On the other hand, the new ZipRecruiter survey found that 72% of grads with computer/information sciences and criminology degrees would choose those majors all over again if they could.
By
Evan Castillo
Reporter
Evan Castillo is a reporter on BestColleges News and wrote for the Daily Tar Heel during his time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He's covered topics ranging from climate change to general higher education news, and he is passiona...
Published on November 23, 2022
Edited by
Darlene Earnest
Editor & Writer
Darlene Earnest is a copy editor for BestColleges. She has had an extensive editing career at several news organizations, including The Virginian-Pilot and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She also has completed programs for editors offered by the D...
By
Evan Castillo
Reporter
Evan Castillo is a reporter on BestColleges News and wrote for the Daily Tar Heel during his time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He's covered topics ranging from climate change to general higher education news, and he is passiona...
Edited by
Darlene Earnest
Editor & Writer
Darlene Earnest is a copy editor for BestColleges. She has had an extensive editing career at several news organizations, including The Virginian-Pilot and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She also has completed programs for editors offered by the D...
Published on November 23, 2022
Ungureanu Vadim / EyeEm / Getty Images
- Almost half (44%) of job-seeking degree holders regret their college majors, according to a new survey by ZipRecruiter.
- Journalism is the most regretted major, according to a survey.
- Regret is heavily influenced by salary.
Another economic survey shows that lots of college graduates regret their major.
Economists at ZipRecruiter last week released their survey of the most regretted college majors. The takeaway: Almost half (44%) of job-seeking degree holders regret their college majors.
The top three regretted majors, according to ZipRecruiter, are journalism (87%), sociology (72%), and liberal arts and general studies (72%).
The top three regret-free majors, all above 70%, are computer and information sciences, criminology, and engineering.
Graduates strongly tied their sentiments toward their majors to job prospects, ZipRecruiter found. They're also less likely to regret pursuing quantitative fields.
In contrast, humanities fields fill most of the top regretted majors, ZipRecruiter found.
Those findings mirror a May 2022 report by the Federal Reserve that found almost half the college graduates who majored in humanities regretted their major.
Should students skip studying humanities? Not necessarily, according to BestColleges senior writer Mark Drozdowski.
"Yet there's no denying that abilities honed through the study of humanities — critical thinking, written and oral communication, ethical reasoning, and persuasive argumentation — are highly valued in today's workplace," he wrote. "Students passionate about studying humanities but worried about employment prospects can craft an academic experience that satisfies both desires."
FAQs
Despite wide differences in levels of regret when it comes to majors, the vast majority of respondents were glad they went to school. Only 9% of those who attended a public institution wish they had not gone to college, the Federal Reserve survey found.
Are half of college grads working jobs that don t use their degrees? ›
They issued a big finding: 52% of graduates with only a bachelor's degree end up underemployed a year after getting their diploma — that is, they work in jobs that don't typically require a college degree. Ten years on, that number only drops to 45%.
What percent of college grads have a job related to their major? ›
We find that about 27 percent of undergraduate degree holders are working in a job that is directly related to their college major. To provide a better sense of our matching classification, Table 1 provides several examples of jobs that match to a selected group of majors, together with matching rates for each major.
Are roughly half of graduates underemployed 10 years after college? ›
After a decade, 45% of graduates are still stuck in jobs that don't require college, according to a report by the Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Education Foundation that looked at data related to educational attainment, employment and career trajectories of more than 60 million workers.
Do employers care about degrees anymore? ›
A recent study found that 45% of employers have already removed the college degree requirement for certain roles and 72% prioritize candidates' skills and experience over degrees.
Do employers prefer college degrees? ›
The short answer is: yes, but with a caveat; it depends on the industry you're attempting to work in. There are certain fields that you absolutely cannot work in without higher education (healthcare, for example). Most hiring executives still value higher education on an applicant's resume.
Do employers care what college you graduated from? ›
There's a reason you're required to put the name of the college you attended on your resume and job application. Despite what you may read to the contrary, most employers do care about where you went to school for your degree. Fortunately for many, that's not all they're concerned with, though.
Who is the most educated group in the United States? ›
Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment of any race, followed by whites who had a higher percentage of high school graduates but a lower percentage of college graduates. Persons identifying as Hispanic or Latino, without regard to race, had the lowest educational attainment.
How many college grads actually use their degree? ›
Your first job after college is more important than you might think. Roughly 52% of recent college graduates are working jobs that don't require a degree. And for those who find themselves underemployed after graduation, it can be difficult to get career earnings back on track.
What is the average education level in America? ›
28% had high school as their highest level of school completed. 15% had completed some college but not a degree. 10% had an associate degree as their highest level of school completed. 23% had a bachelor's degree as their highest degree.
More than half of recent four-year college graduates, 52 percent, are underemployed a year after they graduate, according to a new report from Strada Institute for the Future of Work and the Burning Glass Institute. A decade after graduation, 45 percent of them still don't hold a job that requires a four-year degree.
What percent of college graduates are satisfied with their job? ›
Higher Job Satisfaction
Eighty-six percent of college graduates consider their job a career or a stepping stone to their career, while only 57 percent of high school graduates say the same. The majority of bachelor's degree holders—60 percent—say they are highly satisfied and their job is more than just a paycheck.
Are college graduates more successful than non graduates? ›
College graduates are half as likely to be unemployed as their peers who only have a high school degree. Typical earnings for bachelor's degree holders are $40,500 or 86 percent higher than those whose highest degree is a high school diploma. College graduates on average make $1.2 million more over their lifetime.
How many adults regret their career choice? ›
The results from that poll state that 66% of them (almost 7 in 10) agreed to have career-related regrets whereas 34% (one-third) said they have none. These findings reveal that career regrets are incredibly common, impacting the majority of workers surveyed.
What is the least regretted career? ›
Is a business degree worth it? You bet! Business is often considered the least-regretted major, which means that individuals who choose business degree programs are ultimately more satisfied with their career path than those who choose to pursue other majors.
What percent of college dropouts go back to college? ›
Twenty-four percent of students with at least two years' worth of college credits re-enrolled within the time frame NSC examined, compared to 13% of dropouts overall.
What is the success rate of a college dropout? ›
This research emphasizes that the successful dropout entrepreneur is not a pervasive phenomenon. So, what percentage of college dropouts are successful? Based on these numbers, the college dropout success rate is only at around 6%.
