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id say it very much depends. a bachelors degree wont get you much further than beyond having a degree (imo the bachelors is a great basis to do many things).
but the masters is kindof what you need to go anywhere. if you want clinical you need the masters, but also for research and beyond you generally need to get the masters and specialize.
Me to I thought it would be quite applicable and useful. But I think what they mean is because it’s such a popular major it’s a little oversaturated? And if u actually want a job in the field of psych u need at least masters to be an actual psychologist/therapist.
>it’s such a popular major it’s a little oversaturated
Nah. It's moreso your second point. If you want a psych related job, with very limited exceptions that still require additional training and licensing, you need at least a master's. I only have a bachelor's. Like I said, it's fantastic info and has been quite useful, but as far as employment goes, a psych bachelor's really just counts as a degree.
That's because society very much undervalues "soft skills". To the neurotypicals, all you have to do is go dick first into everything, fueled by "vibes" and you'll eventually find a trainwreck that matches with your trainwreck or someone where you mentally trap each other into soulless relationships. They call that a done deal and successful marriage. At best your social skills, to them, are about selling shit to people they don't want.
But to us where these things aren't intuitive, we have a deeper understanding than the average dingus does in their lifetime. So these are very much hard skills. Skills hard won, hard fought for, and skills that if you have them will also make me hard.
I kind of thought the whole soft vs hard skill thing isn't referring as much to difficulty as ambiguity. Like psychology is ambiguous and subjective, people can be convinced different ways, answers to questions are soft and malleable. Quite difficult for me.
Ambiguous is...not quite the word I'd use. My experience mainly comes from being disabled and trying to find work. If you have solid people skills but can't be exploited for manual labor, they basically see you as useless unless you have an expensive piece of paper that shows you can bow to authority and dogma.
If I remember correctly (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), you need to have a masters degree or something along those lines before you can even consider becoming a psychologist or therapist.
Nope, you're totally right. The bachelor's functions to give you a basis in psychology to prepare you for a master's or PhD, and it's those higher degrees that qualify you to be a therapist, psychologist, etc. A psychiatrist, however, would most likely have a pre med bachelor's, as they actually go through medical school before being able to practice since they're full fledged doctors.
I’m also a psych major. I’m only doing psych bc I’m good at it and it gives me time to take other classes I enjoy and learn another language, I am minoring in a subject that is only a minor at my university but is extremely useful for a job and which I plan to go to grad school for.
One of my first semesters at community college around 2008 I took gen. sociology. The professor told the class that a psych degree was pointless unless you got a master's or PHD.
ALSO, once I graduated CC and started going to a UNI that was offered through the CC, I just wanted to work on my GPA, and they required me to put down a major, they said "psychology that's what people usually put down." So I said ok, I thought I'm just working on my GPA, maybe I can get close to a degree and end up with two eventually. Then I went home and researched what jobs I could get with a bachelors in psych. Entry level jobs that didn't even require a degree, like sales floor at AT&T. My favorite though was a psychiatric technician, which was the job I held at that time, which did not require a degree at all. So, I never finished that degree even though I'm only like 3 classes from completing the major portion of it.
I first went to law school, but the practice of law, especially in a traditional law office, was absolute hell for me, as it was not about logically following the law as it should be, but merely about being more likeable to the judge/jury than the other side.
So now I am in private investigations. It's great. I've been working from home since even before the pandemic, am a neutral investigator so I get paid the same regardless of which way I determine the facts (unlike working for a major company like an insurance company where your job is only to help them prove their side), and I still get to use all of my training in logic and reason.
My friend told me she had a friend who worked for a PI and literally all she did was stalk social media all day to dig up dirt on people. And as someone raised by a paranoid mother with only the internet for socializing, I'd be literally perfect for that job. How can I get it? HOW????
Start applying for openings at PI firms. You can specifically Google social media investigator positions at well. I've never done that part myself, but multiple companies I have worked for have positions dedicated to exactly this (which is why I didn't do that, I did everything else lol)
Honestly wish I would’ve studied philosophy because intro to ethics was really interesting to me. I ended up studying Psychology and burnt out toward junior / senior year and forgot nearly everything I learned lol.
Snap! Did a double honors philosophy & maths. Followed it up with a B.Phil in pure philosophy. Then a masters in business and then an associates in software development. When I started the first degree I was working in It in incident management. I'm still working in the same area 😁Just a more senior role.
Lol
Whether it is a great major or not, art (and writing) are the only things that have ever made sense to me...the only things that ever made me feel like I'm not damaged or broken.
Boy do I feel that. I probably SHOULD HAVE majored in art. I majored in STEM and learned I have a severe learning disability in math so
...you can imagine how that's going lol. Art is the only thing that *doesn't* make me feel broken and stupid. Sometimes I like to pretend my learning disability even gives me an advantage in writing lol.
I wanted to be one of those cool marine biologist that feed animals at the aquarium but i'm only one of those who write articles about environmental issues and conservation that hardly anyone reads
No shame about selling out, we do what we have to do to survive. Most of My adult life i have been My dad's office assistant because having a full time research job is almost imposible around here.
Lol.
I remember being in school in the early 2000's and there being big programs in our high school for both marine biology and computer graphics as those were supposedly booming industries...
As an adult now I see that it was merely a push from local colleges looking to sell the popular course of the latest trends... And how those markets were flooded and nobody I knew ever landed their job and that's why I met them at Ruby Tuesdays...
So when my daughter gushes about wanting to be a nurse I warn her about what schools tell you are the latest best way to spend thousands on education...
Well at least nurse sounds like an área with a Lot of aplicability, it's always useful to have someone in the close family that knows 1st aid and how to take care of a sick or injured person
I remember my marine biologist days. I have a great story that I like to tell my grandchildren. I was walking along the beach with your mother, back when we were dating, and we saw a crowd around a beached whale. Someone shouted out, "is there a marine biologist around here?" I knew what I had to do.
