People Are Sharing What They Majored In vs. What They Ended Up Doing (30 Answers)

André believes that there's more pressure to seek higher education because the cost of living is rising everywhere and people are still being told that college always leads to a great job.

"People feel like a college degree is how you get respect. College is still being pushed as a safety net when in reality going to a trade school, community college, or pursuing the path of an entrepreneur can be just as rewarding," he said that there are always valid alternatives. "I wish that we would teach our kids that there are so many other options and that if college is what they want to do, then fine but don't ever box yourself in."

I was also very interested to find out how André decided to become a voice actor. "I broke into the voice acting industry and content creation space about 3 years ago," he shared with Bored Panda. "I love the chance to tell a story through my lens and how I see the world. People have always told me that I have a unique voice so I said, 'I might as well use it.'"

André has already gotten to work with some world-renowned brands, from the History Channel and The Smithsonian to The Boston Celtics and Colgate, as well as many others. "I am very excited to see what's next for me, using my brand to help people see the world differently."

Statista reports that there were a whopping 19.6 million students in the United States in 2019. Of those, around 14.5 were enrolled in public colleges while the rest went to private ones.

“Public colleges, also called state colleges, are mostly funded by state governments. Private colleges, on the other hand, are not funded by the government but by private donors and endowments. Typically, private institutions are much more expensive. Public colleges tend to offer different tuition fees for students based on whether they live in-state or out-of-state, while private colleges have the same tuition cost for every student,” explains Erin Duffin.

The US has in excess of 4k colleges throughout the country and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, California is the state that has the most. However, despite the fact that there’s a trend of more and more Americans getting their higher education degrees, the costs of doing so aren’t so friendly.

There’s no doubt that there was more social pressure to go to college than before which, coupled with overall better economic circumstances (before the pandemic), made higher education more accessible. Well… somewhat. You see, tuition costs are are still very prohibitive in the US. Statista points out that annual expenses for students total around 75k dollars. And that’s just for a single year!

These over-the-top college costs lead to fresh college graduates shouldering immense debts. The BBC notes that over 42 million people in the US (or one in six adults to put it into perspective) hold student debt which is more or less 30k for a four-year undergrad degree. Some borrowers are in default, others are behind on their repayments, and the US government (which owns around 90 percent of these debts) believes that around a third will never ever get repaid.

Whether or not to go to college, at least in the US, is a bit of a catch-22 situation. On the one hand, degree inflation means that in order to compete well in the job market, you need to have a higher and higher level of education.

On the other hand, student loans are massive financial burdens, and choosing to go for a more practical, well-paying trade might be the better option for some. And that might be a valid alternative when you take into account that you might not even end up doing what you majored in. Personally, I have degrees in political science and international relations and, I have to tell you, there’s way more politics, philosophy, and science involved in writing for you Pandas than you might expect. So I’m exactly where I want to be.