Some Of You Know This Already, But I Need To Make It Official.

[GregorMendel]

Go Mount!

Have faith, you can absolutely have a future in such a field, and will be empowered to do so from your very first class (freshman seminar) throughout the core curriculum. Its one of the perks of going to a liberal arts university.

The Mount will absolutely prepare you, and so long as youre willing to work for it, you will find opportunities after college. And mind you, this is coming from a bio major- current med student :D

[PadrePioOfPietrelcino]

How will international studies help you pay off your student loans?

:|

Since when do we reduce a solid education down to the second lesser role of a functionary in a job rather than the primary goal which is to be a thinking rational human being? The degree doesn't matter you should not be going to college and choosing a degree based upon just how good of a job you can get, but where your natural talents and love granted to ou by God rest and then work in those areas and shore up the weaker areas....ranting done.


Congrats on finding your College Home, it is a great feeling.

[EmilyAnn]

Yay! :) That sounds like a cool major. Languages are fun too :) They're a nice chance of pace from other classes sometimes. 
 

How will international studies help you pay off your student loans?

 

:|

Are you always such a negative nancy? 

[the171]

I study theology in my spare time but it wont help me put food on the table.

It's ok to think practical, sometimes doing what you love is not the most prudent thing to do.

You wouldn't be able to study theology without theologians. Some people give up on "practicality" so that they can do what they love. You know that phrase, "faith isn't practical"? Yeah, neither is doing what you love and what you know you should do.

/endrant

[Basilisa Marie]

The Mount is a big feeder school for the FBI. They come to campus every year and recruit people.  So that's one thing you can do with your international studies degree.  There are also a bunch of internships in DC, we're about an hour and a half away from downtown Washington. 

 

But more importantly, the Mount is a liberal arts college, so unless you're going into education, business, or the sciences, your major doesn't matter so much because you're taking a bit of everything.   Studies show that most people don't actually stay in the same job for life anymore, so it's more important than ever to have transferable skills.  If you can communicate well and think critically, you can do a whole lot.  Students aren't so naive anymore - they grew up during the recession, so we KNOW that if you major in English you aren't going to make money.  Strangely, some people are okay with that.  

[mortify]

Since when do we reduce a solid education down to the second lesser role of a functionary in a job rather than the primary goal which is to be a thinking rational human being? The degree doesn't matter you should not be going to college and choosing a degree based upon just how good of a job you can get, but where your natural talents and love granted to ou by God rest and then work in those areas and shore up the weaker areas....ranting done.

 

Padre,

 

I see you're an older member here, says 30 on your profile. I'm in my late twenties living in the NYC tristate area. Not sure what the situation is like in Kansas but over here jobs are tight and in fact we had a lot of liberal arts majors meeting up in NYC not too long ago, they called themselves the Occupy movement. They sat themselves in the city blaiming everyone else for not having a job but they never considered that going into polisci just isn't a practical choice. I'm not sure what your situation is, whether you live by yourself or are vested with having to financially support others, but when you're done with a college education and are sitting down with possibly up to $100k in student loans, you better hope you get a well paying job. I can't tell you how many REGRETS I hear from acquaintences who can't get jobs, are stuck with loans that will NEVER go away (yes, you can't file bankruptcy to remove them) and are unable to sustain themselves let alone a spouse and kids. Moral of the story is follow your mind and be practical, you study what your heart desires on the side.

[Basilisa Marie]

Okay, but first, our parents were the ones who jammed "You can be whatever you want to be!" down our throats our whole lives.  Then we were told to go to college because that's how you get a good job.  But don't go to just any college, you have to get into the best (read:private) college to get a GOOD job!  Lo and behold, the economy tanked and everyone went to expensive colleges, so the formula that worked in the past doesn't work now. Is it really any wonder why our generation is the way it is?  

 

Mortify, what do you think the kiddos should major in, then?  Engineering?  Because my engineer friends are having a heck of a time trying to find jobs, too. Business? Same issue.  Biology? Good luck getting into med school.  Go to grad school? Good luck, because so many people are doing that that the applicant pool is saturated, so it's much harder to get in, let alone get in with funding. 

 

Anyone who thinks getting 100k in debt then majoring in English and want to support a wife and kids by getting a job in some English field is stupid.  Fact is we have to be realistic, sure. But part of being realistic is knowing that it sucks for everyone, and there isn't some magic major that is going to get you a job, let alone keep it.  

[LinaSt.Cecilia2772]

How will international studies help you pay off your student loans?

 

:|

 

 

I study theology in my spare time but it wont help me put food on the table.

 

It's ok to think practical, sometimes doing what you love is not the most prudent thing to do.

