<p>Here is my list for most marketable IMO:</p>
<p>1.) Engineering</p>
<p>2.) Business (e.g. accounting, finance not sure about marketing)</p>
<p>3.) Economics</p>
<p>4.) Math</p>
<p>5.) Computer Science/IT/MIS (MIS can also fall under business)</p>
<p>“Just because that’s all that’s required, doesn’t mean that all they all take. That’s what the people studying history of econ take.”</p>
<p>Other than defending the virtue of Econ, does your post have relevance to this thread ? Are you saying that an econ major is versatile, <em>assuming</em> the student has exceeded the major’s requirements in maths ? If so, I am curious how much more math is required in your opinion.</p>
<p>Incidentally, my posting Calc III as a typical math knowledge of an Econ major was based on WUSTL’s curriculum. I figured this matched or exceeded 95% of US universities. UG economics degrees geared towards grad school are a different matter, and not the topic of this thread.</p>
<p>It may perhaps be self-selection, which of course is going to be really worrisome. Perhaps, it is simply that economics is more popular at the top schools than it is at bottom tier schools.</p>
<p>I really don’t know. </p>
<p>Maybe econ has just the right mix of math combined with essay writing? Maybe it teaches a valuable skill-set that math/phys doesn’t teach? Maybe the people in economics are more inclined to go into business and make more money than math/phys students (which is likely, I think). </p>
<p>I don’t know.</p>
<p>Quote:
As an RN for 24 years…nursing. I’ve always written my own ticket. Not just clinical to choose from-teaching,research,IT,travel,armed forces,occupational,pharmaceuticals. </p>
<p>After doing it for a while, do you get control over your schedule? Any input about Nurse Anesthetist? Life style, stress? </p>
<p>Nurse Anes-I know ake more $ than some GP MDs-you would need critical care exp and of course further education.
Life style/stress-the higher stress positions,with holiday/weekend req(hospital) pay more $ than say school,Dr. office,etc
With exp you can do traveling, weekender positions (work 2 12 hr days, get paid full-time.</p>
<p>1) Science majors (if you’re planning on going on to graduate school) &/or Engineering
2) Foreign language majors (I’m not talking Sandskrit, I’m talking more Middle Eastern or Mandarin Chinese)</p>
<p>America is facing a shortage of engineers. If you are an engineering major and have an average to good GPA, you will have no problem finding a job. Architecture, Business and other technical majors are also very marketable.</p>
<p>I talked to someone the other day who majored in women’s studies at Simmons. She’s about to graduate and probably will do volunteer work next year. The same goes with a friend at Brandeis majoring in history and french (non-profit volunteer work or grad school). Those are not marketable majors right now.</p>
<p>EricLG - the level of math required for an economics degree can vary greatly between a BA and a BS. Not all colleges offer both.</p>
<p>I’m personally a BME at wustl. Just wanted to point out a little bit of perspective: the general populace does not know algebra well. The general populace does not know geometry well. The general populace doesn’t know ANY CALCULUS. Only engineers/doctors/econ.s/cs’s/teachers/students know any calc (+any small group I forgot). The rest of the population (probably 90-95ish) don’t know any calc, so skills in calc are fairly high math skills when compared to the rest of the population.</p>
<p>I’m a parent who has expanded her horizons – I’m learning that Philosophy is a very marketable major for 2 reasons – 1. the ability to read, digest and then summarize and 2. because philosophy majors can be very good at verbiage & adapting – aka can make a resume sound great to fit individual jobs.</p>
<p>I also agree with Econ provided it had basic accounting and maketing courses. Very adaptable for most business jobs.</p>
<p>@NINJAINVENTOR, do you mean the general populace forgot most of their calculus? I think most of the majors require at least Calc I/II. I definitely would agree that 10 years later, the majors you listed are likely to be the ones that remember it, though. I would say quite a few could still do simple integrals and derivatives, but not too much more.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say Calculus skills are fairly high math skills even compared to the rest of the population, if people are learning them in high school. </p>
<p>I would saw that most engineering/science majors are the most marketable, but you should only do those if you’re interested in them. You can definitely have much more success/money with a humanities major, so there isn’t a point to do it if you don’t really enjoy it.</p>
<p>Arguing about how “difficult” the or “intelligent” people have to be to complete a major is a bit silly.</p>
<p>Why not instead provide input detailing why it’s good or marketable to have a major? For example, I find some majors/skill sets have a wider breadth of application. Some can arguable have more longevity.</p>
<p>I’m providing an example to help explain what I meant by marketable. I’m not certain my statement is 100% accurate, but I hope you’ll get the idea.</p>
<p>Pharmacist, I find this marketable/flexible for the following reasons.</p>
<p>Pros:
1: Every town in the U.S.needs a Pharmacists, actually even more than one due to aging populations ect… This means, the job is portable, you won’t be tied to particular states/cities to get work.