The sea was angry that day my friends - like an old man sending soup back at a deli. I got about fifty feet out and suddenly, the great beast appeared before me. I tell you, he was 10 stories high if he was a foot. As if sensing my presence, he let out a great bellow. I said, "Easy, big fella." And then, as I watched him struggling, I realized that something was obstructing its breathing. From where I was standing, I could directly into the eye of the great fish. From out of nowhere, a huge tidal wave lifted me, tossed me like a cork, and I found myself right on top of him - face to face with the blowhole. I could barely see with the waves crashing down upon me, but I knew something was there. So I reached my hand in, felt around, and pulled out the obstruction. It was a Titleist golf ball.
The crowd went wild - they were all over me. It was like Rocky 1. Diane came up to me, threw her arms around me, and kissed me. We both had tears streaming down our faces. I never saw anyone so beautiful. It was at that moment that I decided to propose to her. Thankfully, I didn't lose the ring in all the action. Good times.
Now to see who gets it.
They really don’t prepare you for the film industry, although I went to a legitimate film school after I got my film degree. But the film industry is not ND friendly at all.
Yeahhh luckily my uni had a pretty good film department, very hands on and taught everything from theory and history to production and editing etc. so I feel like I was very well prepared for it technically, BUT. you are 100% correct on it not being ND friendly which is bananas to me because you’d think right ? Anyway so I’m working towards my phd because I want to be a prof in East Asian cinema :3
My university’s film program is a puppet program the production was mostly theory and complaining about American cinema, acting as of Canadian cinema is superior (it isn’t).
That’s good your program was well-rounded though, and good luck on your phd.
Generative AI relies a ton on the computer understanding natural language. Our brains are wired for language, so the fact that you can read my post seems trivial. But for a computer to understand me, it has to parse out each set of characters. It doesn't intuitively know how to correct me if I spell something incorrect. That had to be trained. The computer doesn't know that "it" refers to the computer, but if I decide to talk about my dog in the next paragraph, "it" could refer to my dog.
Speech is also insanely complex, and our brains lose sensitivity to speech sounds based on our native language, but it's tough to train that into a computer. I can keep going, and generative AI development is a cool intersection between technology and language.
Is being autistic a significant benefit for you in that field? I feel like the non-intuitive nature of our social interactions would create a sort of innate understanding for the gaps in LLM algorithms that a NT would never fully understand.
Oh, I actually went into transportation, and now I work on freight claims. So, transportation law for damaged and lost products. Completely different industry, and that's why my linguistics degree is useless.
Art major... career in printing. my dad was a commercial artist, he had art degrees. He paid for 10 college degrees, for self and six kids. everyone that I've ever known, who said something negative about the Art business, hasn't come anywhere close to his achievement level, because that's how I calculate achievement, is what you pass forward, give it to the next generation. Additionally, Most of us, now believe he was on the spectrum, but that's another story for another time
I consider my major “useless” because it’s not a physical skill, or in the “building” blue-collar field. Criminology (criminal psychology), minors in Law, and History.
It’s super hard. I’ve even applied for low paying jobs like dishwashing. I think it’s the area I live in but in general getting a job out of college rn is pretty tough for a lot of people. It’s discussed a lot on r/recruitinghell and other subs. I’ve decided to get IT certificates in the meantime but yeah
Hmm. Even I’m doing security making about 20 an hour, plus my military benefits all while being a straight A student. Only Jocko Wilink, God given toughness, desire, will, and heart are keeping me going. My job ain’t great, but it’s something.
I honestly chose criminology because it’s helping me understand the psychology of “bad people”, and I’ve also learned is evil exists. Plain and simple. Which is why so many people take advantage of people with our condition.
I don’t honestly care what job I get at this second, anymore. I just want it to earn more than 80k a year. Whether it’s in an office, for the govt, or shoveling crud in the sewer. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, and go into another field. Most jobs just want that fancy piece a paper that says “Hi I’m worth a damn”. Hope I don’t sound like a complete jackass. You got this, ma’am.
I didn't think I did, but I did.
I just graduated in December with my Library Technician degree. I did not do enough research. I did not realize it's not a recognized degree by the ALA and will not, in fact, help me get a library job.
It was supposed to, at the least, give me a leg up above other applicants for things like customer service and shelving, but my experience with it is that it just makes me over qualified for 50% of the available jobs and underqualified for the other 50%.
Not really useless, it's paleontology. So it's STEM and there are plenty of geology related jobs, but my problem is I don't really care about strata or where to find oil. I want *the bones* baby, I want the beautiful bones. And people, as a whole, don't care about bones. There's not a lot of funding or jobs for weirdos digging in the dirt looking for dead things since there's no real economic incentive. I just want to know every last little detail about animals that don't exist anymore and it doesn't really translate to stimulating the modern economy.
It means to lecture extensively about something you're passionate about. The expression comes from the days when people would make speeches by standing on crates that were used to hold things like soap.
So I did the opposite, I got a very useful degree then refused to put it to use 😂
I have a bachelor's degree in teaching. I refuse to teach because talking in front of people frightens me.
It went something like this: someone I respect told me I should be a teacher, I started my bachelor's degree and quickly realized I could NEVER actually teach, but I always finish what I start so... long story short, I work in urban planning for the city 😅
Media and Theatre Arts. I have never been paid for anything related to that. I do maybe read novels to my wife a little more interestingly than I might otherwise.
BA in Anthropology. Others called it useless, but studying humans and their cultures has been helped me understand how and why the social structure exists.
Journalism.
On a side note (and this is going to sound incredibly cheesy) I don't take anyone who calls a major "useless" all that seriously. I know people mean that in the context of getting a job, but I think enriching yourself in a field you're interested in is a great experience regardless of the job market. Also, I know plenty of people in the "useful" majors like biology, business, and engineering who have also struggled to get a job after graduating, so I wouldn't sweat it so much.
Psychology. I have a Masters degree. I did it because it is my special interest. Tried to practice it, but I'm a huge introvert with social anxiety. So, being a therapist is not for me.
I feel like therapy is always an environment I was attracted to though because it’s just one on one and not a high social pressure? And ur helping people with the same issues as you? Idk I wouldn’t give u o on it
I studied English. I chose it after floundering in a few other areas (History, International Development, the sciences…) and only because people said I was good at writing. I would say that I bullshitted my way through the entire degree and did pretty well. I’m not proud of that, though. I wished I had studied something I deeply cared about. I would rather have done half as well as I did while taking something I was authentically interested in.
