EDITORIAL- College always worth it if done correctly

Three economists from Northeastern University in Boston have recently published a book… Three economists from Northeastern University in Boston have recently published a book entitled “College Majors Handbook With Real Career Paths and Payoffs,” in which they conclude that choosing a major is more crucial to future financial success than the college a student attends.

Susannah Lloyd-Jones remembers her time as a student at Loyola University in Chicago. In her junior year, she was struggling to choose a major; she ultimately decided on sociology because it opened her mind and introduced her to other cultures. The 24-year-old paralegal says she would still opt for the sociology major if she had to do it all over again, but she regrets not taking any business courses or gaining internship experience.

Students and career counselors agree that factors like rising tuition costs and the uncertain economy lead to anxiety in picking a major. Parents and students are starting to consider college to be more of an investment than a time of academic and personal exploration.

Well, it’s a bit of both.

There’s no right way to do this college thing. Some people choose a major too early, resulting in the major-a-month plan that usually leads to the add-a-year program that students enroll in during their third year. Another option is to declare a major at the very last minute simply because you have to, not because you ever wanted to or had a plan to.

Whichever strategy is executed, choosing a major based on one’s love of the subject or pursuit of money is an individual decision.

Thanks to the general education requirements for all majors at Pitt, we get as well-rounded an education as curriculums will allow. General writing, or an equivalent course, is a requirement for all students. And while we’ve all enjoyed introduction to astronomy, why isn’t introduction to business a required class for undecided majors?

There is something to be said for the undecided student who finds a way to navigate the elective options and find a balance between “things I want to learn” and “things I need to know.” That student will probably have had a meaningful college experience while learning the art of persuasion to get into closed or special permission classes.

Perhaps if students knew how to better utilize all the advising resources on campus, including academic and career advising, they would have a better idea of what courses to take — not only to fulfill a major, but also to face life after college with a little more confidence in their success.

Post-graduation salaries would not even be an issue. Most elementary education majors know they will not make the same amount as accounting majors. And majors in chemical engineering expect their future jobs to pay more than a job as a freelance writer.

In the end, there will usually be things we would have done differently, but no one wants to leave college second-guessing the value of her degree.