Help my niece choose a marketable college major

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caffeperfavore
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by caffeperfavore »

She doesn't know what she wants to do yet because she needs more information, which she can get by talking to people about their jobs, exploring different classes, and discussing with her counselors. As a poor kid from a small town in flyover country, I only had exposure to only a handful of jobs (teacher, farmer, etc.) when I started college. I had no idea what I wanted to be, and I changed majors three times until I eventually stumbled upon my current field.

As an FYI, psychology is much broader than just mental health and counseling. There's cognitive, school, industrial/organizational, personality, sports, rehabilitation, environmental, applied/experimental, and probably a number of others I'm not aware of. These lead to careers in marketing, product design, human factors, HR, management consulting, architectural consulting, and many more. A number of these can be quite lucrative.
Paullmas
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by Paullmas »

livesoft wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:46 pm
strummer6969 wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 3:15 pm ...
3. There are far more students with liberal arts degrees than there are job openings for them in professional careers.
...
But there are plenty of jobs for college grads with liberal arts degrees. I know I interact with them many days: Managers of stores, front-desk people in businesses and offices, sales reps, phone reps, customer service reps, restaurant staff, ... If everybody had a professional career then who would be working in all these other jobs?

I think the niece is not going to have any problems and may not even want a career working.
I have a hard time helping my child spend, literally, 4 years of their life in college to become a customer service rep. ROI just not there. I could put the money in a Roth for them and they can become a customer service rep when they graduate high school.

Unfortunately, many students are just run through the mill "go to college". Dirty jobs guy had a good video online about this.
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blueberrypi
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by blueberrypi »

Buy your niece a copy of Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker. It's a quick read and can help anyone determine where they are best suited.
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by Nowizard »

Other than those who have clear perceptions early on for what they want to do vocationally, part of college is determining that choice. Start by taking courses that are required ones and become involved with the university counseling center taking, for example, vocational preference tests. It is highly unlikely that a person will be content over long periods of time with a job that provides money over a career that also fulfills the need to contribute and that has personal meaning.

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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by livesoft »

Paullmas wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 7:17 amI have a hard time helping my child spend, literally, 4 years of their life in college to become a customer service rep.
Where will they meet the future spouse of their dreams then?
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by Dottie57 »

Just to reassure op and niece’s family. You can graduate with a major in a terrible major and still end up ok. After college, I went to a technical colleg3 because employment possibilities were low. Got a job in a small engineering company working on their business software. Stayed there for a decade. Moved to a huge corporate and ended my career there. Everything ended up well. And I retired!

Each individual has to find their own way
stoptothink
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by stoptothink »

livesoft wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 10:11 am
Paullmas wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 7:17 amI have a hard time helping my child spend, literally, 4 years of their life in college to become a customer service rep.
Where will they meet the future spouse of their dreams then?
I'm sensing some sarcasm here, but what percentage of people meet their significant other at college or work today? I have no clue, but I bet it is not particularly high.
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KyleAAA »

With AI advancements I find it almost impossible to predict what will be a lucrative career in 20 years. It will touch everything in some way.
MMiroir
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by MMiroir »

Ran into an old friend this weekend, and asked about his daughter who graduated a few years from an expensive and prestigious private university in the northeast. He was salty about it, as two years after graduating with a bachelors in Psychology, she was working retail in NYC. While one can go on to have a happy and productive life with any major, it is an easier journey with some majors than with others.
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KlangFool »

KyleAAA wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 11:49 am
With AI advancements I find it almost impossible to predict what will be a lucrative career in 20 years. It will touch everything in some way.
I can predict this easily. Someone with good common sense will do very well. Nothing had changed since I learned about AI in the 1990s. It is hard for AI to beat human being with common sense.

The unfortunate part is

Common sense is highly uncommon.

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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by Bulldawg »

KlangFool wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 3:24 pm
KyleAAA wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 11:49 am
With AI advancements I find it almost impossible to predict what will be a lucrative career in 20 years. It will touch everything in some way.
I can predict this easily. Someone with good common sense will do very well. Nothing had changed since I learned about AI in the 1990s. It is hard for AI to beat human being with common sense.

