Critical Analysis of Zac Bissonnette’s
“Your College Major May Not Be as Important as You Think”
By Isaac Wangai
College students face a dilemma, especially today with the job market in recovery from the 2008 recession: Which major should they choose? Undergraduates are not sure whether to major in a career-oriented/professional field, such as law, medicine, computer science, education, or business—or in a traditional liberal arts field such as English, history, modern languages, philosophy, or sociology. Often, students experience pressure from family, counselors, and other mentors, who tell them that they should choose a practical degree that will lead to a better job with a higher salary (Bissonnette 1). In his article “Your College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think,” financial advisor Zac Bissonnette challenges the notion that students should major in a professional field. Not only does the selection of a college major not determine one’s level of career success, Bissonnette argues, but there are also four compelling reasons to stay with a liberal arts major instead of a career-oriented one. Ultimately, while Bissonnette gives students and parents some worthwhile considerations in the decision of a college major, he undermines his argument through adding misleading points and by losing focus on his thesis: the choice of a college major does not matter in the long run.
Bissonnette begins with a narrative about a famous successful businessman, Ted Turner, whose father objected to his chosen major: classical studies. Turner’s story helps Bissonnette establish his thesis: “In recent years, research into the importance of choice of major has led to a surprising conclusion: it’s really not all that important” (1). The author’s purpose in this essay is to teach college students the importance of choosing their own major after taking into consideration more than one variable. To substantiate this claim, Bissonnette provides evidence from two studies. The first one, performed by University of Texas at Austin professor Dennis Hamermesh, demonstrates that the choice of a college major has little to no impact upon job earnings (Bissonnette 1). PayScale, Inc. performed a study that led to similar results (1). From these two studies, Bissonnette concludes that selecting a “practical” major like business does not necessarily lead to more earnings potential. Bissonnette makes a similar point by citing the example of Ramit Sethi, who chose the unconventional “Science, Technology, and Society” track at Stanford. Sethi went on to become a successful entrepreneur. Furthermore, Sethi claims to use the skills (“social influence, persuasion, and behavioral change”) that he acquired from his degree in running his business (qtd. in Bissonnette 1- 2). Bissonnette uses the evidence from the two studies and the story about Sethi to emphasize his main point: “But don’t think that you are doomed to a life of poverty if you pick the wrong major” (2). In the first part of the article, Bissonnette defines success as how much money one makes. Is this all that is important, we might ask?
In case his audience thinks that money is all that matters to Bissonnette or to society, he goes on to outline “four great reasons to pick a liberal arts major”—not all of which have to do with earnings (2). Bissonnette undermines his thesis in this second section of the essay by contradicting it. If there are four compelling reasons to choose a liberal arts major, then clearly the choice of a major matters more than he initially argues. Choosing one’s major, he maintains, leads to a higher GPA, which in turn leads to benefits such as better job placement, higher career earnings, and a higher likelihood of being admitted to graduate programs. In addition to a higher GPA, students who choose liberal arts majors will have the skills employers really want—communication skills—rather than what applicants think they want—experience. Furthermore, the explosion of new technologies has the potential of making today’s hot jobs obsolete; the liberal arts, on the other hand, never go out of style. Finally, Bissonnette points out that people find it more satisfying to work on something they are passionate about, making it less likely that they will drop out of school. The author uses research studies and surveys to provide evidence for the first two reasons, while using anecdotal evidence for the last two reasons. All in all, Bissonnette’s four reasons for choosing a liberal arts major turn his focus to issues of fulfillment and satisfaction rather than purely financial considerations, yet they undermine his assertion that the major has no impact on quality of life (regardless of how that quality is defined).
Bissonnette organizes his essay into two parts: one part that downplays the importance of college major in terms of earnings potential and one part that outlines four reasons for choosing the liberal arts. He uses research studies and examples to substantiate the first assertion, and he uses primarily examples and his own expertise to justify his four reasons. His two-part organizational scheme highlights the importance of choosing a liberal arts major. Not only is this part the more compelling of the two sections, but placing the four reasons last makes it more memorable for the audience and therefore more important in their minds.
Bissonnette concludes by admonishing parents to allow their children to choose their own majors, reminding them that their sons’ or daughters’ “abilities, work ethic, and passion” are more important than the field they choose to study (2). While Bissonnette makes some valid points and uses substantial evidence to strengthen these points, he commits a non sequitur fallacy in his reasoning. He asserts that the choice of a college major does not matter, a premise that is not connected to the subsequent argument regarding four reasons that students should choose a liberal arts major over a professional one. If students receive a number of benefits from a liberal arts major (communication skills, which Bissonnette mentions; and a well-rounded education, which he implies by using the story of Sethi), then, logically, they should choose a liberal arts major. In other words, Bissonnette starts the article by stating that the choice of a major does not matter, and he concludes the article by urging parents to let their children decide on a major themselves, with the implication that students are likely to choose a liberal arts major if the decision is left to them. Another problem with the piece is how it deals with the importance of financial considerations. If emotional and mental fulfillment are as important (if not more important) than financial success, then why does Bissonnette devote so much of the essay to discussing earnings? Bissonnette provides some effective arguments regarding elements to consider when deciding on a college major. However, the second part of the essay, which touts the liberal arts major, contradicts the first part and harms the overall effectiveness of the essay. If we accept what Bissonnette says about the liberal arts major, the choice actually matters quite a bit.
Given the non sequitur of Bissonnette’s seemingly helpful advice, how should parents and their students decide on college majors? Does the choice of a major matter or doesn’t it? Perhaps what is important in this decision but omitted in Bissonnette’s analysis is that the answer to that question depends on what is important to the student. If financial considerations such as job placement and earnings potential are the only factors, then the college major does not matter as much as most people think. However, if fulfillment and satisfaction are added to the equation, then students should choose what they really love, whether that major is a professional field or a liberal arts one. Rather than offering a blanket statement such as “[the college major’s] really not all that important,” perhaps Bissonnette and other advisors can offer a more balanced approach to the question, one that accounts for different forms of motivation and success.
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