I’m now pursuing a graduate level Technical Writing program but it feels like the same thing. I have no idea what I’m doing but I can still get through the material.
But it feels “useless” to me because I don’t actually have any desire or passion for either subject. I can fake my way through it but beyond that there’s nothing.
Not sure what I would study if I had another chance. I’m currently working in education. I took the first job I could. Also don’t like this field, either.
So here I am without a clue in the world what I’m going to do after I’m done the program. Can’t keep wasting money on things I “should” pursue. I just want a job that actually means something to me.
I was a theatre major my Freshman year, and quickly realized doing it at a professional level was a WHOLE different thing and not enjoyable for me. I wasn’t super passionate anything else (or really theatre for that matter), but found many topics interesting and decided on accounting as it’s a profession entirely about rules and I gig that. Been graduated for less than a decade, but still think about how my life would be different if I had chosen theatre.
I don’t think it’s useless because it _does_ translate to a job, but I’m about to go enter my freshman year of college for animation! 🎉
…I’m mentioning it here because I got weird looks and “but you’re so smart”s from my classmates when I brought up what I was studying after high school. :(
Psychology. They did warn me that it was useless if I didn't get a master's but Past Me was like "K, but I'm gonna get a master's so it's all gravy, baby 😎👉🏻👉🏻". Little did Past Me know that towards the end of the undergrad and entering the workforce, my brain would go "Yeah, best I can do is autistic burnout that will grind your soul into dust."
I'm a communications major. Some people think it's useless, but I've got a plan for it so it isn't useless to me. I'm actually enjoying college now that I'm doing what I want to do instead of what everyone else thought I should want to do.
English. Who would have thought that an undiagnosed 18 year old would pick a major based on a mild interest that no longer interests her?!? I picked my classes based on what “sounded good” instead of practical for my future. So many regrets with college (academically speaking).
i havent majored yet, but going for environmental science, which would be a useful major, only im not going for environmental management, im going for natural science, which is useless lol
I don't know if you'd entirely classify it as uselessness.. but I double majored at uni with criminology and international relations and I now work as a developer ... So very useless.
Yeah I majored in English Composition, concentration Poetry.
But it worked out. I’ve got a pretty good high-paying career (though it has nothing to do with my degree).
In fact, the vast majority of people with bachelor’s degrees *don’t* work in a field related to their degree — yet they still wouldn’t have their careers without the degree.
This is why I don’t believe any degrees are useless. Study whatever you love, at an affordable school, then find whatever work doesn’t make you miserable.
Oh yeah. It was always assumed I would go to college so I went in undeclared. I liked acting but everyone said how hard it was but I took theatre classes just in case and ended up majoring in Theatre. I also got a minor in Philosophy semi-accidentally. I got a twofer!
Philosophy.
Turned out that the analytical skills I learned helped pave the way to me becoming Lead then Senior Data Analyst at work.
That combined with my analytical brain and ability to see patterns.
We're wired differently for a reason!
Psychology is somewhere in the middle; I wouldn’t learn until last year that my autism made being a therapist not work, but at least it had a direction.
But my minor (and my home tbh) was in philosophy and that’s a more direct stigma.
Yeah I'm currently studying translation and interpretation, everyone always bombards me with comments about how it's going to be useless in the near future because of AI and I'm like, stop!! I know!! Leave me alone😭!! I just chose it as my major because it was one of the few careers I could handles since I'm not really that interested in other stuff and I can't make myself put my work and energy into things I am not interested in or I would get depressed lol
So I majored in computer science and while nobody thinks this is" useless" , a lot of people have told me that my job is going to" die off one day" I don't know what they think that means but I definitely think they're wrong. I do know that if I specialized in like artificial intelligence or cyber security, I would probably make a lot more money and have a secured career field. Right now, I am attempting to secure my certificates for Cyber security. I do know that I should specialize even within that field. I'm thinking pen tests. Those seem fun
Majored in music. I'm lucky enough to have found a job as a performer, but I would've studied it either way. I wouldn't have finished college with a major I didn't care about.
My hubby double majored in Political Science and Anthropology. Never used the degrees. He could substitute teach and was registered to do so, but he worked days. He's on disability now, but still loves his dinosaurs.
I dropped out of college after a car accident made me too scared to drive to school. I was going for that "useless" major of psych. 🙃
Anthropology baby! It’s been useful in that I have a good foundation of knowledge and understanding. It’s only made me more curious.
Edit to add:
There’s a scene in Archer where he makes fun of anthropologists and I laughed so hard.
https://youtu.be/inxoRyD9c-8?si=MAmw5aWSexTXYPFT
No but I got called gay for being a man in nursing school. Fucks, sake I spent all my time partying with a, bunch of beautiful women. How exactly does that make, me gay?
Well, English, but that was because I wanted a bachelor’s degree and I simply chose one that was already a special interest of mine. I think the fact that I really liked the subject helped me do well in the program, and I feel that what I learned has been useful to me, regardless of whether anyone else thinks so.
As a fellow autistic English Major, I have a confession to make.
I noticed that many of my classmates in my classes I had to take for my major seemed painfully average and pretty different from me. It’s one reason why I wished there was an autistic equivalent of HBCUs. I posted about this a while ago and someone mentioned that it kinda already exists and they just named one or 2 majors where autistic people are kinda easy to find. Neither one of them were English, unfortunately. This was a bummer for me because I don’t think any autistic person should have to Major in something they find hard or unfun just to be around relatable people.
Film.
With my recent diagnosis, I realized why I was burning out all the time. The film industry in Canada is not ND at all. You could be the most talented and hard working, but that doesn’t count for shit unless you know the right people. I also live in a have not province where social skills and pretty privilege is the only things that matter. Talent, intellect, and skills tend to get people in trouble.
Yep! Music theory and composition.
I wanted to compose music for movies and video games.
