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.
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- 1Up 274Down 50added by: School Buddy
- 2Up 203Down 113
Religious Studies
added by: School Buddy - 3Up 202Down 111added by: School Buddy
- 4Up 68Down 27added by: School Buddy
- 5Up 151Down 89
Fine art
added by: School Buddy - 6Up 143Down 97added by: School Buddy
- 7Up 107Down 58added by: School Buddy
- 8Up 169Down 66
added by: School Buddy - 9Up 54Down 19
Bachelor in Cooperative
added by: School Buddy - 10Up 126Down 95
Theater Arts
added by: School Buddy - 11Up 9Down 3
Dance
- 12Up 108Down 97
Interior design
added by: School Buddy - 13Up 114Down 95added by: School Buddy
- 14Up 39Down 26
One Laptop Per Child
added by: School Buddy - 15Up 10Down 1
Fashion design
- 16Up 24Down 11
Underwater Basket Weaving
added by: mwahahahaha“ No college majors on that yet, but trust me, there will be soon „ - 17Up 100Down 118
Film
added by: School Buddy - 18Up 77Down 114added by: School Buddy
- 19Up 107Down 121added by: School Buddy
- 20Up 6Down 6
Criminal Justice
- 21Up 57Down 92added 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 5Down 2
Fine Arts
- 23Up 84Down 113
Music
added by: School Buddy - 24Up 5Down 4
Social Work
- 25Up 3Down 6
Travel and Tourism
- 26Up 6Down 1
- 27Up 6Down 5
Golf Management
added by: zxray - 28Up 63Down 105
Archaeology
added by: School Buddy - 29Up 41Down 86added by: School Buddy
- 30Up 7Down 9
Hotel & Restaurant Management
added by: Jonathan Ogena - 31Up 5Down 5
Winemaking
added by: zxray - 32Up 85Down 110
Photography
added by: School Buddy - 33Up 94Down 136added by: School Buddy
- 34Up 86Down 126added by: School Buddy
- 35Up 82Down 119
Journalism
added by: School Buddy - 36Up 42Down 102added 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