If you're 18 and going to college, should you study what you want to study or what will be employable?

[Mitakaa1341]

like suppose the passion is for something like physics, english lit etc which has a high unemployment rate post grad, and the alternatives are more practical engineering majors.

wht shud u choose?

seems like even practical engineering majors are gonna get cooked in the future with ai, so might as well study wht you're passionate about and idk learn a skilled trade on the side (plumbing etc)

 

[Rabbi]

You shouldn’t be going to college unless you are getting a degree/qualification that’s required for your future career. Anything else is just blowing away time and money

 

[NotsoNolann]

Take all that money for college and buy a business in Miami

 

[Mitakaa1341]

You shouldn’t be going to college unless you are getting a degree/qualification that’s required for your future career. Anything else is just blowing away time and money

wht about in the context of career, wht to choose for a career? something that's hard to get a job in but ur passionate about it vs something that's more employable but can also mayhaps not be as employable eventually

 

[Rabbi]

wht about in the context of career, wht to choose for a career? something that's hard to get a job in but ur passionate about it vs something that's more employable but can also mayhaps not be as employable eventually

Employability trumps, tbh. I have a few friends who did enjoyment degrees e.g criminology, anthropology, languages. All are working in jobs irrelevant to their qualifications.

You can always take a passion subject as a minor

 

[Mitakaa1341]

Employability trumps, tbh. I have a few friends who did enjoyment degrees e.g criminology, anthropology, languages. All are working in jobs irrelevant to their qualifications.

You can always take a passion subject as a minor

would you consider computer science an employable major in the current/future economic climate?

 

[Rabbi]

would you consider computer science an employable major in the current/future economic climate?

Tbh not nearly as much as it used to be. In the future for a CS degree to be highly employable you’d need to be a coder a cut above the rest. It’ll still be more employable than most arts degrees though.

 

[luuk]

like suppose the passion is for something like physics, english lit etc which has a high unemployment rate post grad, and the alternatives are more practical engineering majors.

wht shud u choose?

seems like even practical engineering majors are gonna get cooked in the future with ai, so might as well study wht you're passionate about and idk learn a skilled trade on the side (plumbing etc)

Find a balance.
Physics isn't a bad degree at all but you'll need a masters/phd for good prospects.
But physics and engineering have a big intersection, I do electrical engineering and there's a lot of interesting physics (quantum, semiconductor physics, statics/dynamics, circuit theory etc) and a lot of math so thats a decent option. Other ones like mech/aero have more thermofluids and stuff like that.
English is not very employable but writing skills are very useful to have. I think you could go to law school after that and end up pretty successful too.
Don't do something you hate you'll work in the field for 40+ years

 

[Klasik616]

like suppose the passion is for something like physics, english lit etc which has a high unemployment rate post grad, and the alternatives are more practical engineering majors.

wht shud u choose?

seems like even practical engineering majors are gonna get cooked in the future with ai, so might as well study wht you're passionate about and idk learn a skilled trade on the side (plumbing etc)

Don't make my mistake, the competition is too high to not appeal to corporations with your degree.

 

[luuk]

would you consider computer science an employable major in the current/future economic climate?

Only from an elite university or with very good internships/connections
Maths and EE mog

 

[thekidd8]

If you plan on learning a trade, you should prioritize that. Also AI is a stupid long way from taking all the white collar jobs. They will still need engineers, lawyers, financial planners etc,

If the end goal is to learn a trade just learn it asap. No point in spending thousands to learn shit you can learn at your home. However, People always say just learn a trade, but that’s not a reality for most people. Not many people can wake up at 2 in the morning for a 4 am start time and lift 2x12s all day and break your body day in and day out. The trades are rough, full of rough work and rough people.

Go to college if you are able to, study something that will get you a great job. Use the earnings from that job to invest. If you plan it right you can financially retire young. Going to college to study something you are passionate about that won’t give you a good ROI is a luxury most men can’t afford. In my opinion, the best undergrad degree is Electrical Engineering.