The unfortunate part is

Common sense is highly uncommon.

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8301
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by 8301 »

stoptothink wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 12:23 pm
livesoft wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 10:11 am
Paullmas wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 7:17 amI have a hard time helping my child spend, literally, 4 years of their life in college to become a customer service rep.
Where will they meet the future spouse of their dreams then?
I'm sensing some sarcasm here, but what percentage of people meet their significant other at college or work today? I have no clue, but I bet it is not particularly high.
More than you hope, but less than you fear.
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KyleAAA »

KlangFool wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 3:24 pm
KyleAAA wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 11:49 am
With AI advancements I find it almost impossible to predict what will be a lucrative career in 20 years. It will touch everything in some way.
I can predict this easily. Someone with good common sense will do very well. Nothing had changed since I learned about AI in the 1990s. It is hard for AI to beat human being with common sense.

The unfortunate part is

Common sense is highly uncommon.

KlangFool
I studied AI (and built it) as well and quite a bit has changed since the 90s. It is very easy for AI to beat a human with common sense in a wide variety of tasks, and that list of tasks is growing rapidly. Even if AI doesn't eradicate a given field entirely (think accounting), it could enhance the productivity of individuals by 10-20x, thereby decreasing demand to the point of seriously degrading earning potential. It will make many currently high-skill occupations low-skill, with predictable results.
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KlangFool »

KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:14 pm
KlangFool wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 3:24 pm
KyleAAA wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 11:49 am
With AI advancements I find it almost impossible to predict what will be a lucrative career in 20 years. It will touch everything in some way.
I can predict this easily. Someone with good common sense will do very well. Nothing had changed since I learned about AI in the 1990s. It is hard for AI to beat human being with common sense.

The unfortunate part is

Common sense is highly uncommon.

KlangFool
I studied AI (and built it) as well and quite a bit has changed since the 90s. It is very easy for AI to beat a human with common sense in a wide variety of tasks, and that list of tasks is growing rapidly. Even if AI doesn't eradicate a given field entirely (think accounting), it could enhance the productivity of individuals by 10-20x, thereby decreasing demand to the point of seriously degrading earning potential. It will make many currently high-skill occupations low-skill, with predictable results.
KyleAAA,

I disagreed. And, you had proven my point indirectly.

You do not need a human being with common sense in a task.

https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... 1-d&q=Task
"a piece of work to be done or undertaken."

Common sense is needed when we do not know what the task is. Task only show up when we know what the problem is and what is needed to be done to fix it. Task is the easy part of many jobs.

Most of my jobs as an architect is to find out what the problem is. And, as usual, it is not what the user/customer claim what it is.

Knowing what is not there and knowing the right question to ask take common sense.

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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KyleAAA »

KlangFool wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:44 pm
I disagreed. And, you had proven my point indirectly.
lol no, I didn't
KlangFool wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:44 pm Common sense is needed when we do not know what the task is. Task only show up when we know what the problem is and what is needed to be done to fix it. Task is the easy part of many jobs.

Most of my jobs as an architect is to find out what the problem is. And, as usual, it is not what the user/customer claim what it is.

Knowing what is not there and knowing the right question to ask take common sense.
AI is much better at that than a human with common sense much of the time, too. And that proportion is increasing.
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HanSolo
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by HanSolo »

8301 wrote: Mon May 29, 2023 6:20 pm
stoptothink wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 12:23 pm
livesoft wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 10:11 am
Paullmas wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 7:17 amI have a hard time helping my child spend, literally, 4 years of their life in college to become a customer service rep.
Where will they meet the future spouse of their dreams then?
I'm sensing some sarcasm here, but what percentage of people meet their significant other at college or work today? I have no clue, but I bet it is not particularly high.
More than you hope, but less than you fear.
I hope it's 20% and fear that it's 2%.
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KlangFool
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KlangFool »

KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:46 pm
KlangFool wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:44 pm
I disagreed. And, you had proven my point indirectly.
lol no, I didn't
KlangFool wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:44 pm Common sense is needed when we do not know what the task is. Task only show up when we know what the problem is and what is needed to be done to fix it. Task is the easy part of many jobs.

