Follow passions, not price tags

My expectations of college quickly dwindled when I faced the harsh realities of debt and job insecurity.

As a political science major, I hoped to run my own nonprofit and commit my life to serving the community. My passion for service has taken me this far, I thought, and my determination matched with optimism will continue to help me succeed.

But several factors made me reconsider this possibility. First, my parents and peers repeatedly asking me what I will do with my major made me wonder if it would be a worthwhile investment. Additionally, the statistics of low salaries and unstable job markets for social science majors made me worry I would soon be bunking with mom and dad again.

Using U.S. Census microdata from 2009 to 2013, Time Magazine found that 46 percent of social science majors move back home after graduation, versus 36 percent of computer science majors — yikes.

A year into college, I decided to switch my career path to psychology. I saw better potential for work in the mental health field, and the job security and benefits of careers in psychology gave me reassurance. Most importantly, I would be able to commit my life to service — but not quite in the way I imagined.

I had found a balance, but it wasn’t pure bliss.

Although I’ve always had a strong sense of who I am, I did not always know where I was heading. My internal idealism faced with external reality has always been a difficult balance. When selecting a major, the process of weighing all the factors of student debt, economic conditions, job security, career satisfaction and overall benefits can be hard to strike for many students.

Experience taught me that selecting a major in college is one of the most important decisions of college — but today, it is less of a choice and more of a dangerous negotiation.

There is a disheartening divide in the reasons students choose their majors. The difference seems to lie between those who choose majors based on the security of the job market it has to offer and those who have a deep interest or love for the subject — even if it doesn’t lead to the most lucrative career path.

Unless you are lucky enough to find a balance between the two, like me, this catch-22 of our generation is threatening our right to the pursuit of happiness.

The message higher education sends to students focuses on what we “do” with the things we study — completely missing the point of why we may study a subject in the first place. Our parents and advisors tell us to add a “useful” major, such as economics or chemistry, to our humanities majors as a “safety,” because those skills are marketable. This emphasis on status and profitability overshadows the importance of passion and purpose in a quality education. We end up half-heartingly choosing multiple options, instead of fully committing ourselves to one goal.

According to Project on Student Debt, the average student debt in Pennsylvania is $33,263 — a record high, especially when compared to the nationwide average of $28,950 in 2014. With such economic burdens looming over many students, the academic freedom is no longer financially feasible.

A college degree doesn’t promise economic mobility anymore, and we are afraid to buy into lower-income fields. According to The New York Times, the average American family in 1974 earned just under $13,000 a year, and a public university cost about $510 a year. Today, family incomes have remained stagnant, adjusting for inflation — but public tuition has risen by nearly four times.

Jobs in fields that are crucial for society — like education, social work, the arts and the humanities — are becoming devalued and undermined because of the lower salaries they’re tied to.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of science and engineering bachelor’s degree completions grew twice as fast as non-science and engineering disciplines between 2009 and 2013.

The average STEM major makes $65,000 compared to non-STEM majors, who make roughly $48,000. I don’t have to use guesswork to answer why students opt for these fields.

The issue resonates most with low-income students, who might take on the burden of student debt entirely by themselves. What can they afford to choose? When a college degree is the key to opening the door to job opportunities and a better life, it may seem like the only way to get ahead of the debt trap is to major in a high-paying field. We should not force ourselves to choose between security and happiness, as both are essential to the human experience. We need to reclaim the promise of the American Dream and give students the freedom to pursue their passion — whether that be basket-weaving or biology by condoning students who study what they love, not condemn.

Kirsten Wong primarily writes on social justice issues and education for The Pitt News

Write to her at kew101@pitt.edu