This is an archive article published on November 14, 2022

Journalism, sociology, liberal arts most regretted college degrees: Report

Computer science (selected by 13 per cent) came out a the most desired degree among the candidates who regret their college degree choice, followed by business administration (selected by 11 per cent).

Job hiring trends, hiring trends, Jobs report, popular courses

According to the report, earnings vary within the same occupation by education level. (Photo credit: Unsplash.com)

5 min readNew DelhiNov 22, 2022 01:28 PM IST First published on: Nov 14, 2022 at 02:59 PM IST

Students spend three to four years getting a college degree, and some even have to pick up education/ study loans. But is it worth it? Candidates who have earned a degree in journalism, sociology, communication etc disagree as a lot of them regret getting a college degree.

Most loved and regretted jobs

A recent survey by ZipRecruiter claims that 44 per cent of all current job seekers with college degrees regret their college major choice. According to the survey, 87 per cent of journalism degree holders said they would choose a different degree if they were given a second chance.

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In the list of most regretted college majors, the second spot is for sociology, and liberal arts and general studies (both at 72 per cent), followed by communication degree (64 per cent) and education degree (61 per cent). Marketing management and research, medical/clinical assisting, political science and government, biology, and English language and literature are also on the list.

On the other hand, 72 per cent candidates who earned a degree in computer and information sciences, and criminology say they would once again opt for the same degree if given a choice. These are closely followed by engineering graduates (71 per cent) and nursing (69 per cent) and health (67 per cent) degree holders .

Other regret-free college degrees are business administration and management (66 per cent), finance (66 per cent), psychology (65 per cent), construction trades (65 per cent) and human resource management (58 per cent).

Additionally, computer science (selected by 13 per cent) came out as the most desired degree among the candidates who regret their college degree choice, followed by business administration (selected by 11 per cent).

Are graduate degrees important for jobs?

The Georgetown University recently released a report ‘The College Payoff’ on education and the workforce that claims that a Bachelor’s degree is worth $2.8 million on average over a lifetime, but a lot of students and parents are now hesitant about the worth of a four-year degree.

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However, the report also found that there is a wide variation in earnings by occupation even among people with the same degree. For example, financial managers with a Bachelor’s degree earn $3.1 million over a lifetime, while accountants and auditors with a Bachelor’s make $2.5 million. The difference in these two is not the degree but the occupation.

But, speaking in favour of degrees, earnings also vary within the same occupation by education level. For instance, truck drivers with less than a high school diploma make $1.3 million over a lifetime, compared to $1.5 million for truck drivers with a high school diploma. Elementary and middle school teachers with a Bachelor’s degree make $1.8 million over a lifetime, compared with $2.2 million for those with a Master’s degree.

The same, however, is not true if you factor in some factors such as gender and race. According to the report, women who work full-time, full-year earn 25 per cent less than men at similar education levels. The report shows that women earn less at all degree levels, even when they work as much as men. On average, women who work full-time, full-year earn 25 per cent less than men, even at similar education levels. This difference of career choice according to gender has also been noted in the ZipRecruiter survey where only 8 per cent of women who regret their majors wish they had studied computer science, compared with 19 per cent of men.

Similarly, at the highest education level, African Americans and Latinos earn close to a million dollars less than their white and Asian counterparts over a lifetime. The data in the Georgetown University report shows that African Americans and Latinos with Master’s degrees have lifetime earnings lower than Whites with bachelor’s degrees.

So, the reports shows that an education degree matters as it does pay more. “The difference in earnings between those who go to college and those who don’t is growing — meaning that postsecondary education is more important than ever,” the report states. However, it is not true for every scenario as several other factors (such as type of occupation, gender and race) have different effects on salaries and job prospects.