 

 

Padre,

 

I see you're an older member here, says 30 on your profile. I'm in my late twenties living in the NYC tristate area. Not sure what the situation is like in Kansas but over here jobs are tight and in fact we had a lot of liberal arts majors meeting up in NYC not too long ago, they called themselves the Occupy movement. They sat themselves in the city blaiming everyone else for not having a job but they never considered that going into polisci just isn't a practical choice. I'm not sure what your situation is, whether you live by yourself or are vested with having to financially support others, but when you're done with a college education and are sitting down with possibly up to $100k in student loans, you better hope you get a well paying job. I can't tell you how many REGRETS I hear from acquaintences who can't get jobs, are stuck with loans that will NEVER go away (yes, you can't file bankruptcy to remove them) and are unable to sustain themselves let alone a spouse and kids. Moral of the story is follow your mind and be practical, you study what your heart desires on the side.

 

 

I can totally see where you're coming from, but I disagree.

 

An international studies degree is more valuable than you think. Add on a language like I want to, and job opportunities are increased immensely. An international degree plus a language (or multiple languages) can have many benefits and paths as far as government, business, non-profit, and educational jobs are concerned. Some people even get bilingual or multilingual stipends for their jobs. For example, my mother is a speech pathologist and is bilingual in Spanish. She had gotten a bilingual stipend for her job because she was strictly doing bilingual speech therapy, which requires more materials and techniques that required more classes to learn what was needed. Different jobs have different requirements, but an international degree plus a language is very beneficial such as government and international business. Personally I want to go the government and non-profit route, and that's my choice. No matter what degree I choose there are going to be student loans. But I'd rather have a job a love that pays less than a high paying job that I absolutely hate. Teachers would say the same thing, because where I live teachers are paid crappy salaries but do it because they love it. I respect people who sacrifice for that.

 

Thank you for your concern, but I have done my research.

[Amppax]

Congratulations Lina! Hope it goes well.

[BG45]

Go to grad school? Good luck, because so many people are doing that that the applicant pool is saturated, so it's much harder to get in, let alone get in with funding. 

 

Having two years of university advising under my belt, this.  Exactly, this.  When my old boss went on job interviews and there were 10 people, it was usually 7 people with high school diplomas, 2 with a BA/BS, and maybe 1 with a Masters or above.  Now it tends to be 1-2 with a high school degree, 5-6 with a BS/BA, and the rest tend to have Masters.  With the Economy the way it is, more people are going for their Masters, almost reducing the basic Bachelors to the level of what the high school degree used to be considered (in some fields).  As a result, it's harder to get funding or get in...personally I've already told students "no" for grad school letters, because they don't have the grades to get in, but have been told "these days you need a Masters".

Edited March 27, 2013 by BG45

[LinaSt.Cecilia2772]

Yeah I definitely plan on getting a graduate degree after my bachelors, because y'all are right how hard it is to find jobs without one. 

[the171]

I want a doctorate. Then I want to teach high school. Yeah, I could do more with that doctorate, but I know I want to teach high school kids. I LOVE THEIR FACES.

[mortify]

Okay, but first, our parents were the ones who jammed "You can be whatever you want to be!" down our throats our whole lives.  Then we were told to go to college because that's how you get a good job.  But don't go to just any college, you have to get into the best (read:private) college to get a GOOD job!  Lo and behold, the economy tanked and everyone went to expensive colleges, so the formula that worked in the past doesn't work now. Is it really any wonder why our generation is the way it is?

 

Fortunately I'm foriegn born and my parents never insisted I be what I want, rather I be what I need to be. And I did not go to a private school, I want to a public university that provided an excellent education in my career path. I feel bad for the poor souls who went into private school, some of my colleagues have loans as high as $200,000!

 

Mortify, what do you think the kiddos should major in, then?  Engineering?  Because my engineer friends are having a heck of a time trying to find jobs, too. Business? Same issue.  Biology? Good luck getting into med school.  Go to grad school? Good luck, because so many people are doing that that the applicant pool is saturated, so it's much harder to get in, let alone get in with funding.

 

I don't know what the most practical major to go for is nowadays, I knew what it was when I went into school though. Anyone interested needs to do the research, and as you said there is no magical major per se, one has to also excell in what they study. The market is only getting more and more competative.

 

Anyone who thinks getting 100k in debt then majoring in English and want to support a wife and kids by getting a job in some English field is stupid.  Fact is we have to be realistic, sure. But part of being realistic is knowing that it smells of elderberries for everyone, and there isn't some magic major that is going to get you a job, let alone keep it.  

 

Yea, stay away from majoring in English... and all other liberal arts...

[the171]

What is wrong with majoring in English? We need English teachers and professors.

[mortify]

What is wrong with majoring in English? We need English teachers and professors.

 

Nothing is wrong per se but good luck finding a job with that major