Choosing a college major is one of the biggest financial decisions a person will make.
Passion drives many students toward the arts and humanities. The harsh reality of the job market often hits five years after graduation.
Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Labor reveals a tough landscape for certain degrees.
Graduates from the following 13 programs face the highest unemployment rates and the lowest median salaries half a decade into their careers.
Anthropology and visual or performing arts take the top four spots. These fields are highly competitive. Graduates often piece together freelance work or take jobs unrelated to their degree.
This keeps the median wage locked around $44,000 to $45,000. English Language and Philosophy majors face similar hurdles.
Several degrees on this list are typically stepping stones to advanced education. Psychology and Anthropology are prime examples.
According to the American Psychological Association, a bachelor degree in psychology often leads to entry level human resources or social work roles.
Becoming a licensed therapist or clinical psychologist requires a master degree or a doctorate.
Students who stop at a four year degree in these fields often find limited earning potential.
Seeing Pharmacy and Environmental Studies on a low pay list might shock some readers.
Pharmacy often requires advanced degrees for the highest paying clinical roles. Those who enter the workforce with only a bachelor degree in pharmaceutical sciences may find themselves stuck in lower paying technician roles.
Environmental Studies is a growing field but entry level conservation and fieldwork jobs notoriously pay nothing, or very little.
| The Outlier: Philosophy Philosophy sits near the bottom of this list with a 5.10% unemployment rate and a $52,000 median wage. However, the narrative around this ancient discipline is rapidly shifting. Tech giants like Anthropic and Google DeepMind are recruiting philosophers to help train AI models. Researchers use the Socratic method to reduce AI hallucinations and teach models to prioritize truth over people-pleasing behavior. Philosophers are writing constitutional rules for AI based on frameworks like Kantian deontology or consequentialism. This helps models avoid dangerous outputs and make ethical decisions in high-stakes scenarios like autonomous driving or military applications. |
Students interested in these 13 majors do not necessarily need to abandon their passions. They should plan ahead. Completing internships before graduation is also critical for building a network.
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