Useless Majors

by Sea Breeze 35 Replies latest jw friends

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  Sea Breeze

  I was passing through a very liberal college town recently during rush hour. So, I decided to stop for some refreshment at a fine-looking establishment and wait for traffic to die down. A young waitress waited on me who probably could have been Stevie Nicks twin when she was young. I couldn't help but notice the fine fishing tackle that adorned her ears, eyebrow and nose.
  
  Being a naturally inquisitive person I asked her if she was a student and she answered in the affirmative. Wondering what kinds of things the Millennials are studying these days prompted me to ask what she was majoring in with her studies. She answered Pre-historic Agriculture.

  Fascinated, I asked what were the inhabitants of Chaco Canyon dining on 1200 years ago. She said, "maize". The exchange reminded me of the Sociology Major that I had chosen some 25 years ago as I exited the WT. I thought it might shed some light on the whole WT experience that generations of my family had been involved it. It didn't, except to reveal that social engineers believe that people can be socialized into believing/doing just about anything.

  Sea Breeze Jr. will be studying engineering next year at university.

  What is the most "useless" major you have heard of?
• 

  BettyHumpter

  I wouldn't call what she's studying completely useless. She's gonna be limited to an academic career probably, so I would hope she's really passionate about the subject in order to get a job in what must be a limited field. But I can kinda see how being an expert in that subject that could go hand in hand with archaeology or paleontology.
  
  Sorta like Astronomy could be seen by some as useless. Odds are you're not gonna become wealthy and famous writing best selling books and appearing on TV like Carl Sagan or Neil Degrasse Tyson. But if doing serious research is your passion, why not?
  
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  Anna Marina

  Studying law to defend WT.
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  fulltimestudent

  I've specialised in Asian history, and if I was in my twenties, I'd likely be heading for either High School teaching, or an Academic career. (Though, there is a current alternative choice - becoming one of those talking heads on TV who can explain why the present Eurocentric (aka, western, aka white supremacy) system will never end).

  But what I really want to say, is that SB's young girl (who he seems to be deriding) has made a remarkable choice. It's a very interesting field of study. How did primitive man manage to select the primitive plants that were selected and learn the skills that allowed them to develop into the important crops we use to feed the world today.

  I have no idea what the curriculum of the young woman's degree course includes, but plant breeding (as some call it) is today a very important branch of science. Here's one definition: (quote) -"Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varieties that boast unique and superior traits for a variety of agricultural applications."

  I'm not suggesting that this young woman's course covers the science behind plant breeding, but can easily imagine that it covers the primitive plants used and how they may have managed to improve them.

  Once, I may have imagined that all that was done by a magical process produced by a loving father/god, and if I had I may also have derided the young woman's choice.
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  truth_b_known

  I'd buy and read a book on pre-historic agriculture. I would even take a class with some hands-on training under that topic. I would not accrue massive student loan debt for it.

  I think a big reality goes with this phrase - "Those who cannot do teach."

  It seems certain degree programs set the students up to simply keep the program alive. Even then, how many professors of pre-historic agriculture are needed?

  P.S.

  If anyone find a book on pre-historic agriculture please send me the title and author. Thanks!
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  Biahi

  Art history seems pretty useless, unless you have a job as a museum curator lined up upon graduation. I told my daughter to go into nursing or engineering. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, graduated magna cum laude. And she’s a stay at home mom. She also told me she regretted not getting a teaching degree. 🤷‍♀️
• 

  Sea Breeze

  I guess the word "useless" is a somewhat harsh and subjective term, although the term: "useless college degres" yields lists from many reputable sources. Studying anything will yield some benefit for sure. It is certainly better than sitting around doing nothing. Earnings potential may be a better gauge for some.
  
