The Truth About College Majors

In this Ready Living Podcast episode, sociology professor Corey Moss-Pech, PhD, dismantles one of higher education’s most enduring myths: that only ‘practical’ majors lead to worthwhile jobs.He shares details from his new book Major Trade-Offs: The Surprising Truths about College Majors and Entry-Level Jobs, where he followed 91 students across business, engineering, English, and communications from their senior year to their first year in the workforce.He reveals that while engineering and business majors tend to land middle-class jobs more directly, those jobs often involve routine clerical tasks that leave graduates frustrated and unfulfilled. Meanwhile, liberal arts students, despite having a harder entry into the job market and lower starting salaries, are more likely to apply the very skills they learned in college and report greater job satisfaction.He also shares how class background and gender shape the college-to-career journey. Competitive-entry programs like business and engineering tend to reflect students with stronger academic preparation and family resources, while open-entry majors like English and communications draw a broader range of students, some of whom face starkly different opportunities after graduation. More privileged students can hold out for the ‘right job’ or accept lower-paid but meaningful roles, while working-class students often need to accept the first job that pays the bills, whether or not it matches their aspirations.One of his most important findings is the pivotal role internships play in securing full-time post-graduate employment. Through well-funded university programs and employer partnerships, business and engineering majors benefit from what he calls ‘career conveyor belt internships’ that create seamless pipelines from classroom to full-time work. In contrast, liberal arts students often end up in internships that are disconnected from hiring networks. He points out that it’s these structural supports, and not students’ actual skills or drive, that explain the post-grad job divide.Corey challenges the conventional wisdom about which degrees lead to success. By highlighting both the hidden advantages and overlooked strengths across fields of study, he makes a compelling case for rethinking how we define the value of particular majors in today’s workforce.LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST