College Degrees to Possibly Avoid and Others More Should Pursue

By the time senior year rolls around in high school, many of the students have a good idea about what college they will eventually be moving on to (if they are choosing to attend college) and what their possible major will be. As educators and administrators, we will more than likely urge the students to follow their major that they chose and encourage them to achieve their dream.

However, are we doing some of these students that are depending on us a disservice? Perhaps we should instead be opening their eyes with some cold hard facts.

A Scared Straight Program for High School Seniors

While it definitely does not have to be quite as scary as those scared straight programs that are currently on television, more high schools should offer a workshop of some sort to the students detailing what college degrees they will be able to make a living with and which degrees will leave them struggling to pay their bills as an adult.

While it may feel like we could be overstepping our boundaries in pushing students towards certain careers, sometimes they need a wake-up call because this advice is not coming from many of their parents. Then when all is said and done, these students will be graduating from college with a whole lot of student debt and not much of a future that will allow them to pay it off any time soon.

Degrees That May Sound Interesting But Won’t Pay the Bills

Rather than students blindly receiving advice to follow their dream career, we might want to inform them of which college degrees to avoid or at least smarten them up to know how hard it could be for them down the road.

For instance, there are certain majors that would cost the college student more money in the long run to take than what they would be bringing in years later with it. According to the statistics, Creative Arts, English, and Languages are majors that do not offer the student many career opportunities once they graduate. The same can be said for Communications, Art, Theater, Journalism, Music, and the Humanities.

Rather than dissuading high school seniors from entirely taking these majors, perhaps they would listen more closely if we at least stress that they should consider a double major just in case.

What Majors Are In Demand?

As adults that have experienced life a little bit already, urging these senior high school students to consider majors that will allow them to live a good life financially should not be out of the question.

Of course, one of these areas is in medicine. The medical field always has a demand for skilled workers that know what they are doing. Plus, a career in the medical field usually pays pretty well. Furthermore, many of these positions can be landed after only two years in college.

Another area of study to pursue would be engineering. There is a need for all sorts of engineers. In addition, virtually anything to do with technology is a safe bet as well. Becoming a coder, data scientist, or computer programmer will ensure you will always have a job waiting for you somewhere.

While life is not all about money and how much you make, being able to pay your bills on time and raise a family is nice. Whether a high school senior is choosing to attend college or learn a trade instead, just make certain that the time and money spent on this avenue is going to be worth it.

Parents Wanting the Best for Their Children

If you are a concerned parent that is wanting to make sure their high school student is prepared for college, iAchieve offers free presentation for planning for college that both parents and their kids can attend.

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