  

  Worst-paying college majors

  Top ten by median salary within five years of graduation

  Family and Consumer Sciences

  $32K

  General Social Sciences

  $34K

  Performing Arts

  $34K

  Social Services

  $35K

  Anthropology

  $36K

  Early Childhood Education

  $36K

  Theology and Religion

  $36.6K

  Psychology

  $37K

  Liberal Arts

  $37.4K

  Foreign Language

  $38K

  English Language

  $38K

  Miscellaneous Biological Science

  $38K

  Leisure and Hospitality

  $38K

  Fine Arts

  $38K

  Note: Five majors tied for 10th place. Includes full-time U.S. workers with a bachelor's degree.Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As of Feb. 9, 2022.

  
  

  For comparison’s sake, a minimum wage job that pays $15 per-hour works out to $31,200 in yearly wages, if you were to work 40 hours every week. That pay is nearly on par with what you’d earn for a college major in family and consumer sciences — a life-skills college degree that ranks the worst in terms of median pay within five years of graduation, with yearly wages of $32,000.
  
  Four majors — family and consumer sciences, the performing arts, general social sciences and social services — actually pay less than the median salary of $35,805 for full-time workers in the U.S., regardless of education, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

  
  

  Education Smart . org lists Anthropology And Archeology, Art history, Ethnic and civilization studies & Psychology as among their top 20 Most Useless College Degrees.
  
  
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  fulltimestudent

  truth_b_known - I'd buy and read a book on pre-historic agriculture

  --------

  Can't offer a book, but here are some articles:

  Prehistoric agricultural methods as models for sustainability - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0736453906800048

  Refer some additional articles at the end.

  ------------

  The Development of Agriculture | National Geographic Society https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/development-agriculture

  And here's a book:

  Prehistory of Agriculture: New Experimental and Ethnographic ApproachesEdited -

  by Patricia C. Anderson

  Copyright Date: 1999

  Published by: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press at UCLAhttps://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvhhhg2j

  https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvhhhg2j

  
  

  With that help U can do your own searches ----

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
• 

  fulltimestudent

  I'll add one more, because it concerns the great East-Wests Trade Route (the so-called Silk Road)

  Prehistoric agriculture and social structure in the southwestern Tarim Basin: multiproxy analyses at Wupaer

  Abstract

  The oasis villages of the Tarim Basin served as hubs along the ancient Silk Road, and they played an important role in facilitating communication between the imperial centers of Asia. These villages were supported by an irrigated form of cereal farming that was specifically adapted to these early oasis settlements. In this manuscript, we present the results from new archaeobotanical analyses, radiocarbon dating, and organic carbon isotopic studies directly from carbonized seeds at the Wupaer site (1500–400 BC) in the Kashgar Oasis of the western Tarim Basin. Our results showed that early farming in the oasis relied on a mixed wheat and barley system, but after 1200 BC was intensified through more elaborate irrigation, the introduction of more water-demanding legumes, and possibly a greater reliance on free-threshing wheat. These crops and the knowledge of irrigated farming likely dispersed into the Tarim Basin through the mountains from southern Central Asia. Improved agricultural productivity in the Tarim Basin may also have led to demographic and socio-political shifts and fed into the increased exchange that is colloquially referred to as the Silk Road.

  link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-70515-y

  That's downloadable, so it will be easier to read.
• 

  BettyHumpter

  @Seabreeze:
  
  "Within 5 years of graduation" is probably correct for those numbers. That lines up with people I know who did Liberal Arts, English etc. But it doesn't line up with where they are now.
  
  One close friend of mine after sort of drifting for a few years after college went to work at a bank, moved up and is now some sort of regional manager making well over 6 figures.
  
  I'm giving that example to state my opinion that I find that kind of stupid. Not that i'm not happy for my friend. I am. What I find stupid is how often certain routes of advancement are closed off or made much more difficult for those without a degree. If you want to be a chemical engineer you need a degree obviously. But what the heck does an English degree have to do with a career in finance? Yet she's told me that it's extraordinarily unlikely she would have even been considered for higher level promotions without a 4 year degree. Not a degree related to finance or economics, just a degree. It's a ridiculous state of affairs in my opinion.
  
  Also, im not trying to say "only hard science degrees are worthwhile" It's more irritation with the "degree madness" of alot of corporate america.