Whatever major it is - make sure it doesn't eat up your life. Take a major that grants you both an education you can use and that grants you the ability to enjoy college.
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Overall - I've yet to see if my education will prove worthwhile compared to if I simply started saving when I was younger (with reinvesting interest and having my parents add to this fund the normal amount I would place in a college education). Between the social isolation and long study hours, sleep deprivation and other pains associated with working hard in college - I determined that the amount of money I'd need to earn each year annually to be paid what I'm worth would amount to a small fortune.
Given the sky-rocketing cost of tuition today however, it seems clear to me that college grads are not getting what we truly deserve.
The average college graduate in 1999 made $45k a year, the cost of college tuition in 1999 was on average, $2k a year. Tuition has increased by 5x, which means the value of our degrees should have increased 5x. But for some reason, college graduates aren't raking in $125k a year (As HS grads still made 25k a year in 1999). Instead, we're making the same amount of money as we used to - which inflation-wise means we're making less then we used to while our degree is supposedly worth 5x as much.
The world loves to bicker and scream that we're "horribly greedy creatures", but lets face it. 5x the risk should equal 5x the reward, in fact, the increase in the risk should cause one to make more then 5x the reward. If a college education isn't worth this, then we need to change our way of thinking.
A) We need to either pay up and give college grads a massive annual salary for their massive investment (they'll need it to pay off the loans anyways).
B) We need to compensate graduates in another manner, say by giving them $45k a year but making them work 2 days a week.
C) We need to reduce the cost of college so that it's no longer as costly as it currently is. Perhaps by having companies subsidize the risk involved with making the investment by paying for the cost reduction.
D) Students should just make their educations less valuable by only doing 1/5th the work, say only coming to class once a week and only doing the top 20% of homework assignments that they like - and still coming out of college with a degree that pays the same. I like this option the best, as it allows students to work the part-time job they would need to pay off college and allows them ample social time for fun and friends.
E) Some combination of the above.
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But this idea would be abhorrent to cooperate America, who, despite claims that they deserve to be rewarded according to the risks that they take, somehow assume that the amount they pay their employees and the hours they make them work should be a constant - only stock values and CEO incomes should rise without bound (where a pay raise of 27% in a year isn't uncommon - if that happened with a college education over the last 12 years, we'd have an income of... 17x the original wage, or the typical college grad earning about $800k a year. When compared to things like this, our tiny $125k a year wage request seems
cute.
And what has a CEO given that I haven't? I've worked for 12 hard years at college, given up my entire teenage life, friends, companionship. I studied so hard that I often times lost my emotions from the depression and will likely have to be on medication for the rest of my life to cope with the damage done in the name of the "pursuit of knowledge". I already realize that I will not be payed what I am worth - I do however, fully expect to gain my rewards through other means. I'm not a slave, nor am I running a charity for capitalist America - this is capitalism, I deserve to be rewarded for my effort.
But if I was just entering college now - and knew what I know now, I'd remember the phrase from Soviet Russia. They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work. Whenever a teacher handed me some G-d-awful long assignment, I'd ask what my life-time reward would be from doing it. I'd cut corners and I might only stop with a 2-year degree... earned from slacking just a tad over 4 years. I'd of spent a lot more time with friends and at the very least, I wouldn't be coming out of college with psychological damage. Don't believe the lies; when it comes to accounting, an appreciation of history, an understanding of Greek philosophy and the abilities that don't apply to your career are worthless. They may say their worth can't be judged by "mere money", but try sending some of that Greek philosophy to the IRS next year and tell them that it's value can't be measured in "mere money" and they will puke green vomit as their heads spin. Work hard at your work certainly, but make sure that your reward is worth the effort at every turn.
I'm not saying to fall in love with money either, nor that college doesn't provide some an incredible opportunity to learn things you always desired - but it sure would have been nice if I would have had a good 10 grand to toss at Japan during the Earthquake without blinking an eye, or buy a new friend in a hardship during the mortgage crisis a brand-new house every couple of years. Or maybe, it would just be nice to be financially independent and be able to live on a simple livable wage while enjoying friends instead of having to come out of an incredibly expensive difficult journey only to be looking down the road at a second, long, difficult journey (especially today where a good chunk of that next journey is simply paying for the damages done in the last journey). All successful animals throughout history have one commonality, they learned how to acquire the most resources for the least amount of work - and in that regard, despite how "smart" I was when measured by my education, I failed.
The point I'm trying to make is, education is awesome, as long as you grab some good teachers you should enjoy parts of it. But we're not paid nearly what we're worth and you need to take that into consideration when you're working and choosing classes. The hard road will not "pay" - well it will pay, but not proportionally to the cost and effort you'll have to put into it. So remember to enjoy college, don't make yourself a slave for nothing unless you think the rewards will actually be worth the investment. I took the hard road - so far it just seems like the only real dividends it pays is extra pain.
Salaries in 1999:
http://www.classesandcareers.com/education/2010/02/10/college-degree-and-average-salaries/ASU Tuition Source for 2000-2001:
http://www.asu.edu/aad/catalogs/2000-2001/general/fees.html