Tags: education, college, colleges, college majors, fields of study
Most Useless College Majors
List of the most pointless university majors and fields of study guaranteed to not lead to gainful post-graduation employment. In April of 2012, the Daily Beast ran their list of 13 pointless college majors; now it's your turn to sound off on the coursework that will most poorly prepare you to enter the job market. Often, when students first enter a community college or four-year university program, they're encouraged to pursue a course of study that most interests them. The idea is that they will first become dedicated to, and excited about, learning something, and then they'll eventually figure out how to apply their interests towards pursuing a career. But as the economy continues to struggle, and jobs for recent grads dry up, this philosophy is being reconsidered (as is studying philosophy in general.) "English majors working as barista" jokes aside, graduating with a degree in a humanities subject deemed as "useless" can be a real detriment to finding work post-graduation, even as newly-minted electrical engineers and computer developers get snatched up quickly by startups and tech companies.
This list provides some insight into the majors seen as "most useless" by the public at large. Vote for the departments you'd be least likely to join on your nearest campus, and if we've missed a major you think is utterly without merit, add it at the bottom of the page.
This list provides some insight into the majors seen as "most useless" by the public at large. Vote for the departments you'd be least likely to join on your nearest campus, and if we've missed a major you think is utterly without merit, add it at the bottom of the page.
674 voters +
8 reranks
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- 1Up 285Down 52added by: School Buddy
- 2Up 210Down 117
Religious Studies
added by: School Buddy - 3Up 211Down 114added by: School Buddy
- 4Up 159Down 91
Fine art
added by: School Buddy - 5Up 115Down 60added by: School Buddy
- 6Up 151Down 100added by: School Buddy
- 7Up 175Down 68added by: School Buddy
- 8Up 73Down 30added by: School Buddy
- 9Up 134Down 98
Theater Arts
added by: School Buddy - 10Up 58Down 22
Bachelor in Cooperative
added by: School Buddy - 11Up 15Down 5
Dance
- 12Up 114Down 102
Interior design
added by: School Buddy - 13Up 121Down 98added by: School Buddy
- 14Up 8Down 9
Travel and Tourism
- 15Up 13Down 5
Fashion design
- 16Up 42Down 28
One Laptop Per Child
added by: School Buddy - 17Up 104Down 122
Film
added by: School Buddy - 18Up 81Down 118added by: School Buddy
- 19Up 28Down 15
Underwater Basket Weaving
added by: mwahahahaha“ No college majors on that yet, but trust me, there will be soon „ - 20Up 90Down 114
Music
added by: School Buddy - 21Up 60Down 96added by: School Buddy“ Unfortunately, the number of jobs in the field itself is not growing, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. And Shatkin agrees. "Better than agriculture, but not by much. If you're lucky, you may find some way to apply that to a related business like food processing or production," he says.
Total Number of Farmers and Ranchers in 2008: 985,900
Projected Change in Number of Jobs 2008-2018: -79,200
Percent Change: -8 „ - 22Up 108Down 129added by: School Buddy
- 23Up 13Down 2
- 24Up 8Down 9
Social Work
- 25Up 5Down 1
Museum Problems
added by: CollegeProf - 26Up 11Down 3
Fine Arts
- 27Up 2Down 1
Disruption
added by: zxray“ Exclusive at USC...thanks Dr. Dre and USC! Guess I'll be backing the Bruins now..... „ - 28Up 8Down 12
Criminal Justice
- 29Up 47Down 92added by: School Buddy
- 30Up 65Down 110
Archaeology
added by: School Buddy - 31Up 9Down 6
Winemaking
added by: zxray - 32Up 89Down 113
Photography
added by: School Buddy - 33Up 9Down 14
Hotel & Restaurant Management
added by: Jonathan Ogena - 34Up 12Down 5
Golf Management
added by: zxray - 35Up 97Down 141added by: School Buddy
- 36Up 89Down 131added by: School Buddy
- 37Up 84Down 124
Journalism
added by: School Buddy - 38Up 45Down 106added by: School Buddy“ When schools such as the University of Idaho cut their agriculture programs, you know times are tough for this degree. The state has more than 25,000 farms, for cow's sake, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture census, in 2007.
Still, if your idea of a good day is getting up with the sun and working till it sets as an agricultural manager, a degree in agriculture might be your calling.
Just don't expect farms and ranches to be calling you, says Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., and author of "The 10 Best College Majors for Your Personality." "It's true that farms are becoming more efficient now and so there is less of a need for farm managers," he says. That means less jobs. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor projects 64,000 fewer jobs in this field over the next seven years.
Total Number of Agricultural Managers in 2008: 1,234,000
Projected Change in Number of Jobs 2008-2018: -64,600
Percent Change: -5 „ -
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Most Useless College Majors at 11/14/2012 3:30 PM
Most Useless College Majors at 11/01/2012 5:30 AM
Most Useless College Majors at 5/10/2012 12:22 PM
Most Useless College Majors at 4/24/2012 1:25 PM
Most Useless College Majors at 4/27/2012 4:22 PM
Most Useless College Majors at 4/28/2012 2:44 AM