College and majors to stay away from??

[Rolling Hard]

I have two clients who are vets. Both of them make over $300K per year. I guess it's where you live, but where I am from, people will pay a fortune in cash to care for their pets.

I would imagine the vets you refer to own their own business which is a skill set they don't teach at vet school which I never understood. Same with dental schools. The only way to make $300,000 plus per year is to own and manage your own business.

 

[Rolling Hard]

It might be rare, but can't say "never seen it". Michigan's #1 pitcher is an engineering major. Pitched about 2/3 of their innings last year as a sophomore.

I think when recruiting (specially pitchers) coaches will take in account the players desired major.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

I would imagine the vets you refer to own their own business which is a skill set they don't teach at vet school which I never understood. Same with dental schools. The only way to make $300,000 plus per year is to own and manage your own business.

Most vets near where I live are all small businesses. It would seem the healthcare conglomerates have not taken over animal sciences yet.

 

[Northball]

A career that uses rubber gloves that go all the way up to your armpit?...not for me.

 

[torpedo #8]

I agree and disagree. I agree that it is a time to figure oneself out and to learn to be on your own. On the other hand, I also see it as an expensive extension of high school if kids can’t decide at some point during those four years on what they want to pursue as a career while they are there.

The majority of kids in college are not on scholarship and I couldn’t personally imagine relying on my parents to pay for something that expensive just because it seems like a right of passage.

I agree and disagree. I agree that it is a time to figure oneself out and to learn to be on your own. On the other hand, I also see it as an expensive extension of high school if kids can’t decide at some point during those four years on what they want to pursue as a career while they are there.

The majority of kids in college are not on scholarship and I couldn’t personally imagine relying on my parents to pay for something that expensive just because it seems like a right of passage.

I am totally with you on this. So what I hear a lot of is they will figure it out. I don't and she doesn't have that kind of money. I applaud those who have the finances to let someone figure it out. I see that some don't mind paying for their child to play softball in college and worry about a degree later, but that is their choice. Travel softball is enough for me. You know there is no softball after college. Get your degree in something that will help you later in life.

 

[angispeds]

I've read almost this whole thread, and that's the part that keeps sticking with me. I had zero idea what I wanted to do for a living when I got out of high school. I wasn't prepared to go to college, academically or from a maturity perspective. I did a couple years of electronics school, took an employment test I saw advertised in the newspaper and after passing a couple more tests, I was working my current job at 20 years old. It was a very good job and career, but here I am 24 years later, and I still never decided what I wanted to do for a living.

I can't imagine having to make a big decision like that while also having to factor in schools and which of those schools would let me play ball. I would have ended up doing some crap I would hate by the time I graduated.

My senior wants to be a vet--which is great and all--but despite our best efforts, she can't even begin to grasp what 8 years of school and 250-500k of debt will be for a job that will likely never pay her over 100k in this area. She can't grasp that if she doesn't marry rich, she'll be married to those loans until she's 50. It's all just so much for these kids to have to sort out when they're gonna go from hours of tiktok and fortnite to endless studying and having to make rent.

Yep…I’m a pediatrician. Same loans as my friend that’s a plastic surgeon…guess which one of us is still paying back loans. I didn’t have the desire or the talent to be a plastic surgeon but I’m a great pediatrician just not a rich one.


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[angispeds]

Yeah - that was my plan while I was in college, too. I was thinking of going to vet school at some point but I had heard the same thing - expensive schooling and not a good ROI for a small animal vet unless you owned your own practice. Plus the fact that it was more difficult to get into than med school…..

I know my opinion is definitely not the popular one on this topic and I totally get that. I just think that forgoing a strong major in order to play SB isn’t a good idea for those who aren’t getting the majority of their schooling paid for by scholarship or athletic money, unless they have parents willing to foot the bill. Student loans saddle a young adult with a lot of debt.

I don’t disagree with you really. We strongly considered debt ratio as we considered her options for college softball. Depending on what she ultimately decides to major in if she finishes in 4 years she will graduate with no debt. If it takes 5 she will have to pay for a year which we can help with that. If she had not gotten athletic money she would not be going out of state. Her academic money for a 4.0 is minimal compared to the athletic money and would not have made sense.


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[daywalkerdad]

The experience is fine until you borrow to pay for it.
Then the lesson you get is to never owe more on something than it is worth.

 

[Navier]

You should stay away from majors you have no interest or aptitude in regardless of their earning potential.

 

[Vertigo]

There are quite a few careers available that do not require college degrees at all, but as a society we tend to look down on those careers. As an example... My neighbor is a local truck driver (home every day) and his wife is an elementary school teacher. He has no debt associated with his career choice while his wife is paying student loans. He is currently making nearly double her salary and will likely continue to make more than her throughout their careers. Truck driving is not a glamorous job and high school guidance counselors are unlikely to talk about it as a career, but there is decent money in the industry.

Another example... A player I coached while she was in high school didn't like the idea of going to college. Instead, she decided to attend a trade school to become a welder. She is currently 23 years old and doing very well for herself.

Yep! Absolutely agree with this. Just like there are a lot of kids who go to college because some view it as a “prestige” thing or - as I mentioned earlier - a right of passage, or because they are told they have to, or just to play their sport a few more years. Many of them would probably do exceptionally well if they chose a trade instead (and would make good money doing so). It’s a shame that some look down upon these types of careers.

There is no right or wrong answer. If one can afford a dead-end degree or they have no idea what they want to study and won’t go into extraordinary debt to attend college while figuring it out - then hey, have at it! Nothing wrong with that either. Again, I just hate to see people (especially young adults) saddled with a ton of debt as soon as they graduate, and then are shocked when those repayment bills start coming in.