"Useless Degrees"

A degree in something like media studies or gender studies is of no use in obtaining a job, sure you'll learn something, I've learned many skills but many of them will be of no assistance in getting a job. I just enjoy them.

 

You can get a degree in... Pre islamic arabic poetry? I'm muslim and i've grown up hearing stories about that, but i never knew you could get a degree in that! That's like the coolest thing ever! I don't think it's a waste of time either. Who cares what society thinks?

Also, i want to get a degree in linguistics, is that useless?

 

There are absolutely useless degrees. Like philosophy and gender studies. I'd say any degree that's not towards a high paying field is useless. In my opinion, the point of a degree is to make money. That said, nobody should be shaming people with useless degrees. Just remember it's your life, and nobody else's opinion on what you do really matters.

 

Not really. Like other people said some degrees lead to a job quicker than others. I'm lucky that the topic I'm passionate about isn't a "useless" degree. I don't look down on people who major in English or philosophy.

 

But by calling it a useless degree you are already looking down on it.

Do you know there are people with theater degrees that went in to become business consultants? Having a certain degree does not mean you won't have a good job afterwards, it just means you have a certain passion

 

I put it in quotation marks. I honestly don't understand certain degrees, but I'm willing to learn about them.

 

Sorry, I meant that more at baconpox. I should of quoted.

 

You can, yes, pre-islamic poetry, absolutely wonderful. But not just that, it's everything that comes with it, which is more food for people working with 0 and 1, or binary junkies like me. That's Arabic poetics (Arud) and Meter (tafa'il).
Cool that I find someone here that is interested

 

I'm majoring in English. My eventual goal is law school, and it's a good undergraduate degree to have when looking for programs in the legal field. I'm techincally doubling with communication, but that might end up getting dropped in favor of a theatre minor (which would be vastly more useless).

 

I'm not saying they can't have good jobs, or that they shouldn't pursue a useless degree, just that it's fiscally useless. It's gonna put them in debt that they could not be in had they majored in something related to their career or not gone to college. But if it's worth it to someone, good for them.

 

But you can't be sure q certain degree is fiscally useless.
But I suppose it is all a matter of oponion. Everyone does what is in their best interest.

For me it was a debate between business and creative writing. Got good advice from a friend the other day 'for once let your heart decided instead of your head". Because I tried to get a 'useful' degree before and ended up dropping out.

 

To be fair, I have a degree in Philosophy and finished undergrad with no debt. Most of the issues that people face are due to bad planning and unrealistic expectations. If you know what you're doing and know what you want, even with a so-called "useless" degree, you won't end up penniless and in debt. So I may agree that degrees such as this require a bit more forethought (they aren't for the casual college attendee whose only goal is 'lotsa money' after graduating), but if you have a plan they can be exactly right for someone (for example, I knew I was going to work in academia, which is what I do now).

 

My roommate has a degree in Philosophy and while I think it is awesome that he picked something that he was passionate about, I also can't help thinking that it was a bad call and that he would have been better off getting a more ''practical'' degree (and taking a few philosophy classes on the side) as the economical situation here is very bad and I feel like he'll forever have trouble finding a stable job or will be working for minimum wage for a very long time (if not all his life) because of that choice which for me is a shame.

We don't live in the US though, so here getting a degree is rather cheap and therefore a common thing. And because most people have a degree, employers do care about what you graduated in. My roommate though doesn't seem to have any ambition to pursue the needed course/exam to become a certificated philosophy teacher (not that there is any vacancies in that area right now) so he really only studied it for 'fun'.

Realistically though, that choice makes him less likely to find a job in anything but hospitality (as everyone have degrees in different fields) and even then there is so many competition right now (due to the lack of job) that it's extremely hard to secure a long-term job as a waiter.

I don't judge him for choosing to study a degree that he likes but I can't help but feel like he invested a lot of money and a lot of time into something that will probably bring him very little reward in the end.

( Hopefully though I am all wrong and he gets a job in whatever he wants to work in though, fingers crossed I guess. :icon_redf)

 

No, I don't seriously think there are.

I have many friends studying in arts and I will never ever denigrate them for choosing to study in that. However, some degrees offer more stable opportunities than others. Arts and Philosophy, for example, don't guarantee a job (most degrees don't, actually), but if you REALLY want to study in them, no one has a right to stop you. I don't think those domains always need a degree, though. You can be a musician or an artist without a degree.

This is why I chose to study translation instead. It offers so many opportunities while giving me the artistic freedom I crave. It is the right choice for me. Those degrees often looked at as useless also interest me, but I want school to give me a degree that will give me a job fast, which they won't do, unfortunately.

The only thing I think you shouldn't do is choose a domain you don't like just for the money. That's the easiest way to make your life hell.

 

Oh, geez. My major is Women's Studies. There are jobs in academia once we get a Ph.D. (although very, very few) and absolutely nowhere else.

 

I have a BA in music. The epitome of 'useless' degrees. XD

But seriously, though, you could do way worse:

16 most unusual university degrees - Save the Student

 

I don't think there's such a thing as completely useless degrees. A degree shows you have the ability to learn and the ability to commit to something (college) and work hard at it. If you have a degree, you likely learned some critical thinking skills that many people without degrees may not possess (statistically). So, a degree will help you. However, there are some degrees which don't have many jobs or pay little. I don't think there is anything really useless, though.

 

No degree is useless. That's used by close-minded people who assume everyone goes (or should go) to school just to get a high paying job in the field they studied. Most graduates don't work in the same field they majored in, anyway, and I refuse to believe it's all down to not being able to.

I'm majoring in Linguistics because it's something I'm fascinated in and have a natural talent for. It's pretty versatile, and has its own niche, but even now I'm not sure I'm going to work somewhere that specifically utilizes that knowledge. *shrugs*

If people with only a high school diploma, or less, are able to get jobs, how much more of an advantage for someone to stick through a four year program?

Pretty sure there was one of those freshman memes where the kid says he's going to study some rigorous science (can't remember the name), and next year switches to something like Business Administration or Communications.

 

"All art is quite useless." - Oscar Wilde. It's one of my favourite quotes and, to the practical mind, very true! What function does a painting serve? You can't eat it, you can't live in it, you can't cure ailments with it; useless! And most people pursuing an art's degree are told that, told that what they're doing is useless. And yet, no one would ever say 'this is stupid let's just get rid of all the arts'. So, no, there are no useless degrees.

I have a BA in English Lit, and I'm looking at going back to school for an MA in Counselling, which is a cross between sociological and psychological fields. The English degree would be 'useless', if I weren't an English teacher, living in a country that requires a BA for visa applicants, and going to use that degree both as a spring board for my Masters and as a teachable.