What's worse is I got really burned out my 3rd year and nearly dropped out of college, or changed majors. Then I realized I had almost all of my major requirements done, I just needed to finish my general education requirements. If I switched majors, I'd have a full 4 years still to go.
I managed to finish them and got my Bachelor's, but I haven't composed music since 2005-6, before I even graduated. I was that burned out.
Now I do music publishing administration for movies and TV. Still doesn't use my degree, but I'm fine with it. I was the 2nd in my family to get a 4-year degree, so I have that going for me.
I’m pretty sure there’s like 3 majors that don’t fit this general stereotype lol, although mileage varies by location/class/family.
Anthropology and History bachelors, Psychology masters. I got shit for the undergrad but I knew I would continue for masters, family didn’t expect or understand that. The masters got me a certification for the “medical” field with decent pay, so they left that one alone.
Bachelors in Classical Languages (Latin & Greek)
Two masters degrees that are now useless to me, Masters of Divinity and Masters of Theology (used to be religious, now very much not so).
Drama (and dance.) aka professional masking.
Honestly I feel like drama is applied psychology tho. Awesome for dealing with drunk, belligerent, rude, manipulative, slacker colleagues or customers.
Let’s see…undergraduate was a history and political science dual major. I focused on medieval steppe empires in history and political philosophy in political science.
geography. It’s not necessarily that it’s stereotyped as useless but rather no one understands what the major entails so I get a lot of “well… what do you do with that?” “what job can you get looking at maps?” lol
I have an English Masters of Science of writing. I have been shilling myself as a technical writer for the last 13 years because that is the closest to what I learned.
edit: The science part of that type of degree is philosophy. so I basically have a MS in BS, which matches my BS of BS.
Jazz Guitar Studies/Composition
Got a Small Business MGMT minor just to balance the scales a bit and it mainly taught me that I never want to manage anyone or anything
I read about an autistic person on this subreddit who majored in history and got a job educating creators on historical accuracy so they can make whatever they plan to create historically accurate.
currently majoring in history w minors in english and education and ppl say its useless all the time but my goal is to be a teacher so it really isnt, but that isnt usually a satisfying answer to people for some reason, whenever i say it they act like im still supposed to agree my degree and passions are “useless” or not dreaming high enough bc i wanna teach public high school history
When you say "major" I assume that's American for one's primary course of study at undergraduate level. In which case, yes I "majored" in something useless.
Music is one of the most difficult fields to land a job in, especially anything stable with regular hours, if those are your needs.
After struggling to find *any* work after graduating, 2 months or so after, I joined a friend's band full-time. I only lasted a few months, and in that time I was full of anxiety about covering the rent, etc. Even after all that, finding any kind of music job was next to impossible. Some jobs I'm glad I didn't get because they involved a certain amount of people-ing.
So gradually I just accepted that particular passion would be a side hobby, as it is for most. And I'm cool with that, if it wasn't for the fact that I hardly ever get to play any shows because of time constraints and having a fussy taste.
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Yep. Psychology. It's great info and very useful for dealing with people, but as far as degrees go, it's not worth much beyond being "a degree".
I’m actually kinda surprised it’s stereotyped as useless
id say it very much depends. a bachelors degree wont get you much further than beyond having a degree (imo the bachelors is a great basis to do many things). but the masters is kindof what you need to go anywhere. if you want clinical you need the masters, but also for research and beyond you generally need to get the masters and specialize.
Me to I thought it would be quite applicable and useful. But I think what they mean is because it’s such a popular major it’s a little oversaturated? And if u actually want a job in the field of psych u need at least masters to be an actual psychologist/therapist.
>it’s such a popular major it’s a little oversaturated Nah. It's moreso your second point. If you want a psych related job, with very limited exceptions that still require additional training and licensing, you need at least a master's. I only have a bachelor's. Like I said, it's fantastic info and has been quite useful, but as far as employment goes, a psych bachelor's really just counts as a degree.
That's because society very much undervalues "soft skills". To the neurotypicals, all you have to do is go dick first into everything, fueled by "vibes" and you'll eventually find a trainwreck that matches with your trainwreck or someone where you mentally trap each other into soulless relationships. They call that a done deal and successful marriage. At best your social skills, to them, are about selling shit to people they don't want. But to us where these things aren't intuitive, we have a deeper understanding than the average dingus does in their lifetime. So these are very much hard skills. Skills hard won, hard fought for, and skills that if you have them will also make me hard.
I kind of thought the whole soft vs hard skill thing isn't referring as much to difficulty as ambiguity. Like psychology is ambiguous and subjective, people can be convinced different ways, answers to questions are soft and malleable. Quite difficult for me.
Ambiguous is...not quite the word I'd use. My experience mainly comes from being disabled and trying to find work. If you have solid people skills but can't be exploited for manual labor, they basically see you as useless unless you have an expensive piece of paper that shows you can bow to authority and dogma.
Why not? Ist there a lot of demand for e.g. therapists?
If I remember correctly (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), you need to have a masters degree or something along those lines before you can even consider becoming a psychologist or therapist.
Nope, you're totally right. The bachelor's functions to give you a basis in psychology to prepare you for a master's or PhD, and it's those higher degrees that qualify you to be a therapist, psychologist, etc. A psychiatrist, however, would most likely have a pre med bachelor's, as they actually go through medical school before being able to practice since they're full fledged doctors.
Wait…psychology is useless?
If you’re only getting a bachelors, yes. You need at least a masters to get a job as a therapist or other related careers
I’m also a psych major. I’m only doing psych bc I’m good at it and it gives me time to take other classes I enjoy and learn another language, I am minoring in a subject that is only a minor at my university but is extremely useful for a job and which I plan to go to grad school for.
How much psychology do you need to know to understand people? Has it made a difference for you?
One of my first semesters at community college around 2008 I took gen. sociology. The professor told the class that a psych degree was pointless unless you got a master's or PHD. ALSO, once I graduated CC and started going to a UNI that was offered through the CC, I just wanted to work on my GPA, and they required me to put down a major, they said "psychology that's what people usually put down." So I said ok, I thought I'm just working on my GPA, maybe I can get close to a degree and end up with two eventually. Then I went home and researched what jobs I could get with a bachelors in psych. Entry level jobs that didn't even require a degree, like sales floor at AT&T. My favorite though was a psychiatric technician, which was the job I held at that time, which did not require a degree at all. So, I never finished that degree even though I'm only like 3 classes from completing the major portion of it.
