The Degree's With The Best, And Worst, Values

For those of you who asked, this according to Investment News:

The Best

The best? Advertising/Marketing/Promotion. The worst? Marriage counselor. Draw your own conclusions

I notice Teachers in some variety hold 3 of the 10 worst degrees and careers a person can pursue. (sigh) How backward is that. Political Science is among the top while helping form the generations to lead our nation in the future is near dead last...

...and we wonder why we're in such terrible trouble. :shk:

S/F for a clear and from what I can see, honest look at how things are these days. (I'd tweak the position of Doctor/GP....That was Pre-Affordable Care Act for their making lots of money, I think)

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


They forgot to mention the degree that leads to more millionaires than any other….a BA in Political Science!! Have you ever noticed how many broke Poli-Sci graduates go to DC and come back multi-millionares after only a few years in Congress??

I find it hard to believe that BSBA or MBA were not on the list. Management is universal and the principles can be applied at any level, in any industry, anywhere in the world. CEO’s of major corporations are most often MBA’s and we all know they are some of the highest paid.

Civil Engineer??? Economist??? Really???

Evidently the article is not about moral values.

I can only gather that the values of 'best' and 'worst' are assigned by the average cost of the degree compared to the median time it takes to pay off one's loans - which is total bull sh!t if you subscribe to the notion that the best degree one can choose, if one opts for higher education, is any field of study one is attracted to, alongside a student's serious commitment to make a positive influence in the world with his/her field of study. Great find, though!

I don't know how much I trust this information... it doesn't look like they took into account the future jobs market. A job that is not in high demand in the future will drop in pay scale, while a job that is high in demand will increase in pay scale (demand measured against supply obviously). Also, jobs with increasing demand will offer more opportunity for advancement and ease of getting the job in the first place.

I know accounting is changing quite rapidly. Degrees in accounting are pretty much worthless unless there is some sort of accounting-related experience backing them up (this from a professor who only moonlights as a professor, being an upper-level accountant in a local industry during the day). There is a big difference with pay scale/employability between an experienced accountant with a MS in accounting and one with an AS in business, but between inexperienced people with similar educational backgrounds there is very little difference.

It looks like the survey is based solely on average pay scale versus average degree costs.

TheRedneck

A plumber or electrician make about fifty grand a year average and they get paid while they apprentice. A Miner makes about fifty grand a year minimum after they put in six years which is the same time to get a degree, plus they get paid while they learn. How about a carpenter or Mason or steel worker, they need no degrees, reach medium pay in six years, and they don't have to pay for exercise club memberships.

This seems to be a sales pitch for colleges to me....You need a degree to work at subway though

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


It is hard to believe these are the best values. Everything comes down to job market. There is not much need for economists, lawyers, advertisers to be honest. It might earn money back fast, although it is much harder to find a good job, there are too many of such people finishing university.

I would make my bets on IT/engineering (especially electrical, although also chemical is good). The need for those jobs is only becoming higher and already most first-world countries are buying in engineers as it is hard to find ones in local areas. Any science would do its job actually, although geology/biology/zoology might not earn well, unless coupled with a second degree of some kind, which has more practical value of creating different products.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I notice Teachers in some variety hold 3 of the 10 worst degrees and careers a person can pursue. (sigh) How backward is that. Political Science is among the top while helping form the generations to lead our nation in the future is near dead last...

...and we wonder why we're in such terrible trouble. :shk:

S/F for a clear and from what I can see, honest look at how things are these days. (I'd tweak the position of Doctor/GP....That was Pre-Affordable Care Act for their making lots of money, I think)

Sorry for the delay.

You saw pretty much the same things I did, which is one reason I posted it. Education doesn't pay off while the political sphere does. Makes you think.

Originally posted by TheRedneck

It looks like the survey is based solely on average pay scale versus average degree costs.

TheRedneck

It is. It was meant to be a starting point of sorts for people still undecided about which way to go. It's summer break. There are a lot of 18 year old's looking at everything at once, not sure as to which direction they should go.

The pay versus cost analysis is one piece of the puzzle, but being that it's financial, it's the most important piece. From there, then you can go into what is going to be the most steady through the economic ups and downs. And in my opinion, that's still going to be marketing/advertising. It might sound a little backwards, but if you can get in that field while the times are tough and companies are fighting tooth and nail for customers, and you can help them do just that.......you're a keeper. They're going to retain you because they saw what you can do when the heat is on.

And teachers? You're going to have to have a passion for it. You're obviously not in it for the money, but that also is recession proof.

Originally posted by rickymouse
Evidently the article is not about moral values.

No, it's not.

Oh I thought your OP meant best and worst MORAL value LOL! It would be an interesting study to see if in fact the more moral and ethical you are, the less you get payed

Originally posted by kissy princess
I can only gather that the values of 'best' and 'worst' are assigned by the average cost of the degree compared to the median time it takes to pay off one's loans - which is total bull sh!t if you subscribe to the notion that the best degree one can choose, if one opts for higher education, is any field of study one is attracted to, alongside a student's serious commitment to make a positive influence in the world with his/her field of study. Great find, though!

The people you're referring to are in the minority. I hope you know that. Those are the one's who become teachers and the like. You're not going to find many political scientists who care much about the world around them or about leaving a positive footprint wherever they go. Whenever I get a chance to post again, it's going to be in that vein.

Originally posted by Emeraldous
Oh I thought your OP meant best and worst MORAL value LOL! It would be an interesting study to see if in fact the more moral and ethical you are, the less you get payed

You're not the only one who though that. Sorry, but my mind wasn't on ethics at the time. Was it the word "value" in the title?

As far as your question is concerned, I don't think you need a study to figure that one out.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple

The pay versus cost analysis is one piece of the puzzle, but being that it's financial, it's the most important piece.

Financial is important, but I will disagree that it is the most important piece of the puzzle.

I have held quite a few different jobs in my lifetime, and I can tell you that the better paying jobs were not the best. I remember one (which I will not name) that paid wonderfully with plenty of benefits, but every morning I woke up wishing I had broken a bone during the night so I would have an excuse to not go in. I have had some that paid only so-so, but I couldn't wait to get there in the morning. I think we do ourselves a disservice when we try to boil everything down to dollars.

The first and most important thing to consider when searching for a career is to sit down and honestly answer this one question: what worthwhile activity would I do if I wasn't getting paid to do it? Whatever that is, you will be the happiest and at your best when that is what you do. And later in life, when you realize that you have never heard anyone on their deathbed say "I wish I had made more money," but you have heard plenty of them say "I wish I had done the thing I love to do more," you'll realize what money really means and be happy about your choice.

As an example: I could have easily have been a doctor, but I would be miserable, totally miserable, dealing with sickness and diseases which I am powerless to fix day after day. As an designer, I was happy, because I was doing what I wanted to do. As an engineer (which I am pursuing now), I will be even happier.

As a doctor I could make more money, sure. But money doesn't buy happiness.

TheRedneck