Worthless degrees

[TopCat]

Some university degrees such as film/media studies, advertising, philosophy and communications are often branded as being worthless and without any purpose. Media studies in particular is a subject which is often branded as 'pointless', owing to the lack of opportunities at the end of the degree and the lack of skills obtained during it.

Therefore, I would be interested to know which degrees you all think are worthless and the reasons for this.

 

[LulzKiller]

Gender studies.

 

[feedtheoctopus]

Mine

 

[Charles Morgenstern]

Studio art has to be one of the most useless degrees out there. Unless there is a lucrative ceramics and sculpting market out there that I've never noticed before.

 

[polonium]

Anything that doesn't teach you how to think critically.
If you come out of university and all you can do is scream RAPE, RAPE, BIGOT, CLIMATE DENIAR at people but not articulate why you disagree, and if disagreement makes you just want to hide in the safe space and block them on twitter, then it was definitely worthless.

 

[Ebola]

Having a philosophy major is usually worthless in terms of leading to a job, but at least it's proof you're smarter than the majority of the population. As for other liberal arts majors, a lot are useless and some can be profitable, but just depends on you and your location.

 

[AnOminous]

Having a philosophy major is usually worthless in terms of leading to a job, but at least it's proof you're smarter than the majority of the population. As for other liberal arts majors, a lot are useless and some can be profitable, but just depends on you and your location.

Many of these degrees are only good if you are among the few who can actually enter an academic career or go on to get some other degree afterwards. They're only somewhat more likely to lead to a lucrative career than, I suppose, thinking you're going to go into college basketball and end up an NBA star.

Most of the people getting these degrees are being sold a bill of goods to subsidize the careers of overpaid useless professors who do nothing outside their ivory tower.

 

[DZ 305]

Political science. Especially in this day and age. Pundits helped hasten that deathmarch

 

[polonium]

Having a philosophy major is usually worthless in terms of leading to a job, but at least it's proof you're smarter than the majority of the population. As for other liberal arts majors, a lot are useless and some can be profitable, but just depends on you and your location.

lol a philosophy degree is proof of no such thing

 

[millais]

All the social sciences like psychology, sociology, and that ilk.

Also some of the "softer" hard sciences. Don't want to denigrate the biology and life sciences people too much, but if you don't go on to post-undergraduate studies or professional training, it's a relatively worthless degree compared to the engineering and info/comp sci degrees that everyone clever got. Like I have a sinking feeling that my molecular/cell biology degree is going to be pretty useless on its own when it comes down to the job market.

 

[ERROR_ENTRY]

The only point of going to college is to get a degree that will get you a job, and no other reason. Degrees like Communications, Liberal arts etc. are worthless because the employment opportunities for them aren't very good at all, and the info you learn from them can be easily gotten from the internet, libraries and more.

Why spend tens of thousands and years on your life on something you can learn for free? Hell, a lot of universities post their reading lists online, just download their lists and get the books yourself. College is essentially a scam, you'd be shocked at how much the higher ups at these places make.

 

[BatNapalm]

I always say to people, ask yourself two questions when considering a major:
1.) Does it teach you a specific skill (i.e. not a general one like writing or speaking or "language skills")?
2.) Are there any jobs ads within a 100+ mile radius of where you are right now that specifically require a 4-year degree in this particular major?

That alone should weed out plenty of worthless degrees.

 

[Innocuous]

I wouldn't know, because I'm studying criminal justice like a person with a future in mind.

 

[Pikimon]

All the social sciences like psychology, sociology, and that ilk.

Also some of the "softer" hard sciences. Don't want to denigrate the biology and life sciences people too much, but if you don't go on to post-undergraduate studies or professional training, it's a relatively worthless degree compared to the engineering and info/comp sci degrees that everyone clever got. Like I have a sinking feeling that my molecular/cell biology degree is going to be pretty useless on its own when it comes down to the job market.

In my University all the Psych majors are being pushed by the department into going into I/O Psych or pursue medical degrees. Everyone else is urged to use their Psych degree as a way to become Market Analysis people or people who deal with statistics.

A Psych degree is as useful as the person who earned it, sadly lots of people don't expand their opportunities and end up as standard paper-pushers.

 

[Positron]

Anything with "studies" in its title.
Anything that teaches postmodernism.

 

[Dan Abrams]

Bachelors in psychology. You need a doctorate to do anything in the field. Most people I've met with a bachelors worked at Target or something similarly menial.

 

[clowney]

I forget what thread it was in but someone said you could get a bachelors in fanfiction now. I weep.

 

[DZ 305]

I forget what thread it was in but someone said you could get a bachelors in fanfiction now. I weep.

Some universities offer courses in fucking Klingon, so I'm not that shocked.

 

[Ruin]

Political science. Especially in this day and age. Pundits helped hasten that deathmarch

Political Science and Philosophy are really good areas of study if you want to attend law school.

 

[DZ 305]

Political Science and Philosophy are really good areas of study if you want to attend law school.

But the market for a lot of lawyers in America is oversaturated