Why You Don't Need to Major in Business

When I ask teenagers what they want to major in, I’m never surprised when many of them respond this way: I want to be a business major.
The most popular college major in America is business. According to federal statistics,  21% of undergrads leave college with a business degree.
That statistic drives me nuts. Contrary to conventional wisdom, students don’t need to major in business to succeed. Frankly, I believe students often enjoy a better chance at landing good jobs if they major in a liberal art like economics, history, chemistry, a foreign language, English lit or philosophy. If you missed it, I shared some thoughts about philosophy as a major a few days ago: Why Not Major in Philosophy.
Over at my other college blog at CBSMoneyWatch, I wrote a post yesterday about this obsession with business degrees. I hope you read the following post to get the real scoop on why a business degree isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be:

8 Reasons to Avoid a Business Degree

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller and a workbook, Shrinking the Cost of College: 152 Ways to Cut the Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree. Follow her on Twitter.


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  1. Hello! Dear Lynn! I am going to double major in political science and environmental science, what do you think is it a good combination/choice ?

    1. Hi Mary,
      I think you should pursue what you are passionate about. If that’s political science and environmental science go for it. I would caution you about double majoring if it would require staying in college for an extra year or more. If that’s the case, I’d major in one subject and then perhaps pursue the other in graduate school.
      Lynn O’Shaughnessy
      The College Solution