TO THE EDITOR:
Monday’s “Students weigh benefits of a liberal arts degree” discussed how the college curriculum and students’ choices affect career outcomes.
While some majors are indisputably associated with higher earnings, over half of this can be attributed to differences in students and their job characteristics.
“Correlation does not imply causality” is a statistics class cliche, but it certainly holds true for college majors.
The Georgetown University study referenced in The Daily Tar Heel reports that the median starting salary is $12,000 higher for economics majors than for business majors.
This does not mean that switching majors would cause a student’s earnings to increase this much.
Instead, it reflects many innate differences between the types of students who become economics majors instead of business majors.
Research by labor economists consistently shows:
1. The financial and career impact of choosing a college major is much less than we perceive.
2. Math classes are very rewarding financially. Few other classes have a clear impact.
3. For most students, the best long-term strategy is picking the major that matches with their interests and talents, rather than perceived future earnings.
Relax about your choice of college major. When it comes to finding a rewarding career, who you are is most important.
