Costs and Benefits of Choosing a College Major

Each of us, as students, have had to ask ourselves “What do I want to major in?” Now ask yourself, “Why did I choose my major?” Were you thinking about how your major would apply to your future or were you thinking more along the lines of how much you love the subject matter and how much you really enjoy taking the necessary courses? The article I chose “Choosing a College Major: For love or for the Money?” (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/05/jobs/05jmar.html?oref=login) discusses how majors relate to future financial earnings and the pressures of choosing a major. It suggests that parents and students think rationally and even like economists in selecting a major for they “consider college more an investment than a time of academic and personal exploration. Some students say they are education consumers seeking the best return on that investment.” Studies were conducted by three Northeastern University economists who wrote a book “College Majors Handbook with Real Career Paths and Payoffs” and concluded that a student’s major is “more crucial to future financial success than the college attended.” With this in mind, we can now use some of what we’ve learned in class to weigh the choices. In choosing a major did you think about how to best maximize your ability to make money? or did you worry about the opportunity cost of majoring in something that you would probably get the most utility from in college but that might not help you buy that fancy sports car when you are 30? Hopefully we will all reach our optimal utility. The question just remains as to whether we will reach optimal utility at the end of our four years or in 30 years with early retirement and large bank accounts. Thinking even harder one can relate this to the issues of public and private school. When going to a probably more expensive private school the weight on choosing a major is much heavier for if you decide to change it could cause additional years of paying tuition. All in all, choosing a college major based on future financial success can have great opportunity cost of not enjoying college and being able to academically explore during college and then later in life lead to more utils form a wealthier lifestyle.