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Comment by icn2 | Hacker News Reader

This is the part I am always confused. If we all know graduates getting an engineering degree(CS,EE) make more money than graduates with english/arts degree. We should see an obvious trend students heading to engineering majors. Why still so many students go to english/arts/... major and they know they will make less promising income?

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Why still so many students go to english/arts/... major and they know they will make less promising income?

Many -- I'd say even most -- students base their careers on something besides projected income. I think this is a very good thing.

Unfortunately they're taking on massive amounts of debt that will make their life more difficult. If they could only receive a loan for a percentage of their projected income then they'd be able to decide if it's worth it. And it would put price pressures on the school.

Same could be said of doing a MBA or medicine compared to STEM. Yet few people on HN made that choice.

Not the same thing. Once you're in a US college, you can pick your major, whether that's English or STEM. But for Medicine or MBA, you need to be admitted to a postgraduate program. I remained a STEM because I didn't have the grades for medicine. Didn't "choose".

that's a good point, shows my European bias. In France at least, entering in medicine or decent engineer career path requires similar level of grades. Entering into a MBA would be similar to get a very good engineer degree (grade-wise, skills being different obviously)

Not even close RE: MBA. There is an insane glut of MBAs because of rational choice to go there where MBAs used to have a ton of opportunity. Then the economy crashed and now STEM fields are being mined for business intelligence / game theorists that can learn rudimentary business practices on the fly (or the company will pay for a night-time MBA).

The majority of people who struggle with getting high paying work after an MBA previously struggled with getting high paying work as a Stem graduate. Something like 40% of MBAs are engineers.

Isn't it obvious that it's because they aren't interested in a career in engineering? For some people having a higher income is not more important than having a career that they enjoy or that inspires them.

From my limited experience with the matter, it's because 18-year-olds are stupid.

We should see a obvious trend students heading to engineering majors.

Yes, especially people with childhood dreams of studying history or art will be turned on by the prospect of designing airliners and nuclear reactors.

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