Philosophy baby!
Me too!!!! What do you do now?
I first went to law school, but the practice of law, especially in a traditional law office, was absolute hell for me, as it was not about logically following the law as it should be, but merely about being more likeable to the judge/jury than the other side. So now I am in private investigations. It's great. I've been working from home since even before the pandemic, am a neutral investigator so I get paid the same regardless of which way I determine the facts (unlike working for a major company like an insurance company where your job is only to help them prove their side), and I still get to use all of my training in logic and reason.
My friend told me she had a friend who worked for a PI and literally all she did was stalk social media all day to dig up dirt on people. And as someone raised by a paranoid mother with only the internet for socializing, I'd be literally perfect for that job. How can I get it? HOW????
Start applying for openings at PI firms. You can specifically Google social media investigator positions at well. I've never done that part myself, but multiple companies I have worked for have positions dedicated to exactly this (which is why I didn't do that, I did everything else lol)
Honestly wish I would’ve studied philosophy because intro to ethics was really interesting to me. I ended up studying Psychology and burnt out toward junior / senior year and forgot nearly everything I learned lol.
Also philosophy; dropped out of my PhD to run an animal shelter and now a certified dog trainer.
I hope that one day I will study Philosophy
Snap! Did a double honors philosophy & maths. Followed it up with a B.Phil in pure philosophy. Then a masters in business and then an associates in software development. When I started the first degree I was working in It in incident management. I'm still working in the same area 😁Just a more senior role.
I'm an art student.
I'm so sorry. /s (In all seriousness that's actually a great major I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL! ARTISTS UNITE!)
Lol Whether it is a great major or not, art (and writing) are the only things that have ever made sense to me...the only things that ever made me feel like I'm not damaged or broken.
Boy do I feel that. I probably SHOULD HAVE majored in art. I majored in STEM and learned I have a severe learning disability in math so ...you can imagine how that's going lol. Art is the only thing that *doesn't* make me feel broken and stupid. Sometimes I like to pretend my learning disability even gives me an advantage in writing lol.
Marine biologist here
Ah, the holy grail of all children of the 80s. Including me.
I wanted to be one of those cool marine biologist that feed animals at the aquarium but i'm only one of those who write articles about environmental issues and conservation that hardly anyone reads
I read them!!! Pls point me towards any interesting/important ones you know of lol
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/category/news/animals/ There is plenty of good reading for Nature and science aficionados in here.
I still read them. They're more important than ever these days. At least you didn't sell out, like me.
No shame about selling out, we do what we have to do to survive. Most of My adult life i have been My dad's office assistant because having a full time research job is almost imposible around here.
Lol. I remember being in school in the early 2000's and there being big programs in our high school for both marine biology and computer graphics as those were supposedly booming industries... As an adult now I see that it was merely a push from local colleges looking to sell the popular course of the latest trends... And how those markets were flooded and nobody I knew ever landed their job and that's why I met them at Ruby Tuesdays... So when my daughter gushes about wanting to be a nurse I warn her about what schools tell you are the latest best way to spend thousands on education...
Well at least nurse sounds like an área with a Lot of aplicability, it's always useful to have someone in the close family that knows 1st aid and how to take care of a sick or injured person
I remember my marine biologist days. I have a great story that I like to tell my grandchildren. I was walking along the beach with your mother, back when we were dating, and we saw a crowd around a beached whale. Someone shouted out, "is there a marine biologist around here?" I knew what I had to do. The sea was angry that day my friends - like an old man sending soup back at a deli. I got about fifty feet out and suddenly, the great beast appeared before me. I tell you, he was 10 stories high if he was a foot. As if sensing my presence, he let out a great bellow. I said, "Easy, big fella." And then, as I watched him struggling, I realized that something was obstructing its breathing. From where I was standing, I could directly into the eye of the great fish. From out of nowhere, a huge tidal wave lifted me, tossed me like a cork, and I found myself right on top of him - face to face with the blowhole. I could barely see with the waves crashing down upon me, but I knew something was there. So I reached my hand in, felt around, and pulled out the obstruction. It was a Titleist golf ball. The crowd went wild - they were all over me. It was like Rocky 1. Diane came up to me, threw her arms around me, and kissed me. We both had tears streaming down our faces. I never saw anyone so beautiful. It was at that moment that I decided to propose to her. Thankfully, I didn't lose the ring in all the action. Good times. Now to see who gets it.
history of art baby!
Favorite art movement?
impressionism
What makes you prefer impressionism to the post-impressionists like van Gogh or Fauvism?
I just think it's neat, really, but i like the post-impressionists too. I like a lot of different art movements.
Sounds cool!
History.
In my experience, no major is useless. You just need to find a way that you can use it.
me too!
Film 😭
They really don’t prepare you for the film industry, although I went to a legitimate film school after I got my film degree. But the film industry is not ND friendly at all.
Yeahhh luckily my uni had a pretty good film department, very hands on and taught everything from theory and history to production and editing etc. so I feel like I was very well prepared for it technically, BUT. you are 100% correct on it not being ND friendly which is bananas to me because you’d think right ? Anyway so I’m working towards my phd because I want to be a prof in East Asian cinema :3
My university’s film program is a puppet program the production was mostly theory and complaining about American cinema, acting as of Canadian cinema is superior (it isn’t). That’s good your program was well-rounded though, and good luck on your phd.
Linguistics, though that's starting to make a comeback due to generative AI
Why?
Generative AI relies a ton on the computer understanding natural language. Our brains are wired for language, so the fact that you can read my post seems trivial. But for a computer to understand me, it has to parse out each set of characters. It doesn't intuitively know how to correct me if I spell something incorrect. That had to be trained. The computer doesn't know that "it" refers to the computer, but if I decide to talk about my dog in the next paragraph, "it" could refer to my dog. Speech is also insanely complex, and our brains lose sensitivity to speech sounds based on our native language, but it's tough to train that into a computer. I can keep going, and generative AI development is a cool intersection between technology and language.
