Business majors may think their career paths will bring them financial security and, therefore, an overall satisfaction in life. A new survey shows neither may be true.
Gallup with Purdue University conducted a survey of 30,000 graduates of all ages that compared four categories of majors: business, social sciences and education, sciences and engineering and arts and humanities. The survey found business major graduates showed the least interest in their work and didn't feel the most economically secure compared to the other three majors.
Social sciences and education graduates showed the greatest interest in their work, followed by the sciences and engineering majors. Those in the science and engineering fields felt the most financially secure ahead of the business majors.
"My advice to Americans, especially young people, is that if you make a decision about what to major in based on how much money you want to make, you might end up disappointed, not only with your first job but with your overall career," Brandon Busteed, executive director of Gallup Education, told The Wall Street Journal.
The survey, conducted in February and March, did not ask for people's exact earnings. It posed more general questions, such as connection to their communities, sense of purpose in life and engagement at work, according to The Wall Street Journal. Just 39 percent of graduates reported the latter.
Business majors also reported the lowest sense of purpose in their lives at 48 percent, compared to 56 percent of social sciences and education majors.
A possible link between business majors and their dissatisfaction at work is their lack of internships in college, "a practice that correlates strongly with job satisfaction later in life," according to The Wall Street Journal.
"Business programs might be teaching textbook business but falling down when it comes to real applied learning experiences," Busteed said.
The survey also didn't ask respondents why they chose their majors or what specific job fields they entered.
