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My S applied to a few deferred MBA programs in the spring while he was still a senior and ended up committing to one (which wouldn’t start for 2-3 years). I think he will only go if his MBB firm sponsors him. That would be great, but he’d still have to give up two school years’ worth of income. He’s wondering if it will be worth it. Hoping he will have some good senior people in his company advising him over the next couple of years.
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My kids are…
S - major Computational Modeling & Data Analytics, wants a job in data science, particularly interested in cybersecurity
D - major Environmental Science, plans to continue to at least a master’s. Current interest is working on ecological restoration but that may evolve (she’s a college freshman)
My husband and I…
Me -major Business/Marketing concentration, work in marketing research
Husband - major Electrical Engineering, work in software development for government contracts
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D19 was
BioChem & Spanish - Med School
Bio & Spanish - HS Teacher
D23
Education/Social Studies/History/ASL - HS Teacher(preferably in a school for the deaf)
We will see - TBD
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Me: Beauty school > English Lit > IT/C-suite > data analyst
I intended to work in a salon and didn’t intend to go to college at all. I went simply to solve my BF’s roommate problem for one semester, but future DH lived on her hall so I ended up staying. English was the only subject I was interested in. Ten years later, I dropped out of HBS.
DS: EE/robotics > MS/CS > Army Cyber > AI "Thought Master*”
In HS, DS thought he’d be applying to film schools but changed his mind and ended up in the Army where he was voluntold to major in EE/robotics. After that, computer engineering/cybersecurity/AI were the goals.
*Currently in negotiations between two civilian companies who want him in a principal AI engineering leadership role along with a buyout of an AI-enabled cyber tool he’s developed. Title to be made up as he sees fit. 
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We should also include what we or our kids intended to major in vs. what they ended up majoring in.
Older son planned to major in applied physics. He changed his major to Mechanical Engineering. Younger son was going to be premed and was at a school where a certain program required a student to major or double major in something outside of the science, so he started as a double major in chemistry and history. Changed his majors to chemical Engineering and psychology.
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One of my kids started put undeclared. Then declared bioengineering. Then added a second major in biology. Kid is a doctor…did not decide to apply to medical school until two years post undergrad degree.
Second kid…started out as a music major, and got both bachelors and masters in music performance, and is a freelance musician.
DH started out as a physics major. Took some “time away” from college and was a very successful freelance theater technician. Then went back to college and got his degree in electrical engineering.
I started out as a music performance major. Then switched to music education. Then switched colleges, and switched major to speech language pathology where I got both my masters and bachelors degrees. Took advanced courses in administration, reading consultant, special education.
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Me: Biology Major. My college didn’t have minors but I had something like 23 credit hours in Chemistry.
I became a CPA.
After doing an internship in Medical Laboratory Technology and spending 5 years doing that, I wanted out. Back in the 1980’s if you had a degree (any major) you could take a certain number of courses/credits in Accounting and Business and sit for the CPA exam. That’s what I did. Worked in corporate accounting/finance. No regrets.
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My kid never deviated from her major. Went in thinking chemical engineering and graduated with that degree. Her biggest “surprise” was adding a concentration in polymers and material science engineering. She’ll likely do her MBA at some point down the road as she wants to run the place ; )
I personally went from bio/pre med to psych. I intended to do counseling psychology but ended up doing hospice counseling and then being on the leadership team and running some departments. So, stayed in the health care realm. Mostly though I spent most of my “career” being a stay at home mom and a volunteer.
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D20 - went in undeclared, majored in Social Work. Just finished up her MSW program and is working as a Mentor Coordinator and Outpatient therapist for a non-profit service agency.
D24 - majoring in ChemE. Hopes to work in cosmetics, personal care or food/beverage manufacturing.
I majored in US History, with no idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up. A few years after graduation I returned to school and earned my MEd in Instructional Media and Technology. I’ve worked as an instructional designer for nearly 30 years.
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S22 - started as a CivE major, realized he preferred MechE, ended up with both. Has his first post college job as a MechE.
S26 - not done yet, but he’s wanted to major in Construction Management since 8th grade and, as a college sophomore, that’s his current major.
Me? I’m a mess. I started college as a biology major, planning on med school. Spring of junior year I failed Organic Chemistry 2, a required class for the major (and the last one I needed). I did some soul searching that summer and realized I didn’t actually love biology and wasn’t particularly good at it. At the same time, without trying, I had completed all the requirements (minus one) for a public policy major. So I switched to public policy. Then, because we had abysmal career counseling and I didn’t know what to do with myself, I went to law school. Now, 26 years post graduation and passing the bar, while I’m technically a lawyer I’ve never practiced law. I was a lobbyist for a while, then worked for the gov in leg affairs, but the bulk of my career has been in Administration, or Management. I run things like HR, Budget, Procurement, Facilities, Security and IT. And I didn’t need a law degree for any of that. 
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Older kid planned to be a dentist, so they started off intending to major in biology. Decided against being a dentist, switched schools, majored in Medicine, Health & Society. Works in the healthcare technology space, but not in a technical role.
Younger kid planned to be a pharmacist and was accepted into a direct admit pharmacy program. Decided against it after attending seminars freshman year that opened their eyes to the fact that the area of pharmacy they were interested in was not easy to get into - and they didn’t want to work in a drug store. Switched schools, finished college because they figured they should, graduated with a biology degree. Currently works in a role that typically hires electrical engineers, working for an international company that actually does ongoing training for its employees.