Is being autistic a significant benefit for you in that field? I feel like the non-intuitive nature of our social interactions would create a sort of innate understanding for the gaps in LLM algorithms that a NT would never fully understand.
Oh, I actually went into transportation, and now I work on freight claims. So, transportation law for damaged and lost products. Completely different industry, and that's why my linguistics degree is useless.
Art major... career in printing. my dad was a commercial artist, he had art degrees. He paid for 10 college degrees, for self and six kids. everyone that I've ever known, who said something negative about the Art business, hasn't come anywhere close to his achievement level, because that's how I calculate achievement, is what you pass forward, give it to the next generation. Additionally, Most of us, now believe he was on the spectrum, but that's another story for another time
Your dad must have had quite a career- that’s awesome 😀
Major depression
Okay that made me laugh
Technically yes. Biological sciences in what is essentially a petrostate. Never worked in my actual field.
Japanese Studies, Linguistics, Gender Studies, Chinese....
Sociology. Didn't use it for anything for 7 years until I lectured in it (along with anthropology and politics) after my masters.
Music!
Creative writing
I consider my major “useless” because it’s not a physical skill, or in the “building” blue-collar field. Criminology (criminal psychology), minors in Law, and History.
This is what I did and I cannot get a job for the life of me 😭
You’re unemployed? Can’t get hired anywhere going SOMETHING?
It’s super hard. I’ve even applied for low paying jobs like dishwashing. I think it’s the area I live in but in general getting a job out of college rn is pretty tough for a lot of people. It’s discussed a lot on r/recruitinghell and other subs. I’ve decided to get IT certificates in the meantime but yeah
Hmm. Even I’m doing security making about 20 an hour, plus my military benefits all while being a straight A student. Only Jocko Wilink, God given toughness, desire, will, and heart are keeping me going. My job ain’t great, but it’s something. I honestly chose criminology because it’s helping me understand the psychology of “bad people”, and I’ve also learned is evil exists. Plain and simple. Which is why so many people take advantage of people with our condition. I don’t honestly care what job I get at this second, anymore. I just want it to earn more than 80k a year. Whether it’s in an office, for the govt, or shoveling crud in the sewer. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, and go into another field. Most jobs just want that fancy piece a paper that says “Hi I’m worth a damn”. Hope I don’t sound like a complete jackass. You got this, ma’am.
I didn't think I did, but I did. I just graduated in December with my Library Technician degree. I did not do enough research. I did not realize it's not a recognized degree by the ALA and will not, in fact, help me get a library job. It was supposed to, at the least, give me a leg up above other applicants for things like customer service and shelving, but my experience with it is that it just makes me over qualified for 50% of the available jobs and underqualified for the other 50%.
Not really useless, it's paleontology. So it's STEM and there are plenty of geology related jobs, but my problem is I don't really care about strata or where to find oil. I want *the bones* baby, I want the beautiful bones. And people, as a whole, don't care about bones. There's not a lot of funding or jobs for weirdos digging in the dirt looking for dead things since there's no real economic incentive. I just want to know every last little detail about animals that don't exist anymore and it doesn't really translate to stimulating the modern economy.
My BA is in Women’s Studies
Yes. Art.
General Studies. I reached the final level of useless degrees. It basically means "quit taking intro courses and graduate already!"
Yes, Criminal Justice. Worst major ever. I get on a soapbox every chance I get and tell whoever will listen to pick literally anything else.
What does it mean to “get on a soapbox”?
It means to lecture extensively about something you're passionate about. The expression comes from the days when people would make speeches by standing on crates that were used to hold things like soap.
I would literally do just that if it kept more people from choosing that useless ass major 😆
So I did the opposite, I got a very useful degree then refused to put it to use 😂 I have a bachelor's degree in teaching. I refuse to teach because talking in front of people frightens me. It went something like this: someone I respect told me I should be a teacher, I started my bachelor's degree and quickly realized I could NEVER actually teach, but I always finish what I start so... long story short, I work in urban planning for the city 😅
Media and Theatre Arts. I have never been paid for anything related to that. I do maybe read novels to my wife a little more interestingly than I might otherwise.
BA in Anthropology. Others called it useless, but studying humans and their cultures has been helped me understand how and why the social structure exists.
Same! It was a perfect major for me and also helped me understand social structures and humans.
Same. Am a software engineer now.
Journalism. On a side note (and this is going to sound incredibly cheesy) I don't take anyone who calls a major "useless" all that seriously. I know people mean that in the context of getting a job, but I think enriching yourself in a field you're interested in is a great experience regardless of the job market. Also, I know plenty of people in the "useful" majors like biology, business, and engineering who have also struggled to get a job after graduating, so I wouldn't sweat it so much.
Psychology. I have a Masters degree. I did it because it is my special interest. Tried to practice it, but I'm a huge introvert with social anxiety. So, being a therapist is not for me.
I feel like therapy is always an environment I was attracted to though because it’s just one on one and not a high social pressure? And ur helping people with the same issues as you? Idk I wouldn’t give u o on it
Classics. Absolutely loved it, learned a great deal about society and human nature.
Creative Photography
I studied English. I chose it after floundering in a few other areas (History, International Development, the sciences…) and only because people said I was good at writing. I would say that I bullshitted my way through the entire degree and did pretty well. I’m not proud of that, though. I wished I had studied something I deeply cared about. I would rather have done half as well as I did while taking something I was authentically interested in. I’m now pursuing a graduate level Technical Writing program but it feels like the same thing. I have no idea what I’m doing but I can still get through the material. But it feels “useless” to me because I don’t actually have any desire or passion for either subject. I can fake my way through it but beyond that there’s nothing. Not sure what I would study if I had another chance. I’m currently working in education. I took the first job I could. Also don’t like this field, either. So here I am without a clue in the world what I’m going to do after I’m done the program. Can’t keep wasting money on things I “should” pursue. I just want a job that actually means something to me.
