The 13 Most Useless College Majors

In just a few weeks, a multitude of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed college graduates will be pushed out of the nest and thrown into the real world with one huge question on their minds: what now?

Some, unfortunately, will be dealing with the unsettling feeling that their degree is not marketable in this tough economic environment. As a 2009 grad, trust me, I get that it’s hard out there. But for students with a few years to settle on a major, The Daily Beast looked into the numbers to find the 13 most useless college majors.

This year, they started with new research from Georgetown University—which drew from two years of census data to determine the prospects for all different majors—to narrow down the list of popular college majors. They also used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, equally weighing the following categories to determine employment (and earnings) potential for the final rank:

Recent graduate employment

Experienced graduate employment

Recent graduate earnings

Experienced graduate earnings

Projected growth in total number of jobs, 2010–2020

So here’s the list:
1. Fine Arts
2. Drama and Theatre Arts
3. Film, Video, and Photographic Arts
4. Commercial Art and Graphic Design
5. Architecture
6. Philosophy and Religious Studies
7. English Literature and Language
8. Journalism
9. Anthropology and Archeology
10. Hospitality Management
11. Music
12. History
13. Political Science and Government

You can read all the details about each of these majors and how they stack up at The Daily Beast. As someone with a degree in one of these, and working in the field of another, I take this with a grain of salt. In my opinion, if it’s your dream to be a musician or go into politics, you shouldn’t let some silly list sway you. However, for those of you still deciding, this could give you a little push into something that would better fit you or the life you want.

For grads: How do you feel about your job prospects? For those of us with a few years in the “real world” under our belts: Do you have any advice for making your way if you have one of these degrees?

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