College Major Selection

What do you do if you’re a freshman in college today? A family friend’s son is starting college this fall, and they asked me what he should study. A simple question -until you really think about it. By the time he graduates in 4 years, the world will look nothing like it does today. The education system won’t change overnight but the job market will. For decades, the logic of higher education was clear: Get a degree → land a junior role → learn by doing → climb the ladder. But now, the tasks that defined entry-level work - summarizing reports, drafting emails, analyzing data - can now be done instantly, at near-zero cost. These weren’t just chores; they were how young employees built judgment, intuition, and experience. And so I keep coming back to this question: if entry-level jobs disappear, where does experience come from? Much of the work that once bridged the gap between “student” and “professional” can now be done instantly, at near-zero cost. Ironically, education may flip. It used to be vocational at the bottom (trade schools) and theoretical at the top (college). But if AI removes the need for junior roles, will universities start training students directly for higher-level decision-making? Will 'entry-level' begin to disappear entirely? If AI continues to eat away at junior roles, colleges will eventually have to change. Maybe that means: 〰️ More apprenticeship models. Real-world experience will matter more than degrees. 〰️ Less focus on knowledge, more on decision-making and creativity. “What’s the right answer?” will be less valuable than “What are the trade-offs?” 〰️ AI-native professions. Knowing how to wield AI, but also where it breaks, will become its own form of expertise. For today’s students, the challenge isn’t just choosing a major - it’s figuring out how to gain experience when experience itself is being automated. If I were 18 today, I’d focus less on what to study and more on how to build - skills, projects, networks. If you were 18 today, how would you approach the next four years? (Pls tell me so I can pass on the advice)

Shifting College Majors and Workforce Implications Our latest edition of Labor Matters takes a deep dive into how college major preferences have shifted over the past five years. Using data from the American Community Survey, we compared the distribution of college graduates aged 22-24 from 2018 to 2023 to quantify the percent change in each major's share. The results show a clear trend: students are increasingly choosing majors that align with high-paying, high-growth careers. Fields like computer science, engineering and health are seeing significant growth, reflecting strategic choices that align with evolving labor market demands. However, the decline in majors related to humanities, education and social work raises concerns. These fields foster creativity, critical thinking, and social leadership — all crucial in a complicated AI-driven world. Check out the full analysis, and please let us know your thoughts. https://lnkd.in/g8VBspZr #LaborMatters #HigherEducation #WorkforceTrends #FutureOfWork #labormarkets #recruitment

Just analyzed 1000s academic job postings from 2025. These 15 fields show 150% growth in opportunities. After analyzing recent academic job market trends, I've noticed something striking. While everyone fights for the same traditional positions, smart academics are pivoting to emerging fields. Here's the hard truth: Traditional fields are struggling. New interdisciplinary areas are booming. Most PhDs don't see it coming. Picture this scenario: You spend 7 years perfecting your dissertation. Graduate with honors. Apply to hundreds of positions. Get zero interviews. Meanwhile, your colleague pivots to AI ethics. Gets multiple offers quickly. Same intelligence. Different field choice. From tracking academic job trends across major universities, I'm seeing clear patterns. Some fields are experiencing explosive growth. Others are in decline. The 15 fields with surging demand: • AI and Machine Learning - Universities desperately need AI ethicists and integration specialists • Data Science and Analytics - Research data explosion drives demand • Digital Health and Telemedicine - Post-pandemic healthcare transformation • Climate Science and Sustainability - Every university prioritizing climate research • Cybersecurity - Academic institutions need protection experts • Digital Humanities - Traditional humanities meets technology perfectly • Bioinformatics - Gene sequencing creates massive data needs • Educational Technology - Remote learning revolution continues • Mental Health Research - Student crisis drives urgent hiring needs • Renewable Energy Engineering - Green transition accelerating rapidly • Urban Planning and Smart Cities - Sustainability expertise in high demand • Social Impact Technology - Tech ethics becomes university priority • Quantum Computing - Next computing revolution starting now • Food Security and AgTech - Global challenges drive research funding • Environmental Psychology - Climate behavior research exploding My mentee Maria made this switch last year. Moved from medieval history to digital humanities. Went from struggling to assistant professor in under a year. The secret isn't abandoning your expertise. It's reframing it for growing markets. Your research skills transfer. Your passion adapts. The question isn't whether change is coming. It's whether you'll lead it or get left behind. Which field surprised you most? Follow me for more academic job market insights that actually matter.

