Analyzing the Article “Best Majors to Keep Your Kids From Moving Back Home”
When I noticed this article on Yahoo news, I thought it would be an interesting article to educate the public about useful majors. But after the first paragraph, it was obvious that potential college students were not the target audience. However, this article disregarded students completely, aiming the content entirely toward parents.
If you don’t care to read this article, I have summarized it in a letter;
Dear parents,
Here is a guide about how to force your kids into a college major thereby ensuring you have as little contact with them as possible after graduating. There are seven majors you can choose for your child, or they will be unemployed failures.
Remember, choose wisely or your kids will come to you for help.
Needless to say, by the end of this article I was utterly offended. And in order to clearly communicate why, I have broken down the article piece by piece.
First paragraph in…I’m already annoyed. Now, I’m not sure about you, but my parents actually like me. As I have grown older, my relationship with my parents has evolved into a valued friendship. If I only made contact with them on Christmas and birthdays, they would be hurt and angry with my behavior. Secondly, I would love to take my parents out to lunch. Unfortunately, I am an unemployed student with no foreseeable job offers; There are few places I can afford to take myself, let alone another two people. However, I am more than happy to offer a maximum of three items per parent off of the McDonalds dollar menu.
The author seems to realize that the “rocky economy” has widespread effects. This is good.
The first statistic makes sense. If the economy is slow, there will be more young people living with their parents. However, most college graduates are 22-24 years old. And as 22 year old, I resent being compared to an unemployed 34 year old.
Onto the Trulia tidbit, I respect that the percentage is realistic. However, the implied tone of the paragraph is insulting “Oh no, graduates who can’t afford to pay rent want to move in with their parents?!”
First of all, if not my parent’s house, where am I supposed to go? The sidewalk? I, along with every other graduate in my position, have no where else to go. No money + no job DOES NOT equal luxury. And weirdly enough, I don’t feel like living under a highway until I find a job.
Secondly, does the author really think I want to be living at home, mooching off of my parents? After four years away from home, regressing back into living by my parent’s rules is going to be no picnic. Do you think I have been dodging countless job offers, hoping one does hit me? Believe me, I would love a job that would grant me the privilege of living on my own, the ability to pay rent. Better yet, a job that would present an opportunity for me to repay my parents for everything they have given me.
Now this is brilliant. If only everyone wanted to be a doctor, we would all have jobs. Unfortunately, that is not the way life works. Additionally, because this article is for parents to read, it lends the idea that parents need to influence their children to concentrate on what they believe is beneficial; Not on what the individual student wants to study.
For the seven majors suggested, I included them all, even the ones I agree with.
I completely agree that this is a smart choice. My mom is a nurse, and she tells me often that nurses have multiple job offers after college.
Because everyone wants to be a park ranger, am I right?
This surprised me. Regardless of how useful a chemistry major is to future employer I don’t know many who could pass the intro course. Let alone flourish within the major for four years.
No surprise here.
I dare you to name 10 well-known schools who offer this.
I think final major is what cemented my intense dislike for the article.
Public relations and marketing are similar in regards to job descriptions and responsibilities. I am a PR major, but you look at my resume, all of my experience is in marketing. And guess what? I am, again, without a job.
I wish the author had taken the time to consider the college graduate’s point of view when writing this article. Telling parents that their kids need to conform to certain majors to be successful is ridiculous. The goal of college is to figure out what to do for a living, which career to pursue.
The four years spent in college ends with what we all hope is a job offer. We strive for employment, a paycheck, to maintain the independence we grow accustomed to while living away from home. By scolding us for not accomplishing our goals, the article is simply rubbing salt in the wound of unemployment.
Confessions of a Young Professional 