Career Coaches Reveal the 3 Most Regretted College Majors and Why
Decisions about university and major, made while individuals are still in the age range of 17-20, can emerge as significant professional dissatisfaction in their adult years. Changing priorities and expectations as they age often lead many graduates to lament, 'I wish I had studied in a different field.'
So, which university departments cause the most regret among their graduates? Executive Coach Dr. Sam Adeyemi and Career Coach Fran Berrick evaluated the top three departments with the highest rates of regret, according to the data from the ZipRecruiter Graduate Survey, along with the reasons behind this dissatisfaction.
Let's take a look together...
According to experts, the common denominator among the departments that made it to the list is their offering of unclear career paths and having low starting salaries.
1. Political Science, International Relations, and Public Administration
Why Do They Lead to Regret?
Graduates from these fields predominantly find employment in the public sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Compared to private sector areas such as finance or technology, the noticeably lower salaries create significant financial pressure, particularly on graduates with student loan debt. Moreover, the absence of a clear professional title and career path, unlike health or engineering, exacerbates the dissatisfaction.
2. Communication, Media Studies and Public Relations
Why Does It Lead to Regret?
The rapid transformation in media technologies has significantly narrowed traditional entry-level job opportunities. In addition, graduates in Communication are entering into intense competition for the same positions with candidates from different disciplines such as English Language and Literature or Political Science. The low starting salaries in the industry and the ambiguity of the career path are among the main elements of regret.
3. Physical Sciences (Chemistry, etc.)
Why Regret?
Unlike more technical and practical disciplines such as basic sciences, engineering, or software, it struggles to directly open the door to high-paying jobs. In order to transition to high-paying and specialized scientific positions or academia, postgraduate (master's/doctoral) education is becoming mandatory. The financial and time burden brought by additional education causes those who enter the workforce with a bachelor's degree to start with low salaries.
Career Coach Fran Berrick, who paints an optimistic picture for graduates who are not satisfied with their chosen department, summarizes the situation with these words:
'No department can guarantee a hundred percent satisfaction on its own, nor can it guarantee absolute regret.'
Experts emphasize that the department studied at university is not a lifelong sentence. With the right skill transformations, turning to side fields, and specialization trainings, it is possible to turn even a diploma that is regretted into a step of a new and profitable career.
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