You Are Not Your College Major
May 30, 2013In this blog post, my colleague Michael Smith writes about his daughter going to college next year and the big decision she’ll have to make about what to major in. But I’m not sure that I agree that it’s as big a decision as he thinks it is. As you’re probably aware, some of the most financially successful people like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t even graduate from college at all.
For example, I majored in economics. You might think that it helped me with my financial career but I could have stuck with my original double major in journalism and politics and it wouldn’t have made a difference. My major never even came up in a single job interview. Instead, they cared more about my success selling cutlery in people’s homes between semesters of college. (In other words, I started the same way as Michael Scott.)
I’m not unique either. I know numerous people who are very successful in their careers and majored in things like English, history, political science, and yes, anthropology. Most of them work in the business world without having majored in economics, finance, or accounting.
So what does really matter? If you know someone going to college soon, here are some things I might tell them:
1) Stay out of debt.
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve spoken to that feel crushed by student loan payments the size of a mortgage. Those loan payments make it harder to save or take risks with their career (many of which require you to pay your dues in low-paying positions while you move up the ladder). When I first graduated from college, I worked at a brokerage firm paying only $2k a month plus bonuses and commissions. I don’t know that I would have taken that risk with a big student loan payment every month.
Some ways to minimize debt include taking AP classes in high school for college credit, searching for scholarship money on sites like Fastweb and Educationgrant.com, starting at a community college and then transferring to a 4-yr school, and choosing a lower cost school over a higher ranked one. It’s true that graduates of top schools tend to earn more than graduates of lower ranked schools but that has more to do with the student than the school. One famous study compared students who were accepted to more selective schools and chose to attend with those who were accepted but chose a less selective school. Despite the different alma maters, both groups ended up earning about the same.
2) That includes credit card debt.
Part of your college experience will likely consist of being inundated with free offers and goodies from credit card companies. While getting a credit card early can help you build a credit history, it can also get you started down the path of credit card debt. Instead, use this time to develop the habit of living within a student budget. If you maintain it, you might even be able to retire early. Super early.
3) Study something you enjoy.
There are a couple of reasons for this. Most employers expect to train employees on the job. (In this ever-changing economy, the training will probably be ongoing.) What they’re generally looking for from college grads is a solid work ethic, intellectual curiosity, the ability to think critically, and communication skills. You can demonstrate these with any number of majors but it’s important that you excel in the one you choose and that’s a lot easier with something you enjoy and have more natural aptitude with.
Of course, there are exceptions to this. If you want to go into a specialized field like accounting or science or a career that requires a certain degree like education, you probably don’t want to be a philosophy major. But even in that case, if you don’t somewhat enjoy what you’re studying, maybe you shouldn’t be so eager to dedicate most of the rest of your waking hours to it.
4) Get real world experience.
Good grades are nice but employers are really impressed by what you can actually do. You can demonstrate social/communication skills and leadership ability through extra-curricular activities. (Debate and political clubs were mine.) You can make some extra money working a part-time job. (I sold the aforementioned cutlery and led campus tours.) Best of all, you can get direct experience in what you want to do with internships. (I skipped this one as I couldn’t stand the idea of working for free.) After interning, you might even discover that your lifelong ambition doesn’t quite live up to what you thought it would be.
5) Consider grad school.
If what you want to do requires more education, graduate school is the place where what you study matters. Once you have a graduate degree, no one cares where you went to undergrad or what your major was. I suggest you work between college and graduate school though. It gives you a better idea of what you really want to do and makes you a more competitive applicant. At the very least, you can pay down any debt you have and/or build up your savings.
However, don’t go to grad school because you don’t know what to do. That’s a really expensive way to find yourself. Instead, get a job where someone pays you to figure it out.
What about you? Do you agree or disagree? What did you major in and how has it impacted your life? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.