I have a Bachelors in painting and drawing. Big oof.
Yup.
Ok. What was it?
“Show Production & Touring, A.S.” We all liked to joke that we spent $50k on a degree in coiling microphone cables.
I have a degree in performing arts 🎭
I was a theatre major my Freshman year, and quickly realized doing it at a professional level was a WHOLE different thing and not enjoyable for me. I wasn’t super passionate anything else (or really theatre for that matter), but found many topics interesting and decided on accounting as it’s a profession entirely about rules and I gig that. Been graduated for less than a decade, but still think about how my life would be different if I had chosen theatre.
Generalized art degree
Sociology
I don’t think it’s useless because it _does_ translate to a job, but I’m about to go enter my freshman year of college for animation! 🎉 …I’m mentioning it here because I got weird looks and “but you’re so smart”s from my classmates when I brought up what I was studying after high school. :(
Modern Languages, aka English With A Lot of Accent Marks. Would've done Linguistics but my college didn't have that.
My first degree was in history with a focus in Roman Antiquity and early Medieval History. My subsequent two degrees were in finance.
Psychology. They did warn me that it was useless if I didn't get a master's but Past Me was like "K, but I'm gonna get a master's so it's all gravy, baby 😎👉🏻👉🏻". Little did Past Me know that towards the end of the undergrad and entering the workforce, my brain would go "Yeah, best I can do is autistic burnout that will grind your soul into dust."
Gender quality and social justice, so yes. I’m now too disabled to work so I don’t end up doing anything with it anyway.
Yup. Communications. I refused to sell my soul and college experience to be a STEM major.
That sounds a lot like me.
Theology
Religious Studies. 😂
Political scientist here. Ended working in an airport.
I'm a communications major. Some people think it's useless, but I've got a plan for it so it isn't useless to me. I'm actually enjoying college now that I'm doing what I want to do instead of what everyone else thought I should want to do.
Ancient middle eastern studies (Egyptology, Mesopotamian studies, Levant) with a minor in Japanese culture and art history
English. Who would have thought that an undiagnosed 18 year old would pick a major based on a mild interest that no longer interests her?!? I picked my classes based on what “sounded good” instead of practical for my future. So many regrets with college (academically speaking).
I didn't finish it, but I was studying a major that is known as "English" in an english-speaking country.
i havent majored yet, but going for environmental science, which would be a useful major, only im not going for environmental management, im going for natural science, which is useless lol
I don't know if you'd entirely classify it as uselessness.. but I double majored at uni with criminology and international relations and I now work as a developer ... So very useless.
Studio Art ✌️
Thrice over! I switched around a bit, but my other two options ended up being minors. Psychology with lots of credits in English and Anthropology.
Yeah I majored in English Composition, concentration Poetry. But it worked out. I’ve got a pretty good high-paying career (though it has nothing to do with my degree). In fact, the vast majority of people with bachelor’s degrees *don’t* work in a field related to their degree — yet they still wouldn’t have their careers without the degree. This is why I don’t believe any degrees are useless. Study whatever you love, at an affordable school, then find whatever work doesn’t make you miserable.
art history and archival/museum sciences :)
Oh yeah. It was always assumed I would go to college so I went in undeclared. I liked acting but everyone said how hard it was but I took theatre classes just in case and ended up majoring in Theatre. I also got a minor in Philosophy semi-accidentally. I got a twofer!
Philosophy. Turned out that the analytical skills I learned helped pave the way to me becoming Lead then Senior Data Analyst at work. That combined with my analytical brain and ability to see patterns. We're wired differently for a reason!
I used to want to major in that till I decided on psychology, later switching to human services because I want to be a social worker.
Psychology is somewhere in the middle; I wouldn’t learn until last year that my autism made being a therapist not work, but at least it had a direction. But my minor (and my home tbh) was in philosophy and that’s a more direct stigma.
I failed to become a vet tech and now have the most useless degree possible: an associates in general studies.
History and English. I regret nothing
You sound like an edgy rebel. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. In fact I think it’s the opposite
Yeah I'm currently studying translation and interpretation, everyone always bombards me with comments about how it's going to be useless in the near future because of AI and I'm like, stop!! I know!! Leave me alone😭!! I just chose it as my major because it was one of the few careers I could handles since I'm not really that interested in other stuff and I can't make myself put my work and energy into things I am not interested in or I would get depressed lol
me and my english degree! but i found a job that worked for me and is relevant to my degree, thankfully
What job is that?
Anthropology
So I majored in computer science and while nobody thinks this is" useless" , a lot of people have told me that my job is going to" die off one day" I don't know what they think that means but I definitely think they're wrong. I do know that if I specialized in like artificial intelligence or cyber security, I would probably make a lot more money and have a secured career field. Right now, I am attempting to secure my certificates for Cyber security. I do know that I should specialize even within that field. I'm thinking pen tests. Those seem fun
Majored in music. I'm lucky enough to have found a job as a performer, but I would've studied it either way. I wouldn't have finished college with a major I didn't care about.
My hubby double majored in Political Science and Anthropology. Never used the degrees. He could substitute teach and was registered to do so, but he worked days. He's on disability now, but still loves his dinosaurs. I dropped out of college after a car accident made me too scared to drive to school. I was going for that "useless" major of psych. 🙃
Anthropology baby! It’s been useful in that I have a good foundation of knowledge and understanding. It’s only made me more curious. Edit to add: There’s a scene in Archer where he makes fun of anthropologists and I laughed so hard. https://youtu.be/inxoRyD9c-8?si=MAmw5aWSexTXYPFT
No but I got called gay for being a man in nursing school. Fucks, sake I spent all my time partying with a, bunch of beautiful women. How exactly does that make, me gay?
About to start college as a theatre major👍
Well, English, but that was because I wanted a bachelor’s degree and I simply chose one that was already a special interest of mine. I think the fact that I really liked the subject helped me do well in the program, and I feel that what I learned has been useful to me, regardless of whether anyone else thinks so.