Most of my jobs as an architect is to find out what the problem is. And, as usual, it is not what the user/customer claim what it is.

Knowing what is not there and knowing the right question to ask take common sense.
AI is much better at that than a human with common sense much of the time, too. And that proportion is increasing.
KyleAAA,

It is obvious that we do not have the same definition of common sense.

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HanSolo
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by HanSolo »

KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:46 pm AI is much better at that than a human with common sense much of the time, too. And that proportion is increasing.
I've observed AI developments over decades and keep noticing that the #1 output of that field is the claims they make about how good/great it is or will be. It's an interesting industry.
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KyleAAA
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KyleAAA »

KlangFool wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:58 pm
KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:46 pm
KlangFool wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:44 pm
I disagreed. And, you had proven my point indirectly.
lol no, I didn't
KlangFool wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 12:44 pm Common sense is needed when we do not know what the task is. Task only show up when we know what the problem is and what is needed to be done to fix it. Task is the easy part of many jobs.

Most of my jobs as an architect is to find out what the problem is. And, as usual, it is not what the user/customer claim what it is.

Knowing what is not there and knowing the right question to ask take common sense.
AI is much better at that than a human with common sense much of the time, too. And that proportion is increasing.
KyleAAA,

It is obvious that we do not have the same definition of common sense.

KlangFool
Our definitions are identical. The notion that AI is only good at automating tasks but not figuring out what the problem is and what needs to be done to fix it is false. In some domains it is far better at doing exactly that than humans.
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HanSolo
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by HanSolo »

KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 1:08 pm Our definitions are identical. The notion that AI is only good at automating tasks but not figuring out what the problem is and what needs to be done to fix it is false. In some domains it is far better at doing exactly that than humans.
Promotional commentary noted. I'll keep on the lookout for some noticeable benefit.
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KyleAAA
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by KyleAAA »

HanSolo wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 2:59 pm
KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 1:08 pm Our definitions are identical. The notion that AI is only good at automating tasks but not figuring out what the problem is and what needs to be done to fix it is false. In some domains it is far better at doing exactly that than humans.
Promotional commentary noted. I'll keep on the lookout for some noticeable benefit.
Machine learning has had huge impact on the profitability and efficiency of many a company and industry. If you haven't noticed I'm not sure you're going to.
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HanSolo
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by HanSolo »

KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 3:59 pm
HanSolo wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 2:59 pm
KyleAAA wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 1:08 pm Our definitions are identical. The notion that AI is only good at automating tasks but not figuring out what the problem is and what needs to be done to fix it is false. In some domains it is far better at doing exactly that than humans.
Promotional commentary noted. I'll keep on the lookout for some noticeable benefit.
Machine learning has had huge impact on the profitability and efficiency of many a company and industry. If you haven't noticed I'm not sure you're going to.
Since I don't analyze corporate financials, I didn't notice those effects. For example, if it helps Facebook sort through the personal information they collect on us and figure out how to monetize it, and that increases their profits, then I wouldn't know much about that. If it helps Citi reduce customer service staff so they can cut costs, I don't know what the financial effects are there either.

Some of us pay more attention to day-to-day quality of life. For example, there's no shortage of threads on this forum about customer service declines and website failures at some of our favorite companies (like Vanguard and Citi).

To be more specific... I'll keep on the lookout for some noticeable benefit to ordinary people in day-to-day life. That used to matter, and I was hoping it still does.
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Brianmcg321
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by Brianmcg321 »

I have a psychology degree.

I am a superintendent of a tire factory. LOL.
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zincTwo
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Re: Help my niece choose a marketable college major

Post by zincTwo »

My son's original "goal major" was trashed due to a demoralizing experience w/ a high school teacher.
He started college with the same question ... now what?

I asked him... what other high school class did you like the most, and think was fascinating? I then told him to take the related "xxxx 101" class at college".

He took the class, and loved it.

... 7 years, and a Masters + PhD later, he is working for a "Top 5" [market cap] company, making a great living, and enjoying his profession.
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