Thoughts on 'Liberal Arts' Degree - Page 4

OK, you get it, thank you.

Dude, it's not about pay for me. It's about pursuing fields where I feel I can make a difference somehow. And, even if people with PSCI degrees are underpaid, I can guarantee you that the pay is higher and the work more fulfilling than working as a fucking dishwasher all of my life.

I respect those with STEM degrees. I admire them. Good careers. I am not devaluing STEM degrees. I am sure those with STEM degrees get paid higher than those with PSCI degrees. But, it is a bunch of bs to argue that PSCI degrees (or other Liberal Arts degrees for that matter) are useless and do not lead to fulfillment. Moreover, I don't have a passion for STEM fields.

Now dude, what is your fucking problem? If I know my degree will allow me to become successful one day, what the fuck is your problem? What's it to you man? Or do you enjoy hearing about other people's failures? I might be one disrespectful little fucker. But, some of you come across as envious little bitches. What the fuck is your problem?

^This. Thanks truth.

I agree, everyone has different passions and interests. You cannot tell people what to study. A degree means NOTHING!!! I am not saying I am a genious or anything but even people with "STEM" degrees are fucking retarded. Very few people in my graduating class got what they needed to be succesful engineers. 75% of people got just a piece of paper. Yeah yeah, degree this degree that. The truth is that no matter what fucking degree you have. What matters is if you have the balls to go out there and make a difference. Did you get you degree just for lucrative purposes? greed? You will not get far in life no matter what degree you have if that is the case. Unless ofcourse you were born and fed with silver spoon like Mittens Romney, who we all know will die lonely and unhappy.

Money is nothing in the end.

Thank you for understanding.

The cost of getting a 4 year degree is more or less the same *edit* regardless of major so it doesn't matter if you're a trust fund baby or not to get it, but you do pretty much need to be a trust fund baby to live on it after graduating.

There are plenty of PSCI related jobs? Really??? Do you think you'll move to DC and work for a government contractor? Do you think you can pass any kind of a background check or get a security clearance even if you do get a green card? Really?

I don't know how old you are or how much experience you have, but I have friends who have gone through the process and they've told me that they go back 10 years and even interview their ex-spouses to try to find anything to disqualify them. Even then many had to start off as interns to even get their foot in the door. BEST case scenario would be to get a local job in an immigrant friendly city somewhere pushing papers barely making 50k a year with everybody watching you under a microscope.

Yeah maybe a guy with a fake major is making my life hell, but most of them have gone to law school to be in the position they are now. Do you plan on going to law school too? Speaking of which, even for attorney's there is not much going on in the job market.

Again, let's assume that you actually have a work permit after you graduate with this political science degree and we established that the public sector will probably not hire you as you are a liability to them with your past, are there may private sector jobs that are just dying to hire a political science major? Is there a political science factory? Are engineering companies lining up to hear a new PoliSci major's opinion on politics when designing a new car?

So please spare me your fake outrage about pointing out the reality we are in. Right now there are certain majors that are completely useless to us. This is one of them. If you had a computer science, engineering, IT, math, biology, or other similar degrees, you are in demand anywhere in the world so even if you never get your papers here, you have something that can be used somewhere. Of course, the degree doesn't mean you know what you're doing but the same is true of any degree. Given the choice between a guy who knows how to program but has no degree and a guy who knows how to program and has a degree, guess who will get the job?

And if you do get your green card, you don't have much time to waste to try to catch up. You don't have the luxury to be an intern for 3 years before you're hired.

Yep, I am going to law school too.

What the fuck is your problem? If the person who is about to earn the degree and has received job offers is telling you that there are jobs, wtf are you arguing, bro? There may not be factories looking for PSCI degrees. But, that's not how it works smarty pants. You can work for non-profits, legal centers, in the law enforcement sector, research institutes, education/teaching, governmental agencies, etc. It depends on what the PSCI degree holder wants. I want to go to law school, but I would also like to be an officer in the Marines. That's a job. So therefore, there are jobs. Keep in mind, I am not saying Liberal Arts degrees are better than STEM. I am simply defending Liberal Arts degrees because many of them do allow people to get very fulfilling work. So, it's utter, complete bullshit for you and others to say that all Liberal Arts degrees are useless.

