What major should I study for a satisfying job?

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MonsterGuy
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04 Jun 2014, 1:06 pm

A) Islamic economics and finance.
B) Religious studies
C) A language
D) Economics.
People say I am good at learning languages, I used to be interested in economics and still kinda am, believe in an economy without interest, and am fascinated by religion, especially comparing religions. For religious studies I plan to get a Master's Degree and then teach.



GiantHockeyFan
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04 Jun 2014, 1:38 pm

All I can advise is to stay far, far away from Economics unless you plan on both getting a Master's and moving. I thought that since few students went that route, it would be a sure thing. BIG MISTAKE! The degree is practically useless by itself.



MonsterGuy
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04 Jun 2014, 1:47 pm

But is a degree in religious studies useful? What about a language?



sacrip
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04 Jun 2014, 1:51 pm

You should study what most interests you, but don't assume you'll be guaranteed a job in your major. Even a teaching job at the university level isn't always easy to get. I don't mean to discourage you, but I just want you not to think in terms of, "...and I'll do THIS for a living," when picking a major. Again, pick what YOU most want to KNOW.


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Kyte
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04 Jun 2014, 3:27 pm

I've heard that religious studies can be a mistake as well, very hard to find a job in that field and related fields i.e. Philosophy?

I don't think language would be a bad bet, as long as the language you are studying is pertinent to the area that you reside. wouldn't make much sense to major in, say, Russain, if you live in Texas.



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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04 Jun 2014, 4:52 pm

MonsterGuy wrote:
. . am fascinated by religion, especially comparing religions. For religious studies I plan to get a Master's Degree and then teach.

There's a lot to be said for going with what you have the most energy for right now. And 'pre-studying' and trying to run one semester ahead, I think is very powerful, especially with some of the more difficult or longer reading.

Just from time to time try to seek out professors and older persons with whom you can realistically talk about the current job market. And the job market of course changes over time, sometimes being less open and sometimes being more open.

Good luck whichever way you go! :D And please keep regarding us here at WP as one good reference among many.

PS And if you're interested in languages, I think you can add that to whatever other course study you're doing.



MissDorkness
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05 Jun 2014, 8:37 am

MonsterGuy wrote:
A) Islamic economics and finance.
B) Religious studies
C) A language
D) Economics.
People say I am good at learning languages, I used to be interested in economics and still kinda am, believe in an economy without interest, and am fascinated by religion, especially comparing religions. For religious studies I plan to get a Master's Degree and then teach.

I always avoided considering the arts degrees, as I was constantly given the advice that they're hard to find applicable jobs for.

If it were me, and I had any skill at languages, I would go that way. Learning a couple and then picking up work related to that. The hospital I worked for had a department of translators, universities might as well, for visiting families.
I also do a lot of freelance writing and editing, and most of the places I've looked for work have been desperate for translators for articles and other documents, especially technical ones.
And, obviously, if you get tired of translating, then there is always teaching, since languages are taught in various schools from preschool through college.

I found religious studies and economics pretty fascinating, so I'm glad they were part of my core curriculum, but, I'm not sure how I could've made a career out of them.



kraftiekortie
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05 Jun 2014, 9:23 am

Spanish is an especially useful language within the context of the United States.



MissDorkness
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05 Jun 2014, 9:46 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
Spanish is an especially useful language within the context of the United States.
For practical every day purposes, I agree.
However, if you want to work for a corporatation, Chinese (mandarin?putonghua?) could be an excellent choice. That will probably surpass English as the lingua franca in the coming years, and would already make one marketable (my company [financial services] is based in the US and the only other country we operate in is China, one floor of my building is dedicated to the apac department and all of them speak english, chinese, and likely other dialects).



aspinnaker
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05 Jun 2014, 8:50 pm

I don't agree with the sentiment above regarding economics - that its useless.

The value of the economics degree is not that it provides you with a specific skills that you can utilize on the job, but it provides assurances to the employer that (1) you can do the math (2) you understand the basic foundations of business. It doesn't prepare you specifically for anything (unless you actually want to work in the field of economics), but it will always keep you in consideration for all business related positions - unless it actually requires a specific degree, like accounting. I think this is actually especially valuable for people who want to study something that they are passionate about but which has less employability (like religious studies or languages). If you study religious studies or languages by itself, sure you can be a teacher, but if you ever decide to apply to a business related role then you are fighting an uphill battle - however, if you double that with an economics major, you'll get fair consideration.

Of course this scales widely with how strong your school is. At the weaker schools with non-quantitative economics programs that people may perceive as "easy", it may be better for you to do something with a strong skill component like accounting or computer science if you care about employability. On the other extreme, the top US/UK schools do not have undergrad business programs (with some exceptions) and therefore an economics major is the gold standard for many of the top paying jobs.



jrjones9933
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05 Jun 2014, 9:32 pm

If you like math, consider math. You can work in many different fields, and it shows people that you have a certain kind of intelligence. If you go with economics, then load up on the math electives for that reason.



aspie_comic_nerd
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05 Jun 2014, 10:37 pm

In my experiences it's better to obtain generalized skills through college such as learning another language, IT skills and/or business.

It's not a good idea to pursue specific field because the job market is fickle and college degrees are not a guarantee of obtaining employment.

Getting a college degree as a method of starting a career is more of a myth nowadays. More and more college students are underemployed or unemployed and struggling to pay off thousands of dollars in student loans. College is looking more like a scam as of lately.