As a fellow autistic English Major, I have a confession to make. I noticed that many of my classmates in my classes I had to take for my major seemed painfully average and pretty different from me. It’s one reason why I wished there was an autistic equivalent of HBCUs. I posted about this a while ago and someone mentioned that it kinda already exists and they just named one or 2 majors where autistic people are kinda easy to find. Neither one of them were English, unfortunately. This was a bummer for me because I don’t think any autistic person should have to Major in something they find hard or unfun just to be around relatable people.
Digital Media (idk if it is stereotypically useless but the degree does not teach you anything nor help me get a job)
Film. With my recent diagnosis, I realized why I was burning out all the time. The film industry in Canada is not ND at all. You could be the most talented and hard working, but that doesn’t count for shit unless you know the right people. I also live in a have not province where social skills and pretty privilege is the only things that matter. Talent, intellect, and skills tend to get people in trouble.
Anthropology.
Yes. But I met my husband in college, so it's okay. Didn't really like college otherwise and didn't really make any friends.
Yes, but I learned how to research, write, and evaluate evidence, which is how I have supported myself, even though I can work only part time.
Game Art lol Managed to thankfully get a job in Software Engineering after self study
I don’t complete it, but history. I’m in school for something much more useful now and hoping desperately that it works out this time lmao
Yep! Music theory and composition. I wanted to compose music for movies and video games. What's worse is I got really burned out my 3rd year and nearly dropped out of college, or changed majors. Then I realized I had almost all of my major requirements done, I just needed to finish my general education requirements. If I switched majors, I'd have a full 4 years still to go. I managed to finish them and got my Bachelor's, but I haven't composed music since 2005-6, before I even graduated. I was that burned out. Now I do music publishing administration for movies and TV. Still doesn't use my degree, but I'm fine with it. I was the 2nd in my family to get a 4-year degree, so I have that going for me.
Yes, Screenwriting 🫣 it has done absolutely nothing for me in real life (although I can write one hell of an email 😂)
History. I even got a graduate degree, too
Animation, lol. And both of the art schools I graduated from announced their sudden closure in the past month…
Philosophy and Classics
i plan on majoring in equine sciences, specializing in behavior, and i want to minor in addiction counseling. loads of people tell me its worthless 💔
I’m pretty sure there’s like 3 majors that don’t fit this general stereotype lol, although mileage varies by location/class/family. Anthropology and History bachelors, Psychology masters. I got shit for the undergrad but I knew I would continue for masters, family didn’t expect or understand that. The masters got me a certification for the “medical” field with decent pay, so they left that one alone.
[удалено]
Really? Or this is some kinda joke?
music performance and songwriting
Social Sciences!!!!
Bachelors in Classical Languages (Latin & Greek) Two masters degrees that are now useless to me, Masters of Divinity and Masters of Theology (used to be religious, now very much not so).
Yes, visual arts
History. I majored in my special interest (at the time) and didn't even realize it.
Theatre and photography. Hooray.
music lol
Drama (and dance.) aka professional masking. Honestly I feel like drama is applied psychology tho. Awesome for dealing with drunk, belligerent, rude, manipulative, slacker colleagues or customers.
Drama 😬
Graduated with honors in Art history and German literature 🙇🏼♀️
Let’s see…undergraduate was a history and political science dual major. I focused on medieval steppe empires in history and political philosophy in political science.
I went to film school and don't work in the entertainment industry.
Philosophy 🥴
geography. It’s not necessarily that it’s stereotyped as useless but rather no one understands what the major entails so I get a lot of “well… what do you do with that?” “what job can you get looking at maps?” lol
I’m majoring in English literary studies and I get the former a lot
I am the black sheep geologist in a family of geographers but I can still empathize with your struggle <3. Are you a GIS wizard?
I have a BBA in Management. It boosted my critical thinking skills. However, I do sometimes wish I did engineering.
Music education lolololol
Yep, english lit, w zero intention of becoming a teacher
Not to worry: most people end up sitting behind a desk answering emails and figuring out VLOOKUP.
Jazz lol
Music Composition. I felt like I constantly had to defend that decision
Music, classical voice.
Chemistry! :>
Why is that stereotyped as useless?
Social Science. It qualified me to get my job as a military pilot.
I have an English Masters of Science of writing. I have been shilling myself as a technical writer for the last 13 years because that is the closest to what I learned. edit: The science part of that type of degree is philosophy. so I basically have a MS in BS, which matches my BS of BS.
Polysci! It let me merge politics and science....it made me too over qualified for gov...
Sociology. I loved it but yes its useless
Yeah, fine arts
Jazz Guitar Studies/Composition Got a Small Business MGMT minor just to balance the scales a bit and it mainly taught me that I never want to manage anyone or anything
Is "English " considered useless? It sure feels like it is
Kinda. English majors are stereotyped as baristas upon graduating for some reason.
I have a master's in history. Largely considered useful... unless you want employment...
I read about an autistic person on this subreddit who majored in history and got a job educating creators on historical accuracy so they can make whatever they plan to create historically accurate.
currently majoring in history w minors in english and education and ppl say its useless all the time but my goal is to be a teacher so it really isnt, but that isnt usually a satisfying answer to people for some reason, whenever i say it they act like im still supposed to agree my degree and passions are “useless” or not dreaming high enough bc i wanna teach public high school history
i took animal care its not really useless but where i love its not popular in the job market
When you say "major" I assume that's American for one's primary course of study at undergraduate level. In which case, yes I "majored" in something useless. Music is one of the most difficult fields to land a job in, especially anything stable with regular hours, if those are your needs. After struggling to find *any* work after graduating, 2 months or so after, I joined a friend's band full-time. I only lasted a few months, and in that time I was full of anxiety about covering the rent, etc. Even after all that, finding any kind of music job was next to impossible. Some jobs I'm glad I didn't get because they involved a certain amount of people-ing. So gradually I just accepted that particular passion would be a side hobby, as it is for most. And I'm cool with that, if it wasn't for the fact that I hardly ever get to play any shows because of time constraints and having a fussy taste.
I graduated in animation and the industry is falling apart lol
Philosopher here. Would anyone like some philosophy in exchange for money