8 College Majors That Are a Waste of Money | FinanceBuzz

Long gone are the days when a college degree guaranteed a good job after graduation to get ahead financially. These days, it's more likely that many college grads will take any job they can get, whether it requires that hard-won degree or not.

According to a new study from the nonprofit Strada Education Foundation and the worker advocacy organization Burning Glass Institute, a startling number of degree holders take on jobs unrelated to their fields of study and that don't require their specific degree, or any degree at all.

What you study matters

Researchers analyzed career histories for more than 10 million people who entered the workforce in the last decade and found that 52% of graduates accepted non-college-level roles and that a majority of those who were underemployed after graduation remained so 10 years later.

This chronic underemployment doesn't just mean it's hard to pay rent today. Those effects ripple out across the decades, resulting in decreased earning potential over the course of a lifetime. Degree-holders in college-level jobs earn, on average, about 90% more than young adult high-school-only grads, whereas underemployed college grads only earn about 25% more than those with only a high school diploma.

Experts believe this type of stagnation is largely due to modern-day hiring processes, namely applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan resumes. If the first few jobs on a resume are not related to the field the applicant is attempting to enter, the ATS might relegate that resume to the trash pile without a human ever seeing it, regardless of the applicant's degree.

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Majors to avoid

The major determining factor in whether a recent grad entered the workforce in a degree-level job in their field was their major. And surprisingly, STEM majors may not be the job-market silver bullet we're taught to believe they are. The research team found that 47% of those with degrees in biology or biomedical sciences remain underemployed five years after graduation.

The research team found these fields to be the riskiest, with at least 50% of graduates not working in their chosen field or utilizing their degrees and instead working jobs that don't require degrees at all:

Public safety/security
Recreation and wellness
Business (management, marketing, HR)
Humanities and cultural studies
Visual arts
Journalism and communications
Psychology
Social sciences

Majors to consider

On the other end of the spectrum, there are fields that, while they don't absolutely guarantee you'll work in your chosen field, provide higher odds to build real wealth due to higher demand in the labor force. Of these, health care workers rank the highest, with only 23% remaining underemployed five years after graduation. Others include:

Engineering
Math-heavy business
Architecture
Education
Math and statistics
Computer science
Physical science
Public administration and social services

Bottom line

While college graduates still earn more than those with only a high school diploma, a bachelor's degree doesn't pack the same punch it did in your parents' and grandparents' day.

With the level of underemployment and the potential for lifelong earning loss a real risk, it might be time to reconsider entering the trades. Trade schools are a fraction of the cost, and students learn practical skills that give them the potential to grow their wealth over a lifetime rather than being an underemployed college grad.

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Author Details

Chris Lewis, CEPF

Chris Lewis has spent his career turning data into answers. As the Head of Research at FinanceBuzz and a Certified Educator in Personal Finance, he oversees the data journalism and media relations teams, digging into the personal finance topics that shape Americans' lives at every stage, from Social Security and retirement income to 401(k) strategies, jobs, and real estate.

What you study matters

Majors to avoid

Majors to consider

Bottom line

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