Even with the wide variety of majors available to college students, there are still those that are popular, and those that are not-so-popular. While you may know an abundance of students studying things like business or education, the odds are you only know a few with majors like geography or event planning. Here's a list of six things those with uncommon majors are tired of hearing and the kind of answers they wish they could give.
1. What can you even do with that degree?
Lots of different jobs, specifically the one I want to do for the rest of my life. Just because you have never heard of my major does not mean it doesn’t have a diverse career field. This question can be especially annoying because it implies that I'm getting this degree on a whim. I've put as much thought into my future career as everyone else.
2. How much money will you make?
Hopefully enough to pay off my student loans. And get a dog. Frankly I'm not as concerned about how much I make as how happy I am in the future. Sure, I could go into a career field that is guaranteed to make me buckets of money, but I'd rather do something I'm actually passionate about.
3. That sounds so boring!
It would probably be boring for you, but it’s what I love most. I wouldn’t want to sit through your classes, either. That's what is so cool about college, we all get to study the things we care about and find interesting.
4. I’ve never met anyone with that major before.
I get it, there aren’t that many of us. I try to take this as a compliment but it still grinds my gears. While you may mean this in a nice way, it can easily come off sounding slightly condescending.
5. So I can call you up in the future if I have a problem with -insert something involving major-?
Sure! I’d love to help you out while doing what I love. Good luck finding me though, who knows where job openings in my field are going to be. The only problem with my future career being so uncommon is that I'll probably be moving across the country multiple times throughout my life. Thank goodness for extra-large suitcases and mail-forwarding.
6. Well, good luck with that!
Thanks, you too. I mean that seriously, it’s rough out there for all of us.
So next time you run into someone with a major you've never heard of, try to avoid these pitfalls. Instead try asking them to tell you a little bit about what they study because trust me, they can go on for hours.
