From College Major to Career (Unemployment, Salary Ranges etc)

[Corcaigh]

How do you know that?

Not being snarky (at least not intentionally), but what forms the basis for that conclusion?

It'a a crass assumption on my part that I have found to be true through experience. Graduates who took undergraduate courses of study that are less rigorous, such as marketing and communications, are less intelligent and hard working than those who took difficult classes, even in the liberal arts.

Rigor of studies and insights from relevant work experience have always been very important factors in my hiring decision. The major is important too, but I'm not interviewing anyone from a third rate institution.

[DCSaints_fan]

How do you know that?

Not being snarky (at least not intentionally), but what forms the basis for that conclusion?

English is the tougher major... marketing/comm have a more "vocational" feel to them.

There is a similiar "hierachy" in the sciences. I know alot of physics majors that went into other fields like chemistry, biology, engineering, med school etc. The reverse is not true. To do physics research you have to have been a physics major, period.

At VT I knew a few people who flunked out of CS/physics/engineering, etc. and went into business. I didn't know of anyone flunking out of business and going into CS or engineering.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

That question doesn't relate to intelligence. As much as it pains me to admit it, people that go to the elite schools are more capable (collectively) than people that go to the less renowned schools. But that's not the issue with respect to majors (communications v. English)

Right...but within the context of the conversation, we were talking about selecting Ivy League English majors. So, it does come in to play. I think he meant (and I could be wrong) that it's easier for those specific English majors to pick up marketing and take advantage of their other strengths than vice versa.

[Prosperity]

It'a a crass assumption on my part that I have found to be true through experience. Graduates who took undergraduate courses of study that are less rigorous, such as marketing and communications, are less intelligent and hard working than those who took difficult classes, even in the liberal arts.

Rigor of studies and insights from relevant work experience have always been very important factors in my hiring decision. The major is important too, but I'm not interviewing anyone from a third rate institution.

I suppose, I always thought writing was foundational in all disciplines, including communications.

Writing within the context of an English major is writing about Anglo-American literature. I have seen very few exercises that are as pointless as literary criticism, but then again I only took a couple English classes and only one communications class (rhetoric). Both class types struck me as pointless.

The only classes that didn't involve extensive writing were my math classes.

FWIW I think high school is a much better predictor for writing ability than college. Folks that went to (good) private high schools are far more polished.

[Drew_Fl]

Electrical and Computer Engineering:

Electrical-

5.0%

$60,000

$86,000

$111,000

Computer-

7.0%

$58,000

$81,000

$102,000

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