Answer this poll and tell us if you agree or disagree with the Today Show: 5 Useless Majors Poll

By Holly Wentworth
“Today” show’s host, Matt Lauer, sits with Star Jones, lawyer, journalist, and television personality; Donny Deutsch, television personality of CNBC’s talk show “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch”; and Rosie O’Donnell, comedian, actress, author, and television personality, on the show “Today’s Professionals” on April 24, 2012.
The show consists of Lauer asking them general questions about some controversial topics of 2012, such as the scandal involving the Secret Service and prostitutes in Colombia, medical gene testing, and therapy. Over 30,000 Facebook users have recently shared one controversial topic from that particular show four years ago – college majors, which they began talking about at 6:20 into the video.
Lauer starts the topic by saying, “One in two of [college grads] will be unemployed or underemployed … Is one of the reasons for this that many college students are studying useless majors?”
Deutsch says that unless you are going to be an accountant or a doctor, your major “is irrelevant.” O’Donnell disagrees. She believes that there isn’t a great chance in getting a job from a theater degree, and instead you should go for a fine arts degree where there will be more jobs. Deutsch states how tired he is of young people having this learned idea that there are no jobs out there. Jones says that it is, in fact, hard to get a job, even with a law degree.
Lauer then asks, “But in today’s employment situation, degrees in things like fine arts, drama, philosophy, religious studies – are they useless when it comes to getting a job?”
This is when the screenshot that’s been shared all over Facebook appears on the screen at around 7:40 into the video. The picture claims that fine arts, drama & theater arts, film, video & photographic arts, commercial art & graphic design, and architecture are the five most useless college majors.
O’Donnell answers Lauer quickly with an assertive “yes.” Jones argues that she could have majored in any of those studies and come up with a “niche market” that would lead her to a job. Deutsch sticks with his earlier statement that majors don’t really matter, but overall experience does and that has always been the way that he’s hired people. The video ends at the 8-minute mark and they start on a new topic.
Since we are all either students or faculty here at Fitchburg State, how do we feel about these above statements? Do we agree – are we wasting our time and money in programs, such as film and video, graphic design, theater, or architecture? Or do we disagree – and believe that some of their statements are actually a load of B.S.?
Students don’t know an alternate choice to going to college with “useless majors.” The biggest problem seems to be that young people can’t get jobs without the proper experience. How do you get experience if you can’t get a job because you have none? This experience is typically gained by schooling and internships, at least so we thought.
http://www.today.com/id/47157200/ns/today-today_news/t/sparks-fly-when-rosie-joins-todays-professionals/#.WBO6AOErLR0
https://www.facebook.com/ARCFLY/photos/a.1380155905346351.1073741942.394288190599799/1380162695345672/?type=3&theater