Think of the most plaguing issues that jeopardize college completion: student debt, family crisis, substance abuse, limited of resources, or lack of enthusiasm.
The inspiring Nelson Mandela warned, “There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Instead of focusing on what careers equate to the most financial success, we should seek out the ones we are most passionate about.
What’s something you could do happily every day for the rest of your life? Everyone knows the jaded saying, “if you pick a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” But currently in our economy, is this a feasible option or a distant dream?
Too often, students pursue careers that are ill-fit and their happiness becomes practically volatile through lack of gratification. We should attempt to find a balance between the two.
A college education in today’s society is no longer an opportunity, but an apparent path to a successful life. Growing up, my parents never questioned “if” I would go to college, but only questioned “where?” I was first an ESL teacher, but now I’m going back to school to study medicine, as this field will ensure a steady salary.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) degrees are said to make the most money, but many of these students pursuing these fields aren’t doing it for themselves. Choice of major directly correlates to total income. That being said, it does not mean you cannot be a successful performing artist or a failing computer engineer. It’s all relative.
The average STEM major makes over $100,000 a year after graduation, with job offers practically falling at their feet. Only 5.6% of all college students major in these fields, and so it’s understandable why these fresh graduates have an easy run in comparison to their peers.
NPR states “… it can take 6-12 months for Liberal Arts majors to find a job in their field”. But according to Forbes magazine, people with some of the highest paying jobs in the States, used a Liberal Arts degree as a stepping stone into law school.
Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline. David Skorton of Forbes discovered, “A study by a Chicago State University professor bears this out: the top ten majors with the highest acceptance rates for law school include philosophy, anthropology, history and English. Both organizations advise prospective applicants to choose majors that interest and challenge them, work hard for excellent grades, develop their research and writing skills and make the most of the opportunities that come their way.”
On the other side, Olu Sanya’s report titled, “STEM Majors vs. Liberal Arts: Making Financial Sense of Your Major” covers the success or struggle of particular majors. STEM majors are coming up short in today’s economy in the U.S. and are in high demand. Whereas, Liberal Art majors are in surplus and thus have more trouble finding solidarity after graduation. If we are urged to go into fields we have little interest in, what inevitable personal collapses can one expect ten years down the road?