The ground beneath our education and employment systems is shifting—fast. This is not a critique, nor an endorsement. But it is an observation I cannot ignore. At Rishihood University, I increasingly see that what society values as expertise is changing. Traditional markers—elite credentials, seniority, theoretical mastery—are being replaced by indicators that feel more immediate and actionable: industry experience, youth relatability, and digital visibility. Why is this happening? Some possible reasons: - Information Abundance, Attention Scarcity: With knowledge freely available online, the ability to execute becomes more prized than the depth of understanding. People want guides, not just theorists. - Disillusionment with Institutions: Many institutions that symbolized trust—academia, media, bureaucracy—have, in public perception, grown too ideological or slow to adapt. Credibility now has to be earned, not inherited. - Tech-Centric Economy: The economy rewards those who build, launch, and scale—skills honed in industry rather than in research. Learners want to emulate builders, not theorists. - Youth Culture and Identity Economy: In a hyper-social world, identity, relatability, and peer influence carry more weight than seniority. Learners want role models who speak their language. - RoI Mindset in Education: Families and students view education through the lens of returns—jobs, salaries, and startup opportunities. Relevance trumps rigor. What are the long-term consequences if this trend continues? - Higher education will split into two tracks: One, pragmatic, fast-moving, industry-integrated. The other, slower, more philosophical and civilizational—but possibly sidelined unless strongly championed. - Faculty roles will transform: The future university will need faculty who are not just teachers or researchers, but also builders, mentors, co-founders, and communicators. - Universities will be judged by outcomes, not prestige: Rankings and accreditations will matter less than portfolios, placements, and patents. - Depth and wisdom may become a scarcity: As execution gains currency, reflection may lose ground. Civilizations don’t fall because they stop building—but because they stop thinking. - Reputation will be public-first, not peer-first: Scholars and leaders will be required to engage openly with the public. Private reputation in closed academic circles will no longer be enough. I am not making a value judgment—yet. But the shift is real, and accelerating. The question is not whether we approve of it, but how we prepare for it—and whether we can guide it toward a higher purpose - and that is our attempt at Rishihood University. Join us to shape the future of education!

I just downloaded this report and can't wait to read it! Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce just released fascinating new research on how college major choices impact career outcomes. The headline: bachelor's degree holders earn 70% more than high school graduates ($81K vs $48K median), but the major you choose makes a huge difference. Key findings: - Median earnings by field range from $58K (education/public service) to $98K (STEM) - Within STEM alone, majors vary from $64K to $146K - Computer science graduates are seeing 6.8% unemployment despite strong pay for those who land jobs - Graduate degrees add 29% more earnings on average, but the premium varies widely by field What's particularly interesting: representation in high-paying fields remains unequal across demographic groups, which has implications not just for individual careers but for addressing national skills shortages. Worth a read for anyone advising students, hiring talent, or thinking about workforce development. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/d8GE2q2A #HigherEducation #WorkforceDevelopment #CareerPlanning

Higher ed has a trust problem. 2,200+ parents were surveyed on where they want to send their kids. Preference for career and technical education jumped from 13% in 2019 to 35% today. Almost 3x!! Traditional four-year college preference dropped from 74% to 58% in just six years. Why? Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Parents are asking "Why spend $200K if my kid will just end up moving back home unemployed?" With career-focused schools, the ROI is clearer. Eighteen months of training. A third of the cost. Students earn paychecks in year one, not year five. They work BACKWARDS from employment in everything they do. They partner with employers first. Design curriculum around real job openings. Graduate students into waiting positions. Most universities do the opposite. Four years of theory. Maybe some career services tacked on at the end. Then students scramble to find relevance in the job market. The good news is you can "borrow" the good stuff by orienting your entire institution around student employment outcomes. Design degree programs around job trends. Paint the career path from day 1 to graduation to beyond. Prepare students with hands-on work through employer partners. Provide career tools and support every day - not just on graduation day. The career outcomes you drive will be what sets your institution apart. Prospective students see the ROI leading to higher enrollment and retention. Parents have done the math. Are you ready to show them yours? https://lnkd.in/dB3rnv3A