2: Pharmacists are well paid. They may not break the bank, but do make a decent living.
3: Pharmacists have more flexibility in setting hours. Unlike doctors that have to be on call because accidents happen when they will, a pharmacist can work when they want.</p>
<p>Cons:
1: Not too much flexibility in the industry or type of job you will do.
2: Not a huge X factor for getting rich.
3: Pay will be pretty much on par for all Pharmacists, a great one won’t get
much more compensation than a mediocre one.</p>
<p>I’m also trying to get a sense of majors that will help one get jobs that can be compatible with a variety of life styles. Jet set, home body, ect…</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>Apparently pharmacists can make really huge amounts of money (I’m talking 300K+/year after bonus for retail pharmacists) if they work in places like in small towns in Alaska or other very harsh climates. Though they also sign several-year contracts, with much more moderate annual pay, and then a 1, 1.5, 2M Bonus at the end of several years.</p>
<p>2nd Hand information.</p>
<p>I know someone very interested in Women’s Studies, but is afraid this may not be marketable as a primary major. What could one do with Women’s Studies and do you necessarily have to have another major or minor?</p>
<p>panamamike, you’re thinking about it the wrong way. Most college majors do not prepare you for a specific career. There are exceptions such as engineering, nursing, accounting, and education, but by and large, this is not the case. However, most colleges can and do try to teach you general skills that can be applied to a wide variety of careers. And certain careers will certainly find those general skills very useful, but in almost every career, you will need to show employers other important skills. The discussion you likely want to have is a more career-oriented discussion, and not a college-major oriented one. (note: this is also true for grad school, law school, med school, and everything else under the sun). </p>
<p>Women’s Studies likely does not teach very many relevant skills besides the all-important communication and writing skills that every liberal arts major learns, however, you may some extra expertise on women’s issues which can be applied to disciplines in law, social work, and perhaps medicine/education. Seems like a pretty general liberal arts major to me, which is not completely useless, mind you. </p>
<p>Also, this economy is very terrible for entry level college grads. </p>
<p>One should almost certainly not make a decision about what to major in solely on marketability, but instead consider what one might enjoy, and what one is going to do after college (note, this is far away, and it will change, but I really wish I thought about this more when I was younger).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What? What kind of pharmacist are you talking about? I’m guessing this isn’t your CVS or Walgreens pharmacist.</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>I remember gravenewworld’s thread about majoring in math. He/she talked about how things are starting to become not so great for pharmacists because there’s a rise of degree mill pharmaceutical schools and many large pharmacies are consolidating their pharmacists to save money, creating fewer pharmaceutical jobs. I’ve been curious as to how accurate this is.</p>
<p>It might be accurate today but once we fully map the human genome and pharma has to switch from the mass production model back to genetically specific variance we may see the rise of the compound pharmacist from days of yore rise from the ashes. I predict when that happens whatever is presently true about the marketability of the degree will four-fold. Sounds a little sci fi, but there are great minds in biotech who’d predict this as well.</p>
<p>Just because a major requires it, does not necessarily mean a person develops any real skill in a subject. For example, my major will require me to take a social science course (I’ll probably choose psych). Doesn’t mean I’ll know much in psych. Passing a course is not equivalent to having skill in a course. Plus, as you said, the vast majority of those who have taken such courses likely don’t remember them. Being able to take the concepts of calculus (or any upper level mathematics), and apply them to novel situations that you have not been directly trained for is clearly a skill.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The vast majority of people never take calculus. Many people that do fail to ever learn it. Many that learn it quickly forget out of lack of use.</p>
<p>“What? What kind of pharmacist are you talking about? I’m guessing this isn’t your CVS or Walgreens pharmacist.”</p>
<p>I’m talking small towns… So likely there aren’t CVS/Walgreen stores. I don’t know what stores, but they have to have a pharmacist everywhere, and since most can make a good living in a nice area, they have trouble finding those who want to live in a small town inland in Alaska even for insane salaries. </p>
<p>That’s just want I’ve been told.</p>