My degree was Industrial Administration. I worked in automotive at first, but I pivoted to higher education when I took a job at my alma mater managing cooperative education programs. That just sort of morphed into all areas of higher education administration (admissions, registrar, financial aid).
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My child’s major is still relevant to her current job, however, the “numbers” side of her major ended up becoming far more important to her career goal than she ever imagined. In fact, a throwaway AP class in high school has lead her to where she is now.
Her career has taken a much different direction to what she ever anticipated. She is soon starting a job that some might say is glamorized on television. It’s been super interesting to see it unfold.
My son’s major is 100% relevant to his job and in fact, he has become more obsessed with it than I could have ever imagined. He works for himself, living the digital nomad lifestyle. Knock me down with a feather. This is the kid who once said “I’m going to the easiest college possible and I’m never doing any of that master’s degree stuff.” He was wrong on the first count and might be wrong on the second, given that he and his gf started prepping for the GMAT.
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My 2nd student hadn’t a clue what she’d do - like many.
Her major was International Studies but she needed to add a 2nd as part of a program she was in - and added Poli Sci.
She landed in what seems to be a nice spot - in a public service program for teaching.
But she had no interest in teaching - nor did she have interest in sitting behind and desk and cranking excel.
So there was no intended job - but this one, so far, seems to be good - except that she’s always sick…always sick - which I guess comes with teaching elementary kids (so she says).
My other is in a job type I expected (engineer at an aero plant although I could have seen automotive too) - what he’s doing I couldn’t say is what I would expect but I’m sure it’s in the realm - and I don’t really understand a lot of it. But he’s on point to his intention I believe.
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I majored in sociology (my 1st choice of community service & public affairs was vetoed by mom). Went to law school. Practiced law in a firm until taking about a decade off to raise kids. Eventually I pivoted & got very active in public health and created a nonprofit that I run today and have for 20 years.
H graduated in accounting but ended up working with computers in system management. The last decade of his 45 year career he was in charge of the phone system at his workplace. He never did any accounting.
S got an EE degree and eventually a PE certification. He was a project manager for fed govt for a decade but pivoted to his real love, being an entrepreneur. He took a leave of absence during covid and then quit and has been his own boss ever since. (His real love is traveling, especially using a lot of points from credit cards—he and DIL travel widely & frequently.)
D is a cinema major and has helped with video editing and with a lot of friends’ films.
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I majored in English because I love literature and wanted to be a writer. Eventually ended up teaching college writing and literature for the better part of 30ish years, with a detour to being a student support counselor for about ten years along the way. I’ve kept up writing, though never made a career of it, just freelance publishing along the way.
H was a chem major who became a combined bio and philosophy major (emphasis on ethics). He eventually went to med school and became a pediatrician running inner city clinics, eventually quit to be a very happy high school biology teacher.
D started in biology (marine interest) and changed to poli sci. Now does freelance communications for several environmental groups.
S started in astronomy and changed to psychology. Now is a senior director in data research and analysis for a non-profit.
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ShawSon thought he was interested in constitutional law and strategy. A freshman seminar on the Economics of Happiness led him to want to study behavioral economics. He was very, very good at math and also dyslexic and so I suggested he take a math course every semester, which was sufficient for a math major (which he found trivial to the level he studied). So he majored in math, econ and an independent major in behavioral econ, which basically added some psych courses and independent studies in behavioral econ. He later did a MS in Data Science/Computational and Mathematical Engineering and an MBA. He co-founded a fintech firm (and got venture backing) in his last semester of school.
ShawD thought she would study biology. A week into school, she wanted to switch her major to nursing. The school would not let her. She transferred to a school that admitted her to a five year BSN/MSN. She has worked as an FNP for close to a decade in primary care and also became the medical director of one and now three clinics. She recently completed a degree as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at night and will open a private practice after her wedding.
ShawWife always wanted to be an artist but her father told her she needed to figure out a way to make a living. So, she studied botany and art, got a job as a naturalist in a natural park, created life size puppet shows instead of fireside chats with brochures which turned out to create a lot more park-goer interest. She then decided to go to art school and has been a painter/printmaker showing works in galleries and museums. A lot of her work has to do with nature so the botany may well have come in handy.
Like @OctoberKate, I have had a checkered career. I studied math, statistics, and social science and grad school. As a grad student, I decided to begin work in what was a very nascent field that was tangentially related to what I had been studying. I talked my way into a post-doc and then a professorship concentrating on this nascent field (there were no departments at that time). A coauthor and I completed one of the most cited books in the field when we were in our early 30s. I then left for a 5-6 year stint as an investment banker and then working for a family office. As that ended, I decided I did not want to be a full time academic and though I retain an appointment, I co-founded a consulting firm and later wrote co-authored another book that is much less cited but I humbly think remains the most sophisticated work in the field. In addition to the consulting firm, I have co-founded a hedge fund, a tech company, and now a pro bono venture to use insurance to prevent one of the major crises toward which the world is heading. So, basically, I’m a guy who has ideas and translates them into companies and books. I’m no good at actually getting things done so I need to partner with people who get things done.
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Sometimes it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And while you didn’t need a law degree it helps on a lot of levels.