The College Fix

College students have scores of majors to choose from. Since most college students see getting a well-paying job the primary purpose of a college degree, it’s worthwhile for them to ask: Which college majors offer the best return on investment?

At National Review Online, Reihan Salam seeks to answer that question by citing recent data from Chile:

To shed light on why a growing number of college graduates in the affluent market democracies are experiencing ex-post regret about the time and resources devoted to higher education, Justine Hastings, Christopher Neilson, and Seth Zimmerman have a new paper on labor market outcomes for Chileans who enrolled in postsecondary education from 1985 to 2011:

“…Returns are positive and significant only among more-selective degrees. Returns are highly heterogeneous by field of study, with large returns in health, law and social science, as well as selective technology and business degrees. We find small to negative returns in arts, humanities and education degrees.”

This is an issue that too few students understand when they head off to college. Especially because academic professionals are often the first to downplay the economic considerations of choosing one major over another. Instead, they are likely to emphasize learning for learning’s sake. As a result, many students do not realize how dramatically their choice of major will impact their future job prospects and future earnings.

It seems like commons sense. An engineering major stands to make far more money than a gender studies major in most cases. Yet, the world is full of young graduates in the humanities and arts who are stunned to find that high-paying jobs are not simply lined up for the taking as soon as they walk off the graduation stage.

I’m a humanities graduate, and don’t regret it for a minute. But for millions of other young graduates facing a tough job market, that isn’t the case.

The lesson of the study above is this: Know what you are buying.

If students were better educated about the economic consequences of their choice of major–there is no doubt that there would be fewer who choose arts and humanities majors. In any case, it is possible to have a well-balanced education (one that includes plenty of arts and humanities electives) while still majoring in a subject that will boost your employment prospects at the end of four years. Even engineering majors are allowed to take Shakespeare.

It seems so obvious that it shouldn’t need saying. But the major you choose will profoundly affect your employment prospects. This is information that freshman heading off to college this fall would do well to keep in mind.

Nathan Harden is editor of The College Fix and author of the book SEX & GOD AT YALE: Porn, Political Correctness, and a Good Education Gone Bad.

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