I just posted this on The Washington Post‘s website, in response to the article “Not all college majors are created equal,” by Michelle Singletary. The original article is here.

Sometimes, getting a good education and pursuing what you love are worth more than the immediate economic benefits of an in-demand major. Should you really go into engineering and hate what you do for the rest of your life? Yes, more people should consider going to state schools so they can take on less debt, but you know what, this recession isn’t going to last forever. There will be a time when there will be more jobs out there and English majors and maybe even architects will be able to support themselves. The author wants students to know what they want to do after they graduate. That seems like wishful thinking to me. Can most people really carve their career paths in stone when they’re 18 years old? I can’t even do it now, when I’m… well, never mind. If you do what the author wants, you’ll just have more people starting out in STEM (science/ technology/ engineering/ math) majors, finding out they don’t like it, and switching majors – perhaps even delaying their graduation and costing them more money – or sticking with it and quitting their unfulfilling STEM-related jobs in a couple of years. (See stats here)

---

Give yourself the gift of great grades.  Order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!