Advice From Recent College Grads: Don’t Major in the Humanities
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Rutgers University researchers surveyed recent college graduates about what they would have done differently in college. The most common answer was pick a different major.
About 37 percent said they would have been more careful about selecting my major or chosen a different major.
About 29 percent said they would have done more internships or worked part time.
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Much, much farther down the option list, about three percent of recent graduates said they would not have gone to college at all.
The online survey of a nationally representative sample of 444 college graduates from the classes of 2006 through 2011 has a sampling error of +/- 5 percentage points.
So what would those who regretted their choice of major have picked instead? Not the humanities.
Majors like communications, education, nursing and social work topped the list instead.
The Rutgers researchers write: It is apparent that very little future-oriented thinking goes into the selection of majors among college students. Far fewer than half (39%) reported having thought about job opportunities in the field when deciding upon their major.
What Type of Major Would You Have Chosen Instead?
(Asked of those who said they would have changed majors to be more successful)
| Professional major (like communications, education, nursing or social work) | 41% |
| Math, science, engineering or technology | 29% |
| Business (like finance or accounting) | 17% |
| Social science (like psychology, sociology, economics or political science) | 7% |
| Humanities (like history, art, English or a foreign language) | 4% |
Source: Chasing the American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession | John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University
