Haha that is not true. I and people I know got finance internships during college with the majors you listed. If you go to a good undergraduate school like UT, UVa, UMichigan, or NYU, and you major in the humanities, chances are you can land a well-paying job in the finance industry if you have good grades. I know at least half a dozen friends who had liberal arts majors that are now working in NYC, London, or San Francisco, and some are making just under mid six-figure income. Finance/Accounting/Econ majors might have a better shot, but GPA is far more important than your major. High schoolers reading this who want to major in something for passion yet work on Wall Street: -Get the highest GPA + SAT/ACT possible, apply to Top 50 colleges -After the first two weeks of college, buckle down, and lock yourself away till you develop good study habits. Your fall semester should end with a 4.0. Then the following spring semester, slowly come back into the social scene to the point where you can maintain a 4.0 and go out four nights in a row (speaking from experience). Play IM sports or join a fraternity, but do so only if doesn't interfere with academics too much (i.e. sleeping through a midterm because you were hazed the night before). -Try getting an internship anywhere at the end of fresh year or soph year in order to get a leg up on your peers who are business majors (they typically apply for internships junior year). -Come your junior year, you will have work experience, networking connections, and hopefully a 4.0 GPA from a target school. Then you apply for the top programs like the rest of business students. -By the time you graduate college, you should have three internships on your résumé and a full-time offer from the firm you last worked at. You can go back to graduate school after a few years of work and further boost your salary (along with education).
If I had a choice I wouldn't go to school at all. I would probably just sit home and write and compose music/practice my instruments. But if I had to play along, and completely ignored my general lack of aptitude in the many fields needed to excel in this major... I'd go for architecture. I love architecture. Hell, I'd settle for architectural history and just write a book or something.
Really doesn't matter. The "leave no child behind" really just made a completely stupid group of young adults. Best I can say is if you don't have a passionate area to focus on, wait before you go in. Colleges have been far too big of cash cows by letting everyone in these days, and HIRING companies know it. Wait until you know what your passion is. It will come, soon enough.
I really enjoyed my geography elective, particularly weather, so maybe that. I really like the business program I'm doing also.
Enjoying what I do is way more important to me than all the other factors mentioned by the OP. So physics/astrophysics still.
Interesting question. Most of the women I went to high school and/or college with are now stay-at-home moms. I'm still close with a female friend from college. It's just kind of funny that we used to bust our butts staying up and studying for finals and pulling all-nighters and stressing, etc. For her, what was it all for? So she could graduate with a 4.0 GPA, go on to get her Masters degree, then meet an airline pilot, get married, have a kid, and end up staying home full-time to raise him? Don't get me wrong, no meaningless career is more important than raising a kid. I totally respect what she's doing. It's just kind of ironic that after all that stressing in college, busting her ass to get 2 degrees, she ends up marrying a pilot and staying at home.
Yeah, well the one good thing is she at least has a fallback option in case she becomes single again for whatever reason.
I never considered major based on anything in the OP. I did what I wanted and new that I would be fine regardless because I am smart. I did think it was ridiculous right out of undergrad because I took a year off before going to grad school. So I needed a job. I applied for a bevy of stupid entry level positions at various companies in addition to jobs that had more to do with my major but averaged about 20k less. None of the "real" jobs would even consider me for an interview because of my major. They were entry level. They often included weeks or months of training built in. It was silly. Didn't matter because it wasn't my future, I just found it amusing. My wife picked two majors that she wanted, that would not be considered practical, as well. She is a genius, though, so she is now making a billion (exaggeration) dollars at an investment bank. So let that be a lesson to you kids - be a genius and major really doesn't matter.
