What are the top 10 most regretted college majors? What may just as noteworthy as what’s on that list is that nearly half of all current job seekers regret their choice of college major, a new ZipRecruiter survey says.
The survey asked graduates whether they would choose the same major if they could do college all over again. The happiest respondents earned their degrees in computer and information sciences, and criminology. Nearly three-quarters of those graduates said they would choose those subjects again. Other highly satisfied graduates got their degrees in engineering, healthcare, business, and finance.
Unsurprisingly, job seekers’ feelings about their majors are tied directly to their employment and earning prospects. Holders of computer science degrees are finding their skills in high demand all across the workforce—from tech to consulting to management, where they are being offered average salaries of $100,000 or more, ZipRecruiter says.
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Even within specific majors, the highest-paid graduates are more satisfied. Among those with communications degrees, for example, happy grads earn 1.6 times more than those who expressed regret about what they studied.
Here are the top 10 most regretted college majors, based on the number of graduates who would choose a different major if they could do it over:
- Journalism: 87%
- Sociology: 72%
- Liberal arts & general studies: 72%
- Communications: 64%
- Education: 61%
- Marketing management & research: 60%
- Medical/clinical assisting: 58%
- Political science & government: 56%
- Biology: 52%
- English language and literature: 52%
Among these most regretful graduates, there two majors they most wish they had chosen are computer science and business administration, although computer science is far less popular among women.
Matt Zalaznick is the managing editor of University Business and a life-long journalist. Prior to writing for University Business, he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He's also in a band.
