With end of the year rapidly approaching, it’s common practice to weigh up what’s been accomplished throughout the year. But for many younger people it might also be an opportunity to check whether their overall career direction is actually worth it in the long haul.

According to a recent study conducted by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, the middling US economy forced many of the previous top-earners out of the most profitable career choices and into the rubbish-job bins. Among those, five stand out as particularly hapless choices for the future, so if you’re in the US and studying any of those, it’s probably time to consider a vocational change.

Architecture:

This one used to be a chick-magnet and a symbol of wealth. Not anymore, though. Architects are not as sought after in the wake of the housing crisis, and the demand for their services is way below the supply. 13.9% architecture grads are jobless, which is an extremely high number for an engineering and construction-related industry job.

Information Systems and Studies:

The lovechild of IT and sociology, this particular branch is much less programming-oriented than its bigger cousin, Computer Sciences, not mathematically or neurologically advanced enough to fill for any vacancies in cybernetics department, while at the same time being just barely in-depth for a serious humanities employment. Truth be told, with 11.7% unemployment rate it’s a wonder there’re still people interested in this.

Philosophy/Religious Studies:

10.8 ministers-to-be and philosophers are permanently unemployed, with vast majority of the grads actually working – but outside of their chosen specialty. Vicki Lynn, senior vice president at Universum (a global recruiting company) states that, „unless they [philosophy or religious studies majors] are willing to go all the way to a PhD in philosophy, for instance, their career paths are zero,” advising to take at least a minor in business or economics to improve their chances in the job market.

Anthropology/Archeology:

Being Indiana Jones might have been exciting twenty or so years ago, now it’s just a dead-end career, or, as someone might look at it, a vocation-only profession. But even if you’re really, really interested in excavating old mummies or studying the human animal, 10.5% unemployment in this area may force you to consider an additional sociology or marketing degree.

Ethnic, Gender or Civilization Studies:

The „soft” or „hippy” degrees from the 1960s never paid much to begin with. In the post-recession America they pay even less. 10.1% of the graduates in these fields are forced to look for a different job – or a job altogether! However, all is not lost: most of these courses allow flexible transition to a major (or minor) in psychology, a pretty decent prospect at present (with only 7.6 unemployment rate in 2011).

Across the pond, the trending US data are backed year-on-year and in previous years, despite the differences in economy. A study by prospects.ac.uk back in 2008 showed that while there is still merit in studying for a bachelor’s or higher degree, it’s very important to choose right. On average, students that chose Medicine, Law or Engineering careers earned Ł340,000, 245,000 and 245,000 (respectively) more than their peers who opted for no studies at all. However, those who studied Linguistics or English Lit, Humanities or Arts, earned only 95,000, 50,000 or 35,000 (respectively) more than their degree-less colleagues. This means, that for some extra dough you’ve got to pick a medical, legislative or construction-related degree, as this is where best money is – in 2008 it was tenfold that of Arts, Humanities or Philology graduates.

Who earns the most?

Does it mean that studying is a guaranteed way to land a job? LoveMoney.com say it’s not that simple. 20% of students drop out of universities and 1/3 of all graduates end up working out of their field. Even though chances of being employed are higher if you’re a graduate, they’re even higher if you’re a woman: 40% of men earn bigger bucks owing to their higher education, while a whopping 63% of women have higher salaries because of their degree. On top of gender inequalities, there’s also an issue of family wealth and overall income of the student’s next of kin. Only Law degrees actually return on the investment soon – compared to debt from other studies, Law has a 17.2% rate of return, meaning you can start earning money (and not just repaying your student loans) right away. In that respect, Medicine has a paltry 11.6% rate of return (provided you’re not a dentist) because medical courses are about the costliest of studies and it takes many years to actually start earning anything at all. Management and Engineering provide much better debt-to-earnings ratio after graduating from the university; it’s 16.9% and 15.5% respectively.

So, all things considered, perhaps you should weigh your options in Law, Management or Engineering? If not changing your career path, think about at least picking a minor or a bachelor’s in any of those areas. It will look good on a resume and help you, should your chosen field not grant employment right away.

VOCABULARY

rapidly – gwałtownie, szybko
to approach – nadejść, zbliżyć się
to weigh up – rozważyć
to accomplish – osiągnąć
in the long haul – na dłuższą metę
according to – zgodnie z
middling – przeciętny, nie osiągający sukcesów
top-earner – najlepiej zarabiający (zawód, osoba)
profitable – dochodowy
rubbish job – praca śmieciowa
to stand out – wyróżniać się
hapless – pechowy, nieszczęsny
vocational change – zmiana w powołaniu
chick-magnet – magnes na kobiety
wealth – bogactwo
in the wake of – w następstwie czegoś
demand – popyt
supply – podaż
grad – absolwent
lovechild – dziecko miłości, wynik połączenia się czegoś
IT – informatyka
branch – gałąź
vacancy – wakat
barely – ledwo
in-depth – zaawansowany
humanities – nauki humanistyczne
unemployment rate – wskaźnik bezrobocia
minister – kaznodzieja
permanently – stale
vast majority – ogromna większość
to state – oświadczyć
major – studia magisterskie
PhD – doktor (tytuł)
minor – studia licencjackie
dead-end – bez perspektyw
to excavate – wydobywać
degree – stopień, tytuł
gender – płeć
flexible – elastyczny
transition to sth – przejście do czegoś/na coś
decent – przyzwoity
prospect – perspektywa
across the pond – za oceanem
to back – potwierdzać
year-on-year – w porównaniu do roku ubiegłego
merit – korzyść, powód (do robienia czegoś)
bachelor’s – licencjat
respectively – odpowiednio
lit – literatura
dough – szmal
tenfold – dziesięciokrotnie
to drop out – porzucić (naukę)
big bucks – wielka forsa
whopping – gigantyczny
salary – pensja
inequalities – nierówności
income – dochód
next of kin – rodzina
return on the investment – zwrot z inwestycji
debt – dług
student loan – kredyt studencki
paltry – śmieszny, żałosny
to provide – dostarczać
ratio – stosunek
to weigh one’s options – rozważyć opcje
resume – CV

-by Prochor Aniszczuk

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