<p>Whoa… I wasn’t busting on your choice of major. I pretty much agree with everything you wrote and I’m really just curious as to what you would do with those majors. And, BTW, you don’t have to sell me on BYU and how good it is. I already know - I graduated from BYU many moons ago. Back then, sociology was the sportsman’s major - lots of athletes in that major. My questions to you were simply put out to gather some info for my D.</p>
<p>Based on your response, I still wonder about what strong students (like you) will do with those specific majors (if they are not already planning to go to grad school). I know students who are at BYU now studying in those fields and they aren’t sure what they will do when they finish. In a rough job market, that uncertainty can be very stressful. I also have other friends who have graduated from BYU with those degrees and they are doing things that don’t even require a college degree, let alone a degree in IR or econ. For this latter group, part of the problem might be that where they chose to live (Hawaii) has only a limited market for people holding those degrees and a lot of that market is covered by UH graduates. </p>
<p>Given those facts, I’m still left to wonder if those degrees are marketable right out of BYU undergrad. I would imagine that an IR degree from an east coast school (Gtown, GW, etc.) would be more marketable due to pure geographic location, i.e.- close to the seat of government. As for econ, do companies even hire non-PhD economists anymore? </p>
<p>Since you seem to be the CC expert on all things BYU, do you know how many/what type of companies come on-campus to recruit undergrads in those majors (IR and econ)? Or, are those majors the kind where you are almost required to go to graduate school to get a job? </p>
<p>I’ve been out of the game for a while and have two years to gather some info before my D goes to college. Interestingly enough, she likes both of those majors. Since I’ll have to pay for it, I’m hoping for the biggest bang for my buck and just trying to do my due diligence before I make an investment… :)</p>