are driven, motivated, have goals, etc, you’ll be fine no matter what you choose to major in.</p>
<p>Dang it, I told d that she never should have switched her major from quantum mechanics to Old Norse.</p>
<p>And there’s not much remuneration as a Druidic priestess.</p>
<p>Hope when she does get the sheepsin she’ll go back to playing the didgeridoo professionally.<br>
That WAS some nice income. </p>
<p>At least the three houses, the Suburban, Range Rover and the Bluebird travel coach are fully paid for.</p>
<p>She’ll have options. I just wish she would start contributing some $ for the dog food.</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>^^^ If the rest of you have no idea what violadad is referring to, :
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/501191-meta-thread-save-us-all-time.html?highlight=meta+thread+save+time[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/501191-meta-thread-save-us-all-time.html?highlight=meta+thread+save+time</a>
(post # 12 and what follows is an all-time CC classic)</p>
<p>We have a friend whose D majored in “Ballet,” seriously. I had never known there was such a major. She’s now working at a pre-school & going back to school to get a teaching credential. She has had injuries from dancing & can’t do it any more, but wouldn’t have been able to graduate or keep her scholarships if she switched majors. She couldn’t find any jobs that offered her a job in her major. 
She was an amazing dancer & has had several surgeries due to dancing injuries.</p>
<p>HIMom, too bad she could not be a ballet teacher for kids as it combines both ballet and teaching.</p>
<p>Majoring in ballet in certain highly selective programs (for instance, Indiana University) can actually be a career boost for dancers who aren’t ready to go the company route when they graduate from high school. There aren’t many such programs, but for those few, it’s by no means a poor use of parental dollars.</p>
<p>It’s not always about the salary. My very smart, talented daughter majored in vocal performance at a top conservatory-level program. She had planned to try to “make it” and was going to go to graduate school. However, during college she experienced a “calling” and is now a Postulant (hopefully, in a few weeks a Candidate) for Ordination in the Episcopal Church. She is a MDiv grad student. She really wasn’t very worried about the salary levels.
On the other hand, my son who just graduated from a US News top 5 (we all know how important those rankings are…) university is all about money. His English degree hasn’t slowed him down at all and he had 2 good job offers from which to choose. I’m banking on him buying me a vacation home in my old age (that would be in the next 3 years or so).</p>
<p>I’ll just note as a warning - I have a middleaged friend with degrees in theology and special education. She works as a clerk and does some editing. She has a tremendous debt load at this point.</p>
<p>Now, that said, I’m not supporting just going where the money is. I do worry about kids and families taking on lots of debt and going into low paying careers. I think kids should have to go through the exercise of at least attempting to make a post-college budget. Yes - it will be very inaccurate - but it will give them some idea of what $50,000 in loans could actually mean when you are pulling in about $40,000/year.</p>
<p>NEMOM, that is a consideration for students who are taking out loans that they were personally have to pay back. For some of us, the parents are footing the loans and college expenses. That is the case with our family. My kids are expected to support themselves when not in school (both are doing so in their respective fields, even if not raking in the dough), but neither are saddled with loans that THEY will pay back. WE are saddled with them. 
Thus, how much they earn upon graduating, for us, is not related to how much the college cost.</p>
<p>Oh for heaven’s sake. I didn’t send my kids to college to win a salary contest. They went to college for an education in a field of interest to them.</p>
<p>This.</p>
<p>I think articles like these are written primarily to sell ads, and I consider them slightly more credible than fiction. For example, the article linked to post #1 states that graphic design is one of the worst-paying careers. Yet, on a related link, there is another article stating that graphic design is one of the “hottest” careers!</p>
<p>Well, a career can be hot and low paying, I suppose.
Anyway - to all of you whose parents are able to cover your college costs while you take on a possibly low-paying career - COngrats! Thank them!<br>
And particularly to those going into the ‘helping professions’ - like teaching and elder-care - My personal thanks! We need you!
Back when I rode my dinosaur to school, people didn’t worry much about salary after college,but we also generally had a lot less debt. The problem now is that college costs have gone up faster than incomes, and kids can get loans for large amounts. It’s one thing to have a parent take out some loans. Generally, I think they can figure out what is affordable. But starry-eyed 18 year olds who have been told that college is the answer are another. They aren’t very money-savvy in general. I’ve certainly heard some silly things from kids of this age - like " Well, I’m entitled to go to any school I can get into." and “I don’t think it’s that hard to save up $100,000 for college anyway.”</p>