Every college degree has its ups and downs, and one thing every student gets a lot of is condescending questions and side eye about why they chose their major. However, some degrees get this more than others. That's right, this one's for you, my fellow humanities and social science majors. We're not STEM majors, but that doesn't mean we aren't made of the same grit and intelligence our more science-y friends are. We still work hard to earn our degrees and spend countless hours doing work that others would find impossible. We're writers. We're creative thinkers. We're smart. You can keep your comments to yourself, thanks.
1. So, you want to be a teacher.
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No, I really don't. Nothing against students who are pursuing teaching, of course, but don't you think that if I wanted to be a teacher, I would be getting an education degree? Don't you think there's a reason I'm not doing that?
2. You'll never make any money.
With every degree, there's a chance that you'll make it big and have a huge paycheck, and a chance that you'll be searching for a steady job for years to come. Your major is no different from mine. Many, many organizations look for humanities majors to work in human resources, with the law and politics, in art and media, as a writer or an editor, in sales, or a translator. There are many job opportunities for us.
3. So, math and science are not your forte, huh?
Well, I was on my school's science team for many years, I took a healthcare course through my local college my sophomore year of high school, and I absolutely love math, but you know, I guess I'm "just not smart enough". Just because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in a STEM field doesn't mean I'm not capable of doing so.
4. But STEM majors are harder majors, so -
Humanities and social science majors are constantly, constantly hearing this and being looked down on because of it. Are you really telling me that you think writing insanely large and complex essays several times a week is easy? Are you really telling me that, as another student who got into the same college as you did, I'm taking the easy way out? Humanities and social science majors constantly have to prove themselves, when they really have nothing to prove.
I've heard several times from a STEM major that "my classes are really rough right now; maybe I should switch to [humanities/social science major] so things would be easier". Did they ever stop think hey, this is actually really devaluing to all of my friends' hard work? I promise you guys, we study just as hard and put just as much time into our work as everyone else does. We sometimes put in even more because people are constantly telling us we're not good enough. Don't get me wrong, I know many incredible people who are STEM majors, but flippant comments like this really pack a punch.
5. Could you proofread my essay?
No. Unless you're a friend and I'm not busy at the moment, because then I'll do it because I'm actually really honored you thought I was the best person for the job.
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