Study "History of art" if you are inclined to. Everybody will be happy if you acknowledge:
1. It isn't relevant to most of the jobs.
2. You aren't entitled to a job.
3. Your well-roundedness and other things you bring to the table is your perception - it might or might not be real and the employers might not feel that way.
4.
"You are a English Major. Great. So why aren't you doing what English majors do."
"You majored in Music. But this is a software development position."
You might not even get a chance to prove you are good(and justifiably so - you aren't qualified), and you might blow up given a chance because you somehow thought your English major makes you qualified for all jobs.
If you are majoring in English, and you want a job in software development, you will have to develop software, build your github profile before people start taking you seriously. Don't expect your degree to play a part.
5. You realize that science and engineering disciplines require a certain amount of time and labor, before you can be considered qualified to work. You can not weasel your way in citing "bah but I learned critical thinking".
6. Steve Jobs' quotes about Mac and liberal arts isn't going to do you any good. Apple hires A grade designers(both UI and industrial designers), and won't care about your English degree unless you have a track record of delivering great designs.
Study "Theoretical Physics" if you are inclined to. Everybody will be happy if you acknowledge:
1. It isn't relevant to most of the jobs.
2. You aren't entitled to a job.
3. etc...
This condescending arrogance is a simple example of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Most academic disciplines have little application in the workplace. Education has a deeper purpose than you think. The mechanism by which educated people get ahead in society is far more complex and subtle than the "learn useful work skills => better at work => more promotions" caricature.
> Study "Theoretical Physics" if you are inclined to. Everybody will be happy if you acknowledge:
I realize you are posting an analogy. I would still like to point out I am yet to meet someone who studies theoretical physics and doesn't realize how it's going to play out. There is no sense of entitlement, they are aware they will be going for PHD while their classmates get jobs right after their undergrad, and ever after PHD, things are uncertain and they might end up lecturing 1st years.
All I am pointing out is study what you want - it's your life and no one gives a damn - but don't build false perceptions about the way it works, or worse, feel that the world owes you something for you followed your passion.
> This condescending arrogance is a simple example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
No, it's not. Saying that your English Major won't help you get a job which doesn't need an English Major, doesn't say you are dumb to major in English, or I am smarter to not major in it.
> Education has a deeper purpose than you think. The mechanism by which educated people get ahead in society is far more complex and subtle than the "learn useful work skills => better at work => more promotions" caricature.
I don't know which part of my post you are responding to.
Education has a purpose, all sorts of educations has, and there is a common subset. That common subset doesn't make you eligible for unrelated jobs.
Whatever it is, it's fundamentally flawed. People studying to be theoretical physicists know it's a long and hard path. Also, they are eligible for a number of quant jobs.
> No education makes you "eligible" for a "related" job (unless the job is "college professor").
So, those doctors, lawyers, nuclear physicists, rocket scientists, architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers... should have just got an English major, since their education didn't do shit.
That's outright ridiculous, and wrong. Pretty much anything in hard sciences and technology(programming being a notable exception) requires a related formal education. And it's not bureaucratic - the job needs the background. Your well roundedness and critical thinking and whatever doesn't make you a doctor.
You learn math, programming, statistics, a lot of more math, physics.
You can get a job in a multitude of fields. Finance, programming, game development (advanced physics engine), etc. etc. Math is the foundation for all technologies, if you have a degree in Theoretical Physics you can pick a lot of other technical fields much easier than say, an English major. A lot of engineering knowledge comes directly from physics.
I think his point is that if you want to work on a technical field (programming, server admin, etc.) why are you getting a liberal arts degree? Which is a fair point in my opinion.
The reverse is also true, if you want to do creative writing, media,English teacher, etc. why would you get a "Theoretical Physics" degree.
Why does everyone assume that English majors can't program? Or that theoretical physicists can? (they usually aren't very good at the engineering side of programming)
1. It isn't relevant to most of the jobs.
2. You aren't entitled to a job.
3. Your well-roundedness and other things you bring to the table is your perception - it might or might not be real and the employers might not feel that way.
4.
"You are a English Major. Great. So why aren't you doing what English majors do."
"You majored in Music. But this is a software development position."
You might not even get a chance to prove you are good(and justifiably so - you aren't qualified), and you might blow up given a chance because you somehow thought your English major makes you qualified for all jobs.
If you are majoring in English, and you want a job in software development, you will have to develop software, build your github profile before people start taking you seriously. Don't expect your degree to play a part.
5. You realize that science and engineering disciplines require a certain amount of time and labor, before you can be considered qualified to work. You can not weasel your way in citing "bah but I learned critical thinking".
6. Steve Jobs' quotes about Mac and liberal arts isn't going to do you any good. Apple hires A grade designers(both UI and industrial designers), and won't care about your English degree unless you have a track record of delivering great designs.