A recent survey of college degree holders across several generations found that nearly two-thirds of those with at least a bachelor’s degree regret something about their education.
The most common regret was student loan debt, but the second most common regret was area of study.
Those who spent time and money earning a degree in the humanities were most likely to regret their major.
“Those include things like literature, and philosophy, and languages and things like that. While interesting and necessary, you don’t get a really high-paying job. And if you’re left with all the student loan debt left to pay, it can be tough for people,” Wendy Brown at Payscale told WTOP.
Degrees held by college grads who are least likely to express regrets about their college education — be it either field of study, student loan debt or other regrets — include high-paying fields such as engineering and computer science, but also those who chose a less lucrative degree in education, like teachers.
“They do have a tough time paying back their loans. They aren’t in the highest-paying field. But at the same time, they found their profession to be meaningful. So they still had satisfaction and therefore didn’t rank high for regrets,” Brown said.
Education consistently ranks high among most meaningful majors, but also consistently low in majors that pay well for themselves.
Those with higher degrees have unique regrets.
Some postgraduate degrees are necessary, such as law and medicine, while others are discretionary, but may have great benefits on career advancement and salary.
But the rising cost of some required advanced degrees may be outpacing the earnings potential.
“It is because you spend so much time getting the degree. If you’re going to be a doctor, for example, you have years and years of school and years and years of debt,” Brown said. “Their income doesn’t compare to what their student loan debt is going to be going forward.”
Payscale’s entire report, which breaks down levels of regret by generation and degree and school type, including its survey methodology, is available online.
