As a creative youngster I really wanted to major in (either) art or drama–really freaked out my mother, who was a successful business executive and had signed me up for classes in HS that I hated (typing, business). Looking back, I can only wonder what would have been had I received 100% support as an artist because I spent nearly all of my 20s conflicted and was not prepared to apply to the best arts colleges anyway. I wasted a lot of time being a square peg trying to squeeze myself into a round hole. My family wanted me to major in journalism because of my writing skills and because it was “practical”—well look what has happened in that field over the last 30 years! Thank goodness I rejected that idea and majored in English instead! I DID work on my college newspaper and I have earned money as a freelance writer, but my steady work has been as a high school English teacher. A liberal arts degree is the most flexible, but ultimately I feel very strongly that a student’s undergraduate education is really about following a passion, discovering oneself & finding kindred spirits.
I now have a son who has threatened to major in music–lol! And yes, it is forcing me to walk the talk. Yes, I am worried about his employment prospects BUT I have a good friend who has a master’s in music and he currently makes a good living in the tech industry. I don’t think he ever even took computer science classes in college. I have another friend who works as a developer who also never studied CS formally–he had been an art major in college. Both of these men were self-taught and/or got certifications online. That’s basically what I’ll be encouraging my son to do eventually. Job training is easier to get than “enlightenment.” Just my two cents.