Majors aren't worthless

In the United States, we expect high school freshman and sophomores to already have a career plan mapped out in front of them.

School counselors and advisers ask students their future career plans so they can get them in classes that are relatable to these degrees.

When we get to college, undecided majors are characterized as lost.

But finding a major is hard, especially since almost every major has some sort of stigma surrounding it.

At IU those stigmas are as strong as ever.

Some stereotypes I’ve heard about the different majors include how music majors are potheads, journalism majors are hipsters and theater students are, well, fabulous.

The list goes on and on.

As with any stereotype, these generalizations are widely unproven and hold no real
weight.

Nor should they be used as criteria for choosing your future career.

However, when a stereotype involves money, people start to pay attention.

And money often drives them to make choices they otherwise don’t want to make.

I can’t even begin to estimate how many people I’ve met who had dreams of majoring in music, education, theatre or philosophy.

These people had gone through high school loving band or play rehearsal.

They loved to volunteer with children after school or write long, beautiful stories or articles.

When they were told to choose a career path, however, they were berated for their choice either by their school, their friends or their parents.

They were told that they should major in business or chemistry or computer science — things many of them just aren’t interested in.

Fast forward to now. Many of them are in the Kelley School of Business and absolutely miserable because they don’t love what they do.

If you Google “most useless majors,” thousands of results come up, giving statistics that “prove” why anything related to art, architecture, writing, philosophy or music is just not worth the time.

My major is on several of these lists as well.

So why am I not in Kelley studying accounting or marketing? Because I love what I am studying.

It’s easier for me to get up and go to class. It’s easier for me to study. And it’s easier for me to take tests or write papers if I love what I do.

Being happy with and excited about your job is worth more than any paycheck.

Period.

­— ajguenth@iu.edu
Follow columnist Andrew Guenther on Twitter @GuentherAndrew.