The Majors that Pay and the Degrees that Don’t for Graduates

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | November 25, 2019 | Preston Cooper

[RedStateRocker]

That’s just your white privilege and Western cultural chauvinism talking
/sarc

[cyclotic]

Cue the yea right sure girl.

I meant to add that the engineer spent his summers as a home remodeler. Learned some great skills.

[olesigh]

True Story I used to reread sports illustrated in the early 60s. They ran an “expose’” on soft courses taken by athletes. One that I remember was Basket Weaving. I never knew iff it was making thatched baskets or something in basketball.

[Truthoverpower]

Engineering

Nuff said

Premed.

Physics

Chemistry

Biochemistry

[Truthoverpower]

I’m an electrician !

Solar mostly

[DeFault User]

HVAC... in good times and bad. Back in the 80s I had a stockbroker that I left for some other organization. A year or two later I saw his name on a heating and air conditioning truck. Evidently The brokerage business wasn’t as good as he thought and he bought out at an HVAC company.

[moovova]

Autobody repair. There will always be car crashes.

[Windflier]

[[ What sounds better?

A. My son-in-law is a Plumber

B. My son-in-law is a Lawyer

C. My son-in-law is a CPA ]]

My son in law really is a plumber. All I know is he makes an honest living and takes good care of my little girl and their baby boy.

I choose C.

[Osage Orange]

Old story.....

I'm not a plumber...but I know how to plumb..just about anything..

I had a house in SoCal...built in the late 40's.

I generally ran a roto-rooter..down the sewer line every year or so...

One day the roto-rooter would not pass a certain point...and I had to replace the sewer pipe.

So..I start digging..and punching holes in the clay pipe...until I get to the spot..that is clogged with tree roots. Cleaned those out..and figured out what I needed to re-plumb it.

Since the sewer pipe ran along the side of the house..about 4 feet from my neighbors..I told him my plan..to have it fixed quick..as I could..

We are standing right near the sewer pipe...with the holes in it...And to my horror...I hear the toilet flush...and hear comes the poop...with kernels of corn..flowing along. My neighbor Ray...a good man....Say's.."Well, I guess you all had corn last night"....

[mad_as_he$$]

;-)

[Wonder Warthog]

"Best of all works is earning a stem degree and learning some trade skills. Then you don’t have to pay someone else to do the plumbing, electrical or carpentry work."

Or, you could grow up on a farm and then get an STEM (chemistry) degree. Surprising how often the farm skills carried over to experimental work in chemistry.

[Wonder Warthog]

"It all began with Sputnik. The first government college loans were National Defense Student loans to help Iowa farm boys enter the space race."

Yup..I had an NDSL. Couldn't have done college without it.

[shotgun]

Page 1) $#!+ rolls down hill
Page 2) don’t chew your fingernails

Those are the 2 key points from a former Union Journeyman Pipefitter...

[entropy12]

Exactly right. People look up to doctors as if they are demigods. In reality they are just another business as you said, and need customers who get sick. If all people suddenly adopted healthy lifestyles including regular exercise, 90% of doctors would have no customers.

[entropy12]

Eeeeeewwwwww....
good thing I had just finished lunch before reading your post.

[Osage Orange]

You could never be a plumber.........: )

[Wizdum]

I never want it to be said that those professions are somehow beneath doing for some people. I started out as a kid with a knack for fixing radios. I turned that into an EE and get paid pretty handsomely for it, but I know plumbing too, and machine work.
That experience has made me a very versatile addition to the work I do. If I had to pick one of them if I had to have a different job, I'd be a machinist.

My nephew has told me he is not college material, I have him working on a Electricians license on his way to Journeyman. He'll never be out of work.

[RedStateRocker]

Yep. We’ll need good electricians 200 years from now. Same with plumbers.

I think that the old days, when ‘shop’ was a common class for junior high and high school, were the better for it.

[Wizdum]

Shop was where I learned I had a knack for what I do now.
I used to work on all my vehicles, but Dad had a way of teaching the basics, and I went from there to taking care of my own for just about any issue except the transmission. I taught all the kids about basics like oil changes, wipers, tuneups.

Shop would be back in the schools except for the liabilities.

[entropy12]

Right, never a plumber for outside work. But I have replaced kitchen sinks and faucets, toilets, shower faucets etc at home.

I used to tune car engines, replace brake linings, drain and flush coolant, replace V-belts, replace water pump, change oil & filter, etc for my cars.

And I have installed numerous ceiling fans at various of our homes.

And I have installed window blinds, and security storm doors.

I even recall repairing roof leak from a flat roof condo, which I was told would require a professional.

Lastly, one of the houses we sold had the buyer hire an inspector, and he of course found a list of issues. Most were cosmetic issues, but one of the receptacles in kitchen (with fuse built in) was installed wrong. I googled the issue and rewired the receptacle to pass the inspection test.