Here’s what graduates regret the most about college

Sibile Marcellus
·Anchor
Updated
0

Some people graduate college with no regrets, but two-thirds of college graduates aren’t so lucky. For them regret starts to seep in once they’re in the workforce and can last for many years after that. The top regret for college graduates across multiple generations is the amount of student loan debt they take on, according to new research by PayScale.

“College is entrenched as sort of the cultural ideal in our country and everyone wants to do that, thinks it’s the right thing to do, but this is now…at odds with what the practical realities are of landing a job and making enough money,” says PayScale’s director of content marketing Wendy Brown.

depressed man cover face with palm and sit in chair at night
Getty Images

Millennials are twice as likely as baby boomers to regret college because of the cost of student loans, 29% vs. 13%. Stagnant pay is another major reason why student debt is the number one regret, according to Brown. In the first quarter of 2019, U.S. workers saw negative real wage growth adjusted for inflation relative to the same time period last year, down 0.8% according to PayScale data.

college regrets payscale
Credit: PayScale

The other two major regrets of college graduates are their area of study (12.2%) and poor networking (11.2%). Nearly 34% of respondents said they had no regrets. (PayScale surveyed 248,000 people for the report.)

Majors with most regrets

The top three majors with the most regrets are health sciences (37.7%), art (32.1%), and social sciences (30.4%). Health sciences majors often go to medical school to become doctors, Brown says, and “they end up having years of school and years of debt, so our thinking is that that is what added to that number of being a big regret. More loans over a longer period of time.”

According to PayScale, the average starting salary for a job in the field of social sciences is $52,000.

Other regrets include majoring in the humanities (25.7%), which has a starting salary of $50,300; and physical and life sciences (24.8%), which has an average starting salary of $55,600.

payscale student loan regrets
Credit: PayScale

Indeed, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that those who majored in arts and social services had among the lowest median wages in their early careers.

Majors with least regrets

The top three majors with the least regrets are engineering (42.2%), education (37.3%), and computer science (34.9%), not surprising given the labor market’s shift to technology-based work. Starting salaries for engineering majors and computer science majors are both more than are $69,000, according to PayScale. (According to a 2018 study by Bankrate, the most valuable college major, based on annual salary, unemployment, and how high a graduate could go without grad school – was actuarial science.)

PayScale found that despite low pay, most education majors don’t regret their field of study. “They’re fulfilled in their jobs based on what we’re seeing with the data, despite the fact that they had student loans,” says Brown.

With nearly half of borrowers still taking on massive amounts of debt without fully understanding the financial burden that awaits them after graduation, it's no wonder that student loan debt ranks as the top regret for graduates.

US cities with most student debt
Graphic by David Foster

The country is now facing a $1.5 trillion student loan crisis as outstanding balances have grown by more than 500% since 2003, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This huge debt burden is also a reason why some Democratic candidates are proposing various student-debt forgiveness plans.

Follow Sibile Marcellus on @SibileTV

More from Sibile:

Women are about to reach a new workplace milestone

Southern states that voted for Trump see lower incomes than rest of U.S.

U.S.-Mexico trade tensions are far from over and could soon escalate again

Trump ‘is playing with fire’ as more tariffs are threatened: JP Morgan

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.

Advertisement

Recommended Stories

  • Cathie Wood Goes Bargain Hunting: 3 Stocks She Just Bought

    The popular growth investor added to these three existing positions on Tuesday.

  • Here's Exactly When Social Security Recipients Can Expect Benefit Cuts, According to the Latest Trustees Report

    Social Security payments may be subject to cuts. Here's what the timing looks like.

  • Morgan Stanley Predicts up to 110% Rally for These 2 ‘Strong Buy’ Stocks

    Uncertainty is the word of the day, in reference to the near-term economic future. Sentiment will hinge on the inflation numbers due out next week. March’s figure rose to 3.5%, and April’s job numbers showed a marked slowing in the labor market; that combination has stoked fears of stagflation. But – corporate earnings from Q1 are beating expectations, and the stock market has taken a turn for the better with the S&P 500 closing just below 5,200 yesterday. Economic strategists are still optimist

  • Can I Use My RMDs to Transfer Money Into My Roth IRA?

    If you're taking a required minimum distribution from an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-deferred account and don't need the money to cover living expenses, where should you stash that unneeded cash? Investors now need to start taking RMDs at age 73 or, if they were born after 1960, at age 75. Depending on the balances of […] The post Can I Use My RMDs to Transfer Money Into My Roth IRA? appeared first on SmartReads by SmartAsset.

  • How Much Cash Can A $300,000 Annuity Generate For Me Each Month?

    Imagine having a reliable source of income you can count on throughout your retirement. That’s the promise of an annuity. These insurance products have been designed to turn your savings into a steady stream of monthly payments. They guarantee peace of mind and financial security in your golden years. Don't Miss: Are you rich? Here’s what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you. An

  • 3 Ridiculously Undervalued Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist Right Now in May

    Investing in cheap stocks brings unique risks because there is usually a reason the companies are undervalued.

  • Stocks could tank after an ill-advised 'melt-up' if the Fed cuts rates to avoid recession

    "Investors' expectation that the Fed would nip a recession in the bud by easing means that the Fed Put is back," Ed Yardeni said.

  • Pfizer Stock Is Near An 11-Year Low — But Is It A Buy On This 'Massive' Upside?

    Pfizer stock ran up to its 50-day line after the company reported better-than-expected sales and profit. Is PFE stock a buy?

  • Real Estate Developer Soaked by Multimillion Dollar Loss on San Francisco Office Building

    Real estate developer Clarion Properties took a $60 million loss on a San Francisco office building it bought five years ago. The property at 410 Townsend Street is a four-story, 76,000-square-foot building. During the halcyon days of the tech industry, 410 Townsend was known as a startup village and was valued at $1,100 per square foot. That adds up to $86 million, which is what Clarion Partners bought the property for in 2019. That high price is emblematic of the high valuations of prime offic

  • IBM’s Red Hat Sued by Stephen Miller’s Legal Group for Anti-White Male Bias

    (Bloomberg Law) -- Ex-Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s legal group has sued IBM Corp. subsidiary Red Hat Inc. claiming the company’s diversity goals led to the discriminatory treatment and termination of a former White male employee. Most Read from BloombergMicrosoft’s Xbox Is Planning More Cuts After Studio ClosingsAmericans Are Racking Up ‘Phantom Debt’ That Wall Street Can’t TrackStormy Daniels Will Return to Court in Test of Trump’s DemeanorTrump Judge Indefinitely Postpones Documents Case Tri