Dude, it's like you are practically saying, "Well, you never will be anything in life." You sound fucking envious. It's like me telling you that your career field makes you into an automaton because it is boring as fuck, and it is useless because it does not do any good in terms of addressing important socio-political issues. I am in no position to say that. What the fuck do I know if I will not experience what you will eventually experience. What the fuck do I know if I am not majoring in what you are majoring? Likewise, what the fuck do you know if you are not the degree holder?

Lol. Well, you can get a job with any major really. But there is a class in probability and statistics, good stuff, and if you gather enough data it's pretty easy to see which specialization gives you an easier time finding a job and also greater pay. There is no getting around that, some majors just trail behind others and some by a large margin. For a job position, someone who majored in IT will almost always have less preference to someone who majored in CS, many Math major jobs can be covered by someone who majored in Physics but not the other way around. PoliSci has it's own area where you can get jobs, but I'm sure you don't think you will get a job as easily and with the same pay as someone who majored in some sort of Engineering or even Accounting or Nursing.

If you want to know how I chose my major, here it is:

I myself loved art, but it's common sense that major wouldn't get me anywhere. I could've gotten a full scholarship or at least half for a music major, but with my status I didn't qualify for such blessings. So after all that it came down between Math and Physics. After long thinking, I realized that unless you go for a Ph.D, you don't get very far with those either, so I went for CS.

Yeah, I turned down just about everything I wanted to do, but ironically, my CS knowledge gave me a platform to enjoy everything I loved. You know making games from scratch by yourself when you are the artist, composer and programmer, 'El Mariachi' style lol if any of you know Robert Rodriguez. I'm sure some CS guys will appriciate what I'm talking about.

I don't have a problem and really what the hell do I care what you do with your life. It just sounds like you (I forget who the OP is so this isn't personal) have either got bad advice or are stubborn into thinking that you are too clever and smart to listen to anybody else.

You can get a job with or without a degree, but it doesn't mean it will be a good job. I know an American guy who did IT work (no degree) so he had more or less reached his ceiling. Dude thought it'd be great to go to Chef School and plopped down $20k. He had heard chefs make $100k+ in a lot of fancy restaurants and so he didn't listen to anybody asking WTF. After graduating, he couldn't even find a job as a night cook at an IHOP so he's back at the technical support line. Two years wasted that could have been spent on a MIS degree.

As for law school, how is it working out for that guy in Florida who's in the news? You do realize that an ILLEGAL immigrant fails the moral turpitude portion that the Bar Association has in place right? Are you sure that all would be forgiven in case of the DA passing? Do you want to bet your future and 10's of thousands of dollars on that? Law school is very expensive and those who are in it expect to make it back at some point, but if you can't work, you won't get it back.

As for being envious, pfft, please. If I was going to be envious, why would I be envious of someone who's either in the same mess that I'm in or possibly even worse? Why not be envious of Jon Hamm? Besides, I already have two degrees that I can't do anything with. The difference is, I can keep up with my degrees so when the time comes, I can show both the degree and my skills.

Fair. Completely fair. But, just to be clear. STEM degrees are fucking awesome. You guys are smart as hell. You will have relatively high paying jobs and will have an easier time finding a job because there is such a high demand for people with your majors. I am not challenging that at all. But, arguing that ALL of the Liberal Arts degrees are useless is bullshit. Fucking bullshit. Now, some liberal arts degrees, such as art, confront a tougher situation in terms of finding a job--I think (unless someone can enlighten me on that). But, claiming that ALL liberal art majors are useless is fucking stupid.