Instead of following the money, study a field that can hold your interests.
While all people are created equal, not all college majors are.
In the current economic situation, it makes sense financially to major in a field that is growing, has lots of jobs and pays well.
But during undergraduate college years, it is better for students to study something that they will enjoy doing rather than taking the safe route.
The current disparity between different majors in employment rate and payment is startling.
According to a study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce in January, the unemployment rate for those who major in architecture is 13.9 percent, while the rate for those majoring in areas such as engineering, the sciences, education and healthcare sits around 5.4 percent.
The study also found that recent college graduates who majored in engineering earn a median wage of $55,000 while recent grads who majored in areas such as arts, psychology and social work earn $30,000.
Butler University has an excellent overall job, graduate and gap year program placement percentage, with 96 percent placement over the past five years and 100 percent for education and pharmacy majors, according to the university’s website.
Butler student Billy Klimczak, a sophomore marketing and strategic communications major with a Spanish minor, said that he does not worry about finding a job after graduation since he has a diverse major.
“My major is so ambiguous, and public relations is a fast-growing industry, so I don’t worry,” Klimczak said. “You do have to enjoy your major or occupation because you need to be able to go to work and like what you do.”
“The way I see it,” freshman education major Greg Rearden said, “your job is a huge part of your life so you might as well enjoy it. The happiest people say they’ve never truly worked a day in their life because they love what they do.”
Unlike Klimczak, Rearden said that he is nervous about finding a job after graduation, since schools everywhere have been cutting back on the number of teachers they employ.
However, his point about the happiest people hits this issue right on the nose.
It does not matter if someone is the CEO of a multi-million dollar business, a pharmacist or a journalist if they are passionate about the work that they do.
If they are happy, then the paycheck should not be a factor.
Mark Twain said, “The law of work does seem utterly unfair—but there it is, and nothing can change it: the higher the pay in enjoyment the worker gets out of it, the higher shall be his pay in cash, too.”
So Butler students, next time you think about your major, think long and hard about if it is really, truly what you want to do with your life.
Will it make me happy? Will it make me feel fulfilled?
These are questions that every college student should ask themselves.
Do not be the person who wakes up 25 years from now and realizes that you hate what you do.
