These College Majors Are Likely To Leave Graduates Broke And Unemployed

Did you study any of these majors?

Most college students attend four-year universities with dreams of making lots of money and having job security, but Newsweek reports that things may look different for graduates who study these specific majors.

A new study from the education research group Degreechoices revealed that criminal justice, performing arts, art history, hospitality, and liberal arts majors are likely to graduate without job opportunities. Criminal justice led the pack with a 71.5% under-employment rate, while the others trailed closely behind.

The unemployment rates for these majors were just as alarming. Art history, performance, liberal arts, and hospitality ranked between four and eight percent while criminal justice fell at 2.8%. The numbers came from 2022 data from the New York Fed regarding the share of graduates working in jobs with no college degree requirement after receiving a degree with a certain major. The average salary for a graduate with a criminal justice degree — in the early stages of their career — was $41,000. Graduates with performing art degrees were even lower at $38,000.

In their early careers, students majoring in hospitality were set to make an average wage of $39,700, and liberal arts majors made just a little less, with $38,000 and an unemployment rate of 7.9%.

A Degreechoices spokesperson says the numbers prove that students should do more research about their future before making up their minds on a major. “This research highlights the importance of understanding the career prospects associated with different college degrees,” the spokesperson said.

“With Criminal Justice graduates experiencing the highest levels of underemployment at 71.5 percent, it is crucial for students to be informed about potential job market challenges they may face upon graduation.”

While those majors have a limited employment rate, they don’t rank among the more regrettable majors. According to USA Today, forty-four percent of college graduates who studied social and behavioral sciences loathe their decision. Humanities and arts and life sciences came in next on the list, tied at 43%, followed by law at 41% and education at 38%.

For all the fields of study, 35% of college graduates admit they would pick a different major if given a second chance. “There are a lot of different ways that people will get something out of their college education,” Hironao Okahana, assistant vice president and executive director of the Education Futures Lab at the American Council on Education, said.

“We are preparing people who can be flexible and agile in a changing workforce and a changing economy.”

However, a number of specific majors ranked on the list of least-regretted course studies. Only 27% regretted selecting engineering as a major, while 32% despised their health major selection, and 31% regretted studying computer and information sciences.