Despite the popular image of this generation as one driven by idealism, GenZ students at elite schools appear to be strikingly corporate-minded. Even when they arrive at college wanting something very different, an increasing number of students at elite universities seek the imprimatur of employment by a powerful firm and "making a bag" (slang for a sack of money) as quickly as possible. Elite universities have always been major feeders into finance and consulting, and students have always wanted to make money. According to the annual American Freshman Survey, the biggest increase in students wanting to become "very well off financially" happened between the 1970s and 1980s, and it's been creeping up since then. But in the last five years, faculty and administrators say, the pull of these industries has become supercharged. In an age of astronomical housing costs, high tuition and inequality, students and their parents increasingly see college as a means to a lucrative job, more than a place to explore. At Harvard, a graduating senior, who passed on a full scholarship to another school, told the NYT journalist that he felt immense pressure to show his parents that their $400,000 investment in his Harvard education would allow him to get the sort of job where he could make a million dollars a year. Upon graduation, he will join the private equity firm Blackstone, where, he believes, he will learn and achieve more in six years than 30 years in a public-service-oriented organization. Another student, who spent his second summer in a row practicing case studies in preparation for management consulting internship interviews, said that everyone arrived on campus hoping to change the world. People give up on their dreams and decide they might as well make money. It is common at parties to hear their peers say they just want to sell out. Fifteen years ago, fewer students went into tech. Adding in that sector, the share of graduates starting what some students non-disparagingly refer to as "sellout jobs" is more than half. David Halek, director of employer relations at Yale's Office of Career Strategy, thinks students may use the term "sell out" because of the perceived certainty: "It's the easy path to follow. It is well defined," he said. "It's hard to conceptualize other things," said Andy Wang, a social studies concentrator at Harvard who recently graduated. Some students talk about turning to a different career later on, after they've made enough money. "Nowadays, English concentrators often say they're going into finance or management consulting for a couple of years before writing their novel." And a surprising number of students explain their desire for a corporate job by drawing on the ethos of effective altruism: Whether they are conscious of the movement or not, they believe they can have greater impact by maximizing earnings to donate to a cause than working for that cause. #Career

Over the past few weeks, as we move toward the close of another Summer intake and the momentum of the Fall season begins to build, I have been reflecting deeply on the changing dynamics of student decision-making across the recruitment funnel. Reviewing data sheets, counsellor notes, conversion metrics, drop-off patterns, marketing spends, and the many operational indicators that shape business outcomes, one thing has become increasingly clear — student preferences, priorities, and behaviours are evolving faster than ever before. Here are some of the key trends and observations: Students are no longer choosing destinations based only on brand value or traditional rankings. They are becoming more informed, digitally empowered, and outcome-focused than ever before. The modern student is asking deeper questions: What is the return on investment? Will this degree make me employable globally? Does the learning model suit my career goals? Can I gain industry exposure while studying? How future-ready is this destination in terms of technology, innovation, and immigration pathways? For years, students largely followed conventional pathways — engineering, medicine, management in countries like the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia. These destinations continue to dominate global mobility, but today’s students are also exploring emerging study destinations such as: Germany Ireland Netherlands Singapore Dubai France New Zealand South Korea The reason is simple: students are challenging the status quo. They are looking beyond institutional reputation and decision-making process has evolved from emotionally driven choices to strategic, outcomes-led planning. Today’s students value: 1. Hybrid learning environments, 2. Industry-integrated curriculum, 3. Project-based learning, 4. Internships, 5. Visa stability, 6. Immigration policies, 7. Employability outcomes, 8. AI and technology integration, 9. Safety, 10. Affordable Cost of living, 11. Scholarship opportunities, 12. and long-term career mobility. Students and parents are now conducting deeper research, comparing multiple countries, and evaluating education as a long-term investment rather than just a qualification. A holistic counseling approach helps students make informed decisions aligned not only with academic goals, but with life goals. As the industry evolves, our responsibility as education professionals is also evolving — from being admission facilitators to becoming long-term growth partners for students. And perhaps that is the biggest transformation of all. Just sharing a small piece of my experience. Leave a comment if you resonate with my observations or have anything more to share. #OverseasEducation #InternationalEducation #StudyAbroad #HigherEducation #StudentMobility #AIinEducation #GlobalEducation #FutureOfLearning #CareerOutcomes #DigitalTransformation #StudentSuccess #EducationLeadership

Something interesting is happening in higher education. Universities are reframing the humanities — philosophy, ethics, communication — not as career liabilities, but as AI-era workforce preparation. The University of Arizona launched a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Humanities with workforce concentrations across 12 disciplines. La Roche University is embedding ethical AI reasoning into its core curriculum. These aren't feel-good gestures. Stanford research shows young workers aged 22-25 in AI-exposed jobs have seen a 6% employment decline since 2022. The entry-level technical work is getting absorbed. What's left requires judgment, communication, and the ability to ask the right question when the tool gives you ten possible answers. I see this with the student founders I mentor. The ones gaining traction aren't the strongest coders. They're the ones who can explain their idea to a skeptical investor, navigate a disagreement with a co-founder, or figure out what a customer actually needs versus what they say they need. We spent twenty years telling kids to learn to code. Maybe the better advice is: learn to think, and let the code come to you. What would you tell a college freshman choosing a major today? #AIinEducation #FutureOfWork #NextGeneration #CareerReadiness #HigherEducation