RS-3 Whats Your Major

                Throughout life we are all faced with economic decisions, whether it be a mortgage payment or preparing for retirement securing a 401k. Either way these decisions are not the most important. According to Money Planet’s podcast “What’s Your Major”, the biggest economic decision in our lives is the decision of your major in college. This blog highlights my opinions after listening to this podcast about economically analyzing the majors median earning and their variation between the focus of studies; i.e. math, science, liberal arts etc.

                When you are a child we always think of scientists and the mathematicians as these men in white coats earning the big bucks; on the other hand writers and performers are looked down upon as tree huggers that don’t earn much at all. Well this podcast justifies our child hood perceptions because a national survey about undergraduate college majors reveals, petroleum engineering has the highest earnings per year at $120,000 while a psychology major is at the bottom earning a median of $30,000 per year. At the same time, it is not a surprise petroleum engineering earns so much money. When measuring the supply and demand of majors there are only 15,000 persons in the field of petroleum engineering in comparison to the 1.3 million persons that majored in psychology. Therefore the scarcity of petroleum engineers yields an economic trade-off for a salary increase. Money is always our concern in life, and it is always an influence in decision making.

                The podcast asked the question, “Would your potential median earning salaries influence your decision about your major?” I would answer this question as yes, but other factors must be included in this decision rather than just potential earnings. I would make a decision at the margin weighing out the costs and benefits. In my case, I have always been proficient in the field of math and I have always been involved with leadership. I thought that it would be in my best interest to major in accounting because I enjoy doing these things and I saw accounting as a growing field with lots of potential. Also I have been influenced by many professors here at Sacred Heart University preaching that “the work put in to become an accountant pays itself off with the fact you’re almost guaranteed a job once graduating with a promising high salary.” I though this decision to become an accountant would benefit much more than the cost of my time and dedication to become one. In contrast, there are people out there who would much rather live by the expression “Do what makes you happy”, this meaning that they would much rather major in something of their interest and not worry about a salary. They compare this benefit of happiness to the cost they would suffer if they were to major in something not of their interest.

"Plato"

                Overall, I would recommend any college student to listen to this podcast, Episode 485: What's Your Major? : Planet Money : NPR, before making any informed decision. It could change your value for education, and provide awareness for the costly decisions yet to come in the future. I would like to leave my readers with a quote to reflect upon:

"Do not train children